Sweet Sesame Chicken

You are going to absolutely love this one! It is sooooo good AND I came up with it myself! (Yes, that was a pat on the back 😉 ) This recipe also inspired another one that will be posted later this week. Make sure you look forward to that one!

Not too sweet, this yummilicious chicken is sure to make your taste buds shout with joy! It’s truly a dinner treat!

I made this recipe in the crockpot because hey, who doesn’t like simple? But then again, I’m sure it would be just as simple baking it in the oven. At least with the crockpot, you don’t heat up the house on hot days. So, choice is yours…crock or bake.

Sweet Sesame Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 c raw honey

1/4 c + 1 tbsp low sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp braggs

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1 tbsp arrowroot powder

sesame seeds

Instructions:

Turn on crockpot and add 1/4 c broth and honey. Let heat up while chopping veggies.

Stir honey and broth mix to combine before adding veggies. Should be warm enough that the honey melted some.

Add peppers, onions, garlic, braggs, mustard, and pepper flakes.

Stir to mix

Add chicken, cover and cook on low for about 4 hours or until chicken is very tender. Be careful not to burn the honey mix.

Remove chicken and set aside

Transfer honey sauce to a small sauce pan

Mix 1 tbsp cold broth with 1 tbsp arrowroot powder

Bring sauce to a boil and whisk in arrowroot mix. Keep whisking until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat and drizzle spoon over chicken breasts

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of chicken and serve

Enjoy! 🙂

Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings

This was one of the very first recipes I made (along with the no shell tacos), when I first started my new eating lifestyle. Both recipes were my staples and backups for when another recipe tasted bad to me.

This is a saucy recipe so if you’re more of a rub kinda person, check out the awesome smokey chicken wing recipe I posted. I like both, but truth be told, the rub one is my favorite. Nevertheless, don’t let that stop you from trying this!

Also, remember, parchment paper is your friend!!!! Who wants to scrub food crusted pans all evening? I sure don’t!

Oh, the original recipe for this was in the clinic’s cookbook…can’t forget to give credit where credit is due!

Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients:

Fresh chicken wings (I use drummettes)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c onion, diced

1/2 (6 oz) can no salt tomato paste

1/2 c water

1/3 c apple cider vinegar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp xylitol

1 tbsp ground mustard

1 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp Braggs

Instructions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Add all ingredients except chicken to a medium bowl and mix well.

Add chicken and coat well.

lay coated chicken on parchment paper covered cookie sheet

I like to spoon extra sauce over the chicken so it is well covered.

Bake for 30 mins, flip and bake for another 30 mins for a total of 1 hour.

Let cool slightly and serve with plenty of napkins

Enjoy! 🙂

Orange-Pineapple Chicken Skewers

Well let me tell you, this experiment was a long shot! I wasn’t sure how this was gonna turn out and was prepared to throw it in the trash. I was pleasantly surprised though that this was actually very tasty. It is a different flavor than I’ve ever had before and may not be for everyone but the chicken practically melts in the mouth! It’s worth trying in a small batch to see what you think.

I was really worried when hubby came home and had his taste testing because fruit and meat just doesn’t go together in his mind. Of course, I didn’t tell him what was in it before he tried it. As I anxiously awaited his response to his first bite, I was just bursting to tell him what was in it. First bite and his face lit up and he said,  “WOW that is delicious!” and then asked what was in it. Boy was he surprised! So, without further ado….

Orange-Pinapple Chicken Skewers

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chunked

Juice of 2 oranges

1 c frozen pineapple chunked, thawed, divided

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp oregano

1 tbsp braggs

your favorite veggies chopped into large chunks

Instructions:

(The chicken will be marinated. I used my vacuum sealer marinade dish and vacuum sealed, placed in fridge and marinated for 4 hours. A baggie or other covered dish should work fine.)

Add chicken, orange juice, cinnamon, ground mustard, oregano, and braggs to container. Dice 1/2 of the 1 c of pineapple chunks and add to the container. Seal and marinate for at least 4 hours.

Make your kabobs using your favorite veggies and the other 1/2 c pineapple chunks. I used the pineapple, purple onions, mushrooms, red bell peppers, and grape tomatoes

Grill, serve, and Enjoy! 🙂

Crispy General’s Chicken

Ok, here’s an indulgent recipe. Healthy ingredients but it is pan-fried with some oil instead of baked.

I found this recipe while I was pinning around and decided to give it a try. (If you’re a pinner, you may have seen this!) I really didn’t like the idea of frying because I want to stay away from the extra fat but since it’s been almost a year and I’ve lost so much weight, I figured I can be a little indulgent. This was very good but I have to say I really felt guilty for eating it so next time I make this I will play around and try to make a baked version of it. If it turns out, I will definitely update!

Word of advice: I got carried away with cutting up the chicken and made it kinda small. There was no way I was gonna spend all that time frying up those little pieces. So, I grouped together the smaller pieces to make larger ones when I put them in the pan. It worked out well but next time I will definitely cut larger pieces-chicken nugget sized.

Crispy General’s Chicken (Original recipe from tgipaleo here)

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into nugget sized pieces (Next time I’m gonna try breasts instead)

1/2 c sesame or extra virgin olive oil (I used sesame to keep it “Chinese” I’m sure grapeseed and safflower oil would work well too)

Batter:

3/4 c Arrowroot powder

2 tbsp coconut aminos

2 eggs

Sauce:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp arrowroot powder

1 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth

1/4-1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 c coconut aminos

1-2 tbsp crushed red pepper to taste

Instructions:

Start with the sauce. In a glass, whisk 1/4 cup broth and arrowroot until smooth. Set aside. Heat sesame oil in medium (I used 2 1/2 quart) sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sautee until lightly browned. Add 1 1/4 cup broth, aminos, and honey. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and whisk in arrowroot mix, ginger, and red peppers. Continue stirring until thickened. Reduce heat to low and cover saucepan.

For batter: Mix together the batter ingredients until smooth. Add chicken chunks to batter.

Heat 1/2 c oil (I used sesame) over medium-high heat. Add battered chicken to oil and cook on each side until brown and crispy (3-5 mins each side).  Remove and drain on paper toweled plate.

When all chicken is cooked you can either transfer chicken to sauce and stir to coat OR what I did was put the chicken I wanted on my plate and drizzled the amount of sauce I wanted over it. I served it with Beef Fried Rice

Enjoy! 🙂

Spinach and Mushroom Chicken

I was really trying to come up with something different but my brain just was not cooperating. I didn’t have any creativity flowing so I just figured I would think of different things that sounded good and put them together and see what happens.

I love spinach and I love mushrooms. How could those not go well together? So, I thought I’d toss them together with some chicken breasts and give it a try. The smell of it cooking all day about drove me nuts! It smelled sooo good! I was hoping it tasted as good or even better than it smelled. It just so happened to turn out pretty tasty and hubby loved it so, it made it to this post!

Spinach and Mushroom Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 c fresh baby spinach (I somewhat packed it but not tight)

3 c  sliced baby portobello mushrooms

1/2 lg onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp poultry seasoning mix

1 tbsp braggs

1 c low sodium chicken broth

Instructions:

Put everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken is tender

I served it with plain quinoa (the juice from the chicken adds lots of flavor to the quinoa) and almond green beans

Enjoy! 🙂

Grilled Chicken Salad

I love having salads! Especially in the summer time! I know for where I live, summer is a long way off but I can always dream it will be here tomorrow!

Anyway, this salad is actually one I made up for my truck driver hubby who can’t heat anything up. He absolutely LOVES it and for him to love a salad, it is actually a miracle! I was so glad that he liked it because it’s so hard to find cold healthy food for him to eat.

This will definitely be one of my regular meals for the summer months! Has everything you need all in one bowl!

Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

1 shredded grilled chicken breast

Your favorite salad lettuce

Onion, chopped

Sweet peppers, chopped

Grape tomatoes, cut in half

Italian Salad Dressing

Instructions:

Put your favorite lettuce in a bowl. Add shredded grilled chicken. Top with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and salad dressing.

I am sure there are other veggies that would be good as well but I know my hubby is not a veggie lover so I had to choose what he  would like. Experiment with your favorite veggies, I bet it will be delicious no matter what!

Enjoy! 🙂

Grilled Chicken

There is no plain meat that tastes as good as meat that is cooked on the grill! When you are trying to eat clean and healthy, being able to grill meat is a must! I live in Northwest Indiana and as anyone who knows this area can tell you, we have more winter than summer and the temperature can change by 20 degrees in one day! This makes using an outdoor grill difficult to do year round. This is what makes me so thankful for the invention of the indoor grill!

Hubby bought one of these for me and even though I was wanting one, I wasn’t sure if the results would be the same. Well, I came up with a way to season my chicken so that you wouldn’t know the difference whether it was cooked inside on an electric grill or on the outdoor grill! This grilled chicken can be eaten as is (it’s so good!) or used in salads or other dishes.

Amazing!

Grilled Chicken Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp liquid hickory smoke (I use Wright’s brand-it’s all natural, contains just water and liquid smoke concentrate)

1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

McCormick perfect pinch salt-free garlic & herb seasoning

Instructions:

Preheat grill

In condiment bowl (or other small bowl) add liquid smoke and olive oil

brush tops of chicken breasts with smoke mix using a silicon basting brush

Sprinkle seasoning generously over tops of chicken breasts

When grill is heated, arrange chicken breasts on it seasoning side down.

Brush the unseasoned tops with smoke mix and sprinkle generously with seasoning.

Cook thoroughly, flipping halfway through.

Enjoy! 🙂