Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken

 

You know how there are just some foods you can’t make at home as well as the restaurant does? Well, I’m actually finding that to be less and less an issue; except for Chinese food. 

 

 

I’m excited today, though, as I have finally found a Chinese honey chicken recipe that is restaurant quality, done at home, and it’s quick and easy with familiar ingredients.  WHAT?!? How can it be? I might not need to go out for Chinese food again… but maybe I still will.  You know, for research.

 

 

Now, I admit, the best way to make this chicken is in the deep fryer. It’s the least amount of mess, and creates a nice crunchy shell on the juicy chicken bites. If you don’t have a deep fryer, that’s okay too. You can simply use heated oil on the stove top.

 

As for the sauce, there’s a great balance of soy sauce and honey so neither is too overpowering. I tend to be afraid of ginger, but not in this recipe. It’s subtle and really adds to the overall dish. If you like heat, add more red pepper flakes. If you don’t like heat, use less. It’s totally optional.

 

 

I mixed the veggies right into the sauce right before serving so they wouldn’t get overcooked or absorb too much of the sauce. You can do this, or keep them separate; totally up to you. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little with that. Whatever you do, enjoy this amazing Chinese chicken meal.

 

 

Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken

 

 

The Chicken:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

2 Tbs cornstarch

Black pepper to taste

 

The Batter:

¾ c cornstarch

¼ c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp granulated sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

2/3 c ice-cold water

1 lg egg

Oil for frying

 

The Honey Garlic Sauce:

½ c honey

4 T soy sauce

4 lg garlic cloves, crushed

¼ t ginger

¼ t red pepper flakes

1/3 c water

 

Prepare the deep fryer oil by heating it to 375°F. Then, mix the sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes. In a bowl, mix together the chicken pieces with the onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, corn starch, and black pepper. Set aside. Next, whisk together the dry ingredients for the batter in a large bowl, and mix the water and egg in a measuring cup or small bowl. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients to make the batter. Finally, add the chicken pieces.

Fry the chicken pieces in batches so they don’t stick together. Flip the chicken after a few minutes and let it cook for a few more minutes, until it has a nice golden color. Remove and place on a cooling rack lined with paper towel.

Place the cooked chicken pieces in a bowl and pour the sauce over it to coat. You can also serve the sauce on the side for dipping. Serve with rice and possibly some pineapple slices, sugar peas, or some broccoli.

Granny's Holly Jolly Christmas Quilt

 

No, this isn’t really my Granny’s quilt. That would be cool though. This was a project I’ve thought about for a while and really wanted to keep the whole thing vintage style. I’m not sure why, but I don’t have a lot of Christmas quilts. Maybe it’s the time of the year hustle and bustle, or maybe because I’m trying to finish a bazillion other projects before the end of the year. Whatever the reason, I am on a mission to make this change.

 

 

In my stash, I discovered I had a charm pack called Swell Christmas by Urban Chiks. I fell in love with it all over again.  I love the vintage style fabrics, and wanted to collect more. In my search for more of that line, I discovered I was a few years too late and they’d moved on. I ordered what I could find of Swell, and then moved onto Holly Jolly until I could figure out something with the charm pack.

 

 

Meanwhile, Green Fairy Quilt Shop was having a sale on fat quarter packs so I snagged a Holly Jolly by Urban Chiks that has a similar vintage style. I knew right away I wanted to use a classic block pattern, and found Granny’s Square. Yes!

 

 

I matched up red with light pinks, pinks with whites, and greens with light greens. I tried to keep it as mixed up as I could, but somehow still ended up with similar and same fabrics near each other. Oh well, it’s the scrappy look that counts.

 

 

I kept a modern feel by not adding any borders, and made it a bit oversized for a lap quilt; it’s almost a twin. I did a simple meander for the quilting, and used a cute polka dot holly berry fabric from the collection for the backing.

 

 

I happened to go to a quilt expo as I was finishing this top and found a great red plaid for the binding that’s from the collection. Saved me from having to order it; yeah!

 

 

I’m not thrilled with my new tags, but oh well. I will keep hunting for something I like. My old ones would lay down nicely even after washing.

 

 

The funnest part of this quilt finish is that my kitties love it! They wanted to be on it before I even finished the binding. I have it on the couch as a throw and one of them is always curled up on it. Gotta love Moda fabrics.

 

 

Now I need to get the Swell Pack done. Maybe I can actually get two Christmas finishes this year!