Sweet and Sour Chicken {Updated}

 This recipe is adapted from this one at Life as a Lofthouse blog.

Mmm, I do love Chinese food, but do not like the way I feel after eating it from most restaurants.  I was very happy to see this recipe on Pinterest and was able to easily adapt it to meet my needs. I will warn you, when you first put it in the oven it will not look or smell appetizing, but it will turn out great! This goes great with regular fried rice or fried cauliflower rice for a low carb option. I have yet to try with quinoa but think that would be great as well!

3-4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts or 6-8 boneless/skinless thighs

salt + pepper

1 cup arrowroot powder

1-2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil or palm oil

Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces (I like to use my kitchen shears for this, goes so much faster and cuts through frozen chicken as well, if you are like me and forget to pull it out of the freezer a day ahead of time.) and place in glass baking dish.

Preheat oven to 325. Heat oil in skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat with arrowroot powder (I like to sprinkle it on and roll the chicken around until coated.). Dip into egg and add to skillet, lightly browning chicken but you do not need to cook through. Wash baking dish.

While the chicken is cooking, mix sauce in baking dish with whisk:

3/4 c organic ketchup (or at least find one without high fructose corn syrup)

1/4 c honey

1 1/2 T soy sauce

2 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

2 tsp garlic powder

1 c frozen broccoli per person (optional- can bake with chicken or steam separately)

When chicken is lightly browned, add to sauce and stir lightly to coat. Bake 10 minutes, stir and add broccoli then bake another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over brown rice, fried rice (recipe below) or quinoa with steamed broccoli.

 Fried Rice

1 c rice (cook according to directions on package, you can make ahead and make into fried rice when the rice is cold) OR 1 head cauliflower, chopped or shredded and steamed

1 T extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or palm shortening

1/4 c diced onion

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

2 eggs 

1/4 c carrots diced in small pieces

1/2 c frozen peas

soy sauce

Place oil in large fry pan. Sautee garlic, carrots and onion, then add eggs and fry. May need to add more oil, then add rice and sautee, then add peas when almost done. Also add small amount of soy sauce to taste.