Best Teryaki Chicken Ever

I came across this recipe a few weeks ago, loved it, and wanted to share it with you! It's very easy and simple but taste delicious. You also don't have to marinate it that long for it to taste amazing. :) Enjoy

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons sherry
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon barbeque sauce
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced --I love garlic so I used about 4 cloves
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger root --careful with the ginger. I used too much one time aaand thankfully we all had colds because it definitely cleared our sinuses ;)
• 1 1/2 lbs flanked steak --I've also used chicken thighs and wings
• Skewers --optional

Directions

• In a small bowl, mix together hoisin sauce, sherry, soy sauce, barbeque sauce, green onions, garlic, and ginger.
• Cut flank steak across grain on a diagonal into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Pour hoisin sauce mixture over slices, and mix well. Refrigerate 2 hours, or overnight. I cut slits in the chicken thighs so the marinade can soak in.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Discard marinade, and thread steak on skewers.
• Oil the grill grate. Grill skewers 3 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.  I definitely did NOT discard the marinade! Lol...it's winter here, so instead I cooked the meat in a shallow frying pan over low-medium heat, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the juices ran clear. The steak cooked much faster since it was thin, so no cover was needed. But I poured the extra marinade all over that bad boy ;) 

 Tada! All done. The kids The judges loved it.

 

Easiest Dinner I've Ever Made: Pizza Bagels!

One of my kids' favorite dishes is inspired by one of my childhood favorites--Bagel Bites! I could've eaten those everyday as a child! But now that I'm older and (somewhat) wiser, I tend to stay away from the frozen prepared foods and try to make them on my own instead. This dish is quick and easy and taste better than that big red box...of frozen goodness...

Pizza Bagels

Ingredients

• 1 Bag mini bagels
• 2 Cups (1 bag) Mozzerella Cheese
• 1 Jar of Pizza Sauce (I use either Nature's Promise Organic Pizza Sauce or Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce...or you can make your own, but either of these are soo good. Not a fan of Ragu's pizza sauce, by the way.)
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Garlic Salt
• Oregano
• Your choice of toppings

Directions

1. Set your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the bagel halves face up on the foil.
3. Baste about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on each bagel.
4. Sprinkle about a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of oregano on each bagel.
5. Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of pizza sauce on each bagel half.
6. Add your toppings (if any).
7. Top each bagel with mozzerella cheese. How much you put is up to you but I'm pretty generous with my cheese. :p
8. Sprinkle each bagel with a little more oregano.
9. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until all cheese is melted.

The best part about making pizza for my kids--I can hide as many veggies as I want in that pizza sauce!! (Insert evil laugh here.)

When you're done, your house will smell amazing, your food will look like this:

 and everyone will be looking at your food in anticipation like this:

:D

Bon Appetite,

Easter Inspiration

Happy Friday long Easter weekend!! I've been looking forward to a holiday for a long time. Well, since the last one (whenever that was). Feels like it's been forever since I had a real day off! Anyhow, thought I'd share some Easter inspiration for you. I have been trying to plan a pretty tablescape for Easter brunch/dinner this year, but I'm so consumed with work and planning for Vinny's birthday that I just didn't make the time (or money) to do it. But here are some of the things that have inspired me this holiday and I hope it inspires you too!

*Visit my Pinterest board titled "Easter" to see all links.*

Decorations:


Food:


Goodies:


Those Easter bunny pancakes and bunny buns though!?! And I know at least ONE of my readers out there has a child that would love that "Frozen" Easter basket. I love the Goldfish and Cheetos packaged to look like carrots too. So cute, even for a Farm themed party! And perfect for young toddlers! --Is it weird that I get really excited about these things? Lol

Anyway, hope you enjoy the holiday! Happy egg hunting :)

Dinner Date and Christian Grey

Happy Valentines Day!! It's been one crazy fun week celebrating my birthday and then Valentines Day, and I have to say, this year was one of the best! The highlight of the week:

• Christian Grey I mean Robbie and I had a successful date night last night--dinner and 50 Shades of Grey! :p

We had dinner at Ten Ten American Bistro. I had the Bourbon-glazed Salmon on top of a bed of spinach and sweet potato and bacon hash. Robbie had the short ribs and mashed potatoes (not pictured). SO GOOD. See the mouth-watering pictures below:

    

After dinner we ended the night at the movies to watch the premiere of 50 Shades of Grey, and Robbie did not know what he was getting into. LOL I kinda dragged him with me...literally. Anyway, here's my review and I'll try not to spoil it for anyone. I loved it, however I thought they could've done a little better telling the story. First and foremost--the actors did a phenomenal job, especially Dakota Johnson, the actress who played Ana. I had major doubts, as most people did, before the movie's release, but I thought she most definitely portrayed Ana very well. Jamie Dornan on the other hand, he played the stark, dark, character of Christian Grey well, but I was waiting for him to be a little more flirtatious. I remember specifically in the book Christian would comment on how "charm is everything," and Jamie didn't quite capture that for me. Lastly I would add that the movie did stay pretty close to the book when it came down to script and scenes, but they didn't tell the story like the book did (from Ana's perspective). I thought it would've been good to have Ana narrate through the movie as she did in the book. That's essentially how I fell in love with Christian in the book anyway--seeing him through her eyes. The movie didn't quite capture that, and I think if I saw the movie without reading the book first, I'd see Christian and this crazy psycho who loves kinky sex, and that's not what the book portrays at all. Well, at least not all the time. WITH THAT SAID...The movie was pretty much based on the first book, and I know that in the books there's much much more to the story and the movie, and Christian's personality does show alot more in the next part of the series, so I am anxious to see the next 50 shades movie!! 

Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend!!