"Quicker than Takeout" Orange Chicken

I made this orange chicken recipe last week and it was awesome! I'm not really sure if it's "quicker than take-out", but it sure wasn't hard. My friend Bridget told me about this awesome cookbook called Eat What You Love recently, the whole book is filled with low carb/low fat recipes. I highly recommended checking this out if you are trying to eat healthy, or like us...a little healthier:) This was my first time to cook with Splenda, and for some reason I am fascinated by this stuff. When I went to Krogers to buy it, I kept picking up all the Splenda boxes on the shelf and shaking them. Kevin asked me what the heck I was doing, and I told him that all the Splenda boxes were empty. Total blonde moment. Apparently Splenda is so light, it has very little weight. Seriously, if you're not familiar with Splenda, stop by the sugar isle the next time you are in a grocery store and shake a box.....just for fun:)

On to the recipe, the total calories for one serving of this stuff is 290 calories...that's pretty good! I also served it with a Knorr's rice package (chicken fried rice flavor), so I'm sure that added quite a bit more to the calorie count, but still pretty light! Hope you enjoy!

You will need:

For sauce:

-1/2 cup water

-1/3 cup light orange juice (I used minute maid, light)

-1/2 cup Splenda

-2 tablespoons brown sugar (dark or light)

-3 tablespoons rice vinegar (found it on salad dressing isle)

-2 tablespoons soy sauce, reduced sodium

-3 tablespoons lemon juice, I also used a little lemon zest

-1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

-1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, I used a bit more

-2 tablespoons cornstarch

For Chicken:

-3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

-1 large egg, beaten

-1/4 cup all purpose flour

-2 tablespoons canola oil

-1 small red pepper, chopped

-1 small onion, chopped

*To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan whisk together the first nine ingredients (water through pepper flakes). Place pan over medium -high heat and bring to a low simmer

*In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp of water and the 2 tbsp cornstarch to create a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the sauce (this will thicken the sauce). Bring the sauce to a low boil and cook for 1 minute, or until thickened. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer.

*Roll chicken pieces in the egg, then toss with the flour to coat.

*Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil (I also used a little olive oil), in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Cook chicken 4-5 minutes or until well browned on all sides and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and cover. Add red pepper and onion to pan and cook for 4-5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add chicken back into the pan and pour on orange sauce. Stir to coat and serve over fried rice.