Mandarin Chicken

This is out of that "Taste of Heaven" ward cook book that I think we all have (from Nan). Pg 91 courtesy of Carla Lamph. But for once the picture is actually courtesy of ME instead of food network haha. It was really easy and really good! Although I think I may cut the sugar content the next time I make it because it was pretty sweet. And we like "sweet" dishes like this but even for me it was a little on the sweet side. So if you make it, I'd recommend starting with a little less sugar and add according to your preferance. One of the best things I liked about this was it had green peppers and onions in it but since they were chopped so small Kyle didnt pick them out and leave all the green peppers on his plate! Fantastic!

Directions

Mix
1-2 lbs of Chicken Tenders
1 tsp Salt
1 T Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 T Oil
2-3 cloves Garlic chopped (I use the pre chopped can ... due to laziness)

Cut chicken into tiny pieces and add to above mixture. Marinate in the fridge for a few hours ( I didnt plan ahead to do this and just let it marinate while I was chopping all the veggies and putting the other sauce together and it was just fine!) And I dont think I used a full pound of chicken, maybe I did - I didnt weigh it, but if you do use the whole two pounds you may want to double the above marinade to coat chicken best.

Put into a large sauce pan:
1 10oz can stewed tomatoes (I blended these in my mini food processor - could use magic bullet- because I knew Kyle wouldnt eat huge chunks of tomatoes)
1/2 c Cider Vinegar ( I didnt have this so I used half red wine and half white...1/4 c each)
1 1/2 c Sugar (yes a LOT I know!!)
1/2 c Chopped Onion
1 T Soy Sauce (I think I forgot to put that in mine... woops! It still turned out good lol)
1/2 c Chopped Green Pepper
1/2 c Crushed Pineapple

Simmer until slightly thickened.

While the above is simmering cook chicken in a separate pan with a little olive oil.
When the chicken is done add to veggie mixture, then make a slurry with cornstarch and water and add a little at a time to thicken sauce.
Serve over Rice.

This came out confusing... I hope it makes sense! :) It was yummy and it made a TON of sauce so I put it in a container and froze it so I can just cook chicken and add to it. Easy peasy. haha