Tag: main course

Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Bowls

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for more chicken recipes.  And when we don’t want to go out to a Japanese or Chinese Restaurant but still want some teriyaki chicken, I make this delicious teriyaki chicken & pineapple bowl.  But if you think I just throw some chicken and pineapple in a pan and pour on some teriyaki sauce, you’d be terribly mistaken.  I make this teriyaki sauce with chicken stock, honey, sesame oil, and finally, the ingredient that is this recipe’s namesake….teriyaki sauce!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup white rice (or brown if it suits your fancy)

1 cup chicken stock (choose low sodium stock if you’d like a healthier option)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

Can of pineapple chunks, drained


Start by pouring the chicken stock into a small sauce pan.

This is the stock I use.  It’s unsalted, cuz who needs more sodium?  Pretty sure Americans get way more sodium than is healthy, and plus, salt makes you retain water and feel bloated, and lets face it…..bloated is not a good look for me.  (Was that a run on sentence?)

Bring stock to a boil.

Then add the honey.  I’ve found that it pours alot easier if you take the cap off.  Thick honey and that tiny little pouring hole do not go well together.

Next you’re going to add the sesame oil.  You can find this on the international foods aisle at your local grocery store.  Don’t skip it, cuz it add a really nice flavor to the sauce.

I poured it in without measuring, but if you’re not a good eyeballer make sure you measure the sesame oil because a little goes a loooooooong way!  It’s a very strong flavor and if you add too much it could overpower the sauce.  Since you probably will only use sesame oil for a couple recipes you might want to keep it in the fridge.  It’ll keep longer that way.  But don’t worry, it lasts for a pretty long time.

Now add the teriyaki.  Normally I don’t use this particular teriyaki sauce.  I like to use a thicker sauce that has the consistency of ranch dressing or something like that.  Sorry, that was probably a bad comparison because teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing taste nothing alike, but just keep the thickness and consistency in mind when you are looking for a teriyaki sauce.

Let that simmer for a little bit while you prepare the chicken.

Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.

Add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to a pan and heat to medium high.

Add your chicken and some salt and pepper.

Once your chicken is fully cooked, add drained pineapple and toss into pan with the chicken.  Pour enough of the teriyaki sauce mixture onto the chicken and pineapple to coat the bottom of the pan and surround the chicken.  Bring it to a bubble.

Cook for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  You want the chicken and pineapple to fully absorb the flavor of the sauce.

Put some white (or brown) rice in a bowl and spoon the chicken and pineapple on top.  If you want ALOT of flavor, pour some of the left over sauce on top of the chicken and let it soak into the rice.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and you’ve got yourself a nice Asian dinner without the restaurant prices!  Now who doesn’t like that?

Honey Chicken

If you’re looking for a chicken recipe, this one is amazing.  Steve’s mom, Toli, gave me this recipe per Steve’s request, and I have made it many times much to his delight.  If I can’t think of what to make for dinner, I usually go back to this since I know it’s a winner.

Here’s what you’ll need:

boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup honey

1/2 cup yellow mustard

1 tbsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 (1 stick) butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 375°.  As if you needed a picture to show you what to do. 🙂  Hey, what can I say?  I like to be thorough.

Fill a measuring cup with 1 cup of honey.  You’ll want a large measuring cup so you can add the other ingredients on top of the honey and still have room to stir it around.

Next, add the yellow mustard.  Oh, by the way, this is a portion size for about 2-3 people.  You can double or triple the recipe as needed depending on how much sauce you want.

Add seasoned salt….

….and curry powder to the honey and mustard.

Give it a good stir so that all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Next put a stick of butter in a coffee mug, or another microwave proof glass

and melt it.

Pour melted butter into a baking dish.

Then pour honey/mustard mixture onto the butter.

Mmmm, look at that heart attack waiting to happen!

Place chicken breasts into the dish and coat well with the sauce.  Don’t be afraid to get your hand nice and sticky.

Bake for 30 minutes.

During this time you can upload and edit the photos you’ve been taking throughout this entire cooking process, paint your toe nails, watch an episode of Friends, walk your dog, run around the block, go on facebook, check to see if your photo has been picked as a finalist on The Pioneer Woman’s Photography Assignment (which it hasn’t…yet), or snuggle with your significant other.

I’ll leave it up to your imagination to decide which one I chose to do. 🙂

When your timer starts beeping at you after 30 minutes, take the dish out of the oven, turn the chicken breasts over and spoon sauce over each piece.  Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Then lay your finished chicken on a bed of rice.  Make sure to spoon a bunch of sauce over your rice as well!  Yum.  Make a side dish of your own choosing.  Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Spaghetti & Meatballs

When I was little, spaghetti was the first thing I learned how to make.  It’s probably one of the easiest meals you can make.  Just boil some water, add the pasta, and cook until al dente.  Back then I liked my spaghetti topped with only butter and Parmesan cheese.  Marinara sauce was nasty to my young taste buds.  Luckily I’ve expanded my palate since then, and I decided that tonight I should go back to the days of my youth and make spaghetti and meatballs.

Here’s what you’ll need:

spaghetti noodles

1lb ground beef (or your ground meet of choice…turkey is a healthy option)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 whole eggs

salt & pepper

your favorite pasta sauce (normally I would have made my own from scratch, but Steve and I were super hungry, so I just decided on the quick store bought version)

Start by putting your ground beef (or meat of choice) into a medium bowl.

Add the minced garlic.  Garlic belongs in just about everything as far as I’m concerned….except dessert probably.

Add the bread crumbs.  I used Italian bread crumbs that were already pre-packaged.  You can make your own bread crumbs by finely chopping a few bread slices in a food processor.

Next comes the Parmesan cheese!  If you have freshly grated cheese that would be best, but since the only fresh grated cheese I had was cheddar, I opted for the store bought Parmesan in a can.  I love finding the large clumps and popping them in my mouth.  Yum!  Takes me back to the days when I was a youngster in my mom’s kitchen.

Add the eggs and the salt and pepper.

Then get your hands all grody and squish and mix that bowl’s contents until everything is thoroughly combined.  I always have trouble with this because the meat is so cold that I can’t keep my hand in there for long periods of time without freezing my fingers off.

Next pre-heat your oven to 400° and get out a large cookie sheet.  Roll the meat into 2 inch balls.  You can adjust the size depending on how big you want your meatballs.  Then pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Now boil some water in a large pot.  This was the pot that burned my wrist the other night!  Bad pot!  To see the picture of my burned wrist click here and scroll to the very last picture.

Toss in some spaghetti noodles.  In my case, Dreamfields Pasta, which is a low carb pasta.  5 net carbs per serving.  Can’t beat it!  For those of you on a low carb diet, this will really help with the carb cravings.  You can usually find at least a couple variety of pasta shapes in this brand at your local grocery store.  You  can also visit their website: Dreamfields Pasta

Here’s where we cheat and use pre-made pasta sauce.  Shhh…don’t tell The Pioneer Woman!

Heat sauce in, what else? — a sauce pan!

Drain pasta when al dente (when it still has a little bit of a bite to it….not completely soft and smooshy), and add it back to the pot.

Pour sauce over pasta, but make sure to reserve some to pour on top when everything is plated.

Toss to coat everything evenly.

Remove your meatballs from the oven.  See how the cheese is oozing out of them?  Yum!

Add spaghetti to a plate and place several meatballs on top.  Then use your reserved pasta sauce to cover the meatballs.  Sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese and you are good to go!  Enjoy!