chicken

Simple Soy Marinade/Glaze

/ ktbuchs87

When Adam and I first started dating he was the primary cook for himself and his roommate.  He is actually a fairly decent cook, but I would have to say he had two main specialties.  One was his mostaccioli and the other was his stir fry.  While I liked that mostaccioli (pretty sure he fed my roommates a few times with that dish), I loved his stir fry.  More specifically, I loved his stir fry sauce.  It was like restaurant quality sauce.  Growing up we had stir fry, but we usually used those little packets of stir fry seasoning that you add to water and then pour over the meat and vegetables.  So I was amazed when he suggested stir fry and then started making his own stir fry sauce.  It’s the little things for me…. Anyway, one of the main ingredients in his sauce was hoisin sauce.  I don’t know if you have ever seen or used hoisin, but it isn’t the healthiest thing to be eating.  I made it my mission to make my own healthy stir fry sauce without the use of hoisin.  After many tries, I think I finally got it down in taste and texture.  While it might not taste exactly like restaurant quality stir fry sauce, it comes pretty close and you won’t have to worry about any of the ingredients!

Simple Soy Marinade/Glaze

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  • 1/4 cup liquid aminos, tamari sauce or soy sauce (coconut aminos would work too)
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp chinese five spice
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ginger, minced
  • 1 tsp tapioca starch

 

Mix everything except the tapioca starch together.  Add in the tapioca starch and whisk until fully incorporated and there are no clumps.

 

You can use this as a marinade for fish, chicken, or pork.  You can use it as a sir fry sauce, just cook your meat and vegetables and then add this sauce in at the end and cook until it has thickened up.  You could also use it as a glaze.  Just heat the sauce up in a small sauce pan over medium high heat until it thickens and then pour it over whatever you would like.  You can make this ahead of time just store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

 

Also, if you guys have any requests for recipes that you would like to see on the blog, let me know in the comment section!  I want to make sure that you are getting what you need/want from this blog, so please tell me.  Have a great weekend!

Avocado Chicken Salad

/ ktbuchs87

A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to a cookout for his grandpa’s birthday.  It was great, full of family, friends, and food.  Oh was there food.  Now let me say that Adam has quite a large family.  Nine aunts and uncles, plus their spouses/significant others, plus all their children so there needs to be a lot of food.  Along with all the appetizers and side dishes, there was a mountain of chicken.  I am not exaggerating.  There were three different kinds of wings, grilled chicken, marinaded chicken, smoked chicken, chicken chicken… You get the idea.  Long story short, we were sent home with a bag of chicken.  After adding chicken to stir frys and frittatas, I wanted to come up with a simple and tasty chicken dish.  Because it was uber hot, I went with a chicken salad.  It came together quickly and hit the spot on a hot summer night, plus it’s healthy!  So if you are loaded down with chicken, give this recipe a try!

 

Avocado Chicken Salad

  • 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
  • 1 large avocado, diced
  • 1 tbsp mustard (I used spicy brown mustard)
  • 1 tbsp tahini (sunflower seed butter would work well too)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tbsp almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • corn kernels/celery, optional (but they add a nice crunch!)

 

1.  Shred your chicken and set aside.  In a large bowl, mash up your avocado pieces.  You want this to be fairly smooth, so make sure there are no large chunks.  Add in the rest of the ingredients, except corn/celery and chicken.  Mix together well.

2.  Add in chicken and corn/celery and stir to coat everything with the avocado.  Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.  You can serve this right away or let it cool in the fridge.

Pretty easy, right?  This goes well over lettuce, in tortilla shells, or on your favorite type of bun.  Don’t like chicken?  Try it with canned tuna or salmon.  Don’t eat meat?  Make it with chickpeas or your favorite kind of bean.  It’s a pretty easy recipe to adapt to your tastes.  It is also a good one to make a big batch of and share at a party or gathering.  Enjoy!