Christa Wagner

Attention busy moms who want her kids to eat a healthy dinner, but don’t have more than 30 minutes to  prepare.  I understand your pain and know you want some help in the kitchen.  I cook nearly every day so I like to share with you recipes that are tried and true and winners in my home.   Most of the food I make is simple and easy and can be made in 30 minutes.  I use my Meal Planning Made Easy System to plan the meal and make sure I have all my ingredients. 

Today’s recipe is Cashew Chicken.   I originally found this recipe in Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food Fast Cookbook; a fantastic cookbook that I use several night a week for fast, healthy meals. 

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 3/4 cup raw cashews (4 ounces), toasted
• White rice, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch until chicken is coated; season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, tossing often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add remaining oil and chicken to skillet along with the garlic and white parts of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return first batch of chicken to pan. Add vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.
4. Add hoisin sauce and 1/4 cup water; cook, tossing, until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in scallion greens and cashews. Serve immediately over white rice, if desired.

This recipe is terrific and it tastes like you ordered Chinese, but is much healthier.  If you can’t get your kids to eat the cashews or they are allergic, the recipe is also great without the nuts.  Give it a try and keep in mind you prepare this meal in about 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Have trouble getting dinner on the table?  Check out our Meal Planning Made Easy System and use a system with step-by-step reminders to make meal planning and shopping easier for busy people.

Tags: Christa Patchen, Christa Patchen Wagner, Christa Wagner, easy recipes, Meal Planning Made Easy, Savvy Solutions

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 9:57 am and is filed under Food & Meal Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.