Teriyaki Chicken

We love this recipe.  It is different that our other chicken recipes but it is super easy & delicious!

1/2 cup soy sauce(use a low salt one!)

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp vegetable or sesame oil

1 small garlic clove, minced

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1-1/2 pounds chicken-whole breasts work or you can do chicken strips

1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables

To prepare:

Stir together ingredients and pour in to a quart freezer bag .

To Serve:

On serving day, thaw and pour in to a baking dish.  Bake on 350 for 35 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Skillet BBQ Chicken

1-1/2 pound chicken

1/3 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup water

To prepare:

Combine all ingredients except chicken and pour in to a freezer bag.  Add chicken & turn to coat.  Freeze.

To cook:

Thaw.  Cook, covered, in a skillet over medium heat for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.  Turn occasionally.  Removed lid and allow liquid to cook away. 

Wordless Wednesday: Faces

Spock Eyebrow

I know what you are up to(Mom look in training)

Who me?

Posted at Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful Mess
Mama to 4 Blessings
3 Princes & a Princess 2
Homegrown Families
Shining to Save

1 week and counting

The count down to surgery has begun.  Steve said last night 7 days.  I groaned.  So much to do.

10.  Take the tree down

  9.  Stock up at the grocery store

It’s the end of the holiday season.  No flour or eggs in the house.  It’s the beginning of the month.  The canned goods are depleted.

  8.  Get some meals in the freezer

Since I haven’t felt like cooking much we’ve used most of our freezer meals up.

  7.  Take the tree down & put away decorations

  6.  Plan some alternate learning for the next couple of weeks

Hmmmm school.  Yeah gotta get on that one. 

  5.  Find some exercise pants that I like & aren’t too long

I have gained some weight being non-mobile since Thanksgiving.  I am so ready to be able to walk without pain again!

  4.  Go to the library for some good books

While crutches for a month isn’t my favorite idea, I plan to use it to work on projects that I normally can’t fit in our active life.  Details to come later!  Not to mention some good read aloud time with the kids.

  3.  Clean out my room & get a chair in there

Not sure how I will shower, get dressed, or get in and out of the suburban.  But I have thought about it A LOT and I think I have some solutions.

  2.  Get my hair cut-bless you Dalene!

  All these doctor appointments has messed with my hair appointments.  I need to do SOMETHING with this mop that will be easy after surgery.

  1.  Did I mention take the tree down & rearrange my living room?

I won’t be going to the basement much so we are moving our main movie watching place upstairs for a while.  Now I just need about 6 feet of extra space.

I am so thankful  I only have to wait 7 more days until surgery.  Also 7 whole days to cook, clean, stock up and get some errands run is such a blessing.   Very thankful my hubby and kids are pitching in to make this happen.

Posted at

Gratituesday @ Heavenly Homemakers

Top 10 @ oh Amanda

Batch cooking: Do the chicken!

Chicken is my go-to meal for any night when life gets hurried.

So I am always watching for boneless chicken breasts on sale!  Since I am looking at a month of not being able to cook much we are going to be working up some chicken recipes this week.   If we can avoid resorting to take out or pancakes every night that will make several members of our family VERY happy!

THE PLAN

Lemon Chicken—paired with rice, noodles, grilled, crockpot—you cannot hurt this recipe!

Teriyaki Chicken

Skillet BBQ Chicken

Turkey & Noodles—putting a turkey breast in the crockpot tomorrow morning.  That should give us 2 batches of soup(at least) from the leftovers.  Not to mention the yummy stock for other soups!

Chopped/shredded chicken—boil a bunch of breasts & process them in the food processor or chopper.  I have an easier time coming up with a meal from a cooked bag of chicken than a frozen block of chicken breasts.  It speeds things up too!  Don’t throw out the broth—freeze it to use in recipes!

My little guys get in on the fun as we work the chicken up.  They label bags & spoon spices in to empty bags.  Steve & I cut up or cook the chicken.  A team effort makes getting a bunch of meals in the  freezer very doable.  Not counting the shopping, we won’t spend more than a couple of hours for around 15-20 meals.  AWESOME time investment! 

Do you have some favorite chicken recipes? 

I would love to add to my plan if you have one to recommend!

Interested in more Tasty Tuesday?  Go to Beauty & Bedlam!

Lemon Chicken

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/3 cup lemon juice

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

To prepare

Mix all the spices in a 1 quart plastic freezer bag.  Add chicken pieces & freeze.

To serve

Thaw.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Arrange chicken in 8x8x2 inch baking dish treated with nonstick spray.  Pour liquid over the chicken.  Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.  Pair with steamed vegies and a whole wheat roll for an amazing flavorful meal!

Money Saving Monday: No Cleaning Lady here

We are making new plans to utilize untapped potential energy.
I am having surgery next week and then will be on crutches for a month so the kids are getting drafted!  We always say many hands makes light work!

I have asked them what  they prefer   

a) the same chores every week    

 

or         

 

b) rotate chores each week

 

Both ideas have merit

 

 SAME chores

 

-Become an expert on the chore & it doesn’t take as long to do

 

-Mom doesn’t have to keep up with who is doing what each week

-You KNOW what your chores are a little bit easier

ROTATE chores

-Let’s face it there are chores NOBODY wants—so this helps

-Boredom doesn’t set in quite so quickly(maybe)

-Everyone gets a chance at the easier chores

We will be trying a middle of the road approach.  Some chores will be assigned & not rotated.  These will have a set time/day to be done.  This will get the basics covered.  However the “yucky” chores will be passed around.  (ex changing the cat litter)  So everyone will have the joy of doing an unwanted chore every once in a while as a service to our family.

Here is the list (definitely a work in progress)

Daily Upkeep—everyone does these

Make Bed, Clothes in Basket, Brush Teeth, Toy pickup(zone)
Dishes—fix the meal & you don’t have to do dishes(yes!)

2X Weekly—kids rotate these

Sink, Toilets & Trash—two bathrooms,  Sweep Floor Upstairs(all hardwood),  Floor downstairs(tile & carpet)

Weekly—some assigned & some rotate

Wash whites,  Wash towels,  Vacuum upstairs—two bedrooms,  Personal Laundry,  Empty trashcans,  Mop Kitchen,  Clean tubs & mirrors,  Wash sheets

Daddy will be checking the zones for each kid after supper each night.  Today was amazing!  The kids pitched in and the house is so much cleaner & I did some but not a lot.  This solution keeps us from having to get a cleaning lady while mom is down & out!

Head over to Family Friendly Frugality for other Money Saving Monday tips!