Sauteed Sesame Chicken

Before I begin I must apologize for my lack of blogging. My mom has been in the country the past two weeks so I haven't been doing much cooking. And when I did cook on the rare occassion my husband advised me not to put my recipes on the blog as they weren't up to par. At least he's honest :) Mom has returned to the war zone so I am back in the kitchen. We were both in the mood for chinese so I made sauteed sesame chicken (with a little help) which is much healthier than the breaded, fried version you find in the restaurants. On a side note, you can always ask the restaurant to sautee your chicken. My personal opinion is that it tastes much better. Hope you enjoy!
      

Marinade (I just threw some ingredients together so I don't have the exact measurements. I will put them in order from most used to least used though)
Sesame seed oil
Light soy sauce
White pepper
Salt

Sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
teaspoon of chili paste
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Cut fat off from 3 chicken breasts and then cut into chunks. Marinade chicken for 30 minutes. Saute chicken with the marinade until tender and fully cooked. To make the sauce while cooking the chicken combine all sauce ingredients in a heated wok or saute pan. Boil sauce and whisk continuously. Once chicken is cooked, pour sauce over chicken. Serve and enjoy!

I also have the fried rice recipe that I will share shortly.

Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken

This is a great recipe. It was quick and easy (hence the title) and good for the effort that was put into it. This  is also a low fat dish and you can really influence the flavor by picking out your favorite type of shredded cheese and salsa.

Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken

Adapted from All Recipes
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups salsa 
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat a greased skillet to medium. Rub chicken pieces with garlic, salt, pepper and cumin to taste and add to hot skillet. Cook until brown on both sides and no longer pink (10-15 minutes)
3. Transfer meat to 9x13 inch baking dish, top with salsa and then cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown).

Serve with mexican rice or over buttered noodles....we just ate green beans with it!

-Brittany

Chicken on the Ritz

This will be one of the easiest/tastiest little meals you make! If you love chicken and Ritz crackers this is the recipe for you. I am kinda cheating this week because I have made this several times but it is one I have to share! Another reason to love this recipe is because it is impossible to dry out the chicken...well not impossible but very hard to do because you dip the chicken in butter. The butter keeps the chicken moist! It sounds pretty unhealthy but if you use the right kind of butter...not too bad right?? Serve with something green!

Chicken on the Ritz

4 boneless chicken breasts, skinned
1 stick butter ***see below for the "healthy" butter
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers (I use the whole wheat kind)

Preheat the oven to 350. Crush Ritz crackers on wax paper. Line the bottom of baking dish with crushed crackers. Melt butter in a bowl. Roll chicken breasts in butter, then roll in Ritz crackers and place in baking dish. Bake 40-45 minutes or until done.

"Healthy Butter"
Earth Balance - made with expeller-pressed oils to help raise good cholesterol while lowering bad
Smart Balance - made with fish oils and flax seed giving you some good fiber
Yogurt Butter - lower saturated fat

-Brittany