Crockpot Chili

This recipe gave me one of the most positive reactions from everyone.  I was so pleased and surprised with how much everyone really enjoyed it!  We didn't really have any Halloween plans, but I saw this recipe and thought it would be a simple enough meal and maybe we could watch a scary movie with friends, if they didn't have plans.  That ended up being our Halloween and it was really fun.  Everyone raved about this recipe, and I will definitely be making this often.  It's really flavorful & not spicy and simply delightful with cornbread.  A big hit!

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans
1/4 c. ketchup (or chili sauce)
1/4 c. water
1 packet chili seasoning mix
3 stalks celery, diced
2 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce (didn't have any, used soy sauce, didn't even noticed)
1 Tbl. sugar

1.  Brown ground beef with onion.  Season with salt and pepper.  I also added in minced garlic and minced, dried onion. 
2.  Add remaining ingredients to crockpot while beef is cooking.  Once beef is browned and the onion is tender, add to crockpot and mix ingredients together.
3.  Cook all day on low (or on high for 3-4 hours).  By the time we ate, it had cooked for about 11 hours on low and it was delicious.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, cornbread, whatever you love!


Sorry for no pictures--it went so quickly that I completely forgot!

Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice

This is a variation of my mom's fried rice recipe.  We often had fried rice the day after we had rice with dinner.  I don't usually get fried rice at Chinese restaurants because it never seems to be as good as my mom's.  I'm a bit partial to it.  The other day I cooked a bunch of rice but ended up making something different for dinner, and the next day at work I thought about making fried rice all day.  So I came home and did it.  I decided to add chicken to make it more of a main dish than a side dish.  Zak helped me and we made a delicious, big batch of fried rice that lasted us a few days.

3 eggs, beaten with a little bit of milk, salt & pepper
4 c. rice (leftover is fine)
4 slices bacon
1 lb.+ chicken (used about 20 oz.), cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked (Zak seasoned with salt & pepper, butter, rice vinegar & a bit of soy sauce)
4-5 baby carrots or 1-2 medium carrots, grated
1/2 (?) c. frozen peas
2 (?) green onions
soy sauce
water chestnuts (optional, not my favorite)

1.  Dice bacon, cook and drain most of the grease.  Leave a little room so the rice can fry in the grease.
2.  Add rice to wok/pot and cook in small amount of remaining bacon grease.
3.  Add carrots, peas, chicken and green onions until mixture is warmed.
4.  Add scrambled egg, cook for a few minutes until everything is mixed together.
5.  With the soy sauce, draw a small circle over rice and mix to taste.

delicious!

nom nom nom

Orange Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs

This was a fun recipe that we tried several weeks ago.  We had everything but the orange marmalade and I couldn't justify buying an entire container of marmalade that we don't even like for this recipe.  So I just added more orange juice and zest and whatever, it was fine.  Zak did an excellent job grilling these and it was a recipe that we will probably experiment with again in the future.

2 Tbl. olive oil
1 Tbl. fresh ginger, finely grated
1 Tbl. orange zest (I used a bit more)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. rice vinegar
3 Tbl. soy sauce
2 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. orange marmalade
1 Tbl. freshly squeezed orange juice (probably used about 3 Tbl.)
1 Tbl. honey
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, trimmed & cut into 1 inch cubes

1.  Over medium heat, add olive oil to small sauce pan.  Add ginger, orange zest and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently for 1 - 2 minutes, or until fragant.
2.  Stir in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, marmalade, orange juice, honey and red pepper.  Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
3.  Make sure wooden skewers have soaked in cold water for about 20 minutes before threading chicken onto them.  Turn on grill.
4.  Thread chicken and grill, turning a quarter turn every few minutes.  Once they are mostly cooked, brush sauce on and cook until it caramelizes.  Zak used most of the sauce by the time they were done, so I guess just use your judgment and brush on sauce accordingly.

Crockpot Beef Stew

This recipe was pretty good, it smelled so good in the crockpot all day!  It was great with some thick slices of sourdough bread yum!

2 lb. stew beef
3 - 4 large potatoes, peeled & chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 large onion, sliced
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 c. beef broth

1.  Layer potatoes on the bottom of the crockpot.  Add carrots and stew meat.
2.  Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper, paprika, flour and soy sauce.
3.  Layer onions on top of meat.
4.  Combine tomato sauce and beef broth and pour over meat and vegetables.
5. Cook on low for 7 - 8 hours (or on high for 4 - 5).

so thick and hearty!

delicious!

Lighter General Tso's Chicken

As you may have figured out, we love Chinese food.  And when I saw a recipe for not only General Tso's Chicken (a favorite of Zak's), but a healthier recipe from Martha Stewart, I knew I had to try it.  It was awesome!  The chicken was perfect, and although it was pretty spicy (but not as much the next day), it had such great flavor.  I loved how the chicken came out with the egg white and cornstarch batter, it was just great. Definitely a favorite and an addition to our meal menu.

1/4 c. cornstarch, divided (1 Tbl., 3 Tbl.)
1 lb. snow peas, trimmed (I used 1 lb. frozen sugar snap peas and trimmed them)
4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
3 Tbl. brown sugar
2 Tbl. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (1/4 if you aren't a fan of spicy)
2 large egg whites
1 lb. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 - 2 Tbl. oil

1.  In large bowl, stir together 1 Tbl. cornstarch and 1/2 c. cold water until smooth.  Add snow (or sugar snap) peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes.  Toss to combine and set aside.
2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites with remaining 3 Tbl. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.  Add chicken and toss to coat.
3.  Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Shake off excess mixture from chicken and cook until golden, 6 - 8 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.
4.  Add snow pea mixture to skillet, cover and cook until tender and sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
5.  Return chicken to skillet and toss to coat.

I got about 5 servings from this

the chicken turned out so perfectly

so yummy!

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork

I love sweet & sour pork and this recipe did not disappoint.  It was simple and tasty.  And pretty easy to throw together!

1 1/2 - 2 lb. pork loin or shoulder, trimmed & cut into 1-inch cube
1 Tbl. oil
2 (8 oz. each) cans crushed pineapple in juice
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 Tbl. ketchup
1 Tbl. quick-cooking tapioca
3 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1.  In skillet, brown pork cubes on both sides in oil; drain off fat and place in crockpot.
2.  In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork.
3.  Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours, or on high from 4 -5 hours.

I'm sorry, this was the only picture I managed to get

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef copycat recipe

Holy goodness, this recipe was great!  I couldn't get over how good the sauce was!  Not too salty or sweet, the ingredients blended together really nicely.  I used about 3/4 lb. of beef that was already packaged for stir-fry--just thin slices of beef.  I fear I overcooked them a little bit, but in the future it'll be fine.  I thought I had fresh garlic, but when I went looking for it, it had disappeared, so I used the same amount of dried garlic, and it was just fine.  I increased the amount of fresh ginger by 1/4 tsp. and didn't change much else to the recipe.  I think next time I might add some cornstarch dissolved in water to help thicken the sauce, because it didn't seem to thicken up ... at all.  That was our one disappointment.  But I poured the extra sauce over the rice and broccoli we had and no one complained.  All in all, a really good, tasty and fairly manageable recipe; I will be making this often in the future.

2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 fresh ginger, minced (I used 3/4 tsp.)
1 Tbl. garlic, chopped (dried worked just fine)
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. water
3/4 c. brown sugar
oil for frying
1 lb. flank steak, cut against the grain into 1/4" slices
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 large green onions (I used about 1/4 c.), chopped

1.  Heat 2 tsp. of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Don't let the oil get too hot.  Add ginger and garlic to the pain and saute for about 30 seconds.
2.  Quickly add the soy sauce and water, then dissolve brown sugar in sauce.  Increase heat a little and boil the sauce for 2 - 3 minutes until it has thickened.  (If needed, dissolve some cornstarch in cold water and add to sauce, to speed up process.)  Remove from heat.
3.  Dip cut steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to each piece of beef.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes before frying.
4.  Heat up oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat.  Add beef and fry until brown.  Transfer meat to a plate with paper towel and dab excess oil off.
5.  Drain excess oil from pan and add in the sauce with the meat and add green onions.  Let sauce simmer until warm.

Letting the meat and sauce simmer

Mmhmm!

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 4
amount per serving (3 oz.)

Calories: 329
Total Fat: 11.6 g
Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1.3 g
Cholesterol: 50.7 mg
Sodium: 1996.6 mg
Potassium: 173.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 47.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Sugar: 36.8 g
Protein: 18.5 g
Vitamin A: --
Vitamin C: 1.1 %
Calcium: 3.8 %
Iron: 6.6 % 

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

I made this recipe last night and it was a pretty simple recipe, and it smelled so good while it was cooking!  In the future, I think I'll add a little bit of salt to the chicken, because it needed just a touch.  But overall, a great recipe and will be rotated into our food menu.

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast tenders (I used about 26 oz. and cut them up so there were 18 pieces)
1/4. flour
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbl. canola oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbl. rice vinegar
2 Tbl. ketchup
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 c. cashews

1.  Combine flour and pepper in resealable ziplock bag.  Add chicken and shake to coat.
2.  Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown chicken pieces about 2 minutes on each side.  Place in slow cooker.
3.  Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger & pepper flakes in a small bowl; pour oven chicken.
4.  Cook on low for 3 - 4 hours, turning chicken over once, after 2 hours.
5.  Add cashews and stir; serve over rice.

all ready to eat

side picture

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 8
amount per serving

Calories: 195.3
Total Fat: 6.9 g
Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 3.6 g
Cholesterol: 53.4 mg
Sodium: 612.2 mg
Potassium: 312.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 9.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Sugar: 3.9 g
Protein: 23.5 g
Vitamin A: 0.4 %
Vitamin C: 2 %
Calcium: 1.9 %
Iron: 8.6 % 

Orange Chicken

We haven't had orange chicken in a long time, and I wasn't completely crazy about the recipe I used last time.  So I decided to give my mom's recipe a try and it was a hit--so delicious!  The perfect amount of spicy and sweet orange, and the crispy chicken, oh it was just what we wanted.  Perfect over white rice and with broccoli on the side.

Chicken
2 lbs. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. flour
1 Tbl. oil
1 tsp. garlic, minced (I used dried and it worked fine, next time I'll try it with fresh garlic)
1 Tbl. fresh ginger, minced
1/4 c. green onions, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbl. rice vinegar
1/4 c. water
1 Tbl. cornstarch
zest of an orange

"Orange" Sauce
3 Tbl. soy sauce
3 Tbl. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/2 Tbl. sesame oil

1.  In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, salt, pepper and oil.  Mix well.  Stir in the chicken pieces.
2.  In a large bowl, stir together flour and 1/2 c. cornstarch.  Add the chicken pieces, stirring to coat.  Heat 1 Tbl. oil for deep frying in a wok or deep fryer to 375 degrees/medium-high.
3.  Add the chicken in small batches, fry for 4 - 5 minutes, until golden crisp.  When done with each batch, drain chicken on paper towels.
4.  Add ginger and garlic to wok and stir fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds.  Add red pepper flakes and green onions, then rice vinegar and stir.
5.  Add the "orange" sauce and bring to a boil.
6.  Stir the 1 Tbl. cornstarch into the 1/4 c. water and add to sauce and heat until sauce has thickened.  Add the cooked chicken, stirring until well incorporated.
7.  Turn off the heat and stir in the orange zest.

after cooking

so delicious!

Kung-Pao Chicken

I found this recipe on a cute blog, called Six Sisters' Stuff, and decided it would be worth a try.  It's entitled '500 Calorie Kung Pao Chickn' and thought it'd be fitting because we are trying to watch our caloric intake AND we love Chinese food.  But Chinese food isn't known to be super healthy!  So anyways, I made this is and it's delicious.  The chicken's so tender and I love the bites with cashews in it.  I decided to sub in cashews for the peanuts the original recipe called for, mostly because we love cashews more and also because we didn't have peanuts.  I used a package of frozen vegetables called "Asian Medley", that had carrots, broccoli, snap peas and baby corn in place of the snow peas.  I think I'll use a little bit more next time, because they were so good in it!  Also, the sauce was pretty hot with just 1/2 tsp. of the red pepper flakes, so I am sure I'll go a little easier on those next time.  But this recipe is awesome and I am so so so happy with it!

2 Tbl. dark sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil and it was just fine; the original recipe subbed olive oil)
1 c. chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 c. water
3 Tbl. low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 c. vegetable medley/snow peas/sugar snap peas
2 Tbl. chopped unsalted, dry-roasted cashews/peanuts

1.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion to pan, saute for 3 minutes or until tender.
2.  Add garlic and saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add chicken, saute 3 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.
3.  Combine water, soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar & red pepper flakes and stir until sugar dissolves.  Add to pan and bring to a boil.
4.  Add vegetables and cook for 2 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender and sauce has thickened.  Sprinkle with nuts.

Perfect with 1/2 - 3/4 c. rice in a bowl.  It makes 4 servings, at 250 calories per serving (excluding rice).

it smells so good!

nom nom nom

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 4
amount per serving

Calories: 249.7
Total Fat: 10.8 g
Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 4.2 g
Cholesterol: 65.7 mg
Sodium: 830.2 mg
Potassium: 413.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 9 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
Sugar: 2.2 g
Protein: 28.7 g
Vitamin A: 4.2 %
Vitamin C: 14 %
Calcium: 4 %
Iron: 8.5 %

100th post: Slow-Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Whoo hoo, 100 posts!

This recipe is a simple and tasty recipe I tried Friday night.  I changed the amount of honey to about 3/4 of a cup but added some brown sugar instead.  Overall, it was a pretty good meal, the sauce was good.  Our only major note was that the chicken ended up a little dry inside and that it was more shredded than we'd like.  So maybe next time I'll cut up the chicken breasts a bit before adding them into the crock pot.  But, it's a keeper and was so easy and went well with rice and broccoli!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
salt & pepper
1 c. honey (I used 3/4 c. + about 4 Tbl. brown sugar instead)
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. diced onion (I used 2 Tbl. minced, dried onion instead)
1/4 c. ketchup
2 Tbl. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1 tsp. dried, minced onion)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tbl. water
sesame seeds

1.  Season both sides of chicken lightly with salt & pepper (I just did one side), put into crock pot.
2.  In small bowl, combine honey (& brown sugar), soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic & pepper flakes.  Pour over chicken.
3.  Cook on low for 3 - 4 hours or on high 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.  I had Zak turned the chicken over about halfway through.
4.  Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce.  Dissolve cornstarch in water and pour in; stir to combine with sauce.
5.  Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Meanwhile, cut chicken into bite sized pieces.
6.  Return chicken to pot once sauce has thickened, and toss before serving.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

delicious!

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 6
amount per serving

Calories: 375.3
Total Fat: 6.3 g
Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 3.1 g
Cholesterol: 76.7 mg
Sodium: 1,443.9 mg
Potassium: 407.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 48.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Sugar: 45.5 g
Protein: 33.6 g
Vitamin A: 0.6 %
Vitamin C: 5.2 %
Calcium: 2.9 %
Iron: 7.2 %

Slow Cooker San Francisco Pork Chops

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and got a craving for pork chops.  I'm still not 100% confident with using pork in recipes, or my slow cooker, but this recipe looked right up my alley.  I've used my slow cooker a bit more in the last few months, and am starting to love it.  I didn't know they were so many types of recipes you could make with one!  Anyways, this looked delicious, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  It turned out fairly salty, so I'd recommend lightly seasoning the pork chops and using low-sodium broth and soy sauce.

4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick [it apparently doesn't matter if you use boneless or bone-in chops]
2 Tbl. olive oil
salt & pepper for seasoning
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 Tbl. packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbl. cornstarch
1 Tbl. cold water

1.  In a large 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until simmering and hot.  Lightly season the pork chops on both sides with salt & pepper.  Brown the chops for 1 - 2 minutes on each side until golden.  Transfer to slow cooker.
2.  Turn heat down to medium and add the garlic to the drippings in the skillet and stir constantly until garlic is aromatic and golden (but not burned!).  Stir in the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar & red pepper flakes.  Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Pour over chops.
3.  Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours until meat is tender.  If using bone-in pork chops, fish out the bones.  Remove the chops from the slow cooker to a shallow pan or plate - they will most likely be falling apart in tenderness at this point.
4.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth.  Whisk the mixture into the sauce in the slow cooker.  Return the chops and cook on high for 30 - 60 minutes longer, until sauce is slightly thickened [if you want a very thick sauce, once you've removed the chops from the cooker, pour the sauce into a pan and place it over medium heat on the stove.  Add in cornstarch mixture and bring sauce to boil; boil for 1 - 2 minutes, until thick.  Add pork and heat through.].
5.  Serve chops over rice or mashed potatoes.

with flash

so tender!

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 4
amount per serving

Calories: 357
Total Fat: 16.9 g
Saturated Fat: 5.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 7.5 g
Cholesterol: 90.1 mg
Sodium: 1505.1 mg
Potassium: 657.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 17.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Sugar: 14 g
Protein: 35 g
Vitamin A: 0.2 %
Vitamin C: 1.9 %
Calcium: 4.6 %
Iron: 7.5 %

My Mom's Teriyaki Marinade

Here is the best teriyaki marinade you will find. It is the best and I cut this recipe in half for the two of us.

1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle of ginger

1. Whisk it all up. Marinade meat.

To make a glaze, measure left-over marinade in glass measuring cup. Whatever amount it comes to, add half that amount of cold water to it. Add in some cornstarch, throw it in the microwave for a few minutes until it's thick, clear and medium brown.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

A few weeks ago, I got a hankerin' for peanut sauce and chicken. And since we had two full jars of peanut butter (miscommunication on Zak's part, ha), I decided to find a recipe for peanut sauce. The recipe below turned out well, we ended up cooking the chicken on the stove instead of grilling it, which I thought was easier. As far as the sauce goes, I kept adding soy sauce, lime juice and red pepper flakes until it was what we wanted. Enjoy!

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 garlic clove, smashed
juice of 1 lime
1/2 c. peanut butter
more lime juice (I bought 2, and used some stuff in a bottle as well)
a few Tbl. soy sauce
1 - 2 pinches of red pepper flakes
1 tsp. brown sugar
chicken brother or water
salt and pepper

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a bowl, combine the juice from one line with a smashed clove of garlic, add to chicken and marinate for at least 5 minutes.
3. Whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and enough water/chicken broth to make a smooth sauce.
4. If you want to grill the chicken, set aside most of the sauce for dipping, and smear the rest on the chicken; thread chicken onto skewers and grill for 2 mins. on each side.
5. I chose to cook the chicken with a little butter on the stove until fully cooked, then served it over rice and drizzled with the peanut sauce.

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

This meal is definitely a keeper. Zak didn't really want to come home and grill after a sub-par day at work, but once we got the kabobs on the grill and he smelled the delicious scent of grilled, teriyaki chicken, he knew he was in the wrong. I had decided earlier that day to make the kabobs, after getting a craving for them. And I wasn't going to pay over $5 a pound when I could easily make the same meal for cheaper! I mostly made it up as I went along, with the exclusion of my mom's teriyaki recipe. Which is:

1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle of ginger

I made half of that recipe and had previously turned it into a glaze for chicken tenders on the stove a few days earlier. But I figured whether glaze or marinade, it would still work for our purposes.

I put two chicken breasts (probably 3/4 - 1 pound) in a Ziploc bag and added enough sauce for them to sit in. And then I went to work.

I read in a recipe book that if you soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before grilling, they won't burn on the grill. So as those soaked, I cut up:

1 onion
1 yellow pepper

into decent chunks. I cut them on the smaller size, but they worked out great us. I also cut up the chicken into pieces about 3/4 - 1" in size. And I opened a can of pineapple chunks.

Then I threaded them onto the skewers, somewhat in this manner:

chicken/pineapple/onion/chicken/pepper/onion/chicken/pineapple/pepper/onion/chicken

I tried to get about 4 pieces of chicken on one skewer. And I got 8 kabobs out of the ingredients, with some of the vegetables leftover.

Then Zak grilled them, and once they were almost done we added a glaze. I was initially just going to heat up the remaining teriyaki sauce and stir in some of the pineapple juice, but Zak thought we should add some spices to make it really yummy. I probably used half of the pineapple juice drained from the can. Zak added pinches of:
cinnamon (small amount)
garlic salt
pepper
ginger
chili powder (small amount)

He brushed it on both sides and they came out really well. We had them with corn on the cob and now we can't wait to have them again!

Here's a kind of recipe for those who didn't want to read my awesome explanation of everything:

1/2 recipe of teriyaki sauce, as provided above (which had been made thicker, into a glaze)
3/4 - 1 lb. chicken breasts, marinated in said sauce for 3 - 4 hours, cut into 3/4 - 1" cubes
1 onion, cut into similar sized cubes
1 yellow pepper, cut into similar sized cubes as well
1 can of pineapple chunks + juice (reserve in a bowl)
8 wooden skewers [if you use metal, I read to brush them with oil first]
pinches and dashes of [here pinches are the larger of the two]:
ginger (pinches)
garlic salt (pinches)
pepper (pinches)
chili powder (dash)
cinnamon (dash)

1. Make teriyaki sauce into glaze (add water that is equal to 1/2 of the total amount of sauce + cornstarch, microwave until thick and clear).
2. Put chicken (cut up before or after, doesn't matter) in bag, add maybe 1/2 of the sauce.
3. Marinate for 3 - 4 hours.
4. Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
5. Cut onion and pepper up, into 3 /4 - 1" cubes.
6. Open pineapple can.
7. Cut chicken, if you haven't already.
8. Thread on ingredients in some semblance of this order: chicken/pineapple/onion/chicken/pepper/onion/pineapple/chicken, etc. I got 4 pieces of chicken onto each skewer.
9. Grill for 10 - 20 minutes, turning every 5 - 8 minutes.
10. Heat up remaining teriyaki sauce, add about half of the pineapple juice as well as the spices. Mix to taste.
11. Brush glaze onto kabobs once they are almost done cooking.

The moment he realized that I was right, and he was wrong. ;)

NEW & improved sesame chicken!

Ok, for the last few months I have been tweaking the recipe for sesame chicken, and I think I finally got it down! I made this last week and it was super yummy. The big change to this recipe and the one before is not mixing the chicken, sauce & rice together in the wok [we found it would get too clumpy and sticky]. So here we go:

4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
vegetable oil, for frying
1 - 2 Tbl. sesame seeds

Sauce
about 2 Tbl. soy sauce
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbl. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey (it helps to microwave before and/or after)
1 Tbl. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger

Batter
1/2 Tbl. onion salt [if you don't have this, use 1 Tbl. of the garlic salt]
1/2 Tbl. garlic salt
1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1. Whisk together sauce ingredients in a bowl, set aside.
2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
3. Combine batter ingredients in a small bowl; coat chicken with batter.
4. Heat oil in large skillet or wok.
5. Add coated chicken and fry until golden brown and cooked all the way through. You may need to add oil once or twice.
6. Meanwhile, thicken sauce over a small saucepan on medium high until it thickens & bubbles.
7. Pour sauce over chicken and rice in serving plate or bowl
8. Sprinkle sesame seeds over and enjoy.

Mmmmmm!

Sesame Chicken

Zak and I love Chinese take-out and sesame chicken is one of our favorite dishes. When I found this recipe, we didn't have enough money to go out for Chinese, so I was trying to find a recipe that would be similar to what we've had before. This recipe is delicious, but we keep making small adjustments to it. The next time we make it, I'm sure we'll find something to change. In that case, I'll edit this post with *asterisks* with what we've changed to it. Enjoy this recipe, it is sooo yummy!

4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (again, I guesstimate each time)
vegetable oil, for frying
1 - 2 Tbl. sesame seeds

Sauce
a little less than 1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. water or chicken broth (we mostly use water)
2 Tbl. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey (it helps to microwave before and/or after, for about 30 seconds)
1 Tbl. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how much chicken and rice you use, it can be pretty hot)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger

Batter
1/2 Tbl. onion salt (Zak's favorite new spice)
1/2 Tbl. garlic salt
1/2 c. flour (if you use more chicken, up to 1 c. flour)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1. Whisk together sauce ingredients in a bowl, set aside (I usually put it in the fridge).
2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
3. Combine batter ingredients in a small bowl; coat chicken with batter.
4. Heat oil in large skillet or wok.
5. Add coated chicken and fry until golden brown and cooked all the way through. You may need to add oil once or twice.
6. Pour sauce over chicken and simmer until thickens and bubbles a bit.
7. Sprinkle sesame seeds over--we usually just eyeball it, until it looks perfect.
8. Serve over rice, or add a few scoops of rice into wok and toss altogether.