Sweet & Sour Chicken with Vegetables a winning dish

This week's recipe comes from my husband, Jim, although I'm not going to give him all the credit.

While he created it, I inspired it.

I had a hankering for sweet and sour chicken the other night, but being in the middle of a long-term project, no time to make it.

Not only that, we didn't have most of the ingredients in the house that I like to include when I make it, such as sweet pickles and pineapple chunks.

Plus, he wasn't in the mood for dredging the chicken in the cornstarch batter and deep frying it. (A very messy, long process, but also very good.)

He sent me off to work on my project and set about creating his version of Sweet & Sour Chicken.

If you're bored with everyday chicken dishes, this might be just what you're looking for.

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Vegetables

Serves four

1 pound boneless, chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

4 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 small sweet onion, sliced

1 small red pepper, sliced into thin strips

2 cups broccoli florets

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Half teaspoon paprika

Dash of pepper

2 cups hot cooked rice

Toss chicken in soy sauce, sesame oil, paprika and black pepper, then cook in hot oil until cooked through. Remove from pan, then add carrots, onions and red pepper, and cook until onions are translucent. Add broccoli and return chicken to the pan and cook until broccoli is crisp tender.

Serve on a bed of rice and top with the Sweet & Sour sauce.

Sauce:

1 cup water

One-quarter cup sugar

One-quarter cup white vinegar

One-quarter cup ketchup

2 teaspoons corn starch, dissolved into one-quarter cup of water

Combine first four ingredients in a small saucepan and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add cornstarch mixture and heat through until the sauce thickens.

Spoon over chicken and rice.