3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

chicken

Honey-Lime Chicken Kabobs

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More and more I turn to Pinterest for recipes. I think it’s a visual thing, I love pictures of food, just makes me hungry.  I had limes (left over from Margaritas) and I had honey, so into the Pinterest search I went for honey lime chicken and this is what I found, I call it Honey-Lime Chicken Kabobs, with my very own twist. Very easy and tasty. My only regret? I didn’t make more.

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers
MMM, they smell so good

Lime Chicken Kabob Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • juice of one lime
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1-2 teaspoon Siracha (didn’t have any, left if out)
  • red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine your ingredients, through the cilantro. Mix thoroughly.
  2. Pour marinade over chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour. (I marinated overnight)
  3. Grill on medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear.
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Chinese Anyone?

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Homemade Chinese Food
Chinese Anyone?

My version of  “Happy Family” Chinese at home. We were running short on rice I used spaghetti noodles for chow mein. Very easy recipe and fun at the same time. The chopsticks pictures are my favorite and it’s a requirement that I eat as much as I can with chopsticks before resorting to a fork.

I find eating with chopsticks people slow down, and I enjoy my food a whole lot more. besides, it’s fun!

Ingredients

  • Shrimp
  • Sliced chicken breast
  • Beef (or venison, I still had some from last winter)
  • Powdered Ginger
  • Garlic Powder
  • Cracked Peppercorns
  • Sea Salt
  • Sliced onion
  • Mushrooms
  • 2 TSP Sesame Oil (remember I don’t measure, I just add)
  • 2 TBSP Wok Oil
  • Sweet peppers (green, yellow and orange for color)
  • 2 TSP Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 Cup Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing (French dressing will work too)
  •  1 TBSP Cornstarch

Wow, I guess that’s a lot of ingredients. As far as vegetables you can use anything you have handy, broccoli, slivered carrots. REMEMBER: Measurements are not important, you add to your taste and desire.

Directions

  1. Season meats with spices and toss to coat
  2. Prepare rice ahead of time according to directions.
  3. Heat a combination of above oils in wok on high
  4. Add chopped or sliced onions and cook until clear
  5. Add chicken and beef (in my case venison)
  6. Cook and stir on high until cooked through
  7. Push ingredients to the side of the wok away from the center and direct heat
  8. Add vegetables and shrimp on top of the cooked meat on the side
  9. There should be some liquid in the bottom of the wok, add soy sauce and  salad dressing. Then add water  until total liquid amount is approximately 3/4 cup.
  10. Cover with lid and let liquid boil and steam cook the vegetables.
  11. Mix a tablespoon (or so) of cornstarch with 1/4 cup water until creamy
  12. When vegetables are tender pour cornstarch mixture into the liquid and stir. Liquid should thicken slightly.
  13. Quickly stir the liquid and all ingredients until coated in the sauce.

Eat and Enjoy!

Grilled Kabobs, Food on a Stick

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Last week I got tired of the same old thing, grilled pork chops, chicken breast. I wanted something fun and different.  Shish Kabobs sounded fun, I even bought permanent metal skewers instead of the thin bamboo that burn and break in half. This means I have to fix Kabobs again, darn. (read sarcasm here)

What is it about food on a stick that is so tasty? Maybe it’s the lack of utensils, the youthful feeling you get just like when you sucked down a Popsicle sitting on the back step. Think about it corn dogs, Popsicles, and all kinds of state fair food are found on a stick. I’ll get to that on a later post.

Shish Kabobs on the Grill
Shish Kabobs on the Grill

Not really a recipe here.  It’s pretty much personal preference. I used chicken , pineapple, sweet peppers, mushrooms and pieces of corn on the cob.  After seasoning everything with a Garlic Rosemary mix I lathered it with a sweet Chinese sauce made from a mix of Dorothy Lynch (french) dressing, poppy seed dressing, soy sauce and ginger.

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Chinese Chicken Stir Fry

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Chicken Stir Fry
Chinese Chicken Stir Fry

I love Chinese food, yet I don’t get a chance to eat it as much as I would like. We live about 30 minutes from Omaha and Lincoln and although it’s not far, we just don’t eat out very much. I do make a mean stir fry at home though and it’s not that it’s hard to make.

By the way the chopsticks above were given to me by my oldest Marine son for Christmas, he made a thrift store run and found amazing presents that fit everyone’s interest and taste. I LOVE these bamboo chopsticks!

I use a wok, but before I had a wok I used a cast iron skillet, the same with the sesame oil and wok oil, it does add a certain flavor, but if you don’t have it leave it out.

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts, cubed, or in strips
  • Bag of frozen Chinese vegetables (or combination of green peppers, shredded carrots, broccoli, etc)
  • 2 TBSP Sesame oil
  • 2 TBSP Wok oil
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • Jar of water chestnuts
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 cup Dorothy Lynch Salad dressing (or catalina style)
  • 2 TBSP Cornstarch (or flour)
  • Cooked Rice

Directions

  1. Preheat oils in wok pan, when hot add onions and cubed chicken
  2. Cook till chicken is cooked throughout.
  3. Push chicken and onions to sides of wok, add vegetables and push on the side
  4. Add 1/2 cup water, salad dressing and soy sauce
  5. Cover and bring liquid to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. Steam vegetables to desired tenderness
  7. Mix 1/4 cup water with cornstarch, add to simmering liquid in middle of wok. Sauce will thicken
  8. Mix all ingredients in sauce, remove from heat.
  9. Serve over cooked rice

Eat and enjoy!

Day 187/365: Barbeque Chicken

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The Secret to Great BBQ Chicken
The Secret to Great BBQ Chicken

The answer…slow cooking. Many times I’ve ruined perfectly good chicken because I put it on the bottom rack, and even on low the fat dripped off and the flames singed and burned it to a crisp. Now I put the seasoned, naked chicken on the top rack and the burners on low, as low as they can go.

I let them cook for at least 30 minutes until golden brown, checking every 5 minutes or so, yes they take babysitting if you don’t want the chicken to burn, then lather with barbeque sauce.  Regardless of the desire to turn up the heat I don’t, I want the barbeque sauce to bake on, I turn it every 5-10 minutes watching for hot spots on the grill.

Only after I see that the chicken is cooked, juice runs clear (no I don’t use a thermometer) do I turn up the heat to caramelize the sauce. My favorite sauce is Cookies BBQ Sauce, it’s a staple in Nebraska barbeques, found locally in the Midwest and is the only sauce my kids will use. Heaven forbid if I buy something like Krafts.