Delicious Lunch

A couple weeks ago I watched Sunny Anderson on Food Network make Airman Anderson's Chicken. It's her twist on Chinese chicken and since I love Chinese food I decided I would try it. Awesome choice! The sauce on the chicken is to DIE FOR! It was so good Ryan and I could not stop eating it.

Airman Anderson's Chicken

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for frying

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 eggs 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup cornstarch

1 orange, zested

1 1/2 cups orange juice 1/3 cup dark brown sugar 6 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, pour in enough oil to fill the pot about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted into the oil reaches 350 degrees F.

Directions

Line a sheet tray with a wire cooling rack. Slice chicken into 2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cayenne, salt and black pepper to taste. In a paper bag, shake together salt, pepper, flour and cornstarch. Dip the chicken in batches, first in egg mixture, then in the flour mixture and shake to coat. Set on a wire rack and let sit 10 minutes. While chicken is resting, prepare sauce. In a large straight sided saute pan combine orange zest, orange juice, brown sugar, butter, hot pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Carefully place chicken in hot oil and fry until golden and crispy, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the saute pan with the sauce and toss until evenly coated.

Bri's Tip: Instead of dark meat I used chicken breast and it was just as good!

With the Chinese theme I had to make my favorite Ham Fried Rice.

Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
• 3 1/2 cups cold cooked rice
• 2 to 3 ounces honey or sugar-cured ham (yielding 1/2 cup cubed ham)
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas or baby lima beans
• 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons green and white scallions Peanuts

Directions

Heat a wok or a small, heavy skillet over high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, swirl to coat the pan. Add eggs and scramble them. As soon as there is no more freely running egg, turn them out into a bowl and break them into small bits. They should be soft and a bit runny -- not brown.

Heat the wok or a large skillet and add 2 tablespoon oil to coat. Add the rice and toss briskly to coat and separate each grain, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ham and peas. Toss to mix in the ingredients and allow the mixture to heat through, about 30 seconds. Return the eggs to the pan and toss to combine. Season with salt, scallions and peanuts, tossing another 5 to 10 seconds to let the eggs get hot.

Bri's Tip: I didn't have enough peas so I added corn as well, excellent choice! I also simply used lunch meat instead of cubed ham because that's what I had and that too was an excellent choice.

This meal was AWESOME! Ryan loved it, I loved it so try it!