Teriyaki sauce

I will never buy teriyaki sauce from the grocery store again. That is a promise I made to myself after making this teriyaki sauce recipe. It is the easiest, tastiest sauce.

I got this recipe from my mother in law's copy of the Our Best Bites cookbook. It's a GREAT cookbook. Might add it to my Christmas list this year. That, and a new couch. Take note, Santa. Their website is full of delicious things to make.

I double this recipe when I make it so that I have extra on hand in the refrigerator. I just put sauce in a mason jar in the the fridge and reheat it or use it as a marinade.

TERIYAKI SAUCE, makes 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce (*I use reduced sodium soy sauce)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced (*I use refrigerated pre-minced garlic from a jar, don't hate me)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (*I use refrigerated ground ginger from a jar, not sure if its supposed to be dried ground ginger?)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

1. Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Whisk together cornstarch and water. Once soy sauce mixture has come to a full boil, whisk in cornstarch and stir until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and cool.

We use this sauce for chicken teriyaki bowls so we serve it while it's still hot on top of our chicken, but you can jar it up and refrigerate once it cools. It also makes for a great marinade for grilling. Never buying teriyaki sauce again. Say it with me people!

Shredded mexican chicken + enchilada bake

This recipe comes from Picky-Palate. It's a great website for practical, delicious recipes that even picky little kids will enjoy. YES, PLEASE! This recipe is great because it's stuff I usually have on hand, and it's not a ton of work to make.

I make shredded mexican chicken in a crock pot the day that I'm going to make the enchilada casserole. I usually make more chicken than the casserole recipe calls for and save it for tacos or quesadillas later in the week. Here's all I do for the chicken, and I have no idea where I learned this method/recipe. Been making it this way for years...

SHREDDED CROCK POT MEXICAN CHICKEN
1 1/2-3 lbs boneless skinless breast
3 tbsp taco seasoning (I make my own using a recipe much like this one, 3 tbsp is about the equivalent to a packet of store-boughttaco seasoning)
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa (any kind you like, picante sauce works too)

Place chicken in crock pot, sprinkle with taco seasoning and cumin. Pour salsa and chicken broth over top. Cook on low 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Shred and serve.

CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN GREEN ENCHILADA BAKE, serves 6-8
2 cups white long grain rice
2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
One 15-ounce can mild green enchilada sauce
One 4-ounce can sliced black olives *(I omitted this, no olive lovers in this house)
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sour cream *(I use fat free sour cream- use whatever fat content you like)
1 teaspoon kosher salt *(I omit b/c I've already seasoned the chicken thoroughly)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper *("" "" )
1 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Roasted Ground Cumin *("" "")
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese*(I use a reduced fat mexican blend- use whatever fat content you like)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cook rice according to package directions.
3. Place chicken, enchilada sauce, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper and cumin into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Pour cooked rice into prepared baking dish and layer beans on top of rice. Pour chicken mixture over rice and top evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is hot.

*We eat ours with crumbled tortilla chips on top as well, just to add a little salty crunch!

Banana [chocolate chip] bread

We never eat bananas fast enough in this house, so instead of tossing a couple out the other day, I made banana bread. And I sprinkled chocolate chips on top because...it was Tuesday and I felt like it.

The recipe I use is from SkinnyTaste . Love her recipes, it's one of my go-to sites. I made one loaf, so I halved the original recipe.

* = additions/changes that I made from the original recipe

LOW FAT BANANA BREAD (with chocolate chips)
3 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened (I use Land O Lakes light butter w/ canola oil. Cuts down on the fat, and it hasn't effected any of my baking thus far)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
*2 eggs (original recipe calls for 2 large egg whites, but I toss in the whole egg)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 oz chopped walnuts (I omitted)
*handful semisweet chocolate chips
baking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick.

Add flour mixture and blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into loaf pan, and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.

Note: This bread freezes beautifully! When I do make the full original recipe, I always toss the other loaf in the freezer. It thaws out in a few hours when you're ready to eat it.

Testing, one, two

I've decided to blog the recipes that I try and share them. These are not recipes I have created (I wish!), but they are recipes I have made and loved.

I eat a relatively low fat diet these days, though, thank goodness, not fat free anymore. I try to incorporate recipes with some vegetables (or fruits) since I have an almost 3 year old who does not love his veggies. Sneaky sneaky.

First recipe to start this off is a favorite around here. Skillet style lasagna. (photos to come, sorry!)

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Easy Family Food 2008. Also found here.

SKILLET STYLE LASAGNA (approx 35 mins, start to finish), serves 6

8 ounces uncooked ground chicken or ground turkey (could use ground beef, never tried it)
1/2 cup chopped onion
*1/4- 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
2 cups spaghetti sauce (I use Wild Harvest Organic Marinara)
1 cup water
2 cups pasta (recipe calls for extra wide noodles, I use rotini or farfalle)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini (1 medium-large zucchini should be enough)
*1/2 to 1 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 cup low fat or fat free ricotta cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp fresh parsley, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (I use a lite mozzarella from Trader Joe's, much less fat than other mozzarellas and tastes great)

* = additions/changes that I made from the original recipe

1. In a large skillet, combine chicken, onion and italian seasoning. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain off fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, zucchini and garlic. Return to boil in; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. (NOTE: Often my pasta takes more like 15 minutes with all the other ingredients mixed in the pot, so make sure it's tender before you move on to the next step)

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, parmesan and parsley. Once pasta is tender, drop cheese mixture by spoonfuls into mounds on top of the pasta mixture in the pan. Sprinkle each mound with mozzarella. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes until cheese mixture is heated through and mozzarella is melted. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes before serving.