Sweet & Sour

Well, we have lived in Iowa for one month, and we have already had two different sicknesses.  (Un)luckily for me, Aidan has missed three days of school this week and Ethan has missed two, and I am also sick.  So is Kaitlyn.  How did Christian dodge the bullet?  I don't know.  But I had planned to go to the grocery store on Monday, and here it is Wednesday night and I still haven't been, so I was very excited to realize that I had all of the ingredients to make a recipe my sister emailed me yesterday.  It's for sweet & sour chicken, and after dinner Aidan said, "This is the best chicken I have ever eaten in my entire life."  (Granted, he's been sick and hasn't eaten anything in two days, and also we never eat anything fried so this was a novelty to him, but still...)  I thought I would share the recipe since it was so good, and I was surprised by how easy it was to make.

Sweet & sour sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
3 Tbsp ketchup
3/4 cup water

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small pan, then add other ingredients.  Cook on medium low until thick.

Sweet & sour batter:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup cold water

Cut chicken into cubes, salt, then dip in batter and fry. (I used about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast.)

I added big chunks of onion, red & green peppers, and pineapple (all items left over from when we made pizza the other night) as well.  Or, as my sister said, "We don't add all that gross stuff.  We just cover the chicken with the sauce." 

Mmm mmm good. 

My kids need to go to school tomorrow.  For their sanity and mine.  And, if I'm well enough by Friday, I will be going to the library for the first time since moving here.  Oh, believe me, there will be happy tears.  I'll probably stop and get a cupcake too at the new cupcake place down the street from the library.  Life is good.