Teriyaki Chicken

When Zach told me he is going to live off campus next year, he said he needed to learn to cook. He said he went to a friend's place and he was impressed to see him cooking teriyaki chicken and rice, and with fresh spinach and avocado on the side. This summer I've been searching the Internet for a good looking teriyaki chicken recipe. 

I gave this recipe a try yesterday and Zach liked it. It's a really easy recipe and really quick to make. I think the leftovers should reheat well, too. I think it would be great to add lots of other things to this dish such as broccoli, pineapple, snow peas, chopped bell pepper, or mushrooms. I think this recipe would also be great with noodles like you find in lo mein at Chinese restaurants. I hope this is something Zach will try to make while living off campus next year.  I had a few bites of the chicken and I thought it was great!

Teriyaki Chicken 

ingredients (Yield: 4 to 6 servings)

1/2 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Hot cooked rice
Steamed vegetables 

Instructions

1. Combine teriyaki sauce and sugar in measuring cup, stirring until sugar dissolves. 
2. Remove 3 Tbsp. of mixture and pour over chicken in large plastic food storage bag. Press air out of bag; close top securely. Turn bag over several times to coat pieces well. Marinate 15 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, add enough water to remaining teriyaki sauce mixture to measure 2/3 cup; blend in cornstarch. 
4. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken and sauté 5 minutes. 
5. Add teriyaki sauce mixture; cook, stirring, about 1 minute, or until sauce boils and thickens slightly. 
6. Spoon chicken and sauce over rice in large individual serving bowls. Serve vegetables on top of rice or on the side, as desired.

Recipe link:

http://m.kikkomanusa.com/homecooks/recipes/recipedetail.php?rd=1551

Beef and Cheese Enchiladas with Mexican Rice

 

 

 

I could eat Mexican food for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.  I love it that much!

 Here is my first attempt to make homemade enchiladas.

 

I was buying ingredients to make chili this week and noticed these sauces on the store shelf.  I decided to make red enchiladas for my son and green enchiladas for my husband.  The red enchiladas were very good, both in texture and flavor.  The flavors in the green enchiladas were really good but I added too much sauce and I neglected to coat the baking dish with no-stick spray.  The extra moisture resulted in the corn tortillas turning in mush but also the tortillas totally stuck to the bottom of the dish in a very hard, crusty layer. Which reminds me, I need to do dishes.

So today, I'll share the Red Enchilada recipe.

I coated both sides of the tortillas with red sauce and then filled the tortillas with a beef and cheese.

I spooned a bit more red sauce over each enchilada and then topped it all with cheese.  The enchiladas have a nice coating of sauce but the are not drenched in sauce.

Cheesy goodness!



What a yummy plate!  We added a bit of shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and sour cream (or in my case... yogurt)

Red Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

16 ounces Kroger Fire Roasted Red Enchilada Sauce (I had 1/2 to 3/4 cup leftover)
12 ounces colby jack cheese, finely grated (about 3 cups), divided
3/4 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon each ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic powder, and dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon each chipotle chile pepper and ground black pepper
1 dozen white corn tortillas (I used Mission Brand White Corn tortillas)

Generously spray a 9x13x2 baking dish with no-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large skillet, cook and crumble the ground beef along with onion. When no pink remains, drain the beef if necessary and add in the spices.  Stir to distribute the spices and set aside.

Set aside about 1 cup of the cheese to put on top of the enchiladas.

To assemble the enchiladas, poor about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce onto a shallow plate (I used a small salad plate).  One at at time, lightly coat the tortillas with a little sauce on both side and move the tortilla to a work surface (a cutting board or another small shallow plate). If you use up the enchilada sauce on the plate during assembly, just add more sauce to the plate as needed to lightly coat each tortilla.  Spoon about 2 tablespoons of beef down the center of the tortilla and then top the beef with some grated cheese.  Roll up the tortilla around the ingredients and place, seam side down, into prepared baking dish.  Repeat until all ingredients are used.  You will end up with 11 or 12 enchiladas.  Spoon about more enchilada sauce over the top of each enchilada..  Top the enchiladas with the reserved grated cheese.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes uncovered. If desired, turn oven to broil; broil until cheese starts to turn brown.

I also made some "Mexican Rice"as a side dish.  So good!  We also had refried beans (from can... not glamourous, but good!)

Mexican Rice
From "The 99 Cent Chef"; here is the LINK
 

Ingredients (about 4 servings)

• 1 cup of rice - I used basmati
• 4 ounces tomato sauce 
• 2 cups of water.
• 1 tablespoon of garlic - fresh, pressed in garlic press
• 1/4 onion - finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• a pinch of dried oregano

DirectionsHeat oil, then add rice. Stir to coat grains and saute until they start to turn brown - about 10 minutes. Add chopped onion and garlic. Stir and saute a couple of minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and two cups of water.  Season with a bit of salt, black pepper, and a pinch of dried oregano.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook rice according to directions (about 20 minutes). Turn off heat and let set another five minutes. Serve with a favorite entree.


In case you are curious, here's what the Green Enchiladas looked like. 

 

The meat filling in these was the same. I used pepper jack cheese instead of colby jack and I added a few jalapeno slices to the top of the dish. My mistake was using the entire 16 ounce jar of sauce for the green enchiladas. It was too gloppy and the tortillas got mushy. Great flavors just not good texture. Also not spraying the baking dish was a colossal mistake.  The red enchiladas actually came out of the pan without the no-stick spray, but I added that step just to be on the safe side.

I made the red enchiladas for my son and the green for my husband. My husband tried both and it turned out he preferred the flavors in the red enchiladas.  Go figure!

Margarita Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice

Margarita Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice

I think "Margarita Chicken" is a better name than "Frozen Limeade Concentrate Chicken"

(I came up with the recipe so I can call it what I want, right?)

Slow Cooker Margarita Chicken

2 large (huge) chicken breasts (you can substitute 3 to 4 smaller breasts)

1/4 cup frozen limeade concentrate

1 tablespoon water

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon ancho chili powder

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spray slow cooker (Crockpot) with non-stick cooking spray (such as Pam).  Place limeade concentrate and water in bottom of slow cooker.  Add chicken breasts to slow cooker. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and ancho chili powder over the chicken breasts.  Set to low; cook for four hours. Serve over cilantro lime rice.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup basmati rice

1 3/4 cups water

pinch of salt

fresh cilantro (about 1/2 cup), stems removed, finely chopped (1/2 a bunch)

zest of one lime (a Microplane grater works the best)

Bring water to a boil over high heat in a medium sized pot.  Add salt and rice.  Return to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce to lowest temperature setting, and cook covered for 18 to 20 minutes. When rice is done (all water is absorbed), fluff the rice with a fork.  Add the chopped cilantro and lime zest; stir to combine.  Enjoy!

Over the years, I've noticed some chicken recipes calling for margarita mix or frozen margarita concentrate.  I've been eyeing those ingredients at the store and decided they were too spendy. I decided to give it a whirl and this is what I came up with.  Margarita Mix costs over $7.00 (I found it on the shelves with the Blood Mary Mix and club soda, etc.).  Frozen margarita concentrate costs over $3.00 per can (I think it was Bacardi brand).  Kroger frozen limeade concentrate... hmmm, I think it was a $1.19.  Score!  The meat juices and the limeade concentrate made a nice sauce. I portioned out the rice and chicken into "to go" containers and drizzled the sauce over the top.  Lunches packed for the week... check!



Here is another slow cooker Margarita Chicken recipe (click HERE for recipe link). I'd really like to try this recipe some day, too.