Honey Lemon Chicken

Last week I had my friend Cori (affectionately known as "Coco" around here) and her kids over for a play date and lunch. It was raining cats and dogs that morning so two moms who expected their kids to be able to play outside for a while were cooped up inside with four kids all morning. If you're a mom you understand this scenario because you never know how these things are going to go. Will they be "bored"? Will they get sick of each other and start fighting? Will the big ones pick on the little ones (or vice versa)? This particular day turned out fabulous and everyone was on their best behavior! As promised I made Cori lunch so while the kids ate pizza I whipped up this little ditty along with Sesame Garlic Ginger Green Beans which will make their appearance on the blog next week. This was super easy to whip up in a flash because I had already marinated my chicken and prepared the honey lemon sauce ahead of time. All I had to do was saute the chicken, add the sauce, steam some rice and saute green beans. Sounds like a lot but it's really not when you prep ahead. You can't prep for things like rain to dash your hopes of playing outside but you can prep lunch ahead and that's enough to make any play date a win!

Honey Lemon Chicken (adapted from gimmesomeoven.com)

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 T. low sodium soy sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 1/2 t. olive oil
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 T. honey
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
Brown or white rice for serving, if desired

Place the chicken pieces in a quart sized ziploc bag and add the soy sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper. Seal the bag and squish it around to distribute the seasonings. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight (I marinated mine the night before). Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the chicken (including marinade) to the pan. Saute the chicken, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and lightly browned, about 7-10 minutes. While the chicken is cooking whisk the chicken broth, lemon juice, honey, cornstarch, ginger and red pepper together in a medium bowl. Once the chicken is cooked add the sauce to the pan and allow to continue cooking over medium heat until the sauce is heated through and slightly thickened, about 3-t minutes more. Serve over rice if desired.

6 servings (236 calories each serving excluding rice) according to my calculator on loseit.com