Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Teriyaki Bowls

PREP TIME TO MARINATE

Recipe found HERE
I recommend tripling the sauce to ensure enough for marinade, plus setting aside a portion to serve with food. 

4 or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts cuts into tenders
2 zucchini, peeled and sliced thinly
1 bag of mini sweet bell peppers (or regular size sliced in thick strips)
1 pineapple, peeled and cut into spears (or big circles, core after grilling, easier to grill)
1 small red onion, sliced thin

Coconut Rice (you can make plain white rice also, the teriyaki flavor is very dominant) I cook my rice in a rice cooker with all the added ingredients and it worked great.

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk (about one 13.5 oz can)
2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white or jasmine rice

Teriyaki Sauce (if short on time, a bottled sauce would work)

1/2 cup soy sauce (I recommend low sodium)
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil (original recipes calls for more, but I don't like sesame oil that much)
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I used dry)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cornstarch + 2 teaspoons water, mixed together
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Coconut Rice
Make the coconut rice by adding the water, coconut milk, sugar, and salt to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then stir in rice. Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes, before fluffing with a fork. Or combine all in rice cooker.

Teriyaki Sauce
Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for about 1 minute. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Pour 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce over the raw chicken and set aside the to marinate for at least 15 minutes to overnight. Reserve the rest of the sauce to serve with the meal when ready to serve. 

Prepare your grill and heat it to medium. If you have a vegetable grill basket to grill the vegetables in, then chop them and grill them in the basket. If not, cut the zucchini and onion into large chunks and leave the mini bell peppers whole. Drizzle some olive oil over the vegetables and over the pineapple spears. Grill the vegetables for just a few minutes on each side and then remove to a plate.

Grill the pineapple next by placing the pineapple spears directly on the grill. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side, and remove to a plate.

Lastly, place the chicken on the grill. Cook for about 2-5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove to a plate to rest before slicing.

To serve, add coconut rice to each serving bowl. Top with grilled veggies, pineapple and chicken. Drizzle a little of the remaining teriyaki sauce on top.

Southern Banana Pudding

This dessert is wonderful served warm. Just let it cool for a while after taking out of the oven. It won't store well as the bananas will blacken. Serve soon after baking and enjoy!

3 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
dash of salt
3 large eggs, separated
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (12 oz) package vanilla wafer
6 medium bananas
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Beat egg yolks; combine egg yolks and milk, stirring well. Stir into dry ingredients; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat; stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Layer one-third of wafer in a 3-quart baking dish. Slice 2 bananas, and layer over wafers. Pour one-third of custard over bananas. Repeat layers twice.

Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, and beat until blended.

Spread meringue over custard, sealing to edge of dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Yield 8 servings.

Fresh Southern Peach Cobbler

Recipe found here and adjusted

10-12 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white or brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups of milk (may do 1 cup of milk next time)
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (may reduce to 375 after the first 10 min)*

In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish (use 9x13 next time to help bake the cake part through). Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven, and pour topping over them. Bake until topping is golden, about 45 -50 minutes.

Key Lime Cream Cake

Recipe found HERE

Cake or Cupcakes - Makes 24 cupcakes, Bake 16-18 min

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup key lime juice (fresh or bottled, I've done both and they both taste great)
3/4 cup sour cream

No Food Coloring added

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 8-inch cake pans. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into mixer. Add eggs, oil, and lime juice. Beat until smooth using whisk attachment. Add sour cream and beat until smooth. Pour in prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and frost.

Frosting (halve the frosting for cupcakes, should be able to frost them all)
1 cup butter, softened
2 – 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
2 – 16 oz boxes confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup key lime juice

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in vanilla. For really creamy frosting, mix in 1/4 cup of key lime juice. Add a small amount of green food color if you’d like the frosting tinted.

Whipped Cream (I used my strawberry corer to take the middle out of the cupcakes and filled with whipped cream, you can also halve this recipe to fill 24 cupcakes)

16 oz. heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

When ready to whip, add ingredients to the bowl and beat until stiff peaks form (whisk attachment).

Divide cake into four layers and frost. Pipe top with whipped cream or add crushed graham crackers to the side of the cake if desired. Keep refrigerated.

The Best Sugar Cookies

No Chill cookie dough recipe! This can easily be doubled for a larger batch. 

2 cups Butter (softened)
2 cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 Eggs
4 teaspoon Baking Powder
5-6 cups Flour

1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until well mixed and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla and eggs, mix well.
3. Add baking powder, mix well.
4. Incorporate flour one cup at a time until well blended. You may only need 5 cups. Add the last cup as needed, without getting the dough too dry. 
5. Do not chill cookie dough, roll out with rolling pin and use cookie cutters to create desired shape.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6-8 minutes depending on cookie size. Bake only until the bottoms of the cookies get a golden brown.

Recipe found HERE

Breakfast Potatoes

Recipe Found Here

4 whole (to 5) Large Red Potatoes
1 whole Onion
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Or Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon butter (more if pan needs it)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Red and Green Bell Peppers, Diced (optional)

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover entirely with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender (20 min or so). When they are ready, place the potatoes on a cutting board and dice them into 1-inch pieces.

Next cut up an onion into a large, rough dice.

In a large skillet heat oil and butter. Put the onions in the skillet and sauté until they start to turn brown. (You can also use red and green bell peppers diced up. If you do, throw them in at this point).

Next, throw in the diced potatoes. Stir well and then slightly press/pack then. Now you will cook them without stirring for several minutes. You want the pan to be hot enough to crisp the potatoes but not hot enough to char them. (Optional step: sprinkle a bit of flour over potatoes as they cook). Cook for several minutes and then flip them with a spatula. Salt and Pepper them as they cook. Cook until desired brownness.

tempering chocolate notes

Just temper the chocolate!

Foolproof method (they taught us this in school AFTER we mastered the hardcore old-school French methods):
-bring a pot of water to a boil
-turn it off, put the chocolate in a bowl over it, and ignore for about 10 minutes
-when all the chocolate is melted except the middle, remove from the heat and stir to melt the rest
-stirring vigorously is important, and by the time the chocolate reaches the holding temperature, there should still be a few unmelted pieces
-the holding temperature for dark chocolate is 86-90, for white or milk it's 83-86 (as in, it should stay in that range while using)
-you can test if it's tempered by smearing a bit on a cool surface...if it sets up quickly and without streaks, you're good. if not, stir some more and maybe rewarm, then bring the temp back down with some new pieces of unmelted chocolate.

another guide:

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/155/Tempering-Chocolate