If you have been around for a while, this post is likely SHOCKING. For the past 12-13 years, we have been the coolest of cool vegetarians. However, in the Fall, a variety of things were pointing to our journey ending. I had some weird gut health things and then my husband got the news that despite being a tall/lanky man (which is still hot Chen, don’t worry! lol!), got blood test results back that he was prediabetic. WHAT? Plus our kids were surviving on carbs and cheese. So, we chatted with our doctors and as a family to figure out why we decided to be vegetarians in the first place and if those reasons were still valid. We wanted to be healthier (we weren’t) and we wanted to vote for healthier/more sustainable options with our dollars (it’s easier to do that now than it was 13 years ago). So, we started slowly introducing meat into our diets. Thankfully, we didn’t have any adverse reactions and it’s been a fairly simple and enjoyable transition across the board!
One thing I’ve enjoyed specifically is the increased variety for simple, healthy meals! Like this one from Tastes Better From Scratch! I just discovered her blog and have cooked two meals from it already with lots of good feedback from the family! So, I’m excited to share how it went for me! Enjoy!
Easy Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons of EVOO
- 2-3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (chopped into easy bite sizes)
- 1 cup of low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup of rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
- 1/2 cup of light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1-2 teaspoons of ground ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- Cornstarch Slurry (3 tablespoons of cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons of water)
- Green Onions for garnish
Steps
- Heat the oil in a skillet before tossing in your chopped chicken. Let those pieces brown up nicely. Though they don’t necessarily need to be cooked all the way through at this step, I did because I’m still nervous about cooking meat! Once you are good, throw the chicken into a plate or bowl and set aside! (Just a suggestion, don’t salt your chicken while it cooks. I did and man, it was salty when mixed with the sauce!)
- Toss the remaining ingredients (from soy sauce to cornstarch slurry) into the now empty skillet to combine and boil for about a minute. Don’t go beyond medium heat as you don’t want it to burn. The sauce will be fairly thick at this point and could even coat the back of a spoon.
- Throw in your chicken and let everything get real cozy and cooked through.
- Serve over rice, garnish with chopped green onions and maybe throw on some roasted or steamed broccoli on the side!
This meal took under 30 minutes so it was the perfect week night dish! Though Harrison wouldn’t touch it, Lily ate quite a bit and said it was “quite flavorful”…so a win in my book!