Sweet and Sour Chicken and Broccoli Pasta (Soy, Fish, Egg and Nut-Free, Can Be Wheat-Free)

This recipe is original to me. It came out of a want to make something with a Chinese-feel without the cost and without all the preservatives. I prepare it deconstructed as it gives you a way to use as much of the components as you wish or don't wish, but there is a one-pot-wonder variation if you want to make it that way instead. :) I hope that you enjoy it!

Please note that this recipe is only soy-free if you use all soy-free ingredients, is fish, egg and nut-free and also has a wheat-free variation below. :)

Sweet and Sour Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Meat Portion:

2 frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

paprika

1 Cup water

1. Take the chicken breasts and place them into a crock pot. (I use frozen ones because I buy chicken breast when it's on sale and portion it into 2 breasts per quart freezer bag and freeze them ahead of time. You can use fresh/thawed chicken, as well, but it normally cuts the cooking time by approximately an hour.)

2. Sprinkle chicken with paprika to taste and then add the water.

3. Cook on High for 3 to 4 hours or until chicken is done. If you will be gone all day, you can cook them on Low for 5 to 6 hours.

4. Remove chicken from crock pot and cut or shred it into bite-sized pieces.

Broccoli Portion:

1/2 to 1 lb. frozen broccoli pieces

water

2 Tablespoons salted, full-fat butter (optional)

salt (optional)

pepper (optional)

1. Place broccoli in medium sauce pan and add just enough water to cover the broccoli.

2. Cook on high until water comes to a boil.

3. Boil 1 minute.

4. Remove from heat, drain and add butter, salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Sauce Portion:

2/3 Cup orange juice

1/3 Cup lemon juice

1 Cup honey

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon celery salt (I recommend McCormick's)

1/2 teaspoon onion salt (I recommend McCormick's)

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard powder (NOT prepared mustard)

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons salted, full-fat butter

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1. Combine all ingredients in medium sauce pan and bring to boil, stirring constantly with a whisk. (If you like just a little heat, use the 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. If you don't like heat at all, leave the red pepper flakes out entirely.)

2. Continue to stir and boil sauce for 1 minute. (Sauce will be thin; about the consistancy of table syrup. If you would like a thicker sauce, you can add up to an additional 2 Tablespoons (making a total of 3 Tablespoons) of the cornstarch.)

3. Remove from heat.

Pasta Portion:

water

salt (optional)

1/2 to 1 lb. angel hair pasta

2 Tablespoons salted, full-fat butter (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. You can add the salt at this point or not, whatever is your preference.

2. Add the desired amount of pasta to the water and cook for 4 minutes.

3. Strain off water and return to pan and add butter, if desired.

After you have all the components made, you can combine them in any amounts that you wish. This feeds up to 4 people easily.

Variations:

• You can use roasted or grilled chicken or even leftover chicken if you wish. Pork is also good, though you can't make that in the crock pot, so it would have to be grilled or roasted in the oven.
• You can use a medley of veggies for the broccoli, such as:
  • frozen cauliflower and broccoli
  • frozen cauliflower, broccoli and carrots
  • frozen stir-fry veggie mix
• You can substitute 2 Cups cooked rice (white, brown or wild) to make this recipe wheat-free.
• You can substitute rice noodles for the regular noodles to make this recipe wheat-free as well.
• To make a version with pineapple, you can cut the orange juice to 1/3 Cup and add 1/3 Cup pineapple juice and add pineapple tidbits to taste.
• If you don't have or don't like honey, you can substitute 1 Cup packed brown sugar.
• For more of a "one pot" feel:
  • Cut thawed chicken breast into bite-sized portions and sprinkle with paprika.
  • Brown chicken in 2 Tablespoons salted butter in a large skillet.
  • Mix sauce ingredients in a large bowl.
  • Pour sauce over browned chicken.
  • Cover and cook about 20 minutes or until chicken in cooked through.
  • Remove lid and add frozen broccoli.
  • Cook until broccoli is heated through and to desired done-ness (shouldn't take more than 5 minutes).
  • Stir in cooked pasta or rice.
  
  

(Sweet and Sour Chicken and Broccoli Rice

using one-pot technique, pineapple and brown sugar)

As you can see, this recipe has a lot of possibilities! If you come up with other ways to tweak it, please let me know! I'd love to try them. :)

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)