Assignment 2: Chicken Skewers

Assignment #2: Chicken Skewers with Soy Mirin Marinade

Makes: 4 servings (serving size: 2 skewers and 3/4 c rice)

1/3 c mirin (sweet rice wine) - substitute sake or white wine
1/3 c low-sodium soy sauce
1 t dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut lengthwise into 1-inch strips
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces
cooking spray
2 T sesame seeds, toasted
2 c hot cooked rice

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; add chicken to bowl, and toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes, turning chicken occasionally.
2. Prepare grill.
3. Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Place marinade in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/4c (or 5 minutes). Thread chicken and peppers on 8 (12-inch) skewers. Brush skewers with marinade. Place skewers on frill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 4 minutes on each side or until done, brushing occasionally with remaining marinade. Remove from grill; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

Even though I made them I did hire out the grilling chefs for the actual grilling part. Ty did catch the grill on fire and forgot to spray the non-stick spray, but I'm not a fan of grilling so I'm grateful that he and my dad are!

Grilling the skewers!

It kinda looks like only one person was actually working here. haha I'm kidding! I know you helped too dad!

Let's see what did I do differently. Oh I added onions because a certain someone doesn't eat any other veggies. Ty taught me how to toast my own seseme seeds (he learned from YouTube the other day when we made sushi) and oh I did have to run out and buy skewers because we were out of them.

I served these with white rice and I think the only thing I'd do differently next time is marinate longer or make more marinade so I could use more of it while they are grilling. Otherwise, everyone loved this dish! Thanks Sarah!! Everyone here is very thankful for you!

Poulet Au Rie

Poulet Au Rie...our favorite salad from Poulet Du Jour in Hermosa Beach, LA. Sigh...we missed it so much we decided to recreate it!

Grilled Chicken, White Rice, Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, Pita Chips, tossed in Garlic Lemon Dressing, and topped with Fresh Parmesan Cheese.

Here's how I made the dressing:

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp.dry mustard

We made 3x the amount for 4 people to eat 2 big plates of salad! YUM!

Sarah do I get extra credit for this?!?!?

Dinner #2

Ok so as many of you know...I don't know how to cook. Ok maybe it's not that I don't know HOW to cook. I have cooked before. It's more that I don't have the patience to cook. I would rather bake and I would rather run a mile and I'd rather just have ice cream for dinner :-)

Either way, I realize I NEED to cook. I want Ty & Tabor to enjoy my cooking and I want to eat healthy meals. SO...I asked Sarah to help me out.

I am currently enrolled in the Sanders Institute of Culinary Arts or SICA ha

Anyway, Sarah has given me a few assignments and I've currently completed 2 out of 4. I'll blog about #1 as soon as I get the pics uploaded.

For now I'll update everyone on meal #2 and await my grade under the comments. Yes you will all know my grade...gulp.

Ok for meal #2 I made Pesto Salmon with rice & asparagus and thank you Flo for the fruit plate that served as our yummy dessert.

Makes: 2 servings

Serving Size: 1 fillet and 1/3 c rice
Note: This recipe assumes rice is already cooked

2 c fresh spinach leaves
1/2 c basil leaves
1/4 c fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Cooking spray
2 (6 oz) salmon fillets, skinned
2/3 c hot cooked brown rice

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until the mixture is smooth. Spoon 3 tablespoons pesto into bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with salmon fillets, and spread fillets with remaining pesto.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork.

Ok the challenges:
- I have no idea how to skin salmon
- I tripled the recipe because I cooked for 5 adults and wanted 1 leftover for Ty's lunch. SO I needed a LOT of Basil and my mom's basil plant has seen better days so my dad went to the store (thanks dad!) and bought 2 more basil plants. :-) I completely destroyed one (looking back I probably should've taken leaves from both instead of just one) Anyway, I am going to water them both and see if they grow.

The sad little Basil plant:

- Dad also had to go get more Spinach because mine had wilted and I had only bought enough for 1 recipe.
- I used white rice instead of brown
- I made my own asaparagus concoction. I put them in foil and added butter, olive oil, lemon juice and salt & pepper and baked them alongside the salmon for about 30min.

The verdict:
- Everyone loved it!

Ok Chef Sarah grade me!