Budget-friendly hot honey chicken recipe

As Americans continue to combat grocery shopping pain points, celebrity chef Lexy Rogers has several tried-and-true tactics to feed more people with less.

The former "MasterChef" contestant, who finished ninth in the culinary competition on season 11, is also a budget-savvy mom of four known for feeding her family on a shoestring budget of $40 a week.

Rogers shared a simple recipe from her new cookbook, "Break Bread on a Budget: Ordinary Ingredients, Extraordinary Meals," with "Good Morning America" below.

The cookbook reveals some of Rogers' best-kept, budget-friendly secrets and helps spread her mission of teaching cooks of every skill level how to make simple, soulful meals the whole family will enjoy.

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Hot Honey Sautéed Chicken

"I'm a sucker for Chinese food, except for the extremely Americanized type of Chinese food. My favorite thing to order is General Tso's chicken. This recipe is my attempt to satisfy my Chinese food cravings while spending half the amount and waiting a quarter of the time."

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3 to 6

Ingredients
4 cups water
2 cups rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter (divided)
2 pounds chicken tenders
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Fresh chopped chives for garnish (optional)

Directions
1. In a saucepan over high heat, bring water and rice to a boil.
2. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, add salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon butter.
3. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed and rice is fluffy when forked.
4. While rice is cooking, coat chicken in cornstarch.
5. Combine chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic, honey, soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl and place to the side.
6. Melt remaining butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and place chicken in the pan.
7. Cook for 3 minutes on one side, or until browned, and flip.
8. Pour sauce into the pan and continue to cook for another 3–4 minutes on medium-low or until the chicken is cooked through (165 F).
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chives, if using.
10. Serve with rice.

Budget tip: Freshen your leftovers by adding your cold, dried-out rice to a skillet with a few tablespoons of canola oil. Fry and add 1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce to make fried rice.

Recipe excerpted with permission from "Break Bread on a Budget: Ordinary Ingredients, Extraordinary Meals."