Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken - aka the BEST dinner ever.

I've raved about this recipe a few times already...here's the original link where I found this gem.

My family gobbles this up like no one's business - I don't blame them. I'm in on the shove-as-much-as-you-can-in-and-get-seconds-FAST game.

I normally double or TRIPLE the amount of chicken the original recipe calls for (remember, I said my family likes it??) - If I double my chicken I keep the sauce amount the same but if I triple it I will make more sauce....totally up to you. Joys of cooking!

The only CON of this recipe (which really isn't a con...it's just proof that I'm a tad lazy) is that it takes TIME. It takes time to coat the chicken, it takes time to sauté the chicken and then you babysit it in the oven for an hour (stirring every 15 min) - BUT it's TOTALLY worth it. Do it. You'll thank me. I accept chocolate and flowers. Or Caribou. Or all three. I digress. Here's the How-To....

BAKED SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

Start with thawed chicken (I've done it with chicken breasts and a different time with chicken thighs - use what you want - or whatever's on sale) and cut into bite sized pieces.

Get your coating stations set: Cornstarch in one bowl and Eggs in another bowl...

Take your chicken (a few pieces at a time) and toss in cornstarch - then transfer to the eggs and swirl around...then set in a pan (with oil and heated at Med-High) to brown...repeat until your pan is full

Let your chicken hang out in your pan until each side is nice and browned (not cooking it all the way through)....you may have some stray pieces of egg that will fry - no worries. Just take them out when you transfer your chicken to the pan.

This step is the most time consuming for me....probably because I have a small-ish frying pan and I do SO much meat. I normally have to do this process three times (washing my pan in-between). Even though this is the longest (and therefore annoying) step it's a necessary step to create that 'take-out' taste and feel to this dish. DO IT.

Back to making dinner....

While your chicken is browning away on the stove (remember you're not cooking it all the way - just crisping the outside) make your sauce..

It's a super-easy sauce. If you're anti-ketchup (I'm personally cool with ketchup...I know some are not...) you could always make your own. 

Remember how I said this is a 'time consuming' recipe? Well, in my house, when I do a dinner that might require some extra time I normally get to re-organize my kitchen. AKA: my baby takes everything out of my cupboards and I get to put it away....TOTALLY worth it for this meal. Plus he's cute. And sitting on a mini-muffin tin.

So, once you're done browning your chicken put it in a GREASED dish. Since I do a ton of meat I use my 9x13 pan and my glass pie pan. Make sure you spray it. Pretty Please. You'll thank me later. 

POUR your sauce over the chicken (once you've browned ALL your chicken and it's ALL in your dishes) - I normally split it 50/50 between my pans. 

POP it into a pre-heated 325* oven, uncovered. 

Take it out every 15 minutes and STIR your chicken around. Do this FOUR times (grand total of 60 minutes cooking time). 

I have issues remembering to stir things if I don't set a timer. So, set a timer for 15 minutes and go about your business. 

THIS is what comes out after 60 minutes --- gorgeous!! 

See why I said to SPRAY your pans? Can you imagine what it'd look like without spray? Ugh. Spray those bad boys.

Oh this is so good. I don't know what does it...maybe it's the sauce? Maybe it's the coating? Maybe it's the fact that you worked in the kitchen for over an hour? Whatever it is...it's AWESOME.

Eat Up. And fast - go get seconds!

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken 
Adapted from life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com

Ingredients (as I do it):

3 lbs chicken (breast or thighs) *3-lbs will fill two pans - use 1.5-lb if you only want one pan* 
1 cup cornstarch
2-4 eggs (start with 2 and add more if you run out)
Vegetable Oil

Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tb ketchup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 Tb soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder

DO IT: 

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and toss in cornstarch and dip in beaten eggs.

2. Heat some oil over med-high heat and cook chicken till browned (not cooked all the way though).

3. Transfer chicken to SPRAYED dish (9x13 or glass pie pan).

4. Repeat steps 1-3 until all chicken is browned.

5. Make sauce - mix sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder.

6. Pour over chicken.

7. Bake in a 325* oven, uncovered, for an hour. STIRRING every 15 minutes (four sets of 15 minutes).

8. ENJOY!

**Let me know what you think when you try this! I know you'll love it. **