green pepper

Sweet and sour chicken
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Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

This simple recipe for sweet and sour chicken doesn’t use any crazy Chinese ingredients. It’s basically the american-ized version of the dish. It’s also very delicious.

This recipe is intended to be served with rice, but there is no rice in the recipe. Serve it with rice anyways.

Sweet and sour chicken

This sweet and sour chicken recipe uses this simple sweet and sour sauce recipe. An abridged version will be included below to keep everything on one page, but the sauce can be used for many other dishes as well.

Ingredients for Sweet and Sour Chicken

For this recipe, you will need:

  • Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • One red pepper
  • One green pepper
  • Some finely chopped ginger
  • Five to seven garlic cloves, depending on how much you love garlic
  • A couple of onions
  • Some pepper
  • Vegetable oil
  • Sweet and sour sauce
  • Optional: some sliced pineapple (usually from a can)

How to Make Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

Bring a frying pan to medium heat and start cooking your chicken.

While your chicken is cooking, chop your red peppers, green peppers and onions into fairly large pieces. Big chunks of each is the general standard for sweet and sour chicken.

Finely chop your garlic cloves and your ginger.

While your chicken is (probably) still cooking, start preparing the sweet and sour sauce.

The Short Version of the Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

Combine:

  • Three quarters of a cup of sugar
  • Two thirds of a cup of water
  • A third of a cup of white vinegar
  • A quarter cup of soy sauce
  • About a tablespoon of ketchup
  • And about two tablespoons of corn starch

In a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

With your chicken (probably) about cooked, add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to a frying pan and begin cooking your peppers, your garlic, and your ginger. Once the peppers have started to soften, add your onions. Cube up your chicken breasts and add those as well.

Pour your sweet and sour sauce overtop and allow to simmer for a few more minutes, and you’re done.

Tips for Making Sweet and Sour Chicken

  • This recipe is written in an order that allows for the cooking times to align with your prep time. You can pre-make the sweet and sour sauce if you consider it simpler.
  • If you choose to use the pineapple, add it at the same time you re-add the chicken.
  • Some recipes suggest you cook the chicken along with the peppers. This one doesn’t. It’s for health reasons and for simplicity’s sake. Do what you will.
  • Serve with rice.
Homemade Pasta Sauce on Penne with Meatballs
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Basic Homemade Pasta Sauce

Traditional red sauce isn’t quite as quick to make as alfredo sauce, but it’s another simple option. This simple recipe will produce a very nice, yet simple, homemade pasta sauce.

Homemade Pasta Sauce on Penne with Meatballs

Meatballs not included

Pasta Sauce Ingredients

You’re going to need:

  • six to eight nice large tomatoes
  • two green peppers
  • four garlic cloves
  • three onions
  • olive oil
  • and a bunch of salt and pepper

How to Cook Homemade Pasta Sauce

Chop your tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic as finely as you want. If you prefer a smooth pasta sauce you can chop everything as finely as possible. For a chunky tomato sauce, leave everything big. In chunks, even.

Pour a quarter cup of olive oil into your pot and heat over medium heat. Wait until the oil is hot before you add all of your veggies and your garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and simmer for at least thirty minutes. Longer is usually better.

If the mixture seems too thick for your liking, add water and continue simmering.

Pasta Sauce-Making Tips

  • There are hundreds of possible variations you can make on pasta sauce. Don’t be scared to experiment with different spices and ingredients.
  • Mushrooms are a nice addition, if you’re into that sort of thing.
  • If you’re going to bother making your own homemade pasta sauce, you should consider making your own fresh homemade pasta as well.
  • When making this recipe don’t be shy to multiply the ingredients and make a giant batch up in an oversized pot – this pasta sauce can be easily frozen and used for a while.