My husband feels better when he limits his meat intake. I am not exactly sure why he feels better , but as with my children’s food allergies I have learned it is best for each of us to listen to our bodies. I try to make a couple of meatless meals a week, but some of my meatless meals are a little too carb heavy for me, so I am always trying to find a balance.
I am also dealing with family members trickling in from school and work between 5 pm and 8 pm each evening, further complicating my dinner menu plans. Sometimes it just isn’t possible for us all to sit down to dinner together. On those nights, I create an easy base like rice or salad and then let everyone customize their toppings based on their favorite foods and flavors.
On these crazy nights, I have been doing some experimenting with GardeinTM and have been impressed by the flavor and texture of Gardein Chick’n. My daughter came home found a dish I had made with Gardein and used it for her dinner. After she ate it, she found me to tell me how delicious it was.I told her she just ate her dad’s vegetarian dinner and she was completely surprised that it was meat-free. I guess I am going to have to start using labels to protect my husband’s meals!
The first night, I tried Gardein Teriyaki Chick’n Strips. I was surprised by how fast it cooked. I put the frozen Chick’n Strips in the pan frozen with a little olive oil. It cooked in about 6 minutes and even browned like meat.
I was steaming some asparagus for my boys and decided to toss some in with the Chick’n Strips. I coated it with the Teriyaki sauce that came in the package and served it over rice.
I seriously felt guilty over how easy it was to make!
A couple days later, I decided to get a little fancier when cooking Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n.
I added carrots, pineapple, ginger, onion, and sesame seeds to create an easy Meatless Monday Meal.
Want to try this meatless meal? Be sure to grab a coupon for $1 off coupon on your next purchase of a Gardein product here: www.gardein.com/meetchef
Vegetarian Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 package Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n
- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
- sesame seeds
- 2 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Place the sauce packet from Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n in a bowl of warm water.
- Place the oil, broth, orange juice, and honey in a large skillet. Add carrots, onion slices, and ginger and cook over medium flame for 4 minutes.
- Add frozen Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n to the carrots and cook for 6 - 8 minutes or the chick'n is browned.
- Add pineapple and cook until heated through.
- Top with sesame seeds and green onion slices and serve over rice.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gardein . The opinions and text are all mine.
