WANNABE Panda Express Orange Chicken - made with CUTIES

Another tasty night that took a little (I mean quite a bit more) work than usual. I haven't made Orange Chicken in over a year and I have kinda been craving it. I checked my fridge and noticed that I had almost all of the necessary ingredients (or substitutes) needed to make this WANNABE Panda Express favorite! Bear in mind that I just had some CUTIES sitting on my counter so rather than get some oranges, I wanted to see if these would work as well.

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken chopped into bite sized pieces.
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 1/2 tsp salt
white pepper (or just fresh ground pepper is what I use)

Place in a large Ziplock bag and toss together.

1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Flour
Oil (for frying)

Stir together cornstarch and flour. Add chicken pieces, stirring to coat.

Heat oil for deep frying in a wok (abt 375 degrees)

Add Chicken in small batches at a time and fry 3-4 minutes or until golden crisp. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels - Set Aside and prepare orange sauce.


Orange Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp water
5 Tbsp sugar (or Splenda)
5 Tbsp white vinegar
Juice of 1 cutie + zest of entire cutie (Or 1 orange juiced and zested)

mix together and set aside until ready to use.

1 tbsp gingerroot, minced (I jsut use a small grater)
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch

Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry for about 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add pepper flakes and green onions. Add rice vinegar and stir 3 seconds. Add orange sauce and bring to a boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed. Stir water and cornstarch together until smooth and add to wok. Heat until sauce is thickened and serve warm.

CUTIE Pies!!!!!

I was looking online tonight for recipes to use some CUTIE Clementines/Mandarins and I couldn't find any for a tasty dessert. I know those little CUTIES are sooo good to just peel and snack on, but I wanted to see if I could find more uses. I found a basic orange/lemon pie recipe and changed a few ingredients and added a few other and ended up with a DIVINE pie!!!
My father-in-law works for the company that grows CUTIES, so I have a few bags here so you might see CUTIES one here more than once!

CUTIE PIE!!!!

crust:
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
2 Tbsp Sugar (or splenda)
3 Tbsp melted butter/ margarine

Filling:
3 Tbsp Corn Starch
2/3 cup sugar (or splenda - if you go this route, add a little vanilla)
2/3 cup Milk (doesn't matter which percent)
4-6 CUTIES, juiced and the zest of 2 or 3)
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice + 1/2 Tbsp zest
1 cup fat free sour cream

For the Crust, mix ingredients together and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake a 375 for about 7 minutes and remove to cool.

For the Filling, combine corn starch and sugar. Gradually stir in CUTIE Juice until smooth. Stir in Milk, egg yolks, and lemon juice until well blended. Add zests. Cook on stove at medium/ high for 5-7 minutes or until mixture thickens (a minute or 2 past boiling). FOLD in sour cream. Pour into crust and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until set.
Garnish with a dollop of Whipped cream and a lemon or orange curl or a slice of Cutie!