Crockpot Teriyaki Ginger Chicken

Being Texan, there's nothing I love more than pulled meat. The sloppyness of it just makes everything better. Plus, it makes you feel like you're eating more, since a pulled pork sandwich is ALWAYS more filling then a porkchop (maybe it's psychological?) Anyways, this recipe takes the traditional BBQ chicken and instead puts an Asian twist on it -- infusing fresh ginger and teriyaki flavors. Portion it out and when ready to eat, put it in a pita, or on top of some salad!

Servings: 5 (about 1.5 cups)

What You'll Need:

• 5-pack of raw chicken breasts
• 1 yellow onion; chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 cup of ginger puree (they have squeezy bottles now in the produce section; $2)
• Salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce
• A slow cooker (if you don't have one, see below section for oven directions)
• OPTIONAL: a few sprigs of fresh thyme

The Step-by-Step:

1. Wash your hands. One by one, lightly rinse the chicken breasts and dry off with paper towels. Set them aside. Cut them in half longways. Season with salt & pepper. Wash your hands again (vital when cooking with raw meat.)
2. Place a couple of chicken breast halves along the bottom of the slow cooker. Spread some ginger over it, then add a handful of the onion. If you have it, add a couple of thyme sprigs. 
3. Repeat with more chicken, ginger, onion, and thyme until all the chicken is in the slow cooker. Top with any onion, ginger, and thyme you have left.
4. Cover with lid, and let cook for 6 hours on low. If you're working and will be out of the house for 8 hours, don't fret, that is fine.
5. When time is up, take out the chicken and use two forks to tear each piece to shreds. Return to slow cooker. Stir so the ginger and onion are well distributed.
6. Let cook another 30 minutes.
7. Add in teriyaki sauce, and stir. Turn off slow cooker. Enjoy!

xoxo n

if you do not have a slow cooker

you should get one! seriously, you don't know what you're missing out on! hands-free is the way to be :) but anyways, this recipe works in an oven as well -- just toss the chicken breasts in the ginger, add onion, then put the mixture in a oven pan already greased with olive oil. bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees F. use the two forks to pull apart chicken and add back to pan. bake for 10 minutes. add teriyaki sauce. you're done!

Beef Egg Rolls w/ Ginger Carrots and Coconut Oil

Surprise, Surprise -- because I love a good challenge (and because I already eat lots of vegetables so I figured this couldn't be too difficult) I decided to go VEGAN for the month of December. No worries, as I have a very carnivorous boyfriend, expect some of the same meat-friendly recipes (in moderation, of course.) But, on the contrary, I'm excited to share with you all some of my "get creative" meals here and there in the great big mix of holiday classics and boyfriend-friendly meals. Starting with these awesome egg rolls. Make them in large numbers for a party, or just a few for your dinner.

Servings: 2 (3 egg rolls make one full meal)

What You'll Need:

• 1 package egg roll wrappers (I found a brand named Nasoya that makes a pack of 20 wraps for $3.99 -- plus you can refrigerate the ones you don't immediately use -- win!)
• 1/2 package meatless crumbles (vegan fake meat; but feel free to use half a pack of ground beef if you're not down for the cause)
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger 
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (they make these awesome squeezie tubes now for both ginger and garlic; find them in the salad area of the grocery store)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 large carrot
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

The Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium pan, spray some cooking spray. Heat the meat with the garlic and stir until combined (if using ground beef, stir until the meat is no longer pink.)
3. Turn the heat down to low, and with the spoon, scoot the meat to the side of the pan, and respray the open space. Using a grater, grate the carrot into small shreds right in the open space. Add the ginger and coconut oil to the carrots, and stir. After about 5 minutes, turn off the heat.
4. Take a egg roll wrapper and spoon a little bit of the meat in a line down the middle of the wrapper. Repeat with some of the carrots, but on top of the meat. Use your fingers to make the line as neat as you can.
5. Wet your fingertips with a little water, and fold up the egg rolls (see pictures below.)
6. After you've wrapped all the egg rolls and placed them on the pan, use your fingers to wipe a little olive oil on each of them. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Optional tips: Serve with chopped green onion and teriyaki sauce.

xoxo n

And for the record -- I was mistaken, being vegan is difficult.

Bok Choy with Red Pepper & Ginger

Imagine a veggie that is stalky like celery, but white -- and has leaves so green, but doesn't taste like lettuce? Enter into the realm of Bok Choy -- a vegetable used for hundreds of years in China with a slightly sweet, yet light and crisp taste. (best part? low in calories -- holla!) 

A fresh head of bok choy came in my From the Farmer produce delivery this week, and I honestly had couldn't delay using it. This vegetable is actually a favorite of my father's -- but instead of boiling it (i'm not a fan of the texture) -- I sautéed it with some fresh ginger and red peppers for a fresh and colorful twist. Absolutely scrumptious. I packed it up for my lunch all this week -- after making myself stop reaching into the pot.

Servings: 4 (about 1 cup each)

What You'll Need:

• 1 head of fresh bok choy
• 1 small onion (or 2 tbsp onion powder)
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger (or ginger powder)
• Cooking Spray
• Salt/Pepper

The Step-by-Step:

1. Chop up the onion and red peppers into small pieces.
2. Heat a large pan on the stove over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
3. Add peppers and onion, and let cook for 5 minutes. Every minute or so, give it a good stir.
4. While the peppers and onion are cooking, break a stalk off the bok choy head and cut it into slices (starting with the green side and working your way to the white.)
5. Add in the bok choy slices as you go.
6. Keep stirring :)
7. Take your ginger and grate it directly into the pan until you see the equivalent of about 2 big spoonfuls. (If you don't have a grater, cut the ginger into very small pieces then add.)
8. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and stir.
9. Serve immediately.

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Good on its own, or as a side dish -- and including the chopping and slicing, this bok choy only takes 20 minutes to prepare. Perfect for a fall day when you're rushing to get things done. Not to mention, its chock full of Vitamins A and C, as well as calcium. I think my dad would be proud. Sounds fantastic to me.

xoxo n