Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken and Dismal Canyon

I am so sorry that I have been MIA for a couple of days, but I am back! We have been really busy lately and also decided to put our house on the market…yes, causal! We have no idea where we want to buy but are excited about this potential new adventure for us!

Saturday, Eric and I decided to go on a little excursion! Eric and I are very much into the outdoors. We don’t care what we’re doing, we just love new things and adventures. We often frequent Oak Mountain and Moss Rock, but we wanted to go somewhere new. We had been to Little River Canyon in Fort Payne which was very neat, and I do want to go back one day. After doing some research, I had heard some pretty cool things about Dismal Canyon in Phil Campbell, Alabama. So a short 2 hour ride in the Jeep, and we were there. We brought Murray along, and she loved every minute of it. I wish we could have brought Chopper, but he has turned into an old man fast and just can’t do it anymore. Eric and I had a blast! It was absolutely beautiful there from the waterfalls to all the natural moss!

"Woof, take me here everyday, Mom!"

Two peas in a pod!

We got done at Dismal Canyon faster than I thought, and I asked Eric if we could go to an old restaurant that holds so many family memories. It was about an hour away but back in the direction we needed to be going. If you are familiar with Smith Lake and the Jasper/Curry area, you know where Cujo’s is. Every Friday night when growing up, we would stop there on the way to the lake. When Eric and I arrived, my first question was, “Have you changed your sandwich bread?” The lady responded “not in 30 years.” I was a happy camper. I would always get a turkey melt with cheese puffs, and the family would always split a pizza. I got just that and devoured it! 

Once we finished lunch, I took Eric by my old lake house. Wow, I wasn’t expecting to, but I honestly got sad as all these childhood memories came rushing back. It was the one place my whole family loved to go! I told Eric that I hope one day we are financially stable enough to have a lake house. I want my kids to experience the summers at the lake like I did. After I showed him my old stomping grounds, we headed back to Birmingham. We took the “short cut” as my family called it, and I remembered every turn! I haven’t driven that since I was 15 and was so impressed with myself. As soon as we ended up on Hwy 78, I started acting like a little school girl in a candy store. Eric thought I was legit crazy, but I wanted to take him by the ice cream shop we always stopped at on the way home from the lake. I had forgotten it was cash or check only, and of course we didn't have much cash. I asked the lady how much two ice cream cones were and the lady stated, “$2.35.”  I think Eric’s mouth dropped, he wasn't expecting it to be so cheap. Frosty Mugs, is best soft serve in Alabama. If you are ever on Hwy 78 in Cordova, you have to stop!

Eric and I both arrived home very early last night and so thankful we did! It has been awhile since we were both home by 5:30pm! This was a new recipe for us, but I was excited about it because it is one of Eric’s favorite foods. When Eric and I first started dating, he would always want to go to this Chinese buffet… call me a diva but I do not go to Chinese buffets. We finally found this good little Chinese place over by our house that’s cheap and good, and we both agree on it! Anyway, this recipe does take time, but it’s fairly easy! It is also only 294 calories. I actually ate pretty well yesterday and had calories left over so I paired it with white rice! By no means do you need rice with this. I had leftovers for lunch today and did not have rice. I only changed two things thing about this recipe—I didn’t have Stevia nor do I like Stevia, so I used Sweet-N-Low and nixed the onions for the husbands sake.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ⅓ cup plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 (8-ounce) can pineapple chucnks (I like Del Monte®)
• ¼ cup Heinz® reduced-sugar ketchup
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon sweet-n-low
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Coat an 11x7-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place the chicken and ⅓ cup of the cornstarch in a large resealable bag. Seal and shake the bag a few times to evenly coat the chicken.
• In a wok or large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook the chicken until browned all over but not cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally. Remove from the heat.
• Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice for the sauce.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the reserved pineapple juice, ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, sweet-n-low, red pepper flakes, and remaining 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch.
• Place the browned chicken pieces in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the pineapple chunks and red and yellow bell peppers. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and vegetables.
• Cover the baking dish loosely with foil and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Stir the chicken mixture and rotate the pan front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure that it cooks evenly.

Happy Eating!

Original Recipe- http://www.skinnymom.com/skinny-sweet-and-sour-chicken/