chicken

Chrissy’s Chicken Satay

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I made this recipe on a whim. It was a what can I make that doesn’t require the grocery store recipe. Turns out I did have to run to the store for the pepper sauce ingredients, sigh…but this dish was totally worth dragging three children to the store. I definitely suggest you make all three recipes because all together it’s phenomenal. It has the makings of a really good salad. We have to talk about the peanut sauce real quick. I have made hundreds of different versions from using coconut milk, to heating all the ingredients. This one is the best I have ever made, and it’s so easy.

This paired well with a rosé and a soccer match. Kids optional

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Ingredients for Chicken Marinade

1 pound chicken boneless and skinless chicken thighs cut into good size pieces

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

14 oz. canned coconut milk

Ingredients for the Peanut Sauce

½ cup creamy peanut butter

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

3 tablespoons Soy sauce

1½ tablespoons Sriracha

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

 

Ingredient for the Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon distilled vinegar

1 Shallot finely chopped

1 Fresh Thai Chile, minced

Kosher Salt to taste

Directions:

Marinade the chicken: In a bowl, combine the coconut milk, garlic, cilantro, brown sugar, salt, turmeric, and ginger in a bowl. Add the chicken and cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours in the refrigerator. *Soak wood skewers for at least 30 minutes before grilling.

Make the peanut sauce: In a bowl (or I used my bullet blender so I didn’t have to mince garlic) combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Sriracha, vinegar, and 1⁄4 cup water, thinning with additional water if you prefer a thinner sauce.

Make the sweet hot pepper sauce: In a bowl, combine the sugar, 1⁄2 cup water, the vinegar, cucumber, shallot, and chile. Season to taste with salt.

Heat grill to medium high heat.

Thread chicken onto the skewers and grill until cooked through. About 5-6 minutes for side.

Serve with the peanut sauce and hot pepper sauce. Make sure you eat all three together and then  be prepared swoon. SO GOOD!

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Baked Korean Teriyaki Chicken Wings

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Gochujang is a fermented Korean hot pepper paste. I see it all over these days even on the shelves of the big box grocery stores. If you haven’t tried it, here’s your chance, it’s delicious.

I had a bottle of K Pow, a Korean hot sauce in the pantry.

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The main ingredient is Gochujang and I thought it would be the perfect thing to add to a chicken wing sauce. I do love me a Thai or Asian inspired chicken wing. I will take those every day over Buffalo sauce.

This is finger licking good recipe.

INGREDIENTS

3-4 pounds chicken wings

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 1/3 cups soy sauce

1/3 cup Mirin (rice cooking wine)

1/2 cup honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2-3 tablespoons Gochujang or Korean hot sauce

1/2 tablespoons  toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together soy sauce, Mirin, honey, garlic, ginger, Gochujang or Korean hot sauce and cornstarch mixture.

Arrange wings in a single layer onto prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce evenly over the wings.

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You can let this hangout for a bit while you do that task you’ve been putting off.

Place into oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, using tongs, turn halfway through. Then broil for a few  minutes, or until the wings are slightly charred.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Let cool for a few before serving.

Playing Catch Up

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

This poor blog has been so neglected and I have no excuses. Let’s catch up. Averi is 13 months today. Yes I am serious. She has gotten her own little personality. She loves to dance and, like her sister, jams out to Uptown Funk, will that song ever die? Sheesh. She can clap and give kisses and her pretend sneeze is the cutest. I am trying to phase out the bottles and so far so good, ask me again in a week. Her body isn’t adjusting great to the whole milk and she doesn’t want to drink much out of her sippy cup, she prefers water. I am going to focus on getting her dairy through food, again ask me in a week. Remember how I said she is whiny and clingy? Well it turns out all she wanted was her lovey and pacifier, give her those and she is just fine. So unlike her sister, I am okay with her having them outside of her crib, if I am out of options, AKA making dinner or if I have my hands full and can’t put up with the crying any more. I may be creating a monster but right now it works for me.

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We have been super busy every weekend the past few months so we are taking a month off and laying low. We spent the last weekend taking a lot of walks and checking out open houses around San Diego, Kaili loves it as much as we do.

I’m trying to get back into meal planning for the week. This week I butterflied my first whole chicken and threw it on the grill. I have been cooking chicken wrong because this was so easy and so good. Plus it only took half of the time to cook as it does a whole chicken AND I didn’t have to heat the house up…winning. I also went back to an old favorite, I forgot how good this dish was and how simple, it’s going back on rotation. I made Kale two ways. I prefer my kale in chip form but I can’t get through an entire bunch of kale that way, so I took the rest and threw it a pot with quinoa and water and once it was cooked, turned it into a salad. I dressed it with olive oil, lemon juice, a serrano and some parmesan. The leftovers made a great lunch topped with chicken.

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Kaili and her eating, ugh. It’s a challenge to get her to eat anything new. Lately she doesn’t even want mac n cheese. She is starting to gag on even her favorite foods, the struggle is real. I see all of these great meal ideas for kids but I don’t even want to waste my time making them because I know she will turn her nose up at it. But then on a random day she will gobble down peas and eat an entire avocado…. This is a phase, right?

IMG_5798Kaili has gymnastics again this month and she has some Toys R Us money burning a hole in her pocket, I wonder what she will pick out? Does the Frozen phase fade out or live forever? We shall see. Happy Monday!

New Name

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

You may or may not have realized that my blog URL and name is now different. I thought since I am no longer trying for a baby it was time I update it. Simply Four, straight forward enough…no?
If you are following me on Feedly, you may have to re-add the blog, not quite sure how that works.

On another note, I made a very delicious soup, right down to the chicken stock. I don’t have an exact recipe for you but I can give you a quick rundown.

Coconut curry thai chicken soup
Coconut curry thai chicken soup

Thai Coconut Curry soup with Chicken

*I made chicken stock from a Rotisserie chicken. I pulled off all the meat and set aside. Cover chicken carcuss with water, throw in some veg, onions/carrots/garlic whatever you have and simmer for an hour. Strain and then set stock aside.

What you will need:

minced garlic 1Tb
grated ginger 1Tb
1 jalapeno minced
juice of 1 lime
1 heaping Tb green curry paste
1 can coconut milk (lite or reg)
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Fish sauce
4 cups chicken broth/stock
cilantro
Cooked rice or rice noodles
cooked chicken, diced or shredded

In large sauce pan heat a little olive oil and saute first 3 ingredients and then add curry paste. Stir in coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice, bring to a simmer. Add chicken broth and bring back to simmer for 10-20 minutes. Add chicken, rice, reheat. Serve with lime wedge and cilantro.

*I had about a cup of sticky coconut rice I made a few days earlier, that is what I used and it was delish, added a touch more sweetness.

While the soup was cooking, Kaili was busy working on her Christmas list to Santa. We put it in the mail this morning and now I get to hold this over her head for another month. }Listen up kiddo, Santa is watching you!”
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Crispy Baked Chicken Wings

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

Well it’s that time of year again….

football

 

Sundays are spent in front of the T.V. and  it looks like Seattle is going to make it worth our wild this year.

So in honor of our winning season I made some football food. Wings and pizza, can’t go wrong with either of those choices.

I made about 20 wings. Started off seasoning them with garlic salt, cumin, cayenne and ground black pepper.

I baked them at 400 degrees for 50 minutes, then I hit them with the broiler for a few extra minutes to crispy up the skin.

I melted 1 Tbs. butter and 1/2 cup Franks extra hot sauce in a sauce pan over low heat until warmed through. Then you toss the wings with the sauce and voila! Baked chicken wings.

Easy breezy, and tasty too!

Pizza, up next!