I had nothing planned for Sunday family dinner after spending the afternoon enjoying the unexpected 88° day outside. I swore not to order pizza 2 Sundays in a row, so I quick thawed a few individually wrapped chicken breasts that I bought at Costco and checked the cupboards for what I could do with them.
My first thought was that I had snipped some fresh basil from the garden and knew that I had some pine nuts and olive oil, I could do a quick pesto and throw the chicken over some pappardelle pasta. That got vetoed because we had enjoyed a block of cream cheese covered with some jarred Trader Joe’s pesto Saturday afternoon with some pita crackers. Damn!
I opened the refrigerator and saw the fresh pineapple that I had ripening to slice and soak in Malibu Rum and inspiration hit. I’d make some homemade teriyaki and we’d have chicken bowls for dinner. Whew! Crisis averted.
Quick Teriyaki Sauce
- 4 TBLS Honey

- 1/2 Cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1 + 1/2 Cups Water
- 8 TBLS Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1+1/2 tsp minced garlic (preferably roasted)
- 4 TBLS Corn Starch dissolved in 1/2 Cup Cold Water
- 3 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 3 tsp Sesame Seeds
In 1 +1/2 Quart Saucepan whisk together honey, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and crushed red peppers over medium heat. Dissolve cornstarch in water and whisk into sauce cooking about 2 more minutes until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame seeds. Makes about 4 cups. Store any unused sauce in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.
Bowl Prep:
- Prepare 6-8 Servings of White or Brown Rice
- Thinly slice a green bell pepper, 2 ribs of celery, 2 carrots (julienne or matchstick sized), and 1/4 of a medium onion (if desired)
- Quickly stir-fry the vegetables in a splash of olive oil until onion is translucent and other vegetables have softened
- Cut 3-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts into 1 x 1 inch strips (give or take), salt and pepper, and stir fry in a well oiled pan over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through.
- Thinly slice the green portions only of a green onion
Assemble Bowls:
- Scoop some rice into the bottom of the bowl
- Add a layer of the vegetable mixture
- Top with a generous portion of the chicken
- Generously spoon teriyaki sauce over the top of the chicken until well coated
- Sprinkle with sliced green onion
This is a really easy make ahead meal. Prepare everything and store separately in covered containers in the refrigerator. It is easily and quickly reheated for a weeknight meal!
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What screams Americana more than the steady weeknight fare of everyone’s youth more than meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas? Nothing I could come up with. Throw in an apple pie and the perfect Tuesday Election Night 2016 meal vote was cast! 😉
Knowing that tonight will be a long one while we stay up late to watch the results of Election Night 2016, I am prepping dinner for tomorrow night ahead of time. A recipe I love, that has no sauce, is easy to assemble, throw in the refrigerator a day ahead, and, as a bonus, is one that my husband will take to work for lunch afterward without complaint!
Put your stick of butter (8 TBLS) into a large skillet, I prefer a well seasoned cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat.
garlic and onion spice blend, salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring the mushrooms for about another 3 to 4 minutes until most of the moisture has been absorbed by the mushrooms. Remove the mushrooms to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Add 2 TBLS olive oil to the skillet and add your spinach to the pan. Using tongs to toss the spinach with the oil, cook tossing constantly until all of the spinach is wilted but not cooked all the way. Immediately remove from the pan to the same
bowl as the mushrooms and stir the mushrooms and spinach together. Set bowl aside and allow to cool while you prepare the pasta. When your mushroom-spinach mixture has cooled, sprinkle your 4 ounces of shredded parmesan cheese over and stir it in completely.
I love peanut butter cookies, something about them feels more special than a chocolate chip cookie. Just like a sugar cookie tells me it’s Christmas, peanut butter cookies feel like a cold winter night with a warm cup of cocoa. My mom wasn’t big on cooking dinner, but she did bake. Cookies were easy, and peanut butter cookies were my dad’s favorite, so they were one that she made once in a while.
1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
I LOVE garlic! 


We all know that the turkey and sides are the stars of Thanksgiving, but there needs to be a little something to nibble on before the feast so people don’t knock each other over like ravenous fiends when the buffet is ready.
them fairly simple: some type of tray with fruit, veggies, crackers and sliced cheese or a cheese ball. This year I am not hosting, we get to be the guests, but I’ll be taking a few dishes to add to the spread.
Serve immediately on a platter lined with fresh arugula and sprigs of rosemary if desired.
One thing that she did instill in all of her kids and grandkids though was a love of fruits and nuts. Anytime we would be in the desert at one of their condos, a required stop was 
I am now about 2 hours away from Palm Springs, which puts me 2 hours away from Hadley’s but thankfully Hadley’s has entered the information age and I can order their fruits and nuts online! Looks like I’ll be ordering some dates so I can indulge my need for a bit of memory refreshment. 😉
When I was a kid, we saw my mom’s parents all the time. They lived just a few miles away so we often saw them during the week when they came to our various games. On those nights, because Grandma always seemed to be on some new diet, Grandpa was excited to eat whatever junk food was being served at the snack bar, but at least twice a month, my grandparents would come to our house for a proper Sunday dinner.

baking dish
. Tap the baking dish against the counter to help the pudding settle into pockets between the pieces of cake.

Prepare Serving Glasses: Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup cinnamon and pour onto a shallow rimmed plate (like a salad plate); Dip the rim of your serving glass into water and then touch edge of glass into the cinnamon/sugar mixture on the plate; Lightly tap the excess off of each glass and set them aside.