Orange-Sesame Chicken

I saw this recipe in Prevention magazine and I tweaked it a bit. I already had cooked chicken so I changed the recipe a bit. I will add the directions for you in case you don't have cooked chicken. The recipe called for rice and I used quinoa which worked great with the sauce.

Orange-Sesame Chicken

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
2 t cornstarch
2 T sesame oil
2 large cooked chicken breasts, chunked up or *raw chicken sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 t red pepper flakes
3 ribs of celery thinly sliced
3 carrots thinly sliced
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 T toasted sesame seeds

1. Prepare quinoa according to pkg directions.

2. Combine orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch in small bowl.

3. Heat sesame oil in large frying pan and add celery and carrots and sauté for a few minutes, adding garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Then add the cooked chicken and the peas, stirring around to warm. Add the sauce and stir.

4. Serve over quinoa and top with toasted sesame seeds.

*If using raw chicken, heat 1 T sesame oil and brown chicken, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes for about 4 to 5 minutes--remove to plate and do the vegetables, then return the chicken, add the peas and the sauce.