Sweet & Sour Chicken

This has become one of my favorite recipes. It's completely yummy and flexible and can easily be prepared ahead of time.

• chicken, cooked and cubed (I usually do one chicken breast for my family)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped (I use minced garlic from Sam's; so much easier in my opinion)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 small carrot, sliced (I usually julienne them, just because I like it)
• 1/2 can drained canned pineapple chunks (save the juice for the sauce)
• 2 Tbsp malt vinegar (I've never used malt vinegar, just whatever vinegar I have--if you use white, only do half the amount)
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• salt
• ground black pepper
• rice, to serve

Cook chicken however you want. You could broil it, but I usually cook it in a frying pan with garlic powder, onion salt, salt, pepper, etc. Then set meat aside while you cook the rest.

Heat oil in nonstick frying pan until very hot. Stir-fry the garlic and onion for a few seconds, then add the green pepper and carrot and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in pineapple chunks, vinegar, ketchup, pineapple juice, and sugar. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add cooked chicken to vegetable mixture and cook for about 2 minutes. Mix cornstarch to a paste with the water. Add mixture to pan and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened. Serve with rice.

**I follow this recipe very loosely. I often mix the sauce together before putting it in the pan, including the cornstarch and water. That saves a step and works really well. Sometimes I add more sugar or pineapple juice to taste. Also, I often add other veggies. I really like it with chunks of yellow or red pepper. Pretty much just use this recipe as a guide and do what you want. If you like a lot of sauce, double the sauce.