Cashew Chicken and Broccoli

I hate to even show this picture, but I took it at night so I had to use my flash instead of natural light. Don't let it fool you though, this cashew chicken is de-lish!

For the sauce:
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water

For the stir fry:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, cut in thin wedges
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14-oz pkg. frozen broccoli
1 8-oz can water chestnuts, chopped
fresh red hot chili peppers, seeded and cut into slivers (optional)

cashews
hot cooked rice

In a small bowl, combine ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

Cut chicken and onions and set aside.

In large skillet or wok, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; add onion and stir-fry 2 minutes; add peppers (if desired), frozen broccoli and garlic, cover and cook until broccoli is thawed. Remove lid and let any water that accumulated evaporate. Remove veggies and set aside.

Heat the other half of the oil in the skillet and add the chicken. Stir-fry until no longer pink.

Stir the sauce and pour over the chicken. Bring to a boil and let thicken. Return veggies to skillet and toss to coat. Cook 1 minute more.

Serve with hot cooked rice and top with cashews.

NOTES:I try to make some kind of stir-fry or rice dish at least once a week not only because my husband loves it but because it's also a great way that I can sneak in meat and veggies when feeding the girls. I just use my hand chopper and chop everything real fine, then mix it with the rice and they eat it great.

The sauce in this dish is a great and flavorful base sauce for cashew chicken. The rest is pretty versatile. You can substitute beef for chicken, snow peas for the broccoli, add carrots or whatever other veggies you like in your stir-fry. I love adding water chestnuts to stir-fry, not really for the flavor but for the texture. My mom makes this with a lot of heat (6-8 chili peppers), and it's great but with the little ones, I try to tone it down a little so they'll eat it. This is definitely a family favorite!