Orange Sesame Crispy Chicken Bowl

This post was sponsored by Eat Smart as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

It feels so great to be back to “normal” now that the kids are in school again, but normal can still feel kinda crazy and hectic (and hockey season doesn’t even start for three more days). Nights are filled with homework (ALREADY!), reading, and some special time set aside for each kid, and seeing as there’s only 4 hours between the end of school and bedtime, it gets eaten up fast.

It’s time to start switching up my go-to recipe arsenal with quick meals that are still healthy and nourishing for the family! This sesame orange chicken bowl is exactly that – delicious, insanely easy to make, and full of tons of healthy veggies to round it all out!

I’m guessing you all recognize these Eat Smart Gourmet Vegetable Salad Kits. They are a staple in our house, and the only reason I was willing to give kale a second chance. Since Bo’s diagnoses we’re doing our best to eat healthier, and that means a lot more hearty salads like these (I LOVE that there are now 5 different varieties).

Looking at the Eat Smart Asian Sesame Vegetable Salad Kit though, which is full of red and green cabbage, carrots, and kale (plus sesame sticks and cashews, I’ll get to those later), I started thinking outside the salad bowl and realized that using this in a noodle bowl would save me TONS of prep work and time.

The kids love crispy chicken (who doesn’t, I know), so I just did my standard flour and egg wash. You can make this meal even healthier though by just cubing up a boneless, skinless chicken breast and sautéing it in a little bit of oil, (don’t worry, I’ll put all the options in the recipe!).

While the chicken is cooking you get that delicious orange sauce that you see drizzled on top of it made by just tossing all the ingredients into a sauce pan and bringing them to a boil for 2 – 3 minutes. Yep, that’s it.

And those noodles and vegetables… ok, here it goes: All you do is toss them with a little sesame oil, teriyaki sauce, and the veggies from the Eat Smart Asian Sesame Vegetable Salad Kit for about 5 minutes. That’s literally it. You’re done, except for those cashews and sesame sticks – give them a quick chop and sprinkle them on top of your bowl for some extra crunch (I added some toasted sesame seeds and green onion too).

Start thinking outside to box with your meal prep, and let me know what you come up with! If you’re not sure where these awesome Eat Smart Gourmet Vegetable Kits are sold, check out this handy store locator.

GIVEAWAY ALERT:

And what’s going to make this amazing, fast and healthy weeknight meal even better? A GIVEAWAY! Enter below before October 7, 2016 for a change to win 1 of 10 AMEX $50 gift cards and samples of all five Eat Smart Gourmet Vegetable Salad Kits!!

Eat Smart Gourmet Vegetable Salad Kit Giveaway
I-C will randomly select winners from all program entries and will facilitate fulfillment of the winning prizes (10)

Orange Sesame Crispy Chicken Bowl

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

Crispy Chicken (see notes for skinny version)

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp water

Orange Sauce

• juice of 2 large navel oranges (approx. 3/4 cup)
• zest of 1 navel orange
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Noodles

• 1 bag fresh asian style noodles
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• Vegetables from 1 bag of Eat Smart Asian Sesame Vegetable Salad Kit
• salt and pepper to taste

Garnish (optional)

• Sesame sticks, chopped
• Cashews, chopped
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Thinly sliced green onions

Instructions

Crispy Chicken

1. Split each chicken breast in half and pound between plastic wrap until an even thickness (about 1/2").
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients and place in a shallow dish. Whisk together the eggs and water and place in a second shallow dish.
3. Dip the chicken pieces into the flour mixture, then the egg wash, then back into the flour.
4. Fry the chicken in oil until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
5. Place the cooked chicken on a wire rack and set aside.

Orange Sauce

1. Whisk together all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 2 - 3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.

Noodles

1. Follow the directions on the bag of noodles that you purchased (if fresh, usually place in a colander and run hot water over them for 1 minute to loosen them up).
2. Heat the oil in a large pot or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the noodles, teriyaki sauce, and vegetables. Toss to coat, and continue tossing every couple of minutes until the vegetables have just started to soften and everything is hot.
3. Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste.

Assembly

1. Fill four bowls with the noodle mixture.
2. Slice the cooked chicken into thin strips, and place one breast on top of each bowl. Drizzle the orange sauce over the chicken.
3. Top the bowls with the chopped sesame sticks, cashews, toasted sesame seeds, and green onion.

Notes

Skinny Chicken Version:

Simply cube the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and lightly fry in a pan with 1 tbsp of sesame oil until cooked through.

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