Chicken Teriyaki Plate

Our house has been crazy the last couple of days. My husband and I are huge animal people and have had dogs since before we got married. Last year our older female dog passed away and we are now down to two senior dogs. With our male dog having thyroid issue we thought it might be nice to have a smaller dog which would keep his spirits up. So yesterday we picked-up and brought home a Pomeranian-chihuahua mix. He is tiny, fluffy and adorable. Luckily for my sanity he has already taken quickly to crate training and my kids have gotten along with him splendidly. This is the first animal that my kids have been around when it was brought home so they are very excited about their new pet. Since my family has been very busy I have been trying to keep my meals this week simple, but still flavorful. Earlier in the week I tried a new recipe for Chicken Teriyaki Plate from the December issue of Food and Wine magazine which looked like a great sweet chicken recipe.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, 45 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did make a number of changes. Instead of keeping my chicken thighs whole, I chose to use skinless-boneless thighs which I cut into one inch pieces. This made my total cooking time much shorter, while still having the same great taste from the homemade teriyaki sauce. For the lemon-lime soda I used soda made with real sugar which I prefer over brands made with high fructose corn syrup. I would have normally served this recipe over brown rice, but I ran out so I served it over white rice instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My family loved this recipe. The chicken was tender and the teriyaki sauce was the perfect blend of sweetness. I think the modification came out great and I would make it the same way again. It looked and tasted like something that would come out of a great restaurant while taking little time and effort. My husband was the most impressed, he was totally won over with this dish. Definitely a keeper!

For the recipe go to Chicken Teriyaki Plate.

Spicy Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry

This time of the year is always crazy in our house. My youngest son turned 4 last week and between school, cooking and gift buying my time is very limited. I seem to always be running out of time and money. Since I bake a lot during the holidays I also try to make sure that my dinners stay at least somewhat healthy. Plus then I can let myself have more holidays cookies, right? I make a lot of chicken throughout the year. It is a great lower fat option and can be delicious in so many recipes. However, chicken can also get a little boring. I try to add in turkey and other poultry to keep my family's taste buds interested. This week I tried a new recipe for Spicy Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry from the December issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked quick, low in fat, and filling.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a number of changes. First, I have never seen 99 percent lean ground turkey in my area. The only types normally available are 85, 95 and 97 percent. So I bought the 85 percent lean ground turkey. Since my turkey was higher in fat I did not fry it in as much vegetable oil. Plus I drained my ground turkey after it was done browning. I eat gluten free so I used gluten free soy sauce. Always read your labels, since wheat is a top ingredient in many low priced soy sauces. After tasting the recipe as written, I changed a few things. First I doubled the amount of chile paste, soy sauce and added three garlic cloves instead of one. I also served it over brown rice instead of white rice. I stopped serving white rice about 6 months ago and now my two boys prefer brown rice. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

After all the changes this recipe worked much better. As the recipe was written it lacked flavor, but after an increase of the chile paste, soy sauce and garlic the taste worked. Finely grated fresh ginger would be another great addition to the flavor in this recipe. I always use magazine recipes as a starting point to making a better recipe. This is an example of a recipe that with a few changes works out well.

For the recipe go to Spicy Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry.