Asian-Style Marinade

Don't judge me....but I don't love steak. My husband gasps every time I say it, because I'm pretty sure it's blasphemous to him. And my in-laws raise cattle, so I'm pretty sure I'm breaking some sort of secret family law. But I'll take fish or chicken over steak almost any day.

Unless the steak is in some yummy Asian-style marinade. Like teriyaki, or sesame, or something along those lines. Oh, and it can't be a fatty steak. Or thick cut. Or pink.

I love this marinade because it is SO easy to make, and so much cheaper (and healthier!) than the marinades you can pick up in the store. This marinade will go with steak, but also chicken and pork. We used ours with cubed up steak for shish-kabobs. But you can marinade thin cut steak, chicken, or pork with it, and serve over sauted veggies. Yum!

The marinade is so easy...it took one picture! Combine your dry seasoning (onion powder, garlic powder (or dried minced garlic - that's what I had on hand), dried oregano, and black pepper) with soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil.

I love how the marinade carmelizes on the meat! It's the sugars from the honey, and all that goodness. 

You know you are putting shish-kabobs on your menu!!

\
Asian-Style Marinade
by Girls in Aprons

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 to 3 Tablespoons honey (I like more!)
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 T black pepper
(Optional: 1 to 2 tsp red pepper flakes)

Combine the soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil. Add dried seasoning and combine. Marinade meat for at least half hour. Baste additional marinade on while grilling.

Summertime Mango Salsa

My kids are weird. They are so picky, and yet like some of the weirdest stuff! My 6-year-old loves spicy food (like really spicy) and broccoli, but he won't eat peanut butter and jelly. My 4-year-old only eats carrots for vegetables. That's it. And none of my kids like mangos!

So when I got four mangos in my Bountiful Basket, I was a little stumped on what to do with them. A few weeks ago I would have pureed them for my baby, but he's sort of over the whole pureed food thing. Then, while aimlessly browsing through my fridge looking for something yummy to literally jump out at me, I saw some leftover cilantro and the massive amount of tomatoes accumulating in my veggie drawer. I had a red onion, some green onions, and inspiration struck! Mango salsa!

Now I've had mango salsa before from Costco and I'm pretty much in love with that stuff. This is similar to that I think. I just threw ingredients in, but really this recipe is so easy to change up to your own liking. Do you love cilantro? Add more! Don't love raw onion? Add less! Want fresh pineapple too? Throw it in! (Did I mention my husband doesn't like pineapple?? See what I have to put up with??) So go ahead and make it your own. This recipe is so good over grilled chicken or fish, and just as yummy with a bag of tortilla chips. Bring on summer!

Summertime Mango Salsa
by Girls in Aprons

3-4 ripe mangos, cubed
5-6 tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 green onions, chopped
1 red onion, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 jalapenos, diced (and seeded if you prefer)
Juice of 2 limes
Salt to taste

In a bowl combine the mangos, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, and lime juice. Stir to combine. Add salt to taste. Let the salsa sit in the fridge for about 2 hours so the flavors can combine.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

I have an obsession with coconut. I looooove the sweet flavor of it. I've never actually tried it fresh before, but one of these days I'm going to break down at the store and just buy one. But I love coconut cream pie (or coconut cream pie bars), coconut cheesecake (okay, well any cheesecake, but coconut cheesecake is like out of this world!), coconut ice cream ,etc. But I also love it when it's in savory dishes, like chicken or salad or something. I found this little gem in the Our Best Bites cookbook and had to make it. It was super easy and even came with a very easy sauce to go with it, which was ah-maz-ing with the coconut. And who isn't looking for another way to make chicken these days? Trust me, you will thank me later for posting these!

My mouth is literally watering. These were so good!

Mix together your coconut, panko, garlic powder, salt, curry, onion powder and cayenne. You really do need to chop your coconut so it's about the size of your panko. This will help it stick to the chicken. 

Dip your chicken in the flour, shaking off excess.

Dip into the whisked eggs, letting the excess drip off. You don't want egg-y chicken!

Gently press the chicken into the coconut mixture, making sure it's coated well.

Place the tenders on a cookie sheet. I always bake mine on a rack with foil underneath (I also spray the rack with some Pam too), a little tip from my dad. This way it doesn't get soggy underneath and can crisp up all the way around. The original recipe has you place them on a sprayed, foil-lined cookie sheet. Either way is totally fine!

The house smelled so good!!! Don't worry if your coconut is a little darker than "golden", it's just the coconut pieces that didn't get chopped well and were sticking up. They aren't burned, just carmelized a little. I promise!

Serve with dip. Please! It's amazing!

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

recipe from Our Best Bites

12 chicken tenders
1-2 eggs
1/2 C flour
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Sweet Dipping Sauce

1 cup apricot-pineapple preserves (I found this really easily in my regular grocery store)
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp curry

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Give coconut a rough chop so it’s about the same size as the panko pieces.  Combine it with Panko and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices. Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the egg in another. Give the egg a quick beating. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut Panko mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.

Place chicken tenders on your foil-lined baking sheet. (OBB gave a teeny drizzle of olive oil on top to help them crisp nicely, but it’s optional. I didn't do this).

Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Try not to overcook them because chicken tenders go from perfect to overcooked really fast! If your tenders are on the small side, they could even be done in about 15 minutes so keep an eye on them. If they’re big they can take more like 25.

While the chicken tenders are baking, whisk together the sauce ingredients and chill until ready to eat.

Spinach-Almond Pesto

I'm always looking for easy, homemade recipes that my family will love. Emphasis on the word "easy". With four boys ages seven and under, a part time job, a house to maintain, PTA responsibilities and church duties, my plate is pretty full. One thing I love to do is make big batches of sauces and freeze them for easy dinner making later. Things like spaghetti sauce, enchilada sauce, and verde sauce. But one sauce that I love but had never made was pesto. Little did I know how easy it is to make pesto!

Traditionally pesto is made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmigiano reggiano. But that doesn't mean you have to make it that way! With this recipe you can for sure substitute the basil for the spinach and the pine nuts for the almonds, but I almost always have almonds in my pantry and they are cheaper than pine nuts. Parmigiano reggiano is a bit pricey (you can find it in the specialty cheese aisle) but you only need a third of a cup, and you can substitute Kraft parmesan if you want. It won't be as amazing, but it will still be really good. Try it both ways, and if you can't tell the difference or don't care about the difference, use the Kraft stuff!

I used pesto as a condiment on open-faced chicken sandwiches. You can also toss it with pasta, use it in place of pizza sauce, dip crusty bread in it, or use it as a spread for paninis. Make a big batch and freeze part of it, and store what you are going to use in a sealed container for the week. It's pretty healthy (you use olive oil and just a little amount of nuts) and super yummy, a nice change up from the usual condiments you might find in your fridge!

Place your spinach, garlic, almonds, and cheese in your food processor. I think it is oh so fun to play with my food processor! Something about watching everything get pureed or whatever. And then slowly adding the olive oil and watching it all come together. Ahhh...the small things in life.

PESTO! It's such a fun color, perfect for St. Patrick's Day coming up!! *HINT HINT* But seriously, my kids thought it was so fun to dip their bread and carrots in this stuff. I just set out a bowl before dinner and they snacked away, which, by the way, is a great way to get your kids to eat veggies. Set out a plate of cut up fruits or veggies before dinner when your kids are starving (well, at least my kids are starving) and watch them gobble up all that healthy stuff.

Spinach-Almond Pesto
by Girls in Aprons

2 cups packed spinach, tough stems removed
2 T slivered almonds
1/2 clove garlic
1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano
3-4 T olive oil

In a food processor combine the spinach, almonds, garlic, and cheese. While combining, slowly add your olive oil until it's at your desired consistency.

SEE! SO EASY!!