Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Coconut Rice

This recipe is simply amazing! I have never been so happy with an experiment. My husband said it was phenomenal. That's a compliment I don't get often so I definitely recommend this recipe LOL! It's a combination of three different recipes that I found online. A dash of Pinterest, a sprinkle of this, and that. Voila! The original peanut sauce recipe(s) called for Red Thai Curry Paste. I went to Walmart and Target on my lunch break and neither store had it! Soooo I improvised and used Sriracha. It's not exactly the same but man was it a good addition to this sauce. The measurement below is the same amount that's called for for the curry paste so feel free to use that instead.

Chicken Satay
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 inch segment of ginger, minced (halve it for chicken and sauce)
spoonful of minced garlic
salt and pepper
lime wedges

Peanut Sauce*
1 cup of natural peanut butter
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup of light, unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup of sriracha (or less if you're not into super spicy food)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup of water
splash of sesame oil

Coconut Rice
1 cup of rice
salt
3/4 cup of light, unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 cup of water
1 tbsp of sugar (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven for 375.
Cut your chicken breasts into 3-4" strips. In a large Ziploc bag, add rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper. Zip bag and shake well. Then add chicken strips and repeat shaking process. Let marinate for 15 minutes at least! No shortcuts! Trust me, it's worth it for the depth of flavor.

Rinse rice so the water runs clear. Add all rice ingredients to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Then cook on low for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and can be fluffed with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, prep your chicken to be skewered! The original recipe called for bamboo skewers. I used metal skewers and they worked just as well. Apply olive oil on a paper towel and run each metal skewer through the oil. Be sure to oil your towel between each skewer application because the paper towel will soak up the oil. After all the skewers are oiled up like an 80s action star, carefully poke each chicken strip in one end and the other. Place on a cookie sheet that is lined with aluminum foil. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes.

While your chicken is baking, prepare your sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to the pan and cook on medium-low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk. Plate chicken and rice. Pour sauce over chicken or serve on the side.

Serve and, as alway, enjoy!

*When I made this I had a lot leftover because it was just the two of us. This is fantastic a few days after and holds up really well. Goes great with rice noodles!

Hearty Tomato Soup from Scratch

I finally did it! I made tomato soup from scratch for the first time yesterday and it was amazing! My husband loved it! He said I could make it any time and, with how cold it has been the past few days, I definitely will be making it again. I will warn you. There are a lot of steps but it is worth it! The best part is you don't need to add cream to make it thicker. It's thick on it's own.

Ingredients:
8-10 plum tomatoes, halved or thirds
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup of chicken stock
1/4 sweet onion
1 red bell pepper
fresh basil, minced
2 spoonfuls of minced garlic
olive oil
1 tbsp of butter
salt and pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven at 350.

Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Cut all tomatoes in half (the plums may need to be cut into thirds depending on thickness). Cut bell pepper into strips and cut the strips in half. Cut onion into small chunks. Lay all tomatoes and vegetables on the cookie sheers and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 40-45 minutes.

At the 5 minute mark during the roasting process, add olive oil and butter to a large stock pot that is over medium hear. Melt butter. Add garlic with the crushed pepper and a little salt. Allow garlic to cook until lightly brown. Add chicken stock and stir.

Remove vegetables and tomatoes from oven and add to stock pot, along with fresh basil. Stir and allow them to cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Once mix has cool, use an immersion blender to blend ingredients until mostly smooth.*

Serve with a classic grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!



*Tip: I didn't do this but some soup recipes recommend that you remove the tomato skins after roasting.

Lita's Favorite Challah Recipe

I adapted this recipe over the past year and it has not failed me! Instead of writing out how I did it, here's a video!

As always, enjoy!

Chocolate Mayo Cupcakes

Not an appetizing title but I promise that these are absolutely delicious! Made them last night and they were a hit with my fiance.

Cupcake Batter
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of hot water
1/4 tsp of salt
4 tbsp of cocoa powder
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp of baking soda
splash of vanilla

Frosting
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp of Melt or butter
splash of vanilla

1. Preheat oven at 350.
2. Line a muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Spray the liners with cooking spray.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, sugar, and hot water until well combined.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients until well combined. Then, pour in mayo mix and whisk together. Add vanilla and stir again.
5. Fill cupcake liners up to 3/4 full with batter. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until comes out clean with a toothpick. Once cupcakes are ready, set them aside and the m to cool completely.
6. Put chocolate chips and butter in a coffee mug. Heat in microwave for one minute. Stir until all chocolate is melted. Add vanilla and stir again. Frost cupcakes with a rubber spatula (or the back of a spoon like I did). Serve and enjoy!

Go-To French Crepe Recipe

Hi everyone! I know, I know. It's been too long since I posted. Between work, vacation, and wedding planning, my brain is pretty...cooked?

This is the recipe I've come across for crepes! I promise it makes up for my bad pun! Made this for my soon-to-be in-laws and it was a huge hit!

Crepe:
1 cup of AP flour
1/2 cup of water
2 eggs
1 tbsp of raw sugar
3 tbsp of melted butter
Splash of vanilla extract
Grated orange zest
1/2 tbsp of butter for frying every crepes

Blueberry Filling:
2 cups of fresh blueberries
Juice of half a lemon
Cinnamon, to taste
1 tbsp of honey
1 tbsp of flour

1. Preheat frying pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.
2. Put dry ingredients in blender first. Then add wet ingredients. Blend until dry ingredients are well incorporated. Batter should be thin and kind of watery. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time until you get the right consistency.
3. Spray a small saucepan with cooking spray. Add blueberries, lemon juice, cinnamon, and honey. Allow blueberry mix to cook down, stirring occasionally. Once blueberry mix cooks down, add a little flour  and stir. Once well incorporated, turn off burner and put a lid on so it stays warm.
4. Add butter to pan. Be careful! Butter spits when hot.
5. This next step is tricky so I always have a practice crepe (or the chef sample hehe). Pick the pan up off the burner. Use a ladle to pour mix into pan (this evens out the portions and gives you more control). As you pour the batter, gently tilt the pan in a counter clockwise manner until the batter covers the pan. Place back on burner and cook crepe for 2 minutes on one side and about 1 minute on the other.
6. Add filling to crepes and serve! Enjoy as always! 😀