Hawaiian Teriyaki Rice Bowl

Ingredients:

Ingredients

• 6 chicken tenders (or 3 chicken breasts)
• 2 zucchinis , sliced
• 2 bell peppers , any color, chopped
• 1/2 pineapple , peeled and cut into spears
• 1 red onion , sliced thin

For the Coconut Rice:

• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk(about one 13.5 oz can)
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar , packed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups long grain white rice , or jasmine rice

For the Teriyaki Sauce:

• ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic , minced
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch+ 2 tsp water , mixed together to make a cornstarch slurry
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

For the Coconut Rice:

• Add the water, coconut milk, sugar, and salt to a large saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, then stir in rice. Return to a boil. 
• Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes, before fluffing with a fork.

For the Teriyaki Sauce:

• Make the teriyaki sauce by adding all of the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat. 
• Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for about 1 minute. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce over the raw chicken and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes (or longer if using chicken breasts).

Using a grill or grill pan:

• Prepare your grill and heat it to medium.
• If you have a vegetable grill basket to grill the vegetables in, then chop them and grill them in the basket. If not, cut the vegetables into large pieces that will not fall through the grill grates.
• Drizzle some olive oil over the vegetables and over the pineapple spears. Grill the vegetables for just a few minutes on each side and then remove to a plate. 
• Grill the pineapple next by placing the pineapple spears directly on the grill. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side, and remove to a plate. 
• Lastly, place the chicken on the grill. Cook for about a few minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove to a plate to rest before slicing.

To serve:

• Add coconut rice to each serving bowl. Top with grilled veggies, pineapple and chicken.  Drizzle a little of the remaining teriyaki sauce on top.

Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients

3 TBSP. Olive oil, divided
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 TBSP dried oregano
2 tsp. Garlic powder
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil
Shaved Parmesan for garnish
Balsamic glaze for drizzling

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 TBSP. Oil. On a plate, season chicken with oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add chicken to skillet and cook until golden and no longer pink, 8 minutes per side.

In a large bowl make bruschetta topping: Stir together tomatoes, olive oil, shallot, garlic, and basil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Top chicken with bruschetta topping and shaved Parmesan. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Crockpot Chicken Chile Verde

Another easy crockpot recipe that is healthy too!  I eat it over cauliflower rice with sliced avocado and cilantro.  So flavorful! And love that it's healthy too!

Crock-pot Chicken Chile Verde

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 jar (16oz) salsa verde
2 cans green chilies (I use mild)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 small jalapeno, optional (I don't use this)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Diced avocado
Lime wedges
1 16oz bag frozen cauliflower rice

Directions:

Place chicken in crock-pot.  In a small bowl, combine the salsa, green chilies, cumin, and oregano.  Pour over chicken.  Cook on low for 4 hours. Chicken should easily pull apart.  Shred chicken and serve over regular or cauliflower rice with sliced avocado and cilantro.

Tikki Masala with Cauliflower Rice

In my never ending search for easy, low carb recipes, I happened across this one in a whole 30 cookbook.  Loved it.  It's so nice that I can make it in the crockpot.  Simple and delicious.  I just buy the already frozen cauliflower rice that you steam in the microwave, so it literally is a simple, healthy weeknight meal!

Tikki Masala with Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large red bell pepper, seeded, cored and cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBSP. fresh ginger

3 TBSP tomato paste

1 TBSP. garam masala

1 TBSP mild curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 cup coconut milk (shake can before opening)

1 TBSP. fresh lemon juice

1 bag (16oz) frozen cauliflower rice

Fresh cilantro, optional

Directions:

In crockpot, combine the chicken, bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, garam masala, curry powder, salt and black pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Stir in the coconut milk and lemon juice.  Cook until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Serve over cauliflower rice and top with cilantro.

Pumpkin Bread

Probably the best chocolate chip pumpkin bread I've had in a long time!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 15-oz can 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:  Preheat oven to 325.  Grease two 8x4" loaf pans with butter and dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whisk until well combined; set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until just blended.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Continue beating until very light and fluffy, a few minutes.  Beat in the pumpkin.  The mixture might look grainy and curdled at this point.  That's okay.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.

Turn the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 65-75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let the loaves cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Bread can be frozen.