In our house, we take the name Sunday Funday quite seriously.
We go to the zoo, spend time outside as a family, or hang out watching netflix. Yep, we’re old and boring, but to us, Sundays are the best days!
But fun family time aside, Sunday is also a prep day for us, because come Monday, we’ll be getting back to the grind. We prepare meals for the week, pay bills, review our budget, and do the deep cleaning that we didn’t want/have time to do during the week.
Like I said, we’re boring.
The meal preparation aspect is probably the most important for our family, because we really like food but we’re pressed for time and money.
Also, I’m no gourmet chef.
I like quick, no-fuss food that not only tastes good, its easy on our budget and our waistlines. I have an especially strong preference for crockpot meals, or anything that takes less than 5 minutes to throw together.
Other families are very much like us, I know, which is why I’m starting this new, exciting weekly post here: Sunday Funday, which will be more of a home/lifestyle post. Plans are to share recipes, organization solutions, and even fun family ideas for a little variety, and honestly, so I can categorize all of my ideas and projects in one place!
The Lindow household is far from perfect, but I love to share, because I love when others do, and because we all need to change up our routines from time to time, amiright?
Sunday Funday Recipe: Just Like Takeout Baked Chicken
Chinese food is my crack, but with takeout prices and all of the nasty ingredients that have been banned in several countries, we try to avoid takeout at all costs.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have awesome no-fuss Chinese food at home!
We love this recipe because it’s kind of cross between General Tso’s chicken and sweet and sour chicken. It’s baked, not fried, and of course we can control the ingredients that go into it and the spice level. In fact, I’ve been known to split it into two batches, one more sweet and one more spicy to make everyone in the house recipes.
And did I mention?
This is my go-to recipe when we have low-key company.
Everyone loves Chinese food and this recipe is ALWAYS a hit.
This recipe was adapted from Life in The Lofthouse’s Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice. Great recipe, but I needed it to be even easier to prepare, because let’s be honest, dipping each and every piece of chicken in egg, then in the flour, and then laying it oh-so-carefully in the pan is just waaay too time consuming!
The end result is crispy yet moist with just the right amount of sweet and spicy, but without all of the extra syrup-ey nastiness that usually comes with my favorite Chinese takeout, General Tso’s.
- 3/4 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Stevia)
- 4 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- Preheat oven to 375. Cut chicken breasts into cubes, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip each piece into the beaten egg, and then drop all of the pieces into the container of cornstarch.
- Put the lid on your container of cornstarch and chicken and shake for a few minutes in different directions so that every piece is coated with cornstarch.
- Prepare a 9x9 pan by coating with oil or by placing foil in it (my personal favorite, as the sauce gets super sticky). Sift through your cornstarch, pull out all of the chicken and place in prepared pan.
- Mix all of the sauce Ingredients with a whisk, making sure the sugar is dissolved. Pour the sauce over the chicken and then bake for 30-40 minutes, turning the chicken every 10 minutes.
- Service with white/brown rice and broccoli.
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