Asian Chicken- 3 variations

Asian Chicken

Variation 1: Karissa's concoction

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cubed

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/8 c. brown sugar

3 heaping TL hoisin sauce

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/4-1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. chives or fresh green onions

1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix marinade together. Add chicken and let sit in fridge or on counter while rice cooks. About 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon. Boil remaining sauce in a separate small saucepan while cooking chicken. Cook chicken in frying pan on med-high heat until almost cooked. Crank heat up to high and let the outside of the chicken brown and caramelize a bit.  Serve chicken over rice and drizzle with extra sauce. 

Variation 2: Mom's Teriyaki

1 c. soy sauce

1 c. sugar

2 T. rice wine

1 T. dehydrated onion

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. sesame oil

Mix together and add chicken. Marinate for 1 hour. Broil or grill chicken. Can be used for chicken breasts or cut up chicken. Best as chicken breasts grilled on an outdoor grill.

Variation 3: Our Best Bites Teriyaki

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 TBL cornstarch

1 TBL cold water

Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper in small saucepan. Bring to boil over med-high heat. While that's cooking, mix the cold water and cornstarch. When the soy sauce is boiling, whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Stir sauce until thickened and "clear." 

This is easily used as a dipping sauce or to baste on chicken while grilling or cooking. I highly recommend their cookbook! It's amazing. 

Any of these Asian Chicken recipes are delicious served with fresh sauteed veggies and steamed rice.

BBQ Chicken Salad

BBQ Chicken Salad

This is completely a "create your own" meal. Add or omit anything you like or don't like. Or include it all!

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cubed and cooked (or, 2 cans cooked chicken simmered with 1 cup of bbq sauce)

2-4 cups romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

tortilla chips

corn

carrots, sliced

green onions

tomatoes, chopped

cucumbers, chopped

avocado, sliced

bacon bits

black beans

olives, sliced

croutons

cheddar cheese

Layer on a plate how you wish. Drizzle with a spoonful of salsa, some bbq sauce, and some ranch dressing. Enjoy!

I don't have an exact recipe for this because I just chop and slice whatever veggies I can find in the fridge that sound good. It's pretty difficult to mess this salad up, especially if you top it with all three "dressings." The combo of the salsa, bbq, and ranch is to die for.

Spicy Veggie Wraps

Spicy Veggie Wraps

adapted from "Complete Idiots Guide to Eating well..."
makes 4-6 servings

1/4 c. cottage cheese (low fat is great)

2 oz. cream cheese, softened (1/3 less fat is great)

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less for milder)

a shake of garlic powder (1/4 tsp?)

a grind of black pepper (1/4 tsp?)

a grind of sea salt (1/4 tsp?)

1 chicken breast half, sliced, cooked, and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and italian seasoning.

1 c. spinach or romaine, washed and torn

1/4 c. shredded  sliced carrots

1/4 c. chopped celery. 

sliced cucumber

sliced avocado

chopped tomato

tortillas

Basically you mix the cheeses and spices in a bowl and let them marry together. Cook up some tortillas, I like the uncooked ones from Costco. And then spread the cheesy stuff on the tortilla and top with an array of veggies. Grilled chicken can easily be omitted for a vegetarian meal.

Easy Lasagna

Easy Lasagna

Makes 2, 8x8 or 9x9 pans

12 lasagna noodles
3 cups mozzarella cheese
30 oz. pasta sauce

24 oz. cottage cheese
1/4-1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 heaping TBL Parsley
1/2-3/4 TBL oregano
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, shake to taste (optional)

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Spoon a couple dollops of sauce into each pan and spread it around. Mix the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and spices in a bowl. When the noodle are done, cut them 2/3 x 1/3. You should have one long piece to fit the length of the pan and two smaller pieces to fit the same length when put together. Every noodle should be cut this way. Layer the lasagna noodles, sauce, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, repeating for 3 layers in each pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-45 minutes depending on desired done-ness and differences in ovens. Cheese should be light brown and bubbly.

I like to cook one pan and cover the second with plastic wrap then foil and freeze it for another time. To cook the frozen lasagna, you can defrost it in the fridge overnight, on the counter for a few hours, or put it in a cold oven sans plastic, covered in foil and cook for 1-1.5 hours.


***For one, 9x13 pan:
9 noodles
24 oz. sauce
2 cups mozzarella
16 oz. cottage cheese
1/4 parmesan
1 TBL parsley
1.5 tsp oregano

This recipe is really forgiving and can be adapted and changed in many ways! I've tried adding 1 cup of bbq sauce to the pasta sauce and adding chicken, added vegetables, done half alfredo-half red sauce, etc and all have turned out yummy. Get creative and have fun!

Blueberry Dumpcake

My most sincere apologies for no picture. Perhaps I will update with a picture the next time I make this amazingness.

Blueberry Dumpcake
1, 20 oz, can crushed pineapple, juice reserved
3 c. blueberries, frozen or fresh
1/4 c. sugar
1 box yellow cake mix, dry
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/8 c. sugar
chopped pecans if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain the pineapple juice and combine with the melted butter. Spread the pineapple on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer the berries next, followed by sugar (amount can be adjusted), the dry cake mix, the butter/pineapple juice mix, a sprinkling of sugar and chopped pecans if you wish. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with or without ice cream. Don't be alarmed if the entire dish is consumed within an hour.

NYT chocolate chip cookies.

This recipe was found here

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The New York Times, David Leite and Jacques Torres
submitted by Melanie

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

•2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour * leave the TBs in for high altitude*
•1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
•1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
•1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
•2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
•1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
•1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
•2 large eggs
•2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
•1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
•Sea salt
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.
**When I make these I use my favorite semi sweet or milk chocolate chips--I like guitard, but sometimes I use the big bag of Nestle semi sweet from Costco.

Nap time sleep problems. Help!

I feel so conflicted.

I've read several baby sleep method books and done research and all that about getting babies to sleep. Our biggest problem is naptime. Blake spends about 40-50 minutes eating, then I have to burp him, then change his diaper, and swaddle him up for a nap. The whole process takes between an hour and a little more. Then when I lay him in his crib he kicks and plays and wiggles like crazy. I take him out, rock him, give him a binky and he gets totally drowsy. Then when I lay him down he wakes right up. If I leave him he can usually try to work things out for a few minutes, but then after 5-20 minutes he starts crying and screaming. We try to soothe him with a binky, rocking him, patting his back, etc. He gets drowsy, then wakes up and the whole process repeats. This goes on for awhile until he finally falls asleep. By the time he crashes he's been awake for around 2+ hours. Then he sleeps 40-60 minutes before waking up again. Sometimes he can fall asleep, most of the time he can't. But he doesn't seem really hungry, just still tired.

I don't know what to do! I know nap time is SO important during the day and it helps them sleep better at night. Yesterday he had a 2 hour morning nap in his car seat (after finally falling asleep on his own in the crib, and I had to move him 10 minutes later). Then I fed him and did the whole swaddle and try to get to sleep routine. Once again, after 2 hours of being awake, I finally resorted to putting him in the swing to sleep. He slept there for maybe an hour and then woke up to eat. Scott fed him a bottle so I could nap, then he was awake for 2 hours again before we tried to put him in the crib. Once again he kicked and played and didn't fall asleep. So Scott put him in the car seat and we ran some errands. He slept for almost an hour. Then he ate again. Then I did the whole swaddle routine. After he'd been up for 2 hours again, he finally fell asleep in his crib and slept for 5 1/2 hours. I fed him, he was up for 2 hours (shoot me) and then he slept for another 4 hours.

I feel like he gets so tired being up for 2 hours that he can't take a good nap. And obviously he can't take a good nap because he is only sleeping for 45 minutes. I don't know how to get him to nap longer. I don't know if it's because we've moved him into the crib to sleep. Or if he's so used to being rocked, swinged, or vibrated to sleep. Or if he's relying too much on the binky. Or if he is so over tired that he can't sleep well.

Is it okay or normal for him to be awake for 2 hours and then only take an hour nap? I feel like he needs more sleep than that in a day! That's only 3-4 hours of day time sleep with 9-10 hours of night time sleep. Is that bad? Good? Okay? I don't know. :-/

HELP!!!!