Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry

I love chicken teriyaki and found this recipe by Ellie Krieger from Food Network.  I added onions and bell peppers and stir-fried.  It was wonderful!

Ingredients

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press or minced
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Directions

Combine the soy sauce, sugar, sherry, vinegar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until the sugar dissolves. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and add the chicken. Seal the bag and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, turning once, for 1 hour. The chicken can be marinated for up to 4 hours.

Add some oil to a large nonstick pan on medium high heat.  Add the onion, peppers and chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds and green onions (if desired).  Enjoy!

Healthy and Clean Ranch Dressing

My son loves ranch dressing and will dip just about anything in it.  I found this recipe on The Gracious Pantry while I was seaching for information on Clean Eating and healthy recipes.  I am baby-stepping my way into Clean Eating.  My family is not really excited about it, but I am going to push forward anyway.  I have tried another recipe that I found for healthy homemade ranch dressing and we didn't like it at all.  This one turned out really good. 

I made some to dip broccoli in on our way to Texas tomorrow.  I have spent most of the day preparing food for our 550 mile trip and some for the week while we stay at my brother's.  I am determined to not stop at McDonald's tomorrow like we usually do.  I made chicken salad using this dip as the combining agent today and will make pita sandwiches with it (recipe coming soon). 

I will let you know how the trip goes and how our healthy eating on the road goes.  I am a little nervous, but I plan on doing my best to eat the right food most of the time. 

Check out The Gracious Pantry for more great recipes.

Healthy and Clean Ranch Dressing

(Makes about 8 tablespoons)

5 tablespoons low fat buttermilk
3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Directions

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until well blended.

Nutritional Content

1 serving = 2 tablespoonds

Calories: 10
Total Fat: 2 gm
Saturated Fats: 0 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 gm
Sodium: 55 mg
Carbohydrates: 1 gm
Dietary fiber: 0 gm
Sugars: 1 gm
Protein: 1 gm


This post has been linked up to:

Food Revolution Friday @ Notes from the Cookie Jar

Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade

Spinach and Feta Fritatta

This was a yummy recipe that I found at Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes. 

Ingredients:

2 whole eggs

8 egg whites
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 oz crumbled feta
2 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and freshly ground pepper


Directions:

Squeeze all water from spinach. In a 9 inch non-stick sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and scallions and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Add salt, pepper, cheeses and spinach and mix well. Pour the mixture into the skillet and cook until the bottom sets, about 5 minutes. Hold a large plate over the pan and invert the frittata onto the plate, then slide it back into the pan. Cook about 5 minutes longer. Serve hot.

Rosemary Chicken with Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

This chicken was incredible! I took advantage of my new herb garden for the fresh rosemary.  I quickly realized that I'm going to need another rosemary plant.  It took quite a few little branches to make the required amount of minced rosemary for this recipe. 

The dipping sauce was so easy to make and  went perfectly with the chicken.  We will be having this chicken again very soon.

Rosemary Chicken with Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

from The Best of Fine Cooking

         Fresh and Quick

1Tbsp plus 1tsp minced fresh rosemary

2 tsp dark brown sugar

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

2 tbsp vegetable oil; more for the grill

1 cup orange marmalade

1/4 cup rice vinegar

Directions

In a small bowl, mix 1 tbsp fo the rosemary with the brown sugar, red pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1tsp black pepper.  Put the chicken thighs in a shallow pan, drizzle with the oil, and toss to coat.  Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the rosemary mixture.

In a small saucepan, warm the marmalade, the vinegar and the remaining 1 tsp rosemary over low heat until just warm.  Set aside in a warm spot.

Prepare a hot charcoal fire or gas grill with all burners on medium high for 10 minutes.  Clean the hot grate with a wire brush and then lubricate it with an oil-soaked paper towel.  Put the chicken on the grate and grill (uncovered over a charcoal fire, or covered on a gas grill) until one side has dark grill marks, 5 to 6 minutes for large thighs or 4 to 5 minutes for medium and small thighs.  Turn and continue to grill until well marked on the other sides and cooked through, another 5 to 6 minute for large thighs or 4 to 5 minutes for medium and small thighs. 

Transfer the thighs to a platter and let rest for 4 to 5 minutes.  Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with individual bowls of warm marmalade dipping sauce. 

Healthy Peanut Butter Dip

This makes a perfectly healthy mid-afternoon snack for the kiddos and for us, also.  I got the recipe from Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen.    I added a tsp of vanilla agave nectar to sweeten it a little. 

We ate the dip with apples as you can see but I was thinking that it could go on our waffles in the morning, also.  Cameron wants to eat it with bananas.  YUM!


Healthy Peanut Butter Dip

1/2 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt (I used some of my homemade yogurt)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla agave nectar

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve with apples, celery, pretzels or anything else you can think of that will go well with peanut butter.

Broccoli with Balsamic Caramelized Onions

I am involved in the Sidedish Showdown at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.  We have been cooking and writing about side dishes that we are creating at home.  You ought to go and check out the other submissions.  There is some great food listed!

We eat a lot of broccoli in my house.  It is one of the only green foods that my husband and son will eat (and he won't eat that much).  I know we all get tired of the boring steamed broccoli so I wanted to change things up a little.  This is what I came up with.

2 cups red onions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups steamed broccoli
1 tbsp of butter
asiago cheese
Chopped parsley and basil (optional)

Add oil to a large nonstick pan over medium high heat.  Saute onions until caramelized (about 20 minutes).  Add vinegar and cook for 5 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add steamed broccoli and butter and cook together for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and top with cheese, parsley and basil.

Homemade Yogurt Made in a Crockpot

This is my favorite new recipe.  I have made around 10 batches of homemade yogurt in the past couple months. I found the recipe at A Year of Slowcooking.  Who knew it was so easy?  I didn't really eat a lot of yogurt to begin with but I saw this and knew that I had to try it.  Now I eat it almost every day in one way or another. I make smoothies.  I eat it with a variety of fruit with a squirt of amaretto agave nectar. I add it to my blueberry muffin batter.  I have put it in soup.  My newest passion is homemade frozen yogurt.  YUM!   

I used whole milk in my first batch, because I read that you should start here when you are new at making yogurt.  I then went to 2% and now I only use 1%.  It worked equally well with all of them.  You aren't supposed to use ultra-pasteurized milk, but I accidently bought some organic milk that I didn't realize was ultra-pasteurized.  By the time I realized what I had done I decided to go ahead and give it a try.  I had no hope of it turning out.  But, it did!  I was shocked! 

So, this is how I make the yogurt. The only three ingredients you need are a carton of plain yogurt that has active live cultures, some fat free powdered milk and half a gallon of milk (not ultra-pasteurized).  This is the yogurt I have used as a starter.

The two tools you need to make your yogurt is a thermometer and a crockpot.  This is my crockpot that I use.

I pour the milk into the crockpot.  Turn it onto low and heat for 2 hours.  I then turn the crockpot off and let it cool to about 120-130 degrees.  This is very important!  If it is too hot the live bacteria will die.  If it is too cold the bacteria will not grow.  I check the temperature with a candy thermometer.  Once it is cooled to the correct temperature, I take the yogurt starter that has been brought to room temperature and mix it with 1/2 cup of powdered milk.  The milk is supposed to thicken the yogurt.  I then add two ladles full of the warmed milk from the crockpot to the yogurt mixture.  Mix well.  Then, I gently mix in the yogurt/milk mixture into the rest of the warm milk in the crockpot.  I put the lid on the crockpot and then cover the crockpot with about five blankets.  I leave it like that for about 24 hours.  AND THEN!  I have homemade yogurt!

I usually put my milk in the pot around 6:00.  Let it heat until 8:00.  It cools in about 2 hours to the correct temperature.  I add the yogurt and powdered milk and then I cover it before I go to bed.  When I get home from work the next evening the yogurt is ready. 

There are many methods online for making yogurt.  Some involve putting the yogurt mixture in a cooler with warm blankets.  Some involve setting the pot on a heating pad.  I didn't put this much effort into mine and it turns out perfect every time!  The only time mine did not turn out was when I forgot about my milk heating in the first stage.  It cooked for about 4 minutes.  Way too long!  I had to dump it out and start over again. 

So some people ask:  Why would you make your own yogurt when you can just go buy it at the store?  There are several reasons.  First of all, I know what is in my yogurt.  There are no preservatives, chemicals or sugar.  Next, it is super cheap.  One carton costs around $1 each at the store.  I make about 8 cups of fresh yogurt with very little effort and about $2.  Why wouldn't you make your own? 

Note:  This yogurt is not super thick.  If I want thicker yogurt I strain it in a coffee filter over a bowl. 

I have let it strain for 2 days and it turns into the consistency of softened cream cheese.  This worked very well in my fruit tart I made. 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!


I am posting this at Make It From Scratch.  Come check out the other posts!