This week's try-it...Mock-i-yaki

So, I'm trying to get back into the swing of bloggin again...be patient. For this week's try-it I wanted to share a mock teriyaki sauce with you. This recipe started from a guy I was engaged to eons ago and his dad's BBQ. Jerry (the dad) would BBQ lots throughout the summers. One of his best was pork steaks marinated in nothing but soy sauce and honey. It was the best pork I ever had. I no longer eat pork, but knowing how well those two flavors went together was inspiration for this recipe! This recipe is not a "follow to the teaspoon" kind of recipe. If you like it saltier...less honey. If you like more kick then add more garlic. It will surprise you, however, how much it does taste like teriyaki sauce! (minus the msg...) So here goes...

Neisha's Orange-Ginger Mock-i-yaki

1/3 c lite soy sauce
1/4 c oj
1 clove garlic minced
1tsp ground ginger
honey, agave, maple syrup to taste

Whisk ingredients together. (wow...that was hard.)

Now for the fun stuff...what to do with it? If you are doing a marinade, simply put it in a ziplock with your meat for 30min or more. I actually like to freeze my meat in the marinade...saves me a step! If you want to use this as a sauce, add 1tsp cornstarch to the oj and simmer until thickened. This is a good sauce to have on hand in the fridge. It is also a simple and tasty sauce to whip up in a hurry with simple stuff you probably already have!

Life continues to go on here in GA. My belly gets bigger everyday. The baby not the chicken mock-i-yaki! It's spring here and that means POLLEN! I wish I had been more diligent with the kids' pollen drops...I wasn't now we have some stuffy noses. We battled a case of lice for a week...that I am not looking forward to ever again. And as the weather gets warmer and stuff gets greener, I itch to get out and grow something! I have big aspirations to save my allowance and start a bag-garden. Yes...you plant stuff right in the bag of potting soil. Someone must have cursed this yard long ago, but I claim freedom! Until then, I will fight it's deficiencies. Even if it's only a few bags, I'd love to have 8-10 plants. Tomatoes, leeks, beans, peppers, strawberries, cukes and a cantaloupe if I'm feeling sassy. We'll see... I find that one of my growing frustrations with life is that my life now is so far removed from how I grew up! There is something about how we live our lives that rubs the inside of me raw. I rarely ate fast food until I was a teen. If I was bored, I went out to the garden and picked strawberries! Then I'd pretend to be Daisy Duke and the boredom was all gone! My kids have never fished, and maybe only once camped. ??WHAT??

As for now, I'll continue on. I am more and more needing to seek God and focus on him. Everything else makes me mad, sad or disappointed. I am starting to want to find purpose for being here...now. I had been just wallowing in misery wanting to go back. I see my tantrum has not brought that about. Instead, I'm just more miserable. I hope this year will be the year I see the change I have longed for deep in my heart. (PS- that statement has NOTHING to do w/Obama...don't get me started)

For now...enjoy some mock teriyaki and I'll post again soon!

Been a while?

Holy guacamole Batman! It's beena while since I have been on. My whole reason for getting on today was to share a recipe for those of you who come here looking for new ideas (or old ones you forgot about). I am realizing just how long it's been and thinking that I need a little less Facebook time and a bit more blogtime! I do have quite a few new recipes to get down on here, but today only one will make the cut. Years ago in a cooking mag that came out post-Thanksgiving, there was a section of what to do with all that leftover turkey! I have since found this recipe not only works with leftover turkey but chicken as well. It also is a good way to get all those sides of steamed veggies gone from your fridge. Everyone...meet my improved Chicken Ranch Pasta!

Chicken Ranch Pasta

left over chicken / 2 chicken breasts - cut up or shredded (omit if you want to go veg!)
1 box elbows or rotini (use different varieties for allergies...spelt, br rice, millet, etc)
1 sm bag frozen mix veg OR the leftover veggies in your fridge
1envelope ranch seasoning
1.5 sticks butter/marg/alternative (it's butter, not crack...stop freaking out...this makes a ton!)

Boil and drain pasta, meanwhile in the pan melt butter and add veggies, ranch and chicken. Cook on med-hi for 3-4 minutes til frozen veg are cooked through (but before they are mush...capiche?) Stir the whole lot together and serve with parm cheese over. This will make alot, so prepare to freeze, share or eat it tomorrow!

This is a great meal for a quick and easy clean out of the fridge. It's also very flexible to be a vegetarian dish using more veggies and beans as well. (black or garbanzo)