#23 Sweet & Sour Extravaganza

I may have mentioned in a previous post that I am not the hugest fan of chicken.  I'm not sure what it is, but I would take a steak or ribs over chicken, any day!

But, as I don't steer clear of it... I just try to spice it up!  

I came across this Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe from the food blog, Natasha's Kitchen (http://natashaskitchen.com/2014/12/11/sweet-and-sour-chicken-recipe/) and figured I'd give it a go.  I did tweak it a bit, as there are only two of us.

Well, it was pretty awesome!

You'll need: 

Chicken Prep
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.


1. Ok, so first - take your 2 chicken breasts and cut them into squares.

Easy, right?

2. Add your cornstarch into a large ziplock, and slip the chicken inside, sealing the bag.

3. Give it a shake and get the chicken all covered with the cornstarch

4.  Crack your eggs into a medium sized bowl and mix.
5. Add the chicken into the bowl, completely covering them with egg

6. Add your oil to the pan, and get it hot!  Very hot!
7. Transfer the chicken into the oil, and keep it in there for only approximately 30 seconds.  You'll know to take it out when the chicken is golden - not brown

Once all the chicken is golden, put them in a 9 x 13 pan (or whichever size fits them all..) and have them wait for the sauce.


And now for the sauce!

8.  Mix together all the sauce ingredients: apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, granulated sugar & garlic salt

9.  Drizzle the sauce mixture over the chicken and put into the oven.
10. Bake for 1 hour, flipping the chicken once to ensure both sides are coated with the sauce. 

 Not pictured below is the rice, that wasn't ready in time.  I'm still struggling on everything being done on time, but getting there!  Slowly, anyhow...

Lately, I've been loving asparagus with just olive oil drizzled on top, with a good shake of parmesan cheese on top.  I put it in the oven for the last 8-10 minutes of whatever is baking in there!  


The next post will be the Fitness post featuring Ash!  Her and I have been "competing" on FitBit, and she is really kicking my butt.  Personally, I am LOVING the fitbit and it really has been motivating me to get going.  It is eye opening how little you move, when working a) at a desk for 8 hours a day, and b) at home.  Now, I have Ash keeping me gear, and also my wedding day - coming up in 8 months!  

xo Jess

#17 Glazed Honey Balsamic Chicken Thighs

Before I get started on sharing the recipe, I just have to say how much I love, love, LOVE this.  I had a friend over for dinner the other night, and so this was perfect to prepare the night before, allowing the chicken to marinate thoroughly. 

Ok, so - I find that when I use boneless chicken thighs, it's just so much easier, so let's start with that!

You'll need:
6 chicken thighs (seems like a lot for 2 people, but this is perfect for leftovers)

Marinate
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Honey
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
4 Minced Garlic Cloves
2 tsp Ginger

Glaze
(from the leftover marinate, while the chicken is baking)
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Salt

The Night Before (or at least 3 hours before cooking)

1. First, add in all the ingredients of the marinate into a large ziplock bag
2. Add chicken, shake around until it's completely covered, then store in the fridge until it's ready to be cooked (approx 3 hours before)

The Day Of..

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
4. On tray, put chicken into oven for 30 minutes.  Make sure any excess marinate is dripped off the chicken before putting in the oven.

The Glaze

5. While the chicken is in the oven, pour the marinate into a pan on the stove, medium heat
6. Add cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water to marinate, continually stirring to thicken
7. The marinate/glaze must come to a boil, in order to remove any bacteria from the raw chicken
8. Remove chicken from oven, brush with glaze and serve!

Oh, and check out these awesome teas and gift package that my friend, Taryn, gave Ken and I for our engagement!  How sweet is she?!

Meal 9: Chicken & Black Bean Rice Skillet

So, not only was tonight's dinner extremely easy to make, but it was also delicious (if I do say so myself ;)

This reminds me of something my mom used to make - a yummy rice and sausage concoction that I will need to ask her the recipe for....

But until I get that, this meal will do!

You'll need:

• 2 cups brown rice, uncooked
• A few splashes of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup white onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained (about 1/2 15 ounce can)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 lemon, squeeze the juice!
• 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken 
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 
  
• First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and heat cast iron skillet over medium heat, add oil.

• Next, cook the rice and set it aside. When the oil is hot, add onion and garlic.  After about 5 minutes,  stir in cooked rice, black beans, cumin, lemon juice, chicken and hot sauce. Top with cheeses and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. 

By looking at these photos, it doesn't really look that appetizing.  But I assure you - it was one that we'll be making again!

Serves 8 (for the two of us, I naturally halved this recipe!)

Meal 6: Chicken Broth Garlic Potatoes, Italian Chicken & Broccoli

Now that I am working from home 3x/week, I save quite a bit of time from not having a commute.  I decided to get a bit more adventurous with tonights dinner (although, to anyone who cooks on a regular basis, this meal could most likely be whipped up with your eyes closed....).

Chicken Broth Garlic Potatoes
You'll need:
4 Potatoes
Chicken Broth (I used 1 cup)
4 cloves of garlic, grated
Butter

1. Peel the potatoes & slice
2. Lay potatoes down in pan - I used two as my pans were not large enough to fit all the slices
3. Mix it the grated garlic with the chicken broth, and warm it in a saucepan
4. Drizzle the warmed garlic/chicken broth over the potatoes, finishing with about an inch of broth on the bottom
5. Put a piece of butter on top of each potato slice
6. Slide into a pre-warmed oven (350 degrees) for 40 minutes

 Italian Chicken

I am not a huge chicken enthusiast, but I am always looking for ways to make it a bit more interesting.  I stumbled upon this recipe and decided to give it a try.

You'll need:
1lb chicken filets
1/2 bottle of Italian dressing (yes, the salad dressing!)
4 tsp of honey

1. Mix the Italian dressing and honey together before pouring into a large ziplock bag.  Let the chicken filets marinate in the ziploc for about an hour.
2. Put chicken & marinate into a frying pan.  It should be very 'saucy' - this is ok!
3. Let the chicken and marinate cook together in the frying pan for approximately 40 minutes.  Keep an eye on it, flipping the chicken consistently.
4.  The marinate will thicken and stick to the chicken after a while.  The chicken will brown very nicely with this marinate.

We took our chicken out of the pan after 25 minutes b/c my timing was off with the potatoes.  The chicken was good, but not browned as much as I would have liked.  But, this way - we got to eat everything all together...

 For the Broccoli - I just boiled a cup for 5 minutes, before draining and adding some butter and pepper.

Done and done!

265 Meal Challenge

I'm not one to set resolutions for the new year, but as 2014 had been a pretty fantastic year, I wanted to make a challenge for myself, for 2015.

This past year, I've started to really enjoy cooking.  There is just something so relaxing about it.  So, I decided to incorporate my newfound interest in cooking with a personal challenge.

My challenge is to cook 265 meals this year - old, new, breakfasts, lunches and/or dinners.  And of course, I'll aim to cook as healthy as possible (but who am I kidding, I do love a good pizza).  That leaves 100 days for meals out, holidays, and just the odd time that we like to order in.  By jotting it all down in this little spot on the internet, I am hoping that it will hold me accountable to actually doing it.

I am a total beginner - a rookie cook.  And so I am hoping that this challenge will give me some fresh new moves in the kitchen.

Seeing as Jan 1st was already a day off from cooking, today marks Meal 1.


Chicken Stirfry

I pretty much eyeballed everything and so I don't have any measurements. 

First, some extra virgin olive oil was heated up in a frying pan, before adding the chicken.  Some chives and garlic went in next, along with some yellow onions; letting it cook all together. 

While the chicken was cooking, I chopped some fresh veggies.  Broccoli, red and orange pepper, red onion and  brussel sprouts.  Since both Ken and I are big fans of onion, I added some green onion to the mix.  

Once all chopped, the veggies were added to the chicken, along with VH Orange Ginger sauce. 

 After letting it all simmer together for about 5 minutes, we put it into bowls and enjoyed!  

The fact that this whole dinner took only 15 minutes to make, is the cherry on top... especially since the puck was about to drop on the Team Canada game!!