Cheap Eats

Orange chicken is one thing my family agrees on, we all love it.  So when Friday night take out night rolled around and my husband said he was picking up Chinese, we all knew he was coming back with Orange chicken.  Then I got to thinking, a great Orange chicken recipe would be a perfect dinner for us and, of course, it will be cheaper and healthier than take out.  Now I know, according to my family, mine will never be as good as take out, but I bet I could get close.  So you try it, I’ll try it, and let’s see how it goes.

Start with about 3 -4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into bite sized pieces.  Season, coat with flour and fry.  Your choice if you prefer pan-fry or deep-fry.  Once they are done, saute up garlic and green onions.  While those are cooking, you need to make the Orange Sauce.  

Combine 3 tbs. each soy sauce and orange juice with 1/2 c. each sugar and vinegar.  Stir well.  Add the sauce to the pan and thicken a little with about 1 - 2 tbs. cornstarch.  Then add the chicken back in.  Heat until the chicken is coated and the sauce is nice and thick.

Serve over rice, topped with a little orange zest or a few orange slices.

That’s it.  Super fast, super easy and super cheap.  This dinner serves approximately 4 - 6 people and should run you under $10.  Just out of curiosity, I checked out the nutritional info on the Panda Express website, and a serving of Orange Chicken will run you about 500 calories and 27 grams of fat!! %@#! This recipe is about 300 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving.  So guess this time the real savings is not the money, but the calories!

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