Falling Off the Face of the Earth into Satay Chicken...

What the heck does that title mean, you may ask?

Fine Heirloom Jungle fans, I feel as though I have fallen off the face the earth for a short time with too much on my plate (pun intended).  My fall has landed me back into reality with Satay Chicken, a house hold favorite, especially for the summer grilling months. I hope along with this delightful dish (that I can't take original credit for) I find more free time, much more sleep (anyone with little ones can relate) and less inconvenient interruptions (that are not means to an end...well maybe)! 

I for the life of me can't remember were of got this recipe off the internet....I would happily give credit if I could find it again easily or wanted to make the effort to do so today. SO THANK YOU WHOEVER YOU ARE, the credit is all yours!! 

Satay Chicken Recipe:

8-12 skinless boneless chicken thighs (no it does not say chicken breast for a reason...trust me you low-fat junky)
1 small onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 thumb sized piece fresh ginger (skin removed)
1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric
2 Tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
3 Tablespoons dark soy sauce 
4 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
5-6 tablespoons brown sugar

1. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water while you prepare the meat (to prevent burning). The kitchen sink works well for this.
2. Cut chicken into thin strips and place in a bowl.
3. Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor or chopper. Process well.
4. Taste-test the marinade - you will taste sweet, spicy, and salty. The strongest tastes should be SWEET and SALTY in order for the finished satay to taste its best. Add more sugar or more fish sauce (in place of salt) to adjust the taste. You can also add more chili if you want it spicier.
5. Pour the marinade over the meat and stir well to combine. Allow at least 1 hour for marinating, or longer (up to 24 hours).
6. When ready to cook, thread meat onto the skewers. Tip: Fill up to 3/4 of the skewer, leaving the lower half empty so that the person grilling has a "handle" to easily turn the satay during cooking.
7. Grill the satay on your BBQ, OR on an indoor grill, basting the first time you time it with a little of the leftover marinade from the bottom of the bowl. OR you can broil in the oven on a broiling pan or baking sheet with the oven set to "broil" Place satay close beneath the heating element and turn the meat every 5 minutes until cooked (be sure to soak your wooden satay sticks in water before skewering). Depending on how thin your meat is, the satay should cook in 10 to 20 minutes.

To Falling off the Face of the Earth, Bretta ;-))

Banana walnut salad

 I don't miss the speed of fast food, I miss the convenience.

We are remodeling our two bedroom house to give each of our three children their own room, or berth as we're referring to them so as to invoke a cozy, nautical image rather than focus on the all too obvious miniscule size each will be.

We also just adopted a new puppy.
I'll share some puppy recipes soon!!

Needless to say it's a bit hectic around our place.

And still my family expects to eat.
EVERY day.
Have I mentioned they've been on spring break for three weeks with all this going on?
Right, so, hectic. 

The ingredients not stowed in the basement during construction led to this meal:

Banana Walnut Salad

Lettuce
Sprouts
Bananas
Walnuts, Toasted
Grape seed oil and Cabernet vinegar

Served with crockpot chicken and margarita pizza.

Not bad considering the current stage of remodeling ~ new puppy chaos we are in right now!!

For the pizza I drizzled olive oil on a Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza crust, sliced mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil and baked at 550 until the cheese started to brown.

Chicken Soup from Stock

This is where it gets fun for me. 

Hopefully you enjoyed the slow cooker chicken from the other day. 

But wait there's more. (My infomercial impression.)

After  dinner clean the meat off the bone and store. 

Throw all the chicken parts back into the slow cooker (yea for not having to clean the slow cooker right now!!)

Add a bottle of almond champagne (I love you Jess, but I could not stomach the almond champagne but I did find a good use for it :)

and top off with water, set it to slow and long and leave it for the night. 

The next morning strain and refrigerate.

When you're ready; that night or within the week it's time to make chicken soup. 

Heat stock in a large pot with the chicken you cleaned off the bone and a cup of corn. 

Prepare toppings.

Have each person put desired toppings in bowl and ladle hot soup over. 

Soup
Stock from slow cooker chicken
left over chicken from slow cooker chicken
1 cup corn

Toppings
Avocado, sliced
Cheese, cheddar and mozzarella mixed
Flax Tortilla Chips 
Red Onion Chopped
Cucumber Chopped
Hot Sauce

y

Salsa Chicken with Brie

This is kind of a cheater meal: it’s too easy.

Take a piece of chicken. Everyone always uses breasts. 

Personally I prefer thighs and other parts. 

I didn’t know this until recently when, in an effort to save money, we bought the thighs and whatever other parts come with them. (It’s a package at Costco, organic but less expensive than breasts.)

Well, after thirty some years of my mom convincing me that I prefer white meat, I discovered dark. 

And I like it.

Anyway, take a piece of chicken place it on a piece of tinfoil (big enough to make a packet out of)
Pour 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa on it
Close tinfoil
Repeat for the number of people you are serving
Bake at 375 for 36 minutes.
 
Open the biggest and slice through to make sure it is cooked through. 
(size of chicken may change cooking time)

Open each packet and place a slice of brie on top.

Place under the broiler for a minute to get it brown and bubbly.


Serve with barley, or brown rice, or any grainy side that sounds good and you happen to have. Or not. I don't mind if you want to eat it alone.

Fast Food Chicken Dinner

It's not technically fast food but as much effort when into this as driving to a fast food restaurant would.

Argue with me, go ahead. 

Steamed artichokes, baked sweet potatoes and slow cooker rosemary chicken.

 

Chicken: Put a whole roasting chicken in the slow cooker, cut fresh rosemary on top (dried will work as well), drizzle a little olive oil on top and salt. Set to low for about 8 hours.

Then go about your day. When you get home as everybody is getting homework started put a few sweet potatoes in the convection/toaster oven at 400 degrees.

Boil a couple inches of water in a big pot, squeeze some lemon in, put 4 artichokes in to steam. (Cut off the stem and leave tips first.)

Your now have about 45 minutes to set the table, pour some drinks, hang up the 800 coats your family inexplicably wore today, put lunch boxes away, silently question what was going through their heads as they chose what to eat and what to refuse today, refocus wandering 5 year olds who are supposed to be doing their homework, throw the laundry you forgot about in the washer into the dryer, wipe down the kids' bathroom because it ALWAYS needs to be wiped down and since you were too lazy to run upstairs use your own bathroom you used the kids' and now you are compelled to acknowledge its need,  find the gym bag that has not been unpacked for one too many days, throw its contents into the now free washer, where it will sit for too long once again, and sit down and have a relaxing glass of wine with your husband while he tells you amusing and witty quips about his day. (You did notice I said pour drinkS at the beginning of this.....) 

But I digress.  Often.

Be sure to put cinnamon on the table to season the sweet potatoes. (My kids have confused it with sugar and think they're getting away with something when they do this.)

For the artichokes serve yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, and a squeeze of mustard (I dislike mustard immensely but you can't taste it in this.) mixed in little individual bowls which everyone can season to taste. 

(Hot sauce or cinnamon work well.)

Salsa is a good dip as well.