Why this blog??

Why this blog?? I often find myself stressing over what to make for my family for dinner. We live a busy life and some meals need time to prep, cook and let's not forget shopping for everything you need. I love cookbooks and websites, but there are so many recipe's at times it is overwhelming. The recipe's I will be posting are things I actually made. I will tell you if they are easy or more time consuming. I will also tell you if they are good. Most of these are recipe's I have made for years and continue to make because they are easy or quick and my family loves them and i know yours will too! I will also try to at least once in a whlie try a new recipe I've found on line or in a book and honestly rate it. I always encourage others to send me their favorite recipe's as well! I am a mom... not a chef. But I am a mom who enjoys cooking for her family and making a somewhat healthy meal (some days more healthy than others:) ) In each recipe I will share how I recommend serving it, any substitutions I can think of that are also good, or ways to prepare ahead of time to make the cooking part seem quicker! I am not a photographer, as you can see... most of these pictures are taken from my phone camera, so may not be the best! I love to hear from others who have made these recipes and what they have done to change the recipe... please post comments! Thank you! To "like" me on facebook, go to this link... It's What's Cookin

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Gingered Chicken Dinner


I found this recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine I had. It was submitted by Judy Komarinski from Greensburg, Pennsylvania. I was already defrosting chicken and planning to make Pineapple Teryaki Chicken with white rice and veggies. I've made it a hundred times and I came across this recipe and I already had everything in the house except for orange juice. It says to marinate overnight but I started it in the morning and marinated for about 8 hours before starting and I believe that was plenty time to marinate.

I went back and forth with whether or not to post this recipe. I've made some recipes in the past that we would never eat again, so I didn't bother to put them on the blog. I will probably never make this recipe again because it's just not flavors my family really liked. But it was an easy, quick meal to make and I can see some people liking it. I think it's missing something, but I'm not sure what:) I just don't know if the tang of the OJ and the ginger went super together.... but that's just me. I would love to hear from anyone who tries this and what their thoughts were.  One suggestion I have is to not use as much of the marinade with the rice. I would use half the marinade that is left and replace the remaining liquid with water or chicken broth. It was too strong for the rice. There is also way to much sodium in this dish. I recommend using low sodium soy sauce and omitting the extra salt as well!

So here is the recipe:)

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 Cups Orange Juice
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tsp ground ginger
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp pepper
* 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (aprox 6-8 oz each)
* 1 T butter
* 1 cup uncooked instant rice (minute rice)
* 1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Pour half into a large resealable plastic bag; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Drain and discard marinade from bag with chicken. In a small skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in butter for 2-3 minutes on each side. In a greased 8-in. square baking dish, combine rice with reserved marinade; top with chicken.

Cover and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Top with broccoli, cover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear (thicker chicken will take extra time).
Yield: 2 servings (this was the perfect amount of food for my husband and I and our two small kids. We also served a side of corn, orange slices, Holiday grapes and caprese.

marinade

saute chicken in butter

mix remaining marinade with rice (I would use half of the remaining marinade and add extra water or broth)

place chicken on rice and bake covered for 15 mins


After it bakes for 15 minutes, add broccoli. Recover and bake another 15-25 minutes