Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice

    I've been seeing a recipe for baked sweet and sour chicken all over Pinterest lately.  I was very skeptical of the recipe because the sauce is so simple.  I was also concerned about the long time the chicken had to cook in the oven.  I thought it might turn out dry.  After looking at this recipe at least twenty times I put it on my menu plan last week.

     Turns out all my worries were for nothing.  This may actually be the best sweet and sour chicken I've ever had.  My husband really liked it as well so I know it was good!  The chicken was extremely tender and moist.  The sauce almost caramelizes on the chicken and has a wonderful flavor.  We had fried rice with ours according to the recipe but next time I think we'll have white rice because the flavor of the chicken was so delicious we didn't need the additional flavor of the fried rice.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice (adapted from Life as a Lofthouse)
For the Chicken:

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

1 c. cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

3 T. olive oil

For the sauce:

1/3 c. sugar

4 T. ketchup

1/2 c. vinegar

2 T. honey

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. garlic salt

1 t. black pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.   Rinse the chicken breasts and cut into cubes. Season with the salt and pepper.  Pour the cornstarch into a shallow dish and the beaten eggs in another shallow dish.  Dip the chicken into the cornstarch and then dip into the eggs.  

3.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Cook the chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. 

4.  Mix all of the ingredients for the  sweet and sour sauce in a bowl. Whisk until well combined and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes turning once.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Turn the chicken again and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with rice.

Fried Rice                                                                                             

2 c. cooked white rice

3 T. sesame oil

1 c. frozen peas and carrots

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 t. minced garlic

1 T. teriyaki sauce

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 c. soy sauce

1 t. black pepper

1.  Heat the sesame oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat.  Add in the peas, carrots, onion, and garlic. Stir fry until tender. 

2.  Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side.   Pour the egg on the other side of the skillet and stir fry until scrambled. 

3.  Add the rice, teriyaki, soy sauce, and pepper.  Stir well and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the rice is heated through.  

This post linked to: 
Fantastic Thursdays,  Tasty Thursdays, Full Plate Thursdays, Tastetastic Thursdays,