Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken, Pineapple & Peppers

By AzWench

Better than any homemade version, better than any take-out version, better than Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods/anything version… even better than any fried version! (I can’t even guess how much healthier this must be than fried/takeout version, but its got to be monumental without sacrificing any taste!)

Ingredients

• CHICKEN BREADING:
• 3 to 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 1/2 pounds), cut in bite-size pieces)**
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• SWEET & SOUR SAUCE:
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice from (20-ounce) can (see below)
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• VEGETABLES, PINEAPPLES:
• 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple tidbits in juice
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, sliced thin as possible

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from carlsbadcravings.com

Preparation

Step 1

Add "Sweet and Sour Sauce" ingredients to a medium/large saucepan, stir and bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Allow to simmer while you prepare the chicken and dice the vegetables, stirring occasionally (turn off if longer than 20 minutes). Note, the sauce will not thicken, simmering is to soften the onions and blend flavors.

Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, set aside. Add 1/2 cup flour to a large freezer bag; set aside next to eggs. Whisk cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ginger powder and onion powder in medium bowl; set aside next to flour.

Add chicken to eggs and coat, then remove, allowing excess to drip off, then add to freezer bag with flour. Toss until evenly coated then discard any extra flour. Add cornstarch/spices to the chicken in the freezer bag and shake until evenly coated.

Over high heat, heat enough oil (any kind) to generously cover the bottom of a large skillet until hot and rippling. Add chicken and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until browned but not cooked through. (You may need to cook in 2 batches depending on size of your skillet). Transfer chicken to prepared 9x13-inch baking dish.

Add carrots, pineapple and peppers to the sweet and sour sauce and mix until well combined. Pour sauce over chicken and stir until the sauce, chicken and vegetables are evenly combined. Cook, uncovered for 50 minutes or until sauce, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice. Enjoy!
Notes:

**If your chicken breasts are extra thick (like the ones from Costco), I recommend tenderizing/flattening with a meat mallet or the side of a large can beforehand)