Keep Bread Fresh

Sometimes we get cravings for foods/meals that require "irregular" bread products: english muffins, bagels, hoagies, buns, pitas, et cetera.  When we buy these breads (or any bread, for that matter), we immediately seperate them into singles or pairs and store them in zippered sandwich bags - then freeze 'em up.  No more wanting a sandwich only to discover the bread has gone bad!  The freezer keeps bread products for up to 3 months!  When you want to use one, just pull it out of the freezer, sit it on the counter, and give it 30-60 minutes to thaw.  If you just can't wait, your toaster or microwave may even have a "thaw" setting (both of ours do).

If you're a green household and are reluctant to try this method, keep the following in mind:

• Sandwich bags can be reused many times over, and can be easily cleaned with a little bit of warm, soapy water
• If cleaning bags is not your "bag", you can recycle these kinds of plastics in specific locations - just save them up and make a monthly trip to save on gas  :)

Easy Cleanup with Glad Press'n Seal

I absolutely love Glad's Press'nSeal wrap.  It's wonderful for food storage, but I also use it for easy cleanup in my kitchen.  I line the table or counter with it, and when I'm done making a mess, I just pull it up and toss it out.  It's great for when I don't have much time to dedicate to cleaning up.  It's especially nice because our kitchen table is incredibly small (think ice cream parlor or French bistro), and we need the table leaves up at all times.  This wrap covers the seams so crumbs don't fall down into them.  :)

Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki

There is one thing that I always like to keep in the fridge - cooked chicken.  It's super in a pinch!  If it's precooked, you only have to wait for it to heat.  It's much healthier (and tastier) to prepare your own instead of using the canned chicken.  It's excellent in almost any chicken recipe and it's actually quite simple to prepare:

1. Purchase frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breasts or tenders.
2. Thaw and chop into 1-2 inch squares.
3. Boil for about 10-15 minutes.  If you're boiling the entire breasts in whole pieces, cooking time will be longer (around 30 minutes).
4. Drain, cool, and store.

If you store this in an airtight container in the fridge, it will stay good for about 3-4 days.  In the freezer, it will keep for about 2-3 months.

For this recipe, I'm using the chopped chicken instead of the whole breasts.  The half-shot of whiskey can be omitted if you're serving to children or are wary about alcohol.  Low sodium soy sauce can be used in lieu of regular soy sauce as well.


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons pineapple juice (reserved from can of pineapple rings)
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/16 cup (0.5 oz.) whiskey (optional)
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 cup cooked chicken, thawed if frozen
• 1 can pineapple rings
• sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan or Base Unit

Servings:  1-2

Directions:
1.  Whisk the brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, ginger, whiskey, and corn starch in a medium bowl until mixed well; chill the teriyaki mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour.  Stir before using:

2.  Spray grill with non-stick spray and preheat.
3.  Chop 2-3 pineapple rings into 8 sections.  Store unused pineapple rings in an airtight container in the fridge.

4.  Place chopped pineapple rings and 1 cup chopped chicken into a medium bowl; cover with 1/4 cup of teriyaki mixture and stir to coat.  Store leftover teriyaki mixture in an airtight container in the fridge.

5.  Place in grill, close lid, and cook for 10 minutes.
6.  Using a wooden spoon, stir chicken to recoat with sauce and cook an additional 5 minutes (or until heated through).

7.  Scoop onto a plate and let cool before eating.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.