Sweet and Sour Chicken

First, I would like to say congratulations to Brenda and Amy, the giveaway winners. So excited for you guys!! Also, thank you to everyone that participated. You are all awesome! Now onto the recipe for today, which is also amazing I might add ;)

I love this recipe!! One, because you don't deep fry the chicken, so it is at least somewhat healthy. Two, because unlike most sweet and sour recipes, you don't have all of the extras {pineapple, peppers, etc}. Which all tend to just get left on my plate anyways. And three because it is the best home made sweet and sour sauce recipe I've ever tried. It might actually be the best sauce I have ever tried, period. The chicken also has such an awesome flavor. I don't know why they fry it at all after trying this recipe. It's not crispy on the outside, but it's super juicy and tender, and it gets this smoky flavor that I am now addicted to. So yummy and really super easy. Whenever I see that you have to make your own sauce in a recipe, I always think it's going to be this huge task, and a lot of the time it is. But not in this case. Super easy and quick, and so worth it!! Enjoy :)

Estimated Cooking Time: 35 to 40 minutes

Ingredients

• white rice, cooked
• 3-4 chicken breasts
• salt and pepper to taste
• bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce

• clove of garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

First prepare sauce by sauteing garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium sauce pan. Add water, vinegar, sugar, and ketchup. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Next mix cornstarch with a small amount of water, to make a consistency of soup. While still cooking, add small amounts of watered cornstarch mixture to thicken. You want sauce to be just thinner then pudding consistency for sauce. Only add enough cornstarch mixture to make this consistency. When thick enough, remove sauce from heat and set aside.

Cut up chicken breasts into bite size squares. Season with salt and pepper, then roll in bread crumbs. Heat small amount of oil in a frying pan. Cook chicken over medium-high heat, stirring till browned.

Pour half of the sauce over chicken and saute for about a minute. Remove from heat and serve over cooked rice. Top with sesame seeds if desired.