First Meal Post

If anyone is paying close attention to the time stamps on this post and the one preceding it, you'll notice they were written back-to-back.  Why?  Well, I didn't think it was fair to leave this blog without one snippet of real advice, even if it were only for one day. 

The very first recipe I'm going to recommend is Lemon Chicken.  If any of you are at all given to scrolling through healthy recipe sites, you will have seen hundreds of recipes for delicately lemony chicken breasts, usually with a hint of garlic. 

That, however, is not the lemon chicken I am speaking of. 

This is the Lemon Chicken in the style of your local chinese take-out restaurant (minus all the breading and frying). 

I love that slightly gelled lemon sauce that usually comes on breaded chicken balls.  I've had good sweet-and-sour sauce, and I've had bad sweet-and-sour sauce, but I've never had bad lemon sauce.  But now, after trying this recipe, I've have good lemon sauce, and I've had great lemon sauce. 
This recipe is a bit more delicate than most places and has a touch more of a honey-taste than what you would normally find.  It tasted just like what you would get at a Chinese buffet, and the only differences were for the better. 

A couple more bonuses for this recipe: it's kid friendly, you can freeze it, and it's made from ingredients that you typically keep on hand (no last-minute grocery store runs needed!)

As a note, if you intend on freezing this sauce, let it stay a little thinner than normal (still slighty gelled, but not thick).  When you reheat it, it will thicken and this will keep it from getting gummy. 

Chinese Lemon Chicken sauce:
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. lemon juice
3 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp chicken bouillon granules (OXO)
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and serve over plain, baked chicken breasts. 

Fat per serving of lemon sauce: 0 grams

Here's the link to the original recipe, posted on CDKitchen.com.  Their recipe calls for frying the chicken - obviously, not part of a low-fat diet, so skip that step.
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/284/Chinese_Lemon_Chicken38791.shtml

Happy Cooking!

Mrs. VanderLeek