Tag: chicken

Easy Dinner Recipe: Teriyaki Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

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Sorry I teased you yesterday with a photo of the delicious dinner I quickly threw together on Sunday night, but it was worth the wait- promise!

While we were driving back to MA, we brainstormed meals that wouldn’t take a long time to throw together and wouldn’t leave lots of leftovers since neither one of us were really around for dinners this week. Veggie stir fries are always a good idea for a quick and healthy dinner. I was craving a real teriyaki sauce, so I put that on my grocery list, as well as the other ingredients we needed. I had some chicken tender strips in the freezer that we thawed which saved on groceries!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I always cut up my own veggies, but I was so tired on Sunday night and knew I wouldn’t start cooking until 7 so I decided to take the easy route and buy a bag of frozen veggies. They aren’t my favorite, but man did they save time! I also usually make my sauces, but again, I was lazy and tired and bought that, too. It was interesting to read the labels on the thousand different marinades out there. After comparing many different brands, I settled on La Choy- good decision on my part! I forgot to buy rice so I used a quinoa harvest blend that I had in my cabinet and it ended up being fine.

Teriyaki Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • Chicken- I had about 1/2 a pound. Cut it into small cubes
  • Veggies- you can cut up your own or buy a frozen bag like I did!
  • Teriyaki Sauce- I used about 1/2 of the bottle.
  • Sesame Seeds- about 1 tbsp.
  • Quinoa- 1/2 cup

Directions

1. Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the back of the box. While that is cooking, toast your sesame seeds over medium heat until they brown up.

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2. While the sesame seeds are toasting, cut up your chicken. When the seeds finish, move them to a small bowl and place the chicken in the pan. Cook chicken until it’s no longer pink. Remove from the pan and place in a bowl.

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3. Place the veggies into the pan and cook until they have thawed and heated through. Add the teriyaki sauce and the chicken once the veggies are cooked.

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Once everything is warmed, place some quinoa at the bottom of the bowl, top with the teriyaki chicken and veggies and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top. This whole meal, even with photography breaks, took about 30 minutes to cook, so it’s a perfect weeknight meal!

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I think it would be even better served over udon noodles, but I clearly wasn’t thinking straight when I was at the grocery store. Next time!

Questions for you: How long do you like to take on meals during the week? Do you do most of your cooking on the weekends? What’s your favorite store-bought teriyaki sauce?

Ok, I really need a grill…

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Yeah, I mean, this meal came out SO good, but I think it would have totally topped the charts had I been able to cook it on a grill. Next gym paychecks go to: buying a grill! I don’t know how we survived all of last spring/summer/fall sans a grill, but I know that I won’t be able to do that this year. Maybe I can get my dad to go shopping with me for one (hint, hint).

Anyway, before I get into the details of the meal I made on Tuesday night, let’s chat about how much I have learned to LOVE Tuesday’s. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching so much and love my current schedule of Monday’s, Wednesday’s, Thursday’s (double) and every other Saturday, but there is really nothing like the feeling I have all day on Tuesday knowing that I can go home right after work.  I also like that I have the option of working out or taking a rest day, pending on what I have going on after work, what my week of workouts looks like, and how I am feeling physically. The nice weather makes me want to work out more (ie: go running, walking, anything outside), so on Tuesday I got home relatively early (6:15- that never happens) and decided that I could squeeze in a quick 30 minute workout, focusing mostly on strength and core. 32 minutes later, I was done, ready for a shower, glass of wine and a meal I had planned out in my head since Sunday, so let’s get to it, right?!

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We New Englanders are finally experiencing the spring weather we have been waiting for since, oh, the past couple of months.  Along with the warmer, sunnier weather comes my craving for all things associated with grilling and BBQ’ing, so I decided to take one of my favorite grilling meals and make it in my oven.  And, you know what? It came out WAY better than I had hoped it would. I marinated the chicken overnight and I cannot describe in words how flavorful it was.  The shrimp was just OK, but the veggies, especially the mushrooms, more than made up for it. And, what’s not to love about corn on the cob and baked sweet potatoes?!

Chicken, Shrimp & Veggie Kabobs

For the chicken marinade:

  • 4 chicken breast tenders
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • ~1/4-1/3 cup white wine
  • ~1 tsp. ground pepper
  • ~1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • Few heavy shakes of Mrs. Dash

Veggies:

I cut up peppers, onion, zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms.  I didn’t measure, but I eye-balled about how many I thought I would need to make the skewers figuring there was really no right or wrong with how many I used.

Directions

1. Create the lemon-pepper marinade the night before and let the chicken sit in it for about 24 hours to get that really delicious lemon-pepper taste.

0292. The next day, when you’re ready to make the meal, pour yourself a glass of vino, get your apron on, and get to work!

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3. Pre-heat your oven to 375*, wrap your sweet potato in aluminum foil and place it in the oven right on the metal racks.

4. Cut up your veggies and chicken and arrange everything so you can easily skewer however you desire.

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031I created my kabobs by alternating veggies and chicken on some, veggies and shrimp on some and then for the leftover chicken, I just put all of the pieces on one skewer. I sprinkled on a little more pepper, sea salt, garlic powder and Mrs. Dash once the skewers were created.

5. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes (watch closely because you could need more or less time depending on how you cut your veggies and chicken). While the kabobs are cooking, steam your corn.  I also had to finish off my baked potato in the microwave since I didn’t start it early enough.

032When everything is done, place on a plate, add some butter to your corn and sweet potato (yes, this is a must) and enjoy!

035Look at those colors!! My mouth was so happy as it tasted all of the different flavors in this dish, especially the chicken. Wow, was that good! I am so excited for leftovers and think I will probably put the kabobs on a salad for a work lunch this week.

Questions for you:Do you have a grill? Suggestions for a good, affordable, no-frills grill? What’s your favorite summer meal?