Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Chicken Pineapple Stir-Fry



Getting a new Pampered Chef pineapple corer gadget sent me on the search with a recipe to use some pineapple! I found a quick, easy dinner. And better yet, a serving is only 4 weight watchers points.

Chicken Pineapple Stir-Fry
Source: Recipezaar.com
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP cider vinegar
1 TBSP ketchup
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch strips
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 (16 oz.) package stir fry vegetables
1 (8 oz.) can pineapple chucks, drained, reserve 1/4 cup juice (I used the fresh pineapple & white wine instead of wine juice)
hot cooked rice

Directions
1. Mix first ingredients with reserved 1/4 cup pineapple juice in small bowl.
2. In large skilet, stir fry chicken in hot oil 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetables, stir-fry 4 more minutes.
4. Stir in pineapple and sauce, heat through.
5. Serve over rice.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Oven Baked French Fries


Who doesn't love french fries?? Especially a delicious baked version?! These would be great with any sandwich type meal!

Oven Baked French Fries
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 large baking potato - I used 2
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Cut potato into wedges. Mix olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder and onion powder together. Coat potatoes with oil/spice mixture and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 45 minutes in preheated oven.

Rootbeer Pulled Pork


I don't know if I've seen an easier slower cooker recipe. The hardest part was I had to go buy rootbeer! Turned out great! And another version of one of our favorites - pulled pork.

Rootbeer Pulled Pork
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
Average size pork shoulder or pork butt
Root Beer
Your favorite barbecue sauce

Directions
Place pork into crockpot.
Pour in root beer until it just covers the pork.
Cook on low - 7 hours or so - until it shreds easily.
Take pork out of crock pot, pour out the rootbeer - reserving a cup or so if needed to thin sauce out a little bit.
Shred pork and return to the crock pot.
Add in your favorite barbecue sauce, if necessary, thin out with the root beer.

Serve with your favorite buns.

We also served oven baked fries & coleslaw. Got a big thumbs up as a meal from the husband!

Chicken Satay Skewers

In my haste to prepare for guests ~ I forgot to take pics ~ but, throughout an evening, they were all gone. I figured that was testimony enough to blog this recipe. Works great for an appetizer but would also work well for a dinner with some accompaniments.

Chicken Satay Skewers
Source: Everyday Food Martha Stewart

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 6-8oz. each, thinly sliced lenthwise
(I used way more chicken - maybe 1 1/2 pounds or so & doubled both sauces)
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Course salt & ground pepper
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 TBSP rice vinegar
Vegetable oil, for pan

Directions
1. In a bowl, toss chicken with sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes. Season with salt & pepper. (I let sit for a hour or so - only because I had the time). Thread each chicken strip lengthwise onto a skewer.

2. Make dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes and 2 to 3 tsp. water.

3. Heat grill pan over high. Work in batches, brush pan with oil, and cook chicken until opaque throughout. It took about 8 minutes or so all together - flipping the skewers.

4. Serve skewers with dipping sauce.