Hi Zesty Readers!  This is Danica from Danica’s Daily.  I am excited to be posting for Zesty while he is off vacationing with his family since he is always willing to help me out.   Zesty is not only an awesome COOK but he rocks at Website Design.  He has helped me numerous times over at Danica’s Daily, but, he really went above and beyond with the work he did over at Friends for Weight Loss, my Weight Watcher Support group!

Today’s recipe is one of my new favorite things.  I absolutely LOVE the Fire Cracker Chicken at Panda Express and get it every year when it comes around for Chinese New Year.  I have been wanting to make this recipe ever since I saw that they had it online.

The only thing is that their recipe online didn’t include all the ingredients listed in the instructions and I think needed to have some changes to match the actual flavor.  Below is my take on their recipe.

Ingredients

• 12 oz marinated chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger (fresh is better if you have it)
• 2 tsp Crushed Red Chili Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Black Beans Sauce
• 1 tsp Mirin ~ Sweet Japanese Cooking Wine
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Teriyaki Sauce
• 1 tsp Sriracha (hot chili sauce), optional if you like more heat
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch Mix (equal parts cornstarch powder and water)
• 2 scallions, diced, as an optional topper for color

Marinade

• 12 oz Chicken Breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp Cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Egg White
• 1 tsp Vegetable Oil

Method

1. Stir together vegetable oil, egg white, cornstarch and salt in a mixing bowl. Add chicken, and mix, making sure to coat all of the chicken with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to marinate. PREP EVERYTHING ELSE while the meat marinates because the recipe goes together fast.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a large wok (or non-stick skillet) over a high flame. Add marinated chicken and stir quickly, separating the meat and then cook for approximately 1 minute. Remove cooked chicken and drain well.

3. Add onion, bell peppers, garlic, ginger, chili pepper and black beans into the heated skillet. Stir for 1 minute.

4. Add cooked chicken, cooking wine, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sriracha and cornstarch mix with water. Stir until the sauce boils and thickens. Add sesame oil and continue stirring until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and cook through, about 3-4 minutes. Place finished product on a dish and serve with brown rice.

Makes 4, 1 cup servings

Enjoy!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!  Hopefully everyone had a fun weekend regardless of where you are in this world of ours.  We had a fun family weekend, including a spur of the moment trip to Halifax ( which means I get to go to Costco ), a trip to the pool for swimming lessons and of course a family outing to the grocery store.  So Mrs. Zesty and I are really caught up in the show Dexter.  Do you ever watch it?  It is very interesting, demented and overall disturbing however we keep watching the next episode on the dvd box sets.  We completed season oine Saturday night and rented season 2 last night.

On Saturday, I made a large batch of spicy chicken legs, cheese quesadillas and a large serving of sweet potato fries to relax on the couch and watch Dexter.  Sounds good right?  Well I must say the food was yummy but guess what?  You cannot relax when you watch Dexter.  It is too intense – I find myself propped up at full attention and usually in an ackward position for the entire 53 plus minutes of the episode.  I need to know if you watch Dexter and feel the same way as us.

For the chicken, I wanted something full of flavor with a little heat.  To do that, I combined a few tablespoons of Basil Pesto, and some homemade sweet chili sauce.  The results were very “WOW”.  We easily ate 4 chicken legs each and the only thing left were the bones.

Ingredients

• 10 Chicken Legs
• 3 Tbsp. Basil Pesto
• 1 Tsp. Hoisin Sauce
• 1/3 Cup Sweet Chili sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Mustard
• 2 Garlic cloves ( crushed)
• Black Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. In a large roaster, place the chicken legs in pan after ensuring they are patted dry.
3. In a bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix together.
4. Pour over chicken rubbing it in gently with a spoon.
5. Cover pan and roast for 2 hours.
6. In the last 30 minutes, remove the cover and let the legs get crusty and brown.
7. Top with a slash of lime and a bit of ZEST.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Normally I baste the chicken through out the process to add extra flavor but in this case the pesto has a high oil content so I avoided basting in this particular case.  I counted on the crust of the chicken to provide all the flavor.

Back to back spicy dishes in the winter really make me smile.  Not overly hot but the hint of heat help warm your insides.  The Spicy Pasta Shrimp from last week would go very well with some of this left over chicken as well.  Substituting chicken and shrimp is something I do all the time depending on what I have on hand.  I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day and I will definitely see you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

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It’s Friday, It’s Friday!!  How are you doing?  Hopefully all is well but just in case you are down in the dumps – I have a spicy low carb pasta recipe that will make your tongue hop.  One of my favorite things to eat with pasta is a little bit of heat.  Nothing uncontrollable but I do like a bit of spice that can be accompanied by a nice glass of white milk.

Remember when I did a “how to cook pasta” post, pretending I am Italian but oh well…. I feel I have eaten enough pasta to somehow understand the ins and outs of cooking noodles.  But what I remember the most is asking everyone what your favorite drink to have with noodles.  Surprising a lot of people said milk – which is my favorite for sure.

When you take a look at this dish – it could not get any easier.  Shrimp is an excellent source of protein and super easy to work with ( especially if you just buy frozen ).  Very quick to cook and you can have this low carb pasta recipe on the table in 15 minutes.  That is my kind of meal.  With everyone busy and doing 100 different things, eating healthy still has to be a priority in order to keep the energy levels up.

Next time you have some a craving for pasta – give this low carb pastas recipe a try.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces  fresh or frozen peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 8 Oz.  dried Whole wheat spaghetti ( I just use a handful)
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 or 2  fresh jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped*
• 2 Cloves  garlic, minced
• 2 cups  cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered, or chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1/4 Tsp. Black pepper
• Shaved green onion
• Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method

1. Thaw shrimp, if frozen. Rinse shrimp; pat dry with paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions.
3. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil,  chile peppers and garlic to hot skillet; cook and stir for 1 minute.
4. Add shrimp; cook and stir about 3 minutes more or until shrimp are opaque.
5. Stir in tomatoes, salt, and black pepper; heat through.
6. Drain spaghetti; toss with shrimp mixture.
7. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with green onion.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Because chile peppers contain oils that can burn your skin and eyes, avoid direct contact with them as much as possible. When working with chile peppers, wear plastic or rubber gloves. If your bare hands do touch the peppers, wash your hands and nails well with soap and warm water.

Flo-rida Vacation Update

Just a quick update on the accommodations for the Disney World trip, I want to thank everyone for their emails and comments – It was really fun to read through everyone’s ideas and Mrs Zesty and I are very appreciative.  I think we are going to try and pull the trigger today so I will keep you posted on the final choice.

Have a super weekend and I will chit chat with you on Monday.  Oh wait and before I go – try this recipe.  If you like shrimp – I am pretty sure you will be singing the praises of this one.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty