The Betty Crocker Project: Vegan Chicken & Cashew Dinner

Editing a book is a deceptively slow process. It's the kind of thing that seems to go fast and is pretty easy till you realize you've actually gone through several pages and you don't even remember what you've just read. I've heard of similar things happening to truck drivers with great mix tapes on long highways in Kansas. It's not unlike what happens when you start watching Battlestar Galactica or Sons of Anarchy. Except in those cases, you're so amped up, the blur comes from an overdose of awesome.

I've been living lately in this kind of state. I love our book and I think you will too but I hate that I'm a terrible typist*.  I find whole sections of the day disappear in a blur of shortening this and formatting that and then more website stuff and more emails. I take breaks to tweet and post updates on our Facebook page but I've lately come to find an even more sincere appreciation for Betty's Quick and Easy Recipes. In Betty's recipe, she makes the dish more "healthy" by deceasing the number of cashews (fat) but we went another route. We took out the birds and added vegetables and a lot more ginger. It's a fast and flavorful dinner that made our home smell lovely.

No matter what you're busy with right now or what level of chef you are... you can make this. You can do it! 

Now let's high five and go make some dinner...

Vegan Chicken & Cashew Dinner 

• 2 Cups of Your Favorite Vegan Chicken (defrosted - we used Gardein) 
• 2 Cups Brown Rice
• 1 Cup Raw Cashews
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil 
• 2 Cups Raw Broccoli Florets
• 2 Cups Raw Sugar Snap Pea Pods
• 2 Cup Better Than Bouillon - Vegetable Broth 
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 4 teaspoons Ginger Paste
• 1 Can Sliced Water Chestnuts (drained) 
• 4 Tablespoons Braggs Liquid Amino Acids
• 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Clove Garlic (minced) 
• 3 Green Onions (diced) 

Make your Brown Rice either in a rice cooker or following the instructions on your package. 

Steam your Broccoli and Pea Pods either using an electric or bamboo steamer until tender. Then move to a large bowl. 

Heat your Sesame Oil in a large wok on a high. Once your Oil is hot, toss in your Vegan Chicken and cook while mixing. Once your Vegan Chicken begins to brown, toss in your Cashews and continue to cook while mixing to make sure everything browns evenly. Once your mix is completely cooked, toss it the bowl with the steamed vegetables and set aside. 

In the same hot wok, toss in the remaining ingredients except Whole Wheat Flour and Green Onions and blend gently with a whisk. As your sauce begins to bubble, whisk in the Whole Wheat Flour a little bit at a time to thicken the sauce without getting lumps. Once your sauce is smooth, reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer for no more than minute while whisking it a few times. Then toss in the Vegetables, Vegan Chicken and Cashews and mix them in using a large spoon. 

To serve, pour the Vegan Chicken and Cashews over the Brown Rice and sprinkle some Green Onions over the top. 

Done and done.  More High Fives.

* But I'm a nice person - so it balances out.