Hawaiian Chicken

After spending a few years The South, we just moved back to the Midwest.

In the middle of winter. 

Brrr!!!

Have you ever been to the Midwest in the middle of winter?!?  The wind blows, the snow piles up, and the temperatures hover around zero degrees.

In our little corner of The South, winter lasted about a month, and IF the temps dropped into the teens, people would hardly leave their houses.  Here in the Midwest, people solider on, no matter what the temp is outside.  It will take me some time to re-acclimate myself.

In the meantime, I made this Hawaiian Chicken to remind me that there are warm times ahead.  The combination of the savory teriyaki and the mandarin oranges & fresh pineapple makes it a perfect winter's-day-comfort-food, while at the same time being light enough to be enjoyed in the middle of summer.

A big thanks goes to my friend, Rebecca, for sharing this recipe with me.

Hawaiian Chicken
(Source: Rebecca Greenwood)

2 1/2 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (We like SoyVay Veri Veri Teriyaki--or some other low-sodium teriyaki sauce)
1/4 cup soy sauce (We use low-sodium, otherwise it's too salty)
1 package onion soup mix
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks or tidbits
1-2 11 oz. can(s) mandarin oranges
1 fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces, divided

Heat oil in wok over medium high heat.
Add chicken and let simmer till mostly cooked, about 7 minutes.
Add sauces, soup mix, canned pineapple with juice, and 1/4 of fresh pineapple pieces.
Mix together well..
Cover wok loosely, turn down heat to medium and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is glazed.
Serve over rice and top with remaining pineapple and mandarin oranges.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

It's been raining and cloudy here in The South for the last week or so and even though the temps are still in the 80s and the humidity is as thick as ever, if I stay inside and just look out the window, I can almost convince myself that Fall has arrived.  The weatherman says that maybe next week we'll get some cooler, fall-like temperatures;  we'll see if he's right.

For now though, just the idea that Fall is on its way with football games, Halloween, and the changing leaves...my brain automatically switches over from summer-food to comfort food, no matter what the weather is like outside.

I made this Creamy Chicken Alfredo the other night--after a long day of grey skies and stormy weather...and it definitely settled itself into the yummy-fall-day-comfort-food category.  I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never made homemade Alfredo-sauce before...for some reason the possibility of it separating and having a grainy texture had always been intimidating to me.  But this recipe was super quick----I had it on the table in about 35 minutes--and it tasted great with no separating.  Not bad for a new recipe.  I doubled the Alfredo sauce and put the extra sauce over noodles and served with steamed broccoli.

T-Man's Review: Can we have this again tomorrow?

Creamy Chicken Alfredo (adapted from Easy to Bake, Easy to Make)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (about 4 ounces each) (next time I'll pound these flat a little too so they cook more evenly)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided (or use butter for a richer flavor)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used fresh shredded Parmesan because that's what I had)
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place flour in a shallow dish or pie plate.  Sprinkle chicken with salt; dredge chicken in flour until coated.  Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter) in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, 2-4 minutes per side.  Remove chicken from skillet; place in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. Heat remaining olive oil (or butter) in same skillet over medium heat until hot.  Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is tender, 1-2 minutes.  Increase heat to medium-high; add whipping cream, Parmesan and pepper.  Cook until sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Spoon sauce over chicken in dish.

3. Bake chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of chicken registers 180 degrees, 8-12 minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Asian Chicken

We've had a pretty hectic past few weeks.  Between a nasty little stomach bug and having oodles and oodles of leftovers from various church functions, I have hardly cooked anything.  So at this point we are all pretty sick of random-whatever-is-in-the-fridge-or-comes-from-a-box meals.

Unfortunately, life is still crazy, so tonight I wanted something simple, but satisfying.  This Asian Chicken definately hit the spot.  Since I didn't have much time, I served it with steam-in-the-bag brown rice, egg rolls, and stir-fry veggies.

Asian Chicken
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh tenders (DON'T use chicken breasts--it would be too dry)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. sesame oil (I used peanut oil)
3 cloves garlic, minced

Place thighs into the bottom of a crockpot.  Lay as flat as possible.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a samll bowl.  Pour over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for three hours, stirring once.

(Source: 365 Days of Slow Cooking)

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

The other day, I found a failure in my children's food education.  In general, I try to teach them to eat lots of different fruits and vegetables...to try new things in each season...to eat food from all over the world.  But somewhere in all of my efforts, I have neglected to expose them hot & spicy.  I guess I just have been cooling things down for them because I was afraid they wouldn't like it...but in that effort, they simply don't know what to do with spicy-hot food.

I made these Buffalo Chicken Nachos from The Girl Who Ate Everything and I thought they were delish and would be perfect for a big March-Madness party, but my kids?  Not so much.

T-Man: "Mommy!  My mouth and lips are on fire!!"

Fearless: "Mommy!  That just smells hot!"

Miss Banana: (Said nothing but after a few bites, just opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue as far as she could....then gulped down her smoothie.)

So sorry, my little loves...I have failed to teach you to appreciate spicy-hot foods.  That will have to change.  I will definately be making these again, but will use the mild Frank's Wing sauce with just a little of the hot stuff mixed in, then gradually increase the hotness until my kiddos are used to it.

Also, I found this made A LOT of nachos...next time I will probably half the recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos
8 cups Ranch flavored tortilla chips (I used Cool Ranch Doritos)
4 cups cooked chicken shredded (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 1/2 cups Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce 
water
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 ounces blue cheese crumbles
1 cup chopped celery

Note: All these measurements are approximate. As with any nachos, adjust ingredients to your personal preference.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spread tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet or in a shallow dish.

Bring wing sauce and 1/2 cup water to a simmer. Add shredded cooked chicken; heat through. Strain the chicken (reserving the sauce) and spread over ranch-flavored tortilla chips. Top with shredded cheddar.

Bake in the upper third portion of the oven until cheese is melted for about 5-7 minutes. After nachos are baked top with blue cheese, chopped celery and the reserved wing sauce.

(Adapted from Food Network Magazine)