BBQ Grilled Hawaiian Chicken

I will always hold a special place in my heart for anything Hawaiian because that's where Brett and I met! Since its still plenty warm here to BBQ, I decided to try some BBQ grilled Hawaiian chicken. My awesome husband suggested we cook it kabob style! This recipe requires marinating overnight, so it takes some planning ahead, but it was well worth it! I had to work a night shift and so my sweet husband got up on Sunday and grilled the chicken and made the rice and edamame and when I woke up to get ready for church, this delicious lunch was on the table!

Ingredients:
4 large chicken breasts
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped green onions
1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 (14 oz. can) coconut milk - save the other half to make the coconut rice

Directions:
Trim chicken of excess fat and chop into equal sized pieces and pierce with a fork to allow marinade to soak in.
Combine all the ingredients (except the chicken) together and mix well. Put chicken in a pyrex dish and add chopped chicken.
Marinate overnight.
Place chicken on shish kabob sticks and grill until cooked!

Serve with coconut milk, which is made by substituting half the water with the remaining coconut milk.
We served it with steamed edamame and it was delicious!

Enjoy!
Heather

Coconut Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

I found this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe but tweaked it a bit by adding potatoes and changing some spices. I love curry and this is a delicious, healthy, homemade (not too spicy) dish. I've made it several times for friends and family and everyone loves it! You have to let the chicken marinade a couple hours, so take that into consideration is prep time.

INGREDIENTS:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons yellow curry powder ( I prefer yellow to red and have never used red for this recipe)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 dried ginger
3 cups hot cooked rice of choice

¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 medium red onion
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Stir together curry, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

In a large nonstick frying pan, stir onion, basil, garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat until onion is translucent. Add chicken and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until chicken is done.  While cooking the onion, cook potatoes in boiling water until they are soft - do not mash them. 

Combine coconut milk and cornstarch and whisk well to combine. Combine with chicken, onion mix in skillet.  Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir for another minute. Add cooked, drained potatoes to the mix. They will soak up sauce, so no need to season them. Serve over hot rice.

Enjoy!

Heather

Sushi

Nick really likes sushi so the other week we went and got some.  I was really scared to eat the ones with the raw fish since I'm a dietetics graduate and very aware of food safety.  The roll that I got was just made with vegetables but Nick got one with raw salmon on top.  I only tried one of his.  It was ok but I would rather have cooked salmon.  Mine was delicious though.  They put these sweet sauces on it and mine was fried.  We were telling our friends about it and decided to make our own together!  These sushi rolls look freakin legit, tasted awesome, and were really fun to make together! I think what makes them taste so good is the eel sauce (not made of eels) and hibachi sauce (both are sweet sauces)... and avocado!

 Fuzzy Wuzzy

Fuzzy Wuzzy, Mango, California, Shrimp

Fuzzy Wuzzy

Mango Salmon

Rice:
INGREDIENTS
2 c sushi or short grain rice
2 c water, plus extra for rinsing
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS
Rinse rice in a bowl 2-3 times until water is clear.  Place rice in medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook 15 minutes, remove from heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes.  Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.  Pour over rice and mix thoroughly.  Allow rice to cool to room temperature before making sushi.

Hibachi Sauce:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredient together in a small bowl.  Place mixture in a plastic baggy.  Cut off the corner of the bag to make a small opening to squeeze the sauce out of.

Sushi Rolls:
INGREDIENTS
1 batch sushi rice
4 sheets nori
cream cheese
1 avocado, peels, pitted, and sliced
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut to matchstick-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut to matchstick-size pieces
1 mango, peeled, thinly sliced
2 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced
2 oz imitation crab
2 oz cooked baby shrimp
panko crumbs
sesame seeds
eel sauce
hibachi sauce
pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Cover sushi mat with plastic wrap. Place nori on mat with shiny side down. Wet hands with water and cover nori evenly with 1/2 cup rice. Sprinkle rice with sesame seeds and then turn the sheet of nori over so the rice side is down.  Here is where to can get creative.  Place fillings in the center of the nori in a line.  It is recommended to only put 3 ingredients in the roll (apparently that is all the palate can handle).  Here are a few combinations we used:

Fuzzy Wuzzy: Cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, shrimp and smoked salmon on top
Mango: Mango, avocado, carrot, cucumber, and mango and carrot on top
California: avocado, cucumber, and crab
Meat Lovers: cream cheese, crab, shrimp, and salmon on top

After filling the roll with desired fillings, begin to roll by grabbing the edge of the mat closest to you and start rolling into a tight cylinder.  Keep fillings in place with your fingers.  Pull away the mat and set aside.  Cover the roll with a damp cloth and repeat until all rice has been used.  Cut each roll into 8 pieces by first cutting the log in half and then cutting the two pieces in half again and in half one last time making a total of 8 pieces.  Top the roll with fish, eel sauce, hibachi sauce, and/or panko crumbs.  Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger (to cleanse the palate between different rolls).
–Melanie

Thai Sesame Peanut Noodles

Once again I altered a recipe from melskitchencafe.com. All of the recipes I've tried of hers Nick and I have really liked. It is fairly simple and I had pretty much all the ingredients on hand (although I do cook a lot). I made some adjustments to the original recipe by changing the cooking method of the chicken and adding broccoli and more carrots (gotta get those veggies in! :)) I also use whole wheat spaghetti noodles.  Usually I don't like the texture of whole wheat pasta but the whole wheat spaghetti tastes great especially when used in this dish (my husband had no idea because the peanut sauce is brown anyway)!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c sesame seeds
1/2 c chunky or smooth peanut butter
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 c rice vinegar
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you want it spicier)
1/2 c light brown sugar
8-10 frozen chicken tenders
1 box spaghetti noodles
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 green onions, sliced
2 medium carrots, grated/shredded
1 bunch broccoli

DIRECTIONS
Chicken:
Place a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. Put frozen chicken tenders on foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold foil to enclose chicken.  Cooke in oven at 350 for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked. While chicken is baking make sauce, noodles, and vegetables.  When chicken is done cooking, slice into thin strips.

Sauce:
Toast sesame seeds in a skillet over medium high heat until golden brown. Reserve 1 Tbsp of toasted seeds to sprinkle on top before serving. In a blender or food processor, blend seeds, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper, and sugar until smooth.  Add 1 Tbsp hot water at a time until the consistency of heavy cream.

Noodles:
Boil water for noodles in a large pot and cook as directed on box, drain, put back in pot, drizzle with peanut oil (or vegetable oil), and toss.  While noodles cook, prepare the vegetables.

Vegetables:
Rinse and cut broccoli florets into bite size pieces.  Fill a medium pot with a half inch of water. Add florets when water begins to boil.  Cover and steam until tender but crisp.  Drain off any excess water. For carrots, rinse, peel, and grate (or you can make long thin strips using the peeler).

Assemble:
To the noodles add chicken, broccoli, carrots, and sauce and then toss until evenly mixed.  Dish onto plates and top with green onions and reserved toasted sesame seeds.

–Melanie

Mongolian Beef

I found this recipe on www.food.com

INGREDIENTS

vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)

1 lb flank steak

• 1/4 c. cornstarch 
• 2 large green onions 
• 
  
• Sauce
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 1/2  tsp. ground ginger 
  • 1 T. minced garlic
  • 1/2 c. soy sauce
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 
    

  DIRECTIONS
  Cut meat into slices that are 1/4 inch thick. Coat meat with cornstarch. I put the meat in a bowl and sprinkled the cornstarch and stirred until the meat was coated. Let sit for 10 minutes. 

  
  

  Heat 1 cup oil over medium high heat. Meanwhile, make sauce.

  
  

  Sauce:

  Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in sauce pan on medium heat. Add ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and water before the garlic browns. Then add the brown sugar and let dissolve. Raise the heat to medium/high and let the sauce boil for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

  
  

  Once oil is heated and the cornstarch has soaked into the meat, place meat into oil and let the meat fry for about 2 minutes. Stir so that the meat cooks evenly. Use a slotted spoon and transfer meat onto a paper towel lined dish. Pour out remaining oil. Place meat back into empty pan. Add sauce and cook for about 2 minutes and let sauce thicken with meat. Cook until meet is cooked all the way through. Add chopped green onions and cook for one more minute. Serve with rice.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/p-f-changs-mongolian-beef-66121#ixzz1tlXom4wu

I served this with white rice and Melanie's fried rice recipe. I added broccoli to the fried rice since I had it in my fridge.

Fried Rice

I love fried rice!  This recipe is modified from one on ourbestbites.com.  It is very simple and despite the name not too high in fat.

INGREDIENTS *

1 1/2 c white rice + 3 c water

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 c onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 c chopped carrots

1/3 c frozen peas

2 eggs, beaten

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp celery salt

3/4 tsp sugar

DIRECTIONS

Cook rice in rice cooker or bring to a boil, reduce to low head, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Mix garlic powder, salt, pepper, celery salt, and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside. 

Melt butter in a large pan and saute onions, carrots, and garlic.  Just before carrots are tender add peas and cook until carrots are done (tender but still a little firm).  Push vegetables to the edge of the pan making an opening in the middle of the pan.  Add beaten eggs and push around in the middle of the pan as though making scrambled eggs.  Once eggs look done add cooked rice, soy sauce, green onion, and spice mixture.  Mix thoroughly and serve.

*You can also add beef, pork, or chicken to the rice but I didn't since I was serving it with chicken.

Fried rice served with Orange Chicken

–Melanie

Orange Chicken

I found this recipe on thesisterscafe.com but I tweeked it a bit.  It turned out great and Nick says it tastes like PF Changs!  NOTE: Gently place chicken in hot oil... I dropped it in and got a grease burn.  Ouch.

INGREDIENTS

Sauce: 

1/4 c water

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 c water

orange juice from 1/2 of an orange

1/4 c lemon juice

1/3 c rice vinegar

2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

zest from 1 orange

1 c brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 clove garlic

1 green onion

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Chicken:

10 chicken tenders or 5 chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp oil

2/3 c cornstarch

1/3 c flour

oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

In a small dish mix 1/4 c cold water and 2 Tbsp cornstarch and set aside.  Combine the rest of the sauce ingredients in a small pan and bring to a boil.  Mix in water and starch mixture and then remove from heat.

Mix egg, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl.  Add chicken pieces.  Combine cornstarch and flour in a separate bowl.  Remove chicken from egg mixture and thoroughly coat in cornstarch and flour mixture.  Tap off excess four/cornstarch.

Fill a large pot with about 1/2-1 inch of oil and heat over medium high heat.  Add half the chicken (pieces in pan should not be stacked so you may have to divide all the chicken into 3 batches).  Cook about 3-4 minutes flipping them at about 2 minutes to make sure all sides are crisp and light brown.  You may need to turn down the heat with each batch of chicken or add more oil.  After each batch of chicken is done remove with a slotted spoon and let it drip on a paper towel lined plate.

When all the chicken is cooked add it to the sauce and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.  Serve with rice

Served over plain rice with fried rice on the side

–Melanie