Chicken Teriyaki

 

 

Crock pot meals are not my favorite.  I love that they are so quick and easy to throw together, but I feel that flavor and texture are sometimes compromised when preparing a meal in a crock pot.  A friend recently suggested to me a recipe for Chicken Teriyaki made in a crock pot.  It sounded yummy and simple, but after a recent crock pot failure of mine, I just couldn't stand the thought of another!  So I slightly altered the ingredients and came up with my own version of the recipe using the good ol' trusty stove instead of my crock pot.  The boys loved it a lot and it took less than thirty minutes to throw together.  I served it with steamed jasmine rice and a side of steamed broccoli for a perfect weeknight dinner!

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 lb. thin sliced chicken breasts, cubed

1 TBSP toasted sesame oil

1 1/2 tsp. chicken bullion granules

1 C boiling water

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/3 C brown sugar, packed

1/2 C soy sauce (I use low sodium)

2 TBSP cornstarch

2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted

3 green onions, chopped

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

In a wok, heat the sesame oil over medium high heat.  Add the cubed chicken breasts and brown on all sides, but not cooking through.  Meanwhile, dissolve the chicken bullion granules in the boiling water and then add to the wok along with the garlic.  Boil the chicken until it is cooked through (5-7 minutes).  In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and add it to the wok along with the brown sugar.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for three minutes or until the sauce has thickened.  Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions.  Serve with steamed white rice.  ENJOY!

 

 

Silver Cleaner

  Waaaay on the bottom of my "to-do" list is an entry that says "buy silver cleaner".  Sadly, it has been on my list for months and consequently for months, I have had several pieces of terribly tarnished jewelry that I have been unable to wear. (well I suppose technically I could, but...you know..ewww!) 

So last weekend I pulled out my favorite necklace that I haven't worn in probably over a year.  My husband bought it for me years ago at the Chocolate festival.  Isn't it lovely? hehehe.

(ick!)

 

The designer hand cut the hummingbird image form a coin, leaving only the image and the rim of the coin in place.  Neat, huh?! Hummingbirds are my fav!

 

 

 

 

In a moment of desperation I googled "how to clean silver"! (Google is amazing!) Here is what I came up with:

 

 

Things you'll need:

 

1 small glass bowl (such as a 1 qt. pyrex)

aluminum foil

2tsp. salt

2tsp. baking soda

2 C boiling water

tarnished silver jewelry (preferably free of stones or gems. Beware that if your pieces are only silver lined that the effervescent action can loosen any chips in the silver lining causing even more damage to your piece)

soft cloth

 

 

Steps to take:

 

1) Completely line the bottom and edges of the glass bowl with aluminum foil.  

2) Sprinkle in the salt and baking soda

3) Pour in the boiling water

4) place your silver pieces inside. (make sure they are touching the foil, and if you are doing more than one piece, make sure they are touching each other)

5) wait 5 minutes.

6) Remove silver pieces, rinse with water, and buff with a soft towel.

 

After!

 

Major difference, right?!  This discovery really made my day.  So glad I can cross that off of my to-do list now! :)

 



Oatmeal Cake

This has got to be thee best dessert that I've made since I made these.  I think its safe to say that I read new recipes on a daily basis, and sometimes I come across one that MUST BE MADE IMMEDIATELY! That occurred when I read this recipe.  By the sounds of it and from the picture that came with the recipe it seemed that it would be much like German Chocolate cake (which I am a big fan of).  And it actually is a lot like German Chocolate cake, but with an extremely moist, oatmealy spice cake.  It is so, so good! Now, this cake makes a 9X13, so be prepared to share!!  :)

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE:
1 1/4  C boiling water
1 C old fashioned oatmeal, raw
1/2  C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar, packed firmly
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg  TOPPING:  1/2 C butter 2 C coconut 1 C walnuts, chopped 1 1/2 C brown sugar, packed firmly 9 TBSP evaporated Milk DIRECTIONS: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and allow to sit for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and eggs. Next, add the vanilla and the oatmeal mixture. Then add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and the nutmeg. Mix well.  Place in greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  For the topping: In a medium saucepan over medium heat,   melt the butter and add the coconut, walnuts, brown sugar, and evaporated milk. Mix well. Frost cake as soon as you take it out of the oven, and broil until the top is brown. (Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn!!)  Allow to cool completely before serving.  ENJOY!!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

I have a few recipes lined up for the blog, but after I made these Thai Lettuce Wraps Wednesday night, I allowed the recipe to have priority and let it cut in line to be debuted on the blog first.  They were that good!! We had a very colorful dinner that night, it was also the night that I made the Roasted Purple Potatoes.

During my search for lettuce wrap recipes, I stumbled across one that seemed pretty straight forward, but it called for the use of Kikkoman Stir Fry Sauce, which I have never used.  When I found the bottle on the grocery store shelf my first thought was I don't need all that sauce, maybe only a quarter of the bottle.  It seemed like such a waste of money to buy the whole bottle when I just needed a smidgen of it.  So what did I do?  I read the ingredients on the back of the bottle. Hey, I already have all that in my cupboards! (Minus the junky crap), I thought. So I snapped a picture of the ingredients on the bottle and headed to the check out, sans the stir fry sauce.

(proof)

 

And using the provided picture, I created my very own stir fry sauce.  Which was pretty darn tasty if I must say!  Another proud kitchen moment for me! 

 

I have a feeling that I'll be making this recipe often when the weather warms up.  Its quick and easy and with all that lettuce and carrots, I felt like I was eating something super healthy.  (Actually, I felt more like a rabbit!)

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Stir Fry Sauce:

 

1/3 C low sodium soy sauce

1.5 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. corn starch

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 TBSP sherry

 

1 lb. ground pork

1/2 C chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/4 C cilantro, coarsely chopped

1 carrot

green leaf or iceberg lettuce leaves

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

In a small bowl, whisk together all the stir fry sauce ingredients.  Transfer to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Turn heat down and allow to simmer for three minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.   In a wok or large skillet, stir fry the ground pork with the onion and garlic until the pork is no longer pink.  Drain.  Place the meat back into the pan and stir in the stir fry sauce making sure to coat the meat thoroughly.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil and cilantro.  Peel the outer skin off of the carrot, after its peeled, use the peeler to peel long strips of the carrot to top the meat mixture with.  Serve in lettuce leaves.  ENJOY!

 

***An after thought...I should have added red pepper flakes! Next time, for sure!***