Teriyaki Chicken w/Ginger Rice

I've been going through a rut the last couple of weeks.  I totally didn't make any sort of menu the last two weeks, so we ate alot of pasta & breakfast items.

I hate when I hit stalemates like this.

And then I sat down, and really tried to put down a menu...I was looking for something new, something different. 

And then I thought of Ginger.  An ingredient that seems to be popular during the holidays.  I thought to myself, "Self....you should try some Ginger recipes."  I don't think I've ever cooked with Ginger before, so this was going to be fun.

So, I bought myself a BUNCH of Ginger....

And went to work finding delicious recipes {both savory and sweet}.

For tonight's dinner, we made:

 Teriyaki Chicken w/ Ginger Rice

Inspired by this recipe found here.

I decided to make it easy on myself though, and went with a bottled Teriyaki Sauce.  How simple is that.  Grab enough chicken to feed the fam, butterfly it {because most of the time, Chicken Breasts are a little thick}, pound it out, and slather on some yummy goodness.

I grilled these pieces on low for about 10 minutes each side {making sure to brush some sauce on both sides}.

And when it came to cooking the rice, I also went super easy by using my rice cooker.  Not that cooking the rice on the stovetop wouldn't have been easy, but those rice cookers {at least mine is}are good at making rice.

I followed her recipe for the rice:

2 Cups Rice

1 tsp Salt

She said an 1/2 inch of sliced Ginger, but I cut off an inch & finely diced it.  I didn't feel like fishing anything out of the rice when it was done.

And then I let the rice go.  It took about 25-30 minutes for the rice to completely cook.  The smell of the ginger cooking away emanated throughout my cooking space.

When everything was done cooking, I plated me up some Yummo-ness.....

The chicken was great!  Moist.  Flavorful.  Completely devoured by my family.

And the rice....The rice was delicious!  It was not overpowering, but you could definetly tell that it had some ginger action going on :)  My husband thought that this would work great/taste great in some sushi rolls.  Sure.  Why not give it a try ;)

This was a fantastic dish.  I heard no complaints from my family.

I hope you try it out!

Enjoy!

I'm Linking Up to these Awesome Places:

Makin’ You Crave Monday {Mrs. Happy Homemaker}

Mouthwatering Mondays {A Southern Fairytale}

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Strut Your Stuff Saturday {Six Sister’ Stuff}

Zucchini Week 2011 : Main Dishes

So, after Desserts, Breads, & Side Dishes, I am now going to showcase some dinners that I make when Zucchini comes on.

First...Pizza....Who can go wrong with Pizza!

 Roasted Veggie Zucchini Pizza

Basically, I pulled every veggie {that was ready to be picked} out of my garden, sliced them up, seasoned them, and threw them on a sheet pan to roast.  We had the following veggies: Onions, Zucchini, Anaheim Peppers, & Red-Green-Yellow-Orange Bell Peppers.  After roasting the vegetables, I scattered them on my favorite pizza crust recipe, added some cheese, and then cooked.

Roasting all the veggies makes this pizza extra delicious!   Did I miss the pepporoni????  Nope.

Next, a great BBQ treat....

Zucchini Kabobs

 I marinated my meat in some of my Cilantro-Ranch-Tomatillo Sauce, and kept my skewers really simple {meat & zucchini}.  I really liked these kabobs.  Since I cut the meat into smaller pieces, the meat & zucchini cooked at the same time.

Third, a dish that I make every year, especially with my Zucchini that has grown a little bigger...

Zucchini Parmesan

I love using my oven to help me cook my Zucchini.  I still get a crisp outside without standing over the stove frying them up.  Another trick that I used to make the Zucchini crispy???  Coating them in bread crumbs {mixed with parmesan, of course}, and adding a little EVOO to the top of them.

Another dish that I make every year is:

Lasagna ~ala~ Zucchini

I've done this lasagna two ways: either using lasagna noodles & having a zucchini filling or using the zucchini as the "noodles" and having a meat sauce.  Whichever way, they're both delicious!

I hope this gives you an idea when it comes to making dinners utilizing Zucchini :)

Just Remember...if you have a zucchini recipe to share, click on the Zucchini Week Tab and add it to the Linky :)

Brats with Mustard Slaw

When I asked my husband what he wanted me to make him for his birthday dinner, his response was, "Brats".  Yummy, delicious, Beer Brats.

I then was trying to think of what I could top these Brats with, and with some extra cabbage in the fridge, I thought it would be neat to make a vinegar-based slaw to go on top.

So I took to the internet, let my fingers mosie on over to Foodnetwork.com, and typed in "Coleslaw Dressing".  I looked at a couple different recipes, and finally decided that the Neely's Spicy-Sweet Slaw would accompany our Brats well.  Although not vinegar based, I thought the combination of Mustard with everything would go perfectly with Brats; I mean, come on, Brats & Mustard....Perfect combination.

With the slaw, I didn't have enough Yellow Mustard, so I used Brown Mustard instead.  James also asked to nix the Cayenne Pepper.  In the end, I liked it.  It turned out to be a sweet slaw with a little twang.

Also, I must say, my grilled potatoes......fantastic.  I pre-baked them in the microwave, splashed them in EVOO & salt and pepper, and then stuck them on the grill.  So good.

Grilled French Bread Pizza

Why does dinner have to be so complicated sometimes.  There are some days that I really don't feel like standing over the stove making dinner.  And now that Summer is actually making it's presence here in Utah, I like to move away from the kitchen & use my grill-keeping all the heat outside instead of in.

On this one particular night, I didn't want to make pasta.  I had a loaf of french bread, waiting to be eaten, along with leftover pepporoni.  Wam, Bam, thank you Mam, dinner is served.

Quite easy too.  I used my standard Tomatoe Sauce {kicked up with spices}, pepporoni, cheese, and some green onion tops.  I heated up the grill on high, and then turned it down to low so the bread wouldn't char, and would allow the cheese to melt.

15-20 minutes.  I think that's all it took to whip up this dish.  And it was probally devoured in that same amount of time :)

One of these days, I'll have some shredded chicken & make a BBQ pizza; which will go perfect with all the green onions I have in my garden :)