Cashew Chicken

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday this week! I know we sure did. We have been so blessed with our new house, our families, our life together... it was surely a joyous holiday season! Our new house is REALLY coming along and I could see us being almost done with it in the next week (yippeeeeee!)

Anyway... on to the food... Tonight I made cashew chicken. I had found the recipe on this blog and was excited to try it. We both really liked it! John loved it which wasn't a surprise since he loves Kung Pao chicken and this was relatively similar. Overall, a big success and I would definitely make it again. Also I should add that I halved the recipe and it made enough for the two of us plus a little left over.

Ingredients:
1 bunch scallions (I used onion powder)
1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs (I used breasts)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3T vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried hot red-pepper flakes
3/4 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 C salted roasted whole cashews (I used reduced sodium since John isn't big on salt)
1 teaspoon of salt

Directions:
Chop scallions, separating white and green parts. Pat chicken dry, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and scallion whites to wok and stir-fry until peppers are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar, then stir into vegetables in wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cashews, scallion greens, and chicken along with any juices accumulated on plate.