Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Homemade chicken nuggets!

I made homemade chicken nuggets last night and it was easier than I thought. It does take more time that opening up some frozen nuggets and popping them in the oven, but they turned out pretty good! For the breading I used a store bought chicken breading thing. The only thing I wish I would have done differently was to add some salt and pepper to the breading as well. There wasn't much flavor to the chicken, but they tasted pretty good. They taste better than the frozen nuggets. Probably because there isn't any added junk like preservatives.

Teriyaki Chicken (2nd try)

Well, I tried again. My roommate had leftover chicken and said I could use it. I was originally going to make Chicken Pot Pie, but I went to Aldi and saw a great deal on Wok Sauces. I bought three different kinds and used the Teriyaki Sesame. After cooking, I tasted it and once again the sauce was not sweet enough (like it is at the restaurants) so I said, what the heck, I'll add a little sugar to the finished deal. And that is the trick! It tasted just like the restaurant's! I used Splenda instead of real sugar, and used 1 packet, but you can obviously use real sugar. I think I overcooked the chicken, because it was a little. Next time I think I will make the chicken pieces smaller and add a little more sauce. 

Homemade Pizza!

I've been wanting to make a homemade pizza for a while and today was the day. I used some leftover salsa chicken in this recipe. This pizza was delicious. You can obviously make pizza with any ingredients you like, but I had the chicken leftover and wanted to use it on this pizza. The crust I used was a pre-made crust that I found at the grocery store. It is the thin crust variety, so it was crunchy. =D

Pizza:
pizza dough, crust-whatever you have
1/4 cup of marinara sauce
3/4 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup feta cheese (I LOVE FETA)
3 oz chicken breast shredded
basil

Put all the ingredients on the pizza and bake in the over according the the instructions on your crust or dough. This took less than 10 minutes to bake and not long to put together.

This pizza is about the size of a small pizza you would get from a pizza place. I cut it in fourths and ended up eating 2 pieces, or half of the pizza. The whole pizza has 29 WW points, so you can divide that depending on how much you eat. =D

Review: Lean Cuisine

As I was making dinner tonight, I thought about using this blog for writing reviews on certain foods that are pre-packaged/frozen. I know I don't have the energy to cook something every night, and things like this are super easy. This is a Lean Cuisine product, but it is different because it comes in a pouch that you steam in the microwave. I guess steaming is the new thing to do. This product is the Garlic Chicken. It is pieces of chicken breast and vegetables in a creamy garlic sauce. The vegetables are asparagus, carrot, and broccoli. Overall, this was good. It was light and actually had a good amount of food. (sometimes frozen meals seem like they barely have any food in them) I felt like it could use a little salt and pepper added after cooking, which is a personal preference. I would give this meal 4 out of 5 stars. It was good, and I would buy it again. It has 7 WW points.

Chicken Quesadilla...

I used the leftover salsa chicken that I made the other day to make this. This was probably the most delicious quesadilla that I have ever eaten. It's healthy too! 

Chicken Quesadilla

3 oz leftover salsa chicken (3 points)

2 tablespoons frozen corn, thawed (1 point)

1/8 cup of 2% shredded cheese (1 point)

large tortilla (4 points)

1/2 tsp butter (0 points)

1 tbsp light sour cream (1 point)

Thaw out your corn, I did it in the microwave, and heat up your chicken. To guess a serving size of chicken, compare it to the size of a deck of cards. Melt a tiny amount of butter in a large skillet on medium heat. I used Smart Balance light. Place the tortilla in the skillet, and add corn, chicken, and cheese on half of the tortilla. I used a small amount of cheese, around 1/8 of a cup. After about a minute, fold over the empty side of the tortilla to the side with the ingredients on it. Let it cook for a minute or two on each side until you get your desired doneness. I like my a little crispy so I cooked it until I saw brown on the tortilla. I dipped it in some light sour cream and it tasted so delicious. 

This quesadilla has 9 points as prepared. You can definitely modify. I would love to find tortillas with less points, but haven't seen any in my local grocery store. The butter I used, about 1/2 tsp, has 0 points. 

Teriyaki Chicken...

My boyfriend requested teriyaki chicken last night, so I made it for him. If you like japanese food, this is a great, cheaper alternative to what you can get in the store. I got the chicken on sale, which was a huge plus is making this dish. I made white rice, but you could always make fried rice at home. (maybe I will do a blog on that sometime) The sauce I used for this wasn't very sweet, it was just something that I already had at home. It was a marinade so that could be why. I would suggest that you google how to make a sauce, or look in your local grocery store for something pre-made. (there are lots of neat sauces on the asian isle of the grocery store)

Teriyaki Chicken

boneless skinless chicken breasts

oil

a wok

teriyaki sauce

Cut you chicken into small equally sized chunks so they cook quickly and evenly. Take a wok, or a large skillet, and heat up some oil, just enough to saute (1 or 2 tablespoons, use your judgement) Saute the chicken for a few minutes. When the chicken looks like it is about done, add some teriyaki sauce. Add as much as you personally like. I don't like a lot of sauce, so I did not add that much, just enough to coat the chicken. When the chicken is cooked through, pair it with some rice and enjoy. I don't know the exact time I cooked the chicken for. I just used my judgment and checked a few of the pieces to see. The pieces are small, so they will cook quickly. You can easily do this with other sauces, just check out your grocery store. 

Shrimp Sauce

The shrimp sauce was bought at Food Lion. You can make your own shrimp sauce. My boyfriend and I have tried multiple times, but can't seem to get the taste of it at the restaurants. You can always go to a japanese restaurant and ask for some shrimp sauce.It will cost a little, but definitely cheaper than buying all the ingredients needed to make it at home.  (If you don't know what shrimp sauce is, it's the white/orange sauce that is served at the restaurants. It's called shrimp sauce where I am from, but I have heard different names for it here in Greensboro) 

Salsa Chicken....

My mawmaw used to make this when we would go over to her house to eat. It's healthy and super easy to make. It is so delicious! All you need are the ingredients and a crock pot!

Salsa Chicken

frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

salsa

I put three chicken breasts in the crock pot and covered with salsa. I used 1.5 bottles of salsa, which was more than enough. (you can definitely use less than this...just eyeball it) I turned on the crock pot and let them cook on high for about 4-5 hours. So easy, and so delicious. You can cook this on low for about 6-8 hours if you want to do it that way. You can always use more chicken, but three breasts were enough for me.