Jamaican Jerk Chicken Stir Fry

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I have a friend that vacations in Jamaica every single year.  She loves the people, culture, beach, and of course the food.  She even got married there a few years back!  She had the perfect destination wedding.  I love to sit and listen to all her stories and adventures of Jamaica as I've never been there, but it's definitely on my bucket list.  

When she comes home she always brings me back something special.  I've gotten quite a bit of rum, which I totally LOVE! But I have to say that I'm extremely grateful that she brought me back some Jamaican jerk seasoning.  I love Jerk Chicken, and this spice blend is heaven, and it's what we are featuring today in my Jamaican Jerk Chicken Stir Fry.

The one that she brought me back is available here.  The Spice Hunter also make a good blend that you can find here.

JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN STIR FRY

This recipe was adapted from my Caribbean Pork Stir Fry dish.  The basis is similar but I chose to use chicken instead of pork, and create a Jamaican jerk chicken flavored stir fry.  What a hit this was!  MGG practically inhaled this dish, having 2nds and wanting thirds!  This dish carries a little heat from the spices, but you can tone it down if you want by adding less seasoning.  It is also a little sweet from the plum sauce, so this brings you that sweet and spicy combination that everyone loves!

The combination of flavors, veggies, and spices is absolutely a winner In our books.  We will be making this dish often.  So why not add a little spice from Jamaica in your life.  This will be one dish the whole family will love.

Enjoy!




Jamaican Jerk Chicken Stir Fry

serves 4

2 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 lb of boneless chicken breasts, cut in to 1" pieces
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 - 3 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning
3 of each color, red, yellow, and orange, mini bell peppers, cut into strips or chunks

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, and sliced

1/4 cup of whole unsalted cashews (or peanuts)

1/2 cup bottled plum sauce

hot cooked rice 

In a wok or large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat.

In a pie pan add cornstarch and then dredge chicken pieces in the cornstarch until covered.  Add chicken to hot skillet and sprinkle with Jamaican jerk seasoning.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring often.  Remove chicken from the skillet to a pan.  

Add the bell peppers, onion, and zucchini to the skillet.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until crisp tender.  (add additional canola oil if needed).  Add cashews to the skillet and stir until toasted, about 1 minute.  

Return chicken and any juices back to the skillet.  Add plum sauce to the skillet and toss to coat and sauce is heated through.  Serve over hot cooked rice.  

Items I used to make this dish:

• Island Spice Jerk Seasoning
• Lodge 10" cast iron skillet
• Dynasty Plum Sauce
• Argo Cornstarch
• Cashews

Other items you may like:

• Joyce Chen carbon steel wok
• The Spice Hunter Jamaican Jerk Blend
• Stir Fry Utensils
• Stir Fry Cookbook

This post contains affiliate links of items I use and recommend.  Should you choose to purchase an item a nominal fee is provided to me at no additional cost to you.

Steak Picado

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Let's make some Mexican food! 

This dish was born out of picking what looked good in the market that day.  Walking by the meat counter I spotted some beef cut up for Steak Picado.  An easy stew-like Mexican Dish that is delicious and flavorful!  It sounded good and I've never made it so let's try something new!

I picked up some onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno from the produce section and set off for home.  Time to get out your cast iron skillet!  I love cooking with it as the heat retention is just what this dish calls for.  I use this one.

The recipe I chose calls for Roma tomatoes, but I just used a can of diced tomatoes and it turned out just fine.  The dish is also filled with great spices that give it that unmistakable Mexican flavor I love and crave.  

The dish takes about 1 hour to cook so it might be best as a great Sunday dinner!  The beef is a round steak or thin cut sirloin that has been cut into small bite sized pieces.  First it's stir fried in a skillet, then you do the same with the veggies, then the whole thing is simmered or braised in water for about 40 minutes to tenderize the beef and meld it all together.

Boy is this dish good!  Similar to a stew, you can serve this along side a rice dish such as my Confetti Rice and some tortillas.  They are the perfect vehicles to sop up all the juiciness!

Enjoy!





Steak Picado 


Serves 4
Time:  about 1 hour

1 to 1 1/2 lbs of steak (thin sliced sirloin, or round steak)
2 Tbls canola oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced into 1-inch pieces
2 jalapenos, minced
2 Tbls chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried cilantro or coriander
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
Up to 2 cups water (see directions)

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the beef and cook until just browned.  Remove and drain on a paper towel lined plate.  Meat will not be cooked all the way through at this point.  

Add oil to the skillet and heat about 1 minutes.  Add the onions and cook until they are translucent about 3-4 minutes.  Add in the garlic, tomatoes (and juice), bell peppers, and jalapeno.  Add the beef back to the skillet and all the seasonings.  Stir to combine.

Add the water slowly to barely cover the beef and vegetable mixture; you may not need all two cups, depending on the size of the skillet.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium low (simmer) and cover with a lid.  Cook about 40 minutes stirring occasionally.  (Note: you don't want the water to evaporate, it should be juicy. If you see that it is, reduce the heat a little and add a touch more water.)  

Serve with a side of Confetti Rice and tortillas.


adapted from Quick and Easy Steak Picado

Spicy Apricot Glazed Chicken

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We're having and Indian Summer here and to go with my Indian Summer Fresh Corn Salad I turned to Pinterest for the main dish.

I love Pinterest and my goal is to actually 'make' the recipes that I pin!  Crazy huh?

So I found a wonderful grilled chicken dish that sounded perfect and quick for our Indian Summer Cookout.  Taste of Home's Spicy Apricot Glazed Chicken caught my eye with it's spicy yet sweet glaze.  I just love that flavor combination. 

The good thing about this dish is that is use stuff you may already have in your refrigerator like, chili sauce, hot mustard, and apricot preserves.  (I actually had to go buy the chili sauce as I don't use that often)

Now this recipe calls for broiling the chicken, but since it is too hot to cook inside I opted to grill the chicken on our outdoor grill.  The ingredients are simple and come together quickly. It's done in about 20 minutes so it make a great weeknight meal or it's perfect for a weekend get together.

Indian Summers call for gilled food that's sweet and spicy in one bite and done in 20 minutes!  How perfect is that.  You're gonna love the flavor.  What a great way to jazz up your everyday chicken!

Enjoy!

print recipe

Spicy Apricot Glazed Chicken

by Beth - Slice of Southern October-2-2017

Indian Summers call for gilled food that's sweet and spicy in one bite and done in 20 minutes!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 1 Tablespoon hot mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

Instructions

Preheat your grill to medium heat.  In a small saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Grill chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 165°. Brush occasionally with preserves mixture during the last 5 minutes of cooking. 

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 20 mins Yield: 4

Spicy Thai Chicken Satay with Grilled Pineapple

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Still feeling the summer heat?  We are. 

Even though the season has officially changed to Fall we are still getting 100+ heat in Los Angeles.  Typical for this time of year, we don't really get the fall weather until late October.  So it's still grilling season!  We love that we can actually grill all year round.  Grilled meat is the best, isn't it?

This weekend I was looking through another of my cooking magazines by BHG and came across a recipe for Thai Chicken Satay with Grilled Pineapple.  YUM!  You had me at satay!  So I decided to make this yummy dish with a few slight modifications for our dinner.  Modifications?  Oh yea, let's spice this baby up a bit.  Then Spicy Thai Chicken Satay with Grilled Pineapple happened.

Serving this with a Simple Asian Salad, this dish was fabulous!  The chicken satay cooks quickly on a grill and has a sweet and spicy beautiful glaze.  Grill up some pineapple spears or rings to go along side and serve this over rice.  The perfect dinner, or make this as game day appetizers for a group of people.  Either way this chicken really rocks!  The glaze is perfect with the Sriracha sauce added for a little heat.  You can either adjust the temperature to your liking or omit it all together.  This glaze is what makes this dish special so don't skip it.

So break out your grill and keep the summer feeling going by making this Spicy Thai Chicken Satay with Grilled Pineapple.  Your sure to love it!

Enjoy!






Spicy Thai Chicken Satay with Grilled Pineapple


Ingredients:

2/3 cup sweet-and-sour sauce
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon Thai seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced

4 tablespoons Sriracha Sauce
6 pineapple rings
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch thick strips
2 cups hot cooked rice (optional)
Fresh basil, shredded (optional)

Directions:

If using wooden skewers, soak them for 30 minutes in water to prevent burning. 

For Thai sauce, in a small bowl combine sweet-and-sour sauce, snipped basil, butter, Thai seasoning, garlic, and Sriracha Sauce.  Set aside.  

Preheat charcoal or gas grill to medium heat. 

Brush both side of the pineapple rings with canola oil.  Place on a tray.  Thread the chicken strips onto 12-15 wood skewers accordion style.  Place on the tray.

Place chicken skewers and cook (uncovered for charcoal, covered for gas) 10 to 12 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning occasionally and brushing with sauce during the first half of grilling. Discard any remaining reserved sauce. Grill pineapple slices for 6 to 8 minutes or until warm and grill marks appear, turning once halfway through grilling.

Serve chicken and pineapple with hot cooked rice, if desired. Garnish with basil shreds.

Chicken Crispers - Chili's Version

Growing up we had a chicken joint called Pioneer Chicken.  Anyone remember that? 

I heard it was originated in Los Angeles, (Echo Park) .  Anyway, they were different than KFC in that the chicken had more of a batter coating to it.  Mom used to take me there and I would get their chicken strips.  (thanks Mom!) I loved those strips.  Tender, juicy pieces of breast strips dipped in a batter and fried to a golden brown, moist, pieces of heaven!!!

Unfortunately, Pioneer turned in to Popeye's...and I lost my heavenly chicken strips...Boy I can taste them now!!!

So in search of a chicken strip worthy of Pioneer Chicken.

I've tried chicken strips everywhere...and most don't hold up.   Recently, I tried Chili's Chicken Crispers.  They were battered, tender, moist...they were almost like Pioneer's!!! Woohoo!!!  and...Chili's serves theirs with a yummy honey mustard sauce!

Well guess what?  I found a copycat recipe from Top Secret Recipes for Chili's Chicken Crispers and the sauce too!  Whoop Whoop!  (Shssh!) 

Now I  can make my own...and I did!  They were AWESOME!!

Let me share this "top secret" recipe with you so you can make them too!!!


First, make the honey mustard sauce by mixing mayo, honey, Dijon, paprika, and salt in a small bowl.

Mix well and set aside.  This stuff is GOLD.

Next make your batter for the chicken.  Mix a beaten egg, milk, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and flour together. 

Next, heat up your shortening in a large sturdy pot.  You will need to deep fry these so that means, a lot of oil.  I don't think I used the whole 6-10 cups, but I used about 4 or 5.  I used Crisco Shortening for this...cheaper, and frys better in my opinion.

TIP:  Use a thermometer to bring the oil temperature to 350 degrees.  Don't go higher than this or the outside will brown too fast and the chicken will not cook inside...not good!

Dip you chicken strips - I used tenders, you can used cut up breasts as well - in flour, and then in the batter.

Fry baby, fry.

Don't crowd the chicken in there.  Do only a few pieces at a time.  The more you put in the faster the oil temperature reduces...not good..soggy chicken!  Fry the chicken for about 6-7 minutes, to make sure the chicken is really, really, cooked.

Remove to some paper towels to drain, and repeat with remaining pieces.

Serve them up with your honey mustard "gold" sauce.  Look at these little babies!!!  Oh I can't wait to bite in to one....Heaven!!

Enjoy your own chicken strips, and let me know how you liked them!!

Chicken Crispers

Source: copied verbatim from TopSecretRecipes web site

Ingredients:

Honey Mustard Dressing
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
pinch paprika
pinch salt

Batter:

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup chicken broth (Swanson)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup self-rising flour

6 to 10 cups shortening or vegetable oil (amount required by fryer)

10 chicken tenderloins
1/2 cup flour

Instructions:

1. Make honey mustard sauce by combining ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill until needed.

2. Heat shortening or oil in fryer to 350 degrees F.

3. Combine beaten egg, milk, chicken broth, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk for about 30 seconds to
dissolve salt. Whisk in 1 cup self-rising flour. Let batter sit for 5 minutes.

4. When you are ready to fry the chicken, coat each piece with dry flour (1/2 cup in a medium bowl), then dunk the chicken into the batter. Let a little batter drip off the chicken and lower it into the hot oil and fry for 7 to 9 minutes or until it's golden brown.

Depending on the size of your fryer, you should be able to fry 3 or 4 tenderloins at a time.

Drain fried chicken strips on a rack or paper towels for a minute or so, and serve with the honey mustard dressing on the side for dipping.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entree.

Pizza Night: Individual Pizzas

Who doesn't love pizza??

Pizza is such a popular dish everywhere, so why not make some fresh homemade pizza yourself?

We decided to do individual pizzas, each choosing our own toppings and creating our own perfect pizza, and then sharing them so we can sample and vote on the best.  A pizza tasting party!!

Pizza is easy to make at home. It starts of with a good dough.  You can use store bought or homemade, thick or thin crust.

I bought a whole wheat pizza dough at the grocery store and split it in two.  We both like thin crust pizza so we rolled it out thin, and kept it rustic, not neat and round.

Next, assemble all your toppings.  We chose shredded mozerella, sliced fresh mozerella, sliced turkey pepperoni, whole basil leaves, chopped basil, diced fresh tomatoes, sliced tomatoes, and fresh sliced mushrooms.  You can choose any toppings you like!

To assemble, you will want a sauce to place on the crust of your pizza.  We chose a red sauce that I made from a can of tomato sauce, adding garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt & pepper, which I heated up and simmered for 10 min to blend all the flavors.  You can choose, a white sauce such as alfredo, green sauce such as pesto, or a jarred tomato sauce...even marinara works wonderful.  Just as long as you enjoy the flavor.  Add your tomato sauce to the crust, using a much or as little as you please.

Place your toppings of choice on the pizza.

I chose to make a traditional Margherita Pizza, and MGG made one with diced tomatoes, turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, and a little basil garnish.

Make sure you preheat your oven to 425 - 450 degrees.  I use a pizza stone, which you must put in the oven when it is cold and allow it to heat up with the oven...these stones are awesome for pizza and any kind of bread baking.  Here's the stone in the oven...bad pic...sorry it's dark in there!

Then you slide your pizzas on to the stone, using a peel, or a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal, and one that doesn't have sides...very important!  This helps get the pizza off the tray!

Cook for about 10-13 minutes.  It's done when everything is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Here's mine....yum!!

Here's his....lookin' good!

Allow to cool for about 5 min....Now the serving....mine

his...

both...hey! his is bigger!!! 

a lot bigger....hmmm.

And for the taste contest...well he liked both..and I think I liked his better...I'm partial to pepperoni and mushrooms! 

Happy pizza tasting!!!