Lightened Up General Tso Chicken

General Tso Chicken is one of my favorites.  But with all that breading and deep frying...it can a Points Plus disaster.  This chicken comes out tender and juicy and the sauce is sticky, sweet, and spicy.  This recipe is simple enough to make on a busy weeknight...perfect for a party of two! 


Servings: 2
Points Plus: 7
Works with SFT: No

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 10oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 1/8 tsp each - salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup Egg Beaters or 3 egg whites (beaten)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 T cornstarch
• 2 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 T ketchup
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 tsp Hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp Sriracha (or hot chile sauce) you can add more to taste
• 2 T sugar free syrup
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced finely
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
• 2 T scallions

Directions:


Heat oven to 375.


In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper.  Cover with egg and toss to coat.
Put flour in a shallow dish.  Lightly coat each chicken cube with flour. 
Bake 10 minutes.


In a medium size bowl, combine vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, Sriracha, syrup, sesame oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flake.  Whisk until blended thoroughly.


In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, combine stock and cornstarch and whisk until just smooth...don't overcook or it will become very gummy.  Add sauce mixture from bowl and continue whisking until blended and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Taste and add more heat at this point if desired.  Remove chicken from oven and mix into sauce.  Toss lightly to coat all of the chicken with sauce.


Top with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired.


Divide into 2 equal servings.  Serve with brown rice (add 3Points Plus per serving for 1/2 cup) and broccoli for a complete and delicious meal.  As good as takeout...and just as fast!

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

After trying a few varieties of premade, frozen black bean burgers (some of which are quite delicious!), I decided to take a stab at creating my own.  These are simple to make and come together quick enough for an easy weeknight meal.  Spicy black beans, brown rice and a little blend of spices create a delicious burger that you can top in a variety of ways.

Servings: 6

Points Plus: 2 per patty

Works with SFT: Yes

Ingredients:

·         15oz can black beans, drained*

·         ¼ cup carrot, in chunks*

·         ¼ cup onion, in chunks*

·         1 egg white*

·         2/3 cup brown rice, cooked*

·         1 tsp chili powder

·         ½ tsp cumin

·         ½ tsp salt

·         ½ tsp black pepper

·         2 tsp hot sauce (use more or less to taste)

·         ½ tsp worcestershire

·         Cooking spray

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the onion, carrot, and egg white.  Pulse several times until combined. 

Add ½ of the black beans and pulse until the mixture is pureed. 

Pour into a bowl.

Add the brown rice, remaining black beans, and all spices and combine.  Mix until well blended.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  I used this time to prepare some sweet potato crisps and a salad.
When ready, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat with cooking spray.  Using a heaping 1/3 cup of the mixture (I pre-measured onto a cutting board to make sure they were all divided equally), pour into the skillet and push down to form a patty shape.  Cook for about 7-8 minutes or until the patty can be wiggled around to flip over.  Don’t try to force this too soon or the patties will break.  Flip over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.  The patties should be slightly crisp on both sides when they are done.
I topped ours with a slice of Kraft Singles Sharp Cheddar and served with tomato slice and alfalfa sprouts on a Healthy Life Whole Wheat Sandwich bun.  The total for the whole burger: 5 Points Plus