Sticky chinese chicken

I'm a blogging failure. But I have a good excuse. First trimester= no cooking and very little eating. I'm feeling much better and am so glad to be eating homeade food again. Here is a recipe I found here. I made this 2 weeks in a row, which is big deal at our house. We usually don't eat the same meal twice in the same month, but this was that good, and that easy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound frozen popcorn chicken
6 TBS honey
4 TBS ketchup
4 TBS sugar
2 TBS white vinegar
2 TBS soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Sesame seeds 

Cook the popcorcon chicken according to directions. Combine honey, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir and let simmer until sauce thickens. Coat chicken with sauce and serve over white rice. You can add some sesame seeds to the sauce or sprinkle afterwards. It's even good without the sesame seeds. And it's just as good as leftovers. 

Teriyaki Chicken

This recipe is AWE-some and super easy. I love slow cooker meals, I mean seriously, you put food in and you get to let it do it's thang and then eat it. Seriously so good. BTW, I got this recipe from THIS cooking website which is one of my favorites to get recipes from, she's knows her stuff.

Teriyaki Chicken
5 chicken breasts
1 and 1/2 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tsp granulated garlic (I use garlic powder)
1 tsp sesame oil (totally worth buying, found by the Asian section in the store)
3 TBS cornstarch + 4 TBS cold water

Spray the inside of your slow cooker and place the chicken in it. Combine water, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder and sesame oil, stir, and pour over the chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours. When the chicken is cooked through, remove and break into smaller chunks. I don't completely shred the chicken. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water, stir until dissolved and pour into liquid in the slow cooker and stir together. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and mix with the sauce. Allow to cook for another 30-60 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Serve over rice with some roasted veggies on the side. 7 servings= 10 WW SP

Roasted Veggies

We love roasted veggies and they are so much better than frozen. We usually eat them with stir-fry or Teriyaki chicken.
Choose whichever vegetables you like, this is what we use:

Roasted Veggies
Broccoli cut into florets
1 Red onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped
Carrots cut julienne
Asparagus cut into thirds
1 Zucchini sliced

We season with:
Olive Oil (I just drizzle some over the veggies and then put seasoning on it) 
Basil
Oregano
Red crushed pepper
Minced garlic

Spray 9x13 pan and place seasoned veggies in the pan. Cook at 400* for 35-40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes.

Hawaiian Haystacks

A great meal to make when you're in a hurry. I always have the ingredients on hand just in case I don't have a dinner plan. It's cheap and tasty.

Hawaiian Haystacks
4-5 cups cooked rice
2 cans cream of chicken soup + 3/4 can water

Possible Toppings
Shredded cheddar cheese
Green onions
Sliced olives
Pineapple chunks
Sliced almonds
Crunchy chow mein noodles

Mix soup and water and warm over low heat. Add spices for flavor. We add celery seed, savory, marjoram, garlic salt, onion salt, dill weed, & rosemary. Layer rice, sauce and toppings of your choice and chow down.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

A yummy, easy summer recipe. Prep time is only about 10 minutes, which is exactly what I love about it (plus it's super good!) Just a side note, you can use a pork shoulder for this but I always use a center cut boneless pork roast, or a pork loin. It has a lot better quality meat, and you waste less because it's so lean (even though it's more expensive).

Pulled Pork
1 (2-3 lb.) boneless pork roast
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
2 cups BBQ sauce
2 TBS mustard
2 TBS honey
1 TBS soy sauce
Salt and Pepper

 Scatter onion over bottom of slow cooker and place pork on top. Add broth (or water), cover and cook on low until very tender, about 8 hours. Remove meat and let cool.  When cool enough, pull meat into thin shreds, removing all fat and gristle. Drain liquid from slow cooker. Return pork to slow cooker. In a bowl mix BBQ sauce, mustard, honey, and soy sauce. Poor over pork, season with salt and pepper and stir to blend. Cook one hour longer on low. Serve on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls.

Steel-cut Oatmeal

Steel-cut Oatmeal
2 apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
2 TBS brown sugar
1 1/2 TBS butter, cut into 5-6 pieces
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 TBS ground flax seed (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt

Put all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to blend. Using a liner makes things so easy, but if you don't, make sure to spray the inside before putting the ingredients in. Cook on low for 7 hours. Spoon oatmeal into bowls. Makes 7 3/4 cup servings. I seperate mine into containers so that the portions are all the same. The best thing about this meal is that it keeps you full for a long time. I'm not going to lie though, it takes a while to get used to the taste and texture, but after getting used to it, instant oatmeal tastes nasty and this is so much better for you.

Optional garnishes: chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup, additional milk, butter or brown sugar.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

This is one of our favorite recipes. The only downside is that it takes quite a while to prepare. But it's totally worth it, and to be honest, it's even better as a leftover.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake
8 oz. uncooked rigatoni
1 TBS olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
3 cups cubed, cooked chicken breasts
1 (14 oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes, drained
(I usually add half a can diced tomatoes as well and use the other half in spaghetti sauce later in the week. One can of tomatoes just doesn't seem enough)
1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive and onion cream cheese (softened)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare rigatoni according to package directions. Saute onions in olive oil until tender. Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir rigatoni, spinach, chicken and next 4 ingredients together with onions. Spoon mixture into dish and sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.