Hey everyone! Stir Fry Day Friday is back! Well, sort of. Sweet and Sour Chicken isn’t exactly a stir fry, but it’s meat and veggies cooked in a pan and tossed in a sauce.. close enough, right?

Now that Lent is over our Stir Fry Day Friday theme can continue more regularly. While there are great shrimp and fish stir fries out there I much prefer stir fries made with meat!

There are a LOT of recipes on the internet that boast that they taste exactly like restaurant or take-out, and while all of them are delicious I’ve always found something to be missing – usually that extra bit of sweetness that makes take-out not the healthiest option.

This sweet and sour chicken actually tastes like take out! I was so excited. Stuart and I both went back for seconds – and thirds. I’m not sure if it’s really healthier – it might have less sodium and no MSG, but there’s still a good amount of sugar in this delicious sauce. I forgot to coat the chicken in cornstarch prior to frying so maybe I cut out half a calorie there? I was afraid I’d miss that take-out fried chicken texture but I didn’t! I even enjoyed the bell peppers, which aren’t my favorite vegetable. I used yellow and red because the green did not look good at the store that day – use whatever you like.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 C ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 lb chicken tenderloin, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (any color you prefer)
• 1/2 onion, chopped

Steps:

1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, S+P. Bring sauce to a boil.
2. In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water until smooth. Whisk into the sauce. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to thicken.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with S+P and brown on both sides. Add the veggies to the skillet and cook until just tender and the chicken is fully cooked.
4. Add the sauce to the skillet and toss to coat. Serve with white rice.

*This recipe is adapted from Tiffany at http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/12/healthy-sweet-sour-chicken.html*