Teriyaki Cashew Chicken

This dinner is slightly higher in calories and carbs than I like to promote, but as a quasi-treat, you can't beat it.  Just be careful on calories and carbs the rest of the day and you'll be fine.

Who wouldn't want to have this masterpiece for dinner???

O M G  it is sooooo good!  My husband and kids just love this stuff!  And it's super easy, too, because I use a Kikkoman teriyaki sauce.  I'll tell you later in the post how to make home made teriyaki sauce if you prefer to do that.  It's pretty dang easy too.


This is what I used:
1 bag broccoli slaw
Instant white rice
1.5-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small can cashew halves/pieces
Sesame seeds
Kikkoman Garlic & Green Onion Teriyaki Sauce

I looked for it at my Super Wal-Mart, and they didn't carry it when I looked.  My neighborhood Fry's carries it, but they just raised the price by 2 freakin' dollars!  I'm going to have to start using my home made teriyaki sauce to save some money.  Both are equally as good, so either way will work.

To start, I bought a bag of Broccoli Slaw from the produce department.  I put it in a bowl with a few Tablespoons of water, covered it and put it in the microwave for 12 minutes.  (Cooking time may vary depending on your microwave.)  While that is cooking...

I got water boiling for instant rice.  I used white, but brown is better for you.  Just follow the instructions on the box.

Then I cooked about 1.5-2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts in a little bit of canola oil over medium high heat.  I cut the breasts into thirds so it would cook faster and more even.  After it cooked I put the chicken on a cutting board and cut it up into bite sized pieces.

I bought a small can of cashew halves and pieces...just a generic brand from Wal Mart for $2.  Cashews can be expensive, so just know you don't need a gourmet brand.  I chopped the cashews up for about 2 seconds in my Ninja Express Chop and put them in a cake pan.  I also poured about 3 Tbsp of sesame seeds onto the pan.  I put the pan in the oven at 375F for about 5-7 minutes.

Drain the pan the chicken cooked in, return it to a medium heat, and put the chicken back in.  I pour almost the whole bottle of sauce into the pan with the chicken.  Stir to coat, and get it warmed back up.  Stir in the nuts and seeds.

If you want to get very accurate about weighing and measuring your portions, I weighed out 4 oz of plain, cooked chicken.  I put it in a separate little saucepan and measured 3 Tbsp of sauce and 1/4 cup of nuts.  That way, my serving was exactly proportioned the way I calculated.  But since my family doesn't exactly weigh and measure their food, I just put the sauce and the rest of the nuts and seeds right in the pan.

Measure out 1/2 C of cooked broccoli slaw and make a ring of around the edge of the plate.  Measure out 1/2 C rice and place in the middle of the plate.  Put the teriyaki chicken on top of the rice.  Ta-da!  You have a gorgeous meal, and it was pretty easy.

If you want to make home made teriyaki sauce, the recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
2 C chicken broth
1 C low sodium soy sauce
2/3 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar
4 minced garlic cloves
1 sliced green onion
3 Tbsp corn starch

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  In a small bowl mix 2 Tbsp water with 3 Tbsp corn starch.  Pour corn starch into boiling sauce and stir until it thickens.

Very easy!

Here are the nutritional values for 4 oz of chicken, 3 Tbsp Kikkoman teriyaki sauce, 1/2 C white rice, 1/4 C cashews and 1/2 C broccoli slaw:

621.5 calories, 19.5g fat, 2.9g sat fat, 96mg cholesterol, 1081.5mg sodium, 65.5g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 49g protein. (16 Points Plus)

Yes, again I realize that it's a little higher in carbs and calories.  But like I said, if you are careful the rest of the day you will be fine.  It truly is absolutely delicious.  My family was saying constantly throughout dinner, "This is so good!"  and my hubby kept saying, "Great dinner, honey!"

Enjoy!
Lisa
happyfairylove@live.com

P.S.  You can also do it with peanuts or, like I did tonight, a combination of cashews and peanuts.

Tex Mex Chicken & Rice (Not out of a box!) Very Easy (Recipe, pics)

I used to make this Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice recipe using Rice A Roni or something else in a box.  But the last time I made it I thought there has to be a way to do this with clean ingredients.  And I did it!  I had a little trouble with the rice, but I think I know why.  I'll get to that in a minute.

Here's what you'll need to serve 4:

12 oz chicken breast, cooked, cut up
1 C brown rice
2 C no fat, reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 packet mild taco seasoning (Please see this post on clean, easily home made taco seasoning)
1 small can diced green chiles
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 C shredded cheese (use reduced fat for lower calories)
1 tsp dried, crushed basil
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp water

I know the list seems long, but it's a lot of spices and little stuff.  Very easy to put together, so don't get intimidated by the list.  If you read my blog, you know by now that I don't do complicated.

Here's how to make it:

1.  In a pot put 1 Tbsp olive oil, heat it up over medium high heat and then put in the chopped up onions.  Cook the onions until they are golden.

2.  Add in chicken stock, taco seasoning, chiles, basil, chili powder, cumin, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.
3.  Add in rice.
4.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45-50 minutes, or until rice is tender.  Stir occasionally.  Add a litle more water if it dries out.  Here's where I think I went wrong.  My rice cooked for an hour and was still hard.  I added water several times, kept it covered, and I couldn't get it to cook.  But the last time I added some water I turned the heat up to half way on the dial and it cooked well, so I think my "simmer" was too low.  You don't want to turn it up so that the rice sticks to the bottom of the pan, but in my case I think I had it too low because it wasn't cooking.
5.  While the rice is cooking, spray another pan with canola spray and cook chicken until it is no longer pink in the center.  Chop up and set aside.
6.  Add in cornstarch and 1 Tbsp water to rice.  Stir and let it thicken for 2-3 minutes.
7.  Add in chicken to rice.  Let it heat up for a minute or two.
8.  Add in tomatoes and cheese to rice.  Stir.

9.  Makes about 4-5 servings of 1 C.

My family really loved the taste of this dish, but there is an ongoing joke in my house.  They say that my cooking is delicious but that everything I make looks like cat puke.  lol  I guess it's because I like the one pot casserole type cooking where everything gets all mixed together in one dish.  Well, since I started this blog my dishes have been looking a little more gourmet, but with this one we were back to the "cat puke" look.  I know, it doesn't sound appealing.  But I think if you served it with more color on the plate, like with a fresh salad and maybe some parsley on top or something like that it would brighten it up a little.  But the taste really was fantastic.  You'll have to take my word for it.  Just try it.  I think you'll like it.  The seasonings give it really good flavor, the cheese and the little bit of cornstarch makes it thick and creamy, and the rice makes it very filling and satisfying.

I was a little surprised that when I did the numbers and compared the home cooked version to the boxed version, there was not a lot of difference.  Even in the sodium, and that was due to the taco seasoning.  If you want you could even go online and look for a home made taco seasoning mix and eliminate the sodium that way.  But the difference is that this way is cleaner eating.  There is nothing but whole foods here (except maybe the taco seasoning packet).  And that's one of my goals...to eat cleaner and greener and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.  In that endeavor I was successful.  And I was also successful at making an excellent home made version of what comes out of a box...tastier even.


Don't be put off by my "cat puke" story. lol  This Tex-Mex dish is delicious.  Go ahead and give it a try!

Here's the nutritional info (1 C rice with 3 oz chicken):  376 calories, 8.5g fat, 3.6g saturated fat, 92mg cholesterol, 933mg sodium, 178.5mg potassium, 36.5g carbs, 2g fiber, 34.8g protein. (9 Points Plus)

Buen Apetito!
Lisa
PS  Hover over the black bar on the right side of the screen to pull out more menu options for my blog.
happyfairylove@live.com