Let me tell you, it was SO HARD
choosing a single winner, not only because I received so many delicious
submissions, but also because I had to get used to a new kitchen this week!
What timing I have!
Anyway, after several taste tests
and having Lily and Paul help me weigh in on which was best, we finally chose
Devon Riesenberg’s Cashew Chicken with Brown Rice recipe. CONGRATS,
DEVON! Devon has a lovely blog called The Zucchini Diaries that’s full of
awesome recipes, from salads to main courses to even baby food! She also has
another cute blog called The Jack Chronicles all about her day-to-day
adventures with her family, full of lots of pretty pictures. Devon just happened
to stumble across my blog apparently and decided to submit a few of her
favorite recipes, and I’m sure glad she did :) You have an avid new
follower, Devon!
Besides having her recipe featured
on my blog today, she is also the winner of a 1 year subscription to EatingWell Magazine!
Like I said, it was very hard to
choose just one recipe, so here are some honorable mentions that made the top
cut:
Diablo Potato Salad from
Ashley Nunez at Healthy Mom for Junk Food Kids
Simply Simple Granola from Susan
Osborn at Little Shack on the Hill
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms from
Jessica Licciardello
I will most likely feature these
tasty recipes in future posts since they were very good as well- thanks for
participating, ladies!
Now, without further ado, I
present the winning recipe:
Ingredients
1 1/2 pound of boneless, skinless
chicken breasts, chopped into about 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of vegetable or
canola oil
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt
3 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
6 scallions, thinly sliced
3/4 cup of raw crumbled
cashews (optional: toasted)
Brown rice for serving (enough for 6 servings)
Cook brown rice accordingly and leave in pot until ready to serve. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl or large Ziploc
bag, toss the chopped chicken with the cornstarch, salt and
pepper. In a large
skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken,
tossing often and then transfer to a plate. Add the rest of the oil to the pan
and repeat with the other half of the chicken. Once the second batch is 3/4 of
the way cooked through, lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, being
careful not to burn it. Cook the garlic for about 1 minute, and then add the rice
vinegar. Cook until evaporated, for about 30 seconds. Add the Hoisin, water and
all the chicken to the pan, and stir together. Cook until the chicken is done
and the sauce is slightly thickened, for around 5 minutes more. Remove from
heat and add the cashews and the scallions. Serve over brown rice.
it was good with the steamed broccoli |
Lily's and Mommy's plates |
giving it a try |
husband-approved |
DELISH! Paul really liked this one
especially, and although Lily turned her nose up at it initially (like she does to
so many “unknown” food these days), she ate it all up once I got her try the
first bite. I added extra scallions and the only thing I would alter is adding
twice the amount of water and Hoisin sauce to make it saucier! But, that is a
personal preference since I just love Hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is a salty
sweet and slightly spicy Asian sauce made from soybean paste, garlic, chilies,
sesame, and other spices and goes great on just about any meat. It’s great in
stir-fries and makes an amazing marinade for grilling. In fact, I plan to use thia very
recipe on the grill this summer!
Although this recipe is Cashew
Chicken, the cashews are optional if you or someone you’re serving this to has
a nut allergy. There are no other nuts in the recipe, with the exception of
sesame in the Hoisin sauce (check label as some may not contain sesame
depending on the blend). I felt it was the vinegary garlic, Hoisin sauce, and
scallions that really made this chicken great, but the subtle crunch of the cashews were a really unique addition to the tender chicken.
Cashews, like all nuts, are very
good for you. They contain high amounts of many nutrients, such as manganese, copper and magnesium. Nuts are heart-healthy, help to lower cholesterol,
provide an abundance of natural energy, help maintain a healthy weight, and so
much more! Cashews provide an especially high amount of calcium to support
strong and healthy bones. Try some cashew butter on your PB&J instead next time and
I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
This recipe is fine for toddlers
and kids, but not for baby. Baby can enjoy some brown rice cereal with milk or
formula while the rest of the fam chows down on this tasty Asian-inspired dish!
Thanks again to everyone who sent
in submissions! I will probably hold another contest in the future since this
was so much fun, so stay tuned! Have a great weekend, and hopefully I will get
back to my normal posting schedule soon enough! Next week I will post pictures
of the new house, as well as a new Family Favorite recipe I cooked up for the
first actual meal in the new kitchen.
Wish me luck with getting my life back in order!
Wish me luck with getting my life back in order!
AWESOME Jessica! Makes me so happy to see your family love this recipe as much as we do! Thanks again for all the shout-outs and praise and keep up the awesome work on your healthy food adventures!
ReplyDeleteI may just have to try this one. I love Asian food and love cashew chicken. Not much of a cook though so when I have pictures it helps :) Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you will come back and link with On Your Heart Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteI'm your newest follower on all sites.