The original recipe uses pork — General Tso’s Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos With Orange-Broccoli Slaw — but boneless, skinless chicken thighs are an easy substitution. That’s what I did. The chicken thighs only need to cook for about 4 hours on low in your Crock-Pot.
I omitted the cornstarch, and once the chicken was fully cooked I removed it in order to shred it fully. While I was doing that, I reduced the remaining sauce in a small pan on the stove, and found that I could get it to thicken slightly in a short amount of time. If you do use the cornstarch, you will likely get a much glossier, thicker sauce, so the choice is yours.
I used my own dressing for the broccoli slaw, which includes sriracha, honey, fresh lemon, and rice wine vinegar. The slaw is better if it sits for a few hours in the dressing, but its crisp and spicy flavor is a good compliment to the saucy chicken.
A. was happy to eat a couple of these chicken tortillas, and even asked for them again the next night. On the other hand, I could barely get G. to try a plain tortilla. So, a semi-success. I liked the flavor of this dish a lot, and think it performs well as a slow-cooker meal. It worth repeating a couple of times a year.
Tired of beef meatballs in marinara sauce? This is a delicious alternative that can still be served with spaghetti if you have picky kids like mine. The recipe for Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze comes from Deb at Smitten Kitchen, and it is a keeper.
I followed the recipe exactly, except that I did use the full amount of fresh ginger and I bumped up the amount of cilantro (because I love it). The ground turkey mixture is extremely wet, but if you gently shape the meatballs as Deb explains — dampen your hands with cold water and move the mixture from hand to hand as you form it into a ball — they’ll turn out fine. I had to re-wet my hands a couple of times.
These meatballs are fantastic. The sauce, which reduces beautifully, is thick and glossy and just like you’d get at a good restaurant. The meatballs are tender and bursting with a light, fresh favor thanks to the herbs. Because the sauce is a salty and clings to the meatballs, it contrasts perfectly with the lighter, sweeter note of the turkey.
Unfortunately, I could not get either of my boys to try them. I think on another night, A. would have tried a meatball without the sauce — he loves cilantro too — but he was tired and not in the mood to be adventurous. I froze a good portion of the meatballs in their sauce, but did not care for the way they later defrosted and reheated. As reheated leftovers, the meatballs were slightly spongy and watery, and the sauce reduced a bit further and was too salty for my taste. So, if you make them, eat them fresh! I’m sure in most households, there won’t be any leftovers to worry about, anyway.
It is not every day that I have 11 egg yolks in my fridge. But after making a double batch of meringue frosting (all egg whites) for a Dairy-Free Frosted Birthday Cake, I did. What happened to the twelfth yolk, you may ask? I (accidentally) carefully placed it in the drain of my kitchen sink instead of the bowl with all its brethren. Apparently I was bored and distracted by the the time I hit a dozen eggs.
So, with 11 egg yolks I had three options: make hollandaise, custard, or challah. Hollandaise was out; no one in my family would eat it. Custard was a toss-up: perhaps the boys would love a homemade pudding, but it could just as easily go the other. Challah, however, is no-fail in this house. So I settled on a recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s blog, Peter Reinhart’s Challah.
There are two things about this challah that are different from other bread recipes I’ve made before: first, it used all yolks instead of some whole eggs and some divided; second, it calls for the initial rise to be done in the fridge, at least overnight but for up to four days.
I posted some pictures of the dough rising on the Chick in the Kitchen Facebook page, including a photo of the dough after the final (third!) rise and before baking. My dough took a little more flour to come together than the recipe suggests, and I did choose to add the vanilla. The fridge rise was amazing. When we opened the door of the fridge the next morning, it looked as though the dough had tried to escape the bounds of the bowl — it had more than doubled in size. I don’t know a lot about the chemistry of bread-baking, but it was very interesting to experience this “cool” rise cycle.
I choose to make 8 large challah rolls (we call them “nose” rolls because of the nubbin in the middle) and 1 large braided challah. The dough was very easy to work with after the first rise, and braided easily. I used both the recommended thump test (the bottom of the bread should sound hollow) and took the internal temperature of the bread (should be 190 degrees F) when done. I overbaked the rolls by about 2 minutes, so if you are making smaller breads watch the time carefully.
This challah was fantastic. J. said it was hands-down the best homemade challah he had ever tasted, and that it was just as good as something from a bakery. The texture of the bread was light but still with a bit a chewiness, and it didn’t taste overly sweet or eggy. A. preferred slices of the challah which was slightly more moist than the rolls. G. liked them both, but told me he still prefers the Pull-Apart Honey Challah Rolls.
Although the recipe takes two days to complete, it’s not any more complex than any other yeast bread. You just have to have the time. If I were ever in a position again where I had a large number of egg yolks to use up, this would be my go-to recipe. But since I don’t have imminent plans to whip a dozen egg whites, it won’t be in the near future.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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