Not So Fat Fridays - Chicken with Asparagus & Pistachios

I've been on a little detox since Monday. No alcohol & no coffee. Not one sip, not one drip. And this is coming from someone who likes their sips & drips. It was time to give myself a little challenge so when my best friend Tammy told me she was doing it I thought I would go right along for a little buddy system.

This kind of thing works for me because I stick with it. And it clears my head. Thank goodness I started Monday because by the time I got laid off my mind was already in the right place & I was able to handle it better! So, all week I have been using my biggest wine glass & filling it with either milk or lemon lime seltzer water. This is what I did when I was pregnant & it really works. 

So, to stay with the theme of health & wellth, here is my 1st Not So Fat Friday special. I combined two recipes I have been making for quite some time. So simple, just keep with the process of the sauce & you can make so many variations of this using whatever meat or veggies you like.

1 can low sodium chicken broth
2 tblsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tblsp hoisin sauce
1 tblsp chili garlic sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp - 1 tblsp crushed red pepper (depending on your heat preference)
2 tblsp sesame oil
1 lb fresh asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup shelled pistachios (or cashews)
Cooked whole grain brown rice

In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup chicken broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, 2 tsp cornstarch & crushed red pepper. Set aside.

Heat 1 tblsp sesame oil in large skillet. Add asparagus & cook for 5 minutes. Add onion & cook for a few more minutes until transparent. Transfer to plate. Heat additional tblsp sesame oil in pan. Add chicken & cook until just about done. Add asparagus & onion mixture back into the pan with the chicken. Add the chicken broth mixture & cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve over whole grain brown rice & garnish with pistachios.

My Thoughts:

The value of this dish, other than it being healthy, is the easy sauce that gets put together in minutes & then thickens at the very end, bringing it all together. Sometimes, if I want to omit the hoisin or chili garlic sauce to reduce the sugar or sodium, I just use a bunch of spices like ginger & garlic & crushed red pepper, maybe some rice wine vinegar. The idea is to have enough liquid like the chicken broth along with the cornstarch. From there, add in what you like & you can't go wrong. Set the sauce aside & throw it in at the end.

If your pan gets dry as you're cooking the veggies or the chicken, just add some chicken broth, water or white wine. This gives a nice steaming effect & also brings up any little pan bits at the bottom without having to add additional oil. If you don't like pistachios, try cashews.

If you don't have sesame oil, you can use vegetable or olive oil. I also cook my rice in half vegetable broth & half chicken broth for added flavor so that I don't have to douse it with butter. You can substitute the asparagus with any veggie such as snow pea pods or green & red pepper.

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