Friday, January 30, 2009

This Week's Freezer Meals

This week, boneless, skinless chicken is on sale, so I bought extra and will be making the following freezer meals:

- Garlic Lime Chicken

- cut-up chicken for The Easiest Stir-Fries

- Yoshida Chicken for use in Chinese Chicken Salad and Yoshida Chicken Rice Bowls - Just throw some chicken into labelled freezer bags and pour Yoshida Original Gourmet Sauce over the top. Seal and freeze flat.

Garlic Lime Chicken

This is an easy and delicious recipe I got from Leanne Ely at www.savingdinner.com.

Garlic Lime Chicken

Recipe By: Leanne Ely
Servings: 6
Categories: Chicken, Freezer Recipes, Healthy & Light, Low Iodine Diet

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, no skin, no bone
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons lime juice

In a bowl, mix together first 7 ingredients. Sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts.

In a skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Turn down the heat, remove the chicken (keeping warm) and add the lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
PREPARATION: Sprinkle seasoning on chicken and place in a labelled gallon freezer bag and seal. Place broth and lime juice in another smaller labelled freezer bag and seal. Place chicken and sauce together in another labelled gallon freezer bag. Seal and freeze flat.
TO SERVE: Thaw. Follow cooking directions above.

LOW IODINE DIRECTIONS: Use non-iodized salt and LID-safe chicken broth.

Source: www.savingdinner.com
Internet Address: http://www.savingdinner.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=129:garlic-lime-chicken&catid=909:recipes&Itemid=78

NOTES: The original recipe calls for 2 Tblsp butter in addition to the olive oil to cook the chicken in. It still is tasty without it.

Easiest Stir-Fry

I found this quick and healthy meal at http://www.zonya.com/.

Easiest Stir-Fry

Categories: Chicken, Freezer Recipes, Healthy & Light, Low Iodine Diet, Quick & Easy

olive oil
chicken breast, no skin, no bone -- cut into cubes or strips
minced ginger -- optional, to taste depending on the flavor of the sauce
minced garlic -- optional, to taste depending on the flavor of the sauce
frozen stir-fry vegetables
your favorite Asian sauce -- to taste

Heat oil in a skillet or wok. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked and lightly browned; remove from pan and keep warm. Heat a little more olive oil in the pan and saute minced ginger and/or minced garlic for a few seconds. Add frozen vegetables and stir-fry until cooked. Add chicken back to the skillet. Add your favorite Asian sauce to taste and heat until everything is warm. Serve over rice.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
PREPARATION: Cut up chicken and put it in a labelled freezer bag. Bag chicken and frozen vegetables together in a larger labelled freezer bag. You may also add a bag of your ginger and/or garlic and your Asian sauce, if desired. If you don't bag and freeze the sauce with the rest, mark the bottle so you know not to use it in another recipe.
TO SERVE: Thaw chicken, ginger and/or garlic, and sauce. Leave the vegetables frozen until time to prepare. Cook stir-fry as instructed above.

LOW IODINE DIET: Use an LID-safe sauce or make your own LID-safe sauce. Try this copycat recipe for Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sweet & Savory sauce.

Source: http://www.zonya.com/
Internet Address: http://www.zonya.com/pdf/recipes/Easiest_Stirfry.pdf
Serving Ideas: Serve over rice.

NOTES : You can use any Asian sauce you like. Sweet and sour is good. Litehouse also makes some good salad dressing/marinade/sauces you can find in the produce section of your grocery store. Sometime I would like to try peanut sauce, too.
The flavor of the sauce will determine if you want to use any minced ginger and/or minced garlic. Fresh is always good. I usually use bottled minced ginger and garlic because it is so easy and the taste is very close to fresh.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Chinese Chicken Salad

My sister-in-law, Becky, requested this salad for her birthday dinner last night. It's a favorite with both my family and Scott's family and is requested a lot.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Servings: 4 (We always share it with lots more people than that)
Categories: Chicken, Salads & Dressings, Vegetables

4 medium chicken breasts, no skin, no bone
Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sweet & Savory Sauce
1 bag cabbage coleslaw mix
1 bunch green onions -- chopped, to taste, optional
2 packages chicken ramen noodles, dry -- broken up

DRESSING
1/2 cup oil (I usually use safflower)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 seasoning packet from the ramen noodles

Marinate chicken in Yoshida Original Gourmet Sauce for at least 1 hour (24 hours is best). Bake the chicken in the sauce at 350 degreesF for 45-60 minutes.

Mix the dressing.

In a salad bowl, toss the coleslaw mix, green onions, and crushed ramen noodles. Cut up the chicken and toss with the salad. Pour the dressing to taste over the top and toss well.

Source: Jill (my sister)
Ratings: 7 - Very Good 7

JEN'S NOTES: Don't crush the chicken ramen noodles too small or else you will just have crumbs.
Make sure to get Mr. Yoshida's ORIGINAL Gourmet Sweet & Savory Sauce (the Teriyaki is NOT the same and is not good). If you cannot find the sauce in the store (I usually find it at Costco), try this copycat recipe.
I bet it would be good to add other things like mandarin oranges, green or red peppers, pea pods, and carrots. Also think this would make a good wrap.
Sometimes I use water and/or low-fat mayo in place of some of the oil to make it less fat. Low-fat mayo in place of some of the oil also makes it not separate, but the original recipe always tastes best the way it is.