Valentines Day Dinner

I'm a fan of the Rachael Ray show & yesterday she made a dish that looks special enough to serve for Valentines Day dinner. I'll post in February how it turned out :) Yummo!

Orange-Cashew Chicken with Broccoli
Dinner
ingredients
5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
7 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces each, cut into large bite sizes pieces
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 red bell peppers, sliced
1 16-ounce bag of broccoli florets
1 rounded teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon (half a palmful)
ground coriander
2 oranges, zest and juice
1/2 cup tamari dark soy sauce (eyeball it)
3 tablespoons honey (eyeball it)
3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon corn starch
1, 2 or 3 cups -- as many cups of roasted, unsalted cashews as you like
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped, 2 generous handfuls

Preparation

Preheat a large, deep skillet over high heat with 3 turns of the pan of vegetable oil, about 3 tablespoons. Season the chicken with some salt and pepper and brown the meat; brown it in 2 batches if necessary. Once the meat has browned, remove to a plate and reserve. Return the skillet to the heat, add 2 turns of the pan of vegetable oil, the onion, garlic, red bell pepper, broccoli, crushed red pepper flakes and coriander.

Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes or until the veggies start to get tender. Add the orange zest and juice, soy sauce and honey. Stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock and bring up to a simmer, add the browned chicken back to the pot and cook another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Put the corn starch in a small bowl along with a little splash of water and stir, once combined add to the pot to thicken up the sauce a bit. Add the cashews – as many as you want! Serve the cashew chicken over ginger noodles or rice and garnish with some of the chopped cilantro.
Yields 8 servings
aired on: January 30, 2007