Arden’s Zesty Orange Chicken Asian Dinner

Have I mentioned how good it feels to be home? Wow. Home is happy. I love it. A big part of why home is happy is our kids. For the time being, we are down to one kid at home still. Our youngest, Arden. Before I get into our recipes and cooking adventure, here is some raw background. Real talk. As all teenagers and preteens do, he has struggled a bit. Teen years are tough. As parents we know that. But teens don’t see it coming and it can be very difficult for them to process all these feelings that are starting to surface. No different in our family. Arden’s teen years have been a bit harder. His birth mom essentially abandoned him. I am his mom. He is my child. I may not have given birth to him, but I love him as my own. The struggle he has gone through has been heartbreaking. He is an amazing human with a giant heart of gold. He wants to do good. But these surfacing emotions have been hard on him. However, he has been working so hard to turn it around. Now I see happy emotions emulating from him. He is a happy kid again, and I love that so much! Last night we made dinner together and it meant a lot to us both, as well as my husband.

Arden has been developing quite the palette for food. He loves spicy food, always has. Lately he will give suggestions on what we should try, or what would be good with various meals. Hey, what a great way to engage him and spend time together—cooking! Who knows, maybe he will really enjoy it?

His favorite thing to eat when we go out is Orange Chicken. I figured that would be a great meal to start with. He can already brown ground meat, cook eggs, hamburger helper, pizzas—the easy stuff. I wanted to challenge him a bit more and incorporate more cooking techniques, how to taste along the way, adjusting and working on more than one item at once. Last night we did all that. The menu included Orange Chicken, Fried Rice and Asian Green Beans. All from scratch. With the exception that we used already breaded chicken bites. Oops, I apparently bought spicy ones. I did not mean to. Was great for them, not so much for me! LOL But it didn’t matter. The dinner was amazing. He enjoyed having multiple pans going at once, adding ingredients to this, stirring that, etc. My husband had to go help our friend (the plate licker) with an errand and was gone while we were cooking. During that time Arden stopped everything, looked at me and said “Thank you”. I asked what for. He said “This. Doing this together, making it fun and just everything you do for me”. I cried. But I scooped him into a giant hug before he could see the tears.

We laughed; we stirred; we laughed; we sautéed; we laughed; we air-fried; and then we ate. Arden cooked us a tasty meal and was so proud of himself. We are proud of him. His Aunty Jen Facetimed him to tell him how proud she was. Grandma Carlee told him how proud she was in a VERY sweet message. It ticked him pink to get this feedback. Kids need to know they are loved I feel like he is opening hmself up to accepting that love.

It was the perfect night. Prior to dinner we enjoyed the fresh air, whether working on the yard or playing with the dogs. Ever have those nights where you relax and look back, thinking to yourself how much you love your life? This was one of those nights. We have those nights often. I love you Arden!

Here are the recipes in case anyone wants to give them a try. Super amazing! This post is longer than the usual, it has more emotion and more recipes!

Orange Chicken

1 bag of breaded chicken bites

Olive Oil

Garlic 2 cloves, minced

Ginger paste, about a squeeze or 1 tablespoon

Red Pepper flakes ½ teaspoon

Orange Juice 1 cup (started with 2/3 but added more later)

Soy Sauce 2 tablespoons

Rice Vinegar 1 tablespoon

Sweet Chili Sauce 2 tablespoons

Hoisin Sauce 2 tablespoons

Brown Sugar 1 tablespoon

Lemon Juice 2 tablespoons

Cornstarch/Water slurry

1. Meanwhile, in pan heat oil, add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Sweat that out, about 2 minutes.
2. Air fry chicken in batches
3. Whisk in the orange juice, soy, vinegar, chili sauce, hoisin, brown sugar and lemon juice. Bring that to a simmer.
4. Whisk in cornstarch slurry. Continue to whisk until you have desired constancy.
5. Toss chicken bites in bowl with sauce and serve.

Fried Rice

Butter 2 tablespoons divided

Eggs 2

Garlic 2 tablespoons minced

Frozen Veggies 1 bag of peas and carrots combined

Pork I used leftover pork ribs cut into small chunks

Red onion ½ diced

Rice 4 cups, cooked and chilled

Soy Sauce 1/3 cup

Fish Sauce 1 tablespoon

Sesame Oil a couple drizzles

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in pan and scramble eggs. When done, remove to separate dish.
2. Melt the 2^nd tablespoon of butter in same pan, sauté garlic about 1 minute or 2.
3. Add in veggies, onion, and pork. Sauté until cooked through.
4. Mix in rice, soy, and fish sauce. Cook about 5 minutes. Mix eggs back in.
5. Drizzle and mix in sesame oil and serve.

Asian Green Beans

Fresh Green Beans 1 pound

Garlic 2 tablespoons minced

Ginger Paste 2 tablespoons

Jalapeno chopped

Soy sauce 2 tablespoons

Fish Sauce 1 tablespoon

Water as needed

1. Heat oil, stir in garlic, ginger and jalapeno until they start to sweat and become very fragrant
2. Add beans, toss to mix. Reduce heat and cover to steam. Add water if needed. I ended up adding about 2/3 cup water to keep the steam going.
3. During this they will start to blister. Let that happen. It’s a good thing!
4. Remove the cover, stir in soy and fish sauces. Cook/toss until thickened. About 2 minutes. Serve.