BBQ Chicken Pizza

Sometimes ya just need a little BBQ in your life. Well, at least I do. Today's super easy treat provides a slightly different way of eating it that I've made for a couple years now.

Cook chicken for about 40 minutes (if frozen) in oven set at 375 degrees.

I already had BBQ sauce made. You can use any kind you like.

I learned it's much easier to make a "personal" pizza when making this unless you're having a full family meal, then a regular large crust is great.

You'll need just a tiny bit of Olive oil to brush on the crust later.

Dice up your cooked chicken.

Lightly brush olive oil on the crust and put in the oven for about 4 minutes. Brush bottom and repeat.

Mix the diced chicken with your BBQ sauce.

Spread your BBQ'd chicken onto the crust. Now you can either leave it plain like this (I do) or you can add anything else you'd like. Top the chicken with mozzarella cheese, red onion slices, and pineapple for example. (That's the version I'll be making next, I just get weird about what's on my BBQ.)

Pop this in the oven for about 5-8 minutes or until everything is warmed through evenly and cheese-if you've used it- is melted.

Have at it! You'll probably need a napkin =)

Happy Eatin'!

Loves!

~Kels

Super Easy Baked BBQ Chicken

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Arange your chicken in a foil lined plan (I definitley wouldnt skip the foil!) being careful not to over crowd. Put in oven for about 15 minutes.

I still prefer to make my own BBQ sauce, but you can certainly use a store bought sauce.

Flip after 15 minutes.

Cover each piece with sauce and put in the oven another 10-15 minutes.

All done!

Yay! Veggies!!! I MUST do better about eatting more veggies!

Enjoy!



Loves!

~Kels

Teriyaki Steak and Chicken with Brown Rice

This recipe is somewhat a copy cat I came up with of the Sesame Teriyaki Chicken from O'Charley's. I love their recipe and I always get two or three meals out of it, but 1) sometimes the amount of ginger they use can cause it to be a little inconsistent in flavor, 2) sometimes the thin cut strips of chicken can get a little charred, and 3) it can get pricey for me to eat there with any sort of frequency. I had started getting the kids instant brown rice and hadnt really figured out what to do with it yet. What I ended up figuring out is one of the new faves around here; a good, filling, inexpensive one-bowl meal.

These are all the ingredients you need: Chicken breast (I buy frozen bags and thaw out what I need), Steak-any cut you like, Instant Brown Rice, Brown Sugar, ground Ginger, Soy Sauce, Lawry's Garlic Salt, Pineapple Juice, George Foreman or any other grill, Microwave safe bowl for rice and pot for making the sauce.

Go ahead and measure out the amount of rice you'll need, and water, and pour them in your microwave bowl. Set aside.

Here's what you need for the sauce. The sauce has actually tasted the best when I used my dad's Gluten Free Soy sauce. Not sure what it is it about exactly, but I think it's so much better. (And its the only ingredient that can keep this dish from being GF. I believe the brand we used was San-J)

I dont typically measure my ingredients unless I'm baking. I go strictly off my senses: color, texture/consistency, smell, flavor. dont usually like one flavor to stink out more than another with this particular sauce. I stir and heat this over medium-high heat being careful not to let it burn.

As this begins to heat, fire up your George Foreman. Lightly salt and pepper your chicken and steak.

You dont have to use both - you could even use pork - but I really love how the flavors compliment each other.

I'll let the chicken cook a little just on the one side before closing the lid. Once you close the lid, you can just let it sit for a minute. Re-open the lid, flip and rotate each piece and re-close the lid. This gives it that criss-cross grill marks.

*Mind your fingers. The steam will getcha.*

Once cooked through, remove to plate and tent with foil. This allows the meat to rest so the juices redistribute throughout and also keep it warm of course while you finished cooking everything else.

You dont want a big rolling boil, but this is what you want to see. You want the sauce to reduce down a little bit and thicken up some. Be sure you still keep an eye on it and stir it every couple minutes. Once you get it to a high simmer, let it stay there a minute or two and then reduce your heat.

Carefully wipe away any residue left on the grill so it doesnt burn.

Before you begin the steak, put your rice in the microwave for time stated on the box.

You may think that steak wouldnt be very good on a George Foreman, but it has actually come out very well for me and wasnt as touchy as I thought it might be. You simply repeat the same steps as for the chicken.

Tent steak.

When rice is done in the microwave, let it sit for about 5 minutes. During that 5 minutes, cut the chicken and steak into thin strips.

Fluff the rice with a fork.

Portion out the rice

Portion out the steak

Add the chicken

Spoon on sauce.

Mmmm =D

Give it a try tonight!

Enjoy!

Loves

~Kels

Chicken and Pasta

Another lunch/dinner-time staple in my family is my Chicken and Pasta. It is SO incredibly easy. Not only easy but it is always consistently yummy! Its inexpensive, very filling and can go a long way; always great for families and those who have very little time. To top it off, it reheats well too. =D

You can certainly use fresh chicken breast or you can save a little money and get the bags of frozen chicken. I Always line the pan with foil. With all the juices from cooking, you cant beat zero clean up.

My two favorite seasonings. I have used the Snappy BBQ on literally everything. It is a rub made by a friend of the family...so I really have no idea what is in it!

Cover frozen chicken with your selected seasonings. Dont be afraid to experiment...but I've found that the more simple the better the flavor. Sometimes you just cant beat some great garlic chicken.

Cook according to directions. Turn chicken halfway through cook time and season second side.

I love using Rotini. I used to use egg noodles, but I've found that the rotini holds up just a little bit better. You can use any pasta you chose, though. Boil your water a few minutes before your chicken's finished cooking. Dont forget to salt your water! Once at a rolling boil, add pasta.

Mmmm....This chicken is so good just like this by itself. Let the chicken rest for a couple minutes after removing from the oven-or you'll lose all the juices.

Dice the chicken-or however you like it!- while the pasta cooks.

Drain your pasta

Throw in the chicken

Toss them around

Mix in some melted butter-Mix very well.

Dig in! Super simple, but so good! You could certainly add some red sauce (I'm not much of a fan), grate some cheese over it...anything! Comfort food at its finest.

When reheating I usually add a smidge of butter just because sometimes noodles can dry out a little.

This is another great option for those eating Gluten Free. Naturally you would need to get a GF pasta, but everything else would be the same! There's a lot more pasta options out there now. The only thing that I've noticed while watching my dad eat GF pasta is that it doesnt always hold up long. The chicken can help make a GF pasta dish a little more substantial. Due to the pasta not always holding up, it may not be the best candidate for reheating later. It will just take a little trial and error.

Happy Grubbin'!

Loves!

~Kels