Shoyu Chicken

Adapted from Allrecipes

This is a fun hawaiian recipe for kabobs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs ginger
• 1 Tbs dried oregano
• 1 Tbs ground black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 2 lbs chicken breast, cut into pieces
• 1 bell pepper, cut into pieces
• 1 onion, cut into pieces and segmented

Directions:

• Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, onion, ginger, black pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes, and paprika in a large glass or ceramic bowl.  Put aside part of the marinade to use later for additional sauce when serving.  Add the chicken and veggies and toss to evenly coat.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove the chicken and veggies form the marinade and string onto skewers.  Discard the remaining marinade.  Grill the chicken kabobs on the grill until cooked through.  Serve over rice and with extra marinade.  

Indian Apricot Chicken

Adapted from Allrecipes

This was a fun spin on Indian food.  I am fairly certain it is not authentic, but it used the garam masala spice, so I guess it would be classified as Indian.  I served it with cilantro lime rice and some naan bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breasat, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup apricot preserves
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp  hot pepper sauce
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 Tbs butter

 Directions:

• Season the chicken with garam masala, garlic powder, salt and pepper; set aside.  Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Cook the onions in the hot oil until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the chicken; cook and stir until the chicken pieces are no longer pink on the outside, about 5 minutes.  Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.
• Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring to a simmer.  Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan; stir in the apricot preserves and vinegar.  Season to taste with the hot sauce.  Place the chicken back in the pan; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Stir in lime zest and butter before serving.

Best Ever Caramel Apple Crisp

Adapted from Tried and True Recipes

Recipe submitted by Chelsey Sanford

I don't always like cooked fruit so I choose my recipes that include cooked fruit very carefully. This recipe was sooo yummy. I made up some of my own caramel sauce to pour over it, or you can use caramel ice cream topping. We made some homemade vanilla ice cream to go along with it and it was amazing!

Ingredients:

Apple Filling:

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup water

Caramel Sauce (ice cream topping or your favorite caramel sauce recipe)

Crumble:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup quick oats

1 cup butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, toss apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water. Spread evenly in an 8X8 pan. Pour caramel sauce over the apple mix. In another bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, oats and butter. Cover caramel sauce with flour/sugar mix (crumble). Bake for 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Chicken Kabobs Mexicana

Adapted from Allrecipes

I do love to grill kabobs in the summer.  It's an easy way to get a complete meal...and all on one stick! These had a great flavor and went very well with the left over Southwestern Quinoa.  

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced (about 2 Tbs)
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1” cubes
• 1 small zucchini, cut into slices
• 1 onion, cut into wedges and separated
• 1 bell pepper, cut into pieces

 Directions:

• In a shallow dish, mix together olive oil, cumin, chopped cilantro, and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken and vegetables and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat grill for medium-high heat.  Thread chicken and vegetables onto skewers. 
• Spray grill with cooking spray and arrange skewers on hot grate.  Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning to cook evenly.

Thai Chicken Fettuccine

Recipe Adapted from Home Cooking the Costco Way

I thought of my sis when I saw this recipe and thought I'd give it a try! It turned out great!

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in strips

1 cup salsa

1/4 cup peanut butter, regular or chunky

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 cups hot cooked fettuccine

Chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes until lightly browned, stirring often.

Stir in salsa, peanut butter, honey, orange juice, soy sauce and ginger. Cook and stir until chicken is cooked through.

Top fettuccine with sauce. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Southwestern Quinoa

Adapted from Sweetpeaskitchen.blogspot.com

Can you believe this is the first time I have had quinoa?  It is amazing!  Later I added feta cheese and chicken, although the original recipe didn't call for it, and it made it even better!

Ingredients:

§                     3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

§                     1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

§                     1 teaspoon ground cumin

§                     1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

§                     1/4 teaspoon salt

§                     1/4 teaspoon pepper

§                     1 teaspoon vegetable oil

§                     1 onion, chopped

§                     3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

§                     1 cup frozen corn kernels

§                     1 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

§                     1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

§                     1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

§                     1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.                  Rinse quinoa thoroughly with cold water in a fine-mesh strainer, let drain.

2.                  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring vegetable stock, quinoa, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to a boil. Cover and simmer on low 20 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

3.                  While the quinoa is simmering, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and sauté until lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl.

4.                  Add the quinoa, bell pepper and cherry tomatoes to the onion mixture and toss to combine.

Farmer's Market Corn Toss

Adapted from Kraft Foods

Our farmer's market co-op gives us lots of fresh vegetables...especially corn.  It seems we have a plethura of corn on the cob and I'm not really sure what to do with all of it.  But I found this side dish, which was yummy and included zucchini.  I love all squashes, including zucchini.  Anyway, this was a great dish!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 ears corn on the cob, kernels cut off
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 4 Tbs grated parmesan cheese, divided 

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  Add onions and red peppers; cook and stir 3 minutes.  Stir in corn and zucchini; cook and stir 5 minutes or until all vegetables are crisp-tender.  Remove from heat.
• Stir in parsley, black pepper and 2 Tbs cheese.  Top with remaining cheese.