This was dinner last night and I couldn’t wait another day to share it with you. It was so easy, so delicious and a new twist on the “bowl” dinners Q and I like so much. It has a fresh Asian feel to it and we really enjoyed it. This is my only photo seeing as I didn’t know quite HOW delicious it was truly going to be! Enjoy!
Orange Sesame Chicken Bowls
The key to this recipe is to cook your chicken and roast your broccoli at the same time to expedite the process! Also these bowls can be served warm or cold, I did both and loved it!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Bowls:
3 uncooked chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (you can also used cooked)
salt and pepper
2-3 heads of uncooked broccoli
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups cooked brown rice
3 carrots, peeled or shredded (approximately 1 cup)
4 green onions, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Dressing:
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup canola oil
Salt and pepper
Directions:
(This is my easy baked chicken recipe):
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pyrex with Pam and lay each chicken breast in the pan.
Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on each breast.With tongs, flip the breasts over and do the same to the other side.
Place the pyrex in oven until each breast reaches 165 degrees in their meatest parts, usually 18-20 minutes. If some of the chicken are cooking quicker than the others, just take them out sooner and set aside.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from oven, let sit for 2-3 minutes (so juices soak in) and then dice into small squares and set aside.
For your broccoli (or any other veggies you want to add in!):
While chicken is cooking, prep your broccoli by cutting it into even sized pieces.
Spread a piece of aluminum foil across a baking sheet and spread veggies evenly across it.
Drizzle olive oil over the tops of the veggies and add a pinch salt and pepper. Mix the veggies with your hands to make sure they are evenly coated.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until very crispy. This should be perfect timing with your chicken. Remove and set aside.
For your bowls:
Combine the brown rice, chicken, shredded carrot, broccoli, green onions, and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Toss gently to combine.
For your dressing:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously until well combined. Top your chicken and brown rice mix with the dressing, adding a little at a time until desired amount is reached (sometimes it is half and sometimes it is all of it!). Mix well and serve cold or warm.
Q and I are all about using what is in our fridge to make dinner. We always assess what we have and make a game plan. Occasionally that means running to the store to grab some additional veggies or ingredients, but normally we are able to be pretty creative with what’s on hand. Not only is this great financially, but also it tests our creativity.
This dish came about after we had attended a big fourth of July party. We had made a huge batch of pasta for a pasta salad we were bringing and we ended up only using half of it for the dish. Since we had a good amount of it left, I thought we should use it for dinner. Q, my protein loving fiancee, wanted to add chicken which we cubed and seasoned with some Italian-inspired herbs. We decided to add some spinach, sundried tomatoes and marinara and this dish was made.
This is a hearty, delicious and SUPER easy weeknight dinner. The use of Italian seasoning and sundried tomatoes gave the dish great flavor and the chicken made it filling. Yum!
Easy Whole Wheat Chicken Marinara Pasta
Serves 2
What We Used:
1 tablespoon olive oil (or enough to coat the pan)
2 uncooked chicken breasts, cubed
Few pinches of Italian seasoning (think pizza seasoning, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano)
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes
1/2 pound cooked whole wheat pasta
2 handfuls spinach
2/3 cup marinara sauce (or to your liking)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
How We Did It:
Place a medium saute pan on medium heat. Add olive oil.
While pan is heating, season your chicken breasts with a few pinches of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until chicken is cooked through and springy to the touch. Lower heat to low. Add in sundried tomatoes and pasta. Cook for 1 minute. Add in spinach and cook until it begins to wilt (about 1 minute). Add in marinara sauce. Make sure the pasta and chicken are evenly coated with sauce. Remove from heat and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Q and I love to be in the kitchen together. He is by far the better cook between the two of us. He is an amazing chef, just like my mom (I’m so spoiled I know). Q and I joke that my mom should actually be his mom because they have so much in common. He calls my house to talk to HER before ME most nights. She can cook, he can cook. He wants to plant an herb garden, she’s an expert. He loves to run, she’s a marathoner. He hates to shop, she loathes it (how is she MY mother!?). He loves the outdoors, she does too. I’m serious. Sometimes I think Q dates me so he can hang out with my mom.
The point of the Q/my mom rant is that Q was the master of this pizza from inception to creation. We came up with the idea together when he asked what we should do for dinner and I said “pizza!” and he said “with protein!” and I said “seriously?” and he said “chicken parm pizza?” and I said “fine as long as it has lots of cheese.” But he took this baby into his own hands, even prepping the dough while I was flying in to visit.
We went with a no-knead dough (a really good recipe here), but any pre-made store bought dough would do also. Same thing with the marinara, we used homemade, but store bought works too! We used three different types of cheese (mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan), but those can be played around with as well. We don’t have a pizza stone yet (much to my mother’s dismay), so we just used a pre-heated baking sheet and that worked perfectly. We served the pizza with Caesar salad on the side and actually ended up putting some on top of the pizza too (a wise decision). We LOVED this pizza.
Chicken Parmesan Pizza
Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
2 uncooked chicken breasts
2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
2 cups Panko
salt and pepper
For the Pizza:
1 ball of pizza dough, ready for use (we used this one)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place aluminium foil over a baking sheet and set aside.
Using a paper towel, dry off each chicken breast. Place on a chopping board and cover tops of chicken with saran wrap or a ziploc bag. Using a meat mallet, pound chicken until they are approximately 1/2 – 1/2 inch thick.
Set up three plates in a row, essentially creating a station. On the first plate, pour the flour. On the second, crack the two eggs and lightly whisk. On the the third, place the panko. One at a time, place each chicken breast in the flour, making sure to dust off any extra. Then place the chicken in the egg and then the panko, making sure to pat the chicken so no excess remains. Place each chicken breast on the foil covered baking sheet.
Bake chicken for 25 minutes, until just about cooked and remove and cut into slices.
For the Pizza:
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Preheat the baking sheet for 10 minutes, or until ready to bake pizza. Remove from oven once dough is ready. Spread 1 tablespoon olive oil on top of heated baking sheet so dough doesn’t stick to it and to create a crispy crust.
Working with the dough ball, dust dough generously with flour and place on a floured work space. Gently shape dough into a 10″ – 12″ rectangle (or until it will cover the entire baking sheet).
Place dough on pre-heated and oiled baking sheet and layer marinara and mozzarella across. Next layer the chicken slices, ricotta and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until bottom of crust is crisp and top is blistered. Transfer to a work surface to slice.
Q and I wanted something simple for dinner Sunday night. Since we had three grilled chicken breasts in the fridge ready to go, I suggested making something Mexican themed (usual my go to when it comes to making easy dinners). We settled on these chicken bowls which are basically all the ingredients for tacos layered into a bowl and eaten with tortilla chips.
Not only were these bowls delicious and filling, but also we had all of the ingredients on hand. I recently bought Q a Zojirushi Rice Cooker (one of my kitchen staples), so quickly cooking up some white rice was easy. We squeezed lime over the rice for a twist and I would have added some cilantro in there also, but Q is one of those weirdos who doesn’t like it! Overall, this meal couldn’t have been easier to put together and was thoroughly enjoyed by both of us.
Mexican Chicken Bowls
Serves 2
What we used:
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
1/2 lime
1 grilled chicken breast, diced (sprinkled with Chili Lime seasoning)
1 can black beans, drained and heated
Salsa
Mexican cheese
Guacamole (or sliced avocado)
How we made them:
We spooned 3/4 cup of white rice into two bowls and squeezed fresh lime over the top of each. On top of the rice, we layered chicken, beans, salsa, cheese and guacamole/avocado. Served with tortilla chips on the side for dipping.
Hi, I'm Koko Stanley! Welcome to my little blog about cooking, baking, my life as a wife to an Army officer (Quincy aka Q) and living in Georgia now (we moved down from Alaska in May). I love food, being in the kitchen, shopping, neon colors, pot luck dinners with my girlfriends and dogs. I'd love to hear from you! Email me: Koko@kokolikes.com / Twitter: @Kokolikes
(one of my kitchen staples), so quickly cooking up some white rice was easy. We squeezed lime over the rice for a twist and I would have added some cilantro in there also, but Q is one of those weirdos who doesn’t like it! Overall, this meal couldn’t have been easier to put together and was thoroughly enjoyed by both of us.
