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.

Fall baking: Pumpkin Citrus Crescent Rolls

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October started off with a bang.  Fall baking and fall flavors were in so on my mind.  I made this delicious Bakery Style Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake and then bang...vacation time took over.  Not just any vacation, but a tropical one.  Hot, humid, tropical weather, which put me right back in the summer mood.

Well, we're back and we had a fantastic time, but it's taken me a little kick in the butt to get back in the fall flavor swing...until today that is.  We took this week trying to slowly get back into the swing of everyday life, work etc.  It's been rough as I'm still dreaming of the islands.  Last Friday night we decided to go out for a bit and walk around the mall.  I knew I had to stop in my favorite store, Williams-Sonoma, and pick up a jar of Pecan Pumpkin Butter by Muirhead.  Yum! It's full of all natural ingredients such as Pumpkin, sugar, lemon juice, pecans, spices and it tastes so good.  Definitely something to purchase if you get the chance. 

So I had in mind using this as an ingredient in a mixture to spread on to some crescent rolls.  A new recipe was born!  Pumpkin Citrus Crescent Rolls are on the menu for breakfast today.  Taking a cue from my favorite pumpkin pie I whipped up a filling of pumpkin butter, orange marmalade for a citrus zing, and some vanilla.  Put it all in a ready to bake crescent roll dough and you have the best breakfast, or snack, or dessert you will even want on a fall day.

The pumpkin lends the earthiness, and the citrus lightens it up a bit, making this a comfort food treat that will have your house smelling wonderful and your tummy saying "MMMnnn!"  Done in 20 minutes, so this is easy to whip up when you are short on time.  We just loved this recipe which was evident by the 3 rolls I inhaled in 30 seconds and the fight over the remaining rolls with my love, MGG.  Haha!  I think more of these rolls will be made

Note:  You can use whatever pumpkin butter you like best.




Pumpkin Citrus Crescent Rolls

Yield: 8 rolls

1 can of crescent rolls (such as Pillsbury)
2 T pumpkin butter
1 T orange marmalade
1/2 tsp vanilla
Garnish:  ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl add pumpkin butter, orange marmalade, and vanilla.  Stir until mixed well.

Remove crescent dough from the can and unroll.  Separate into 8 individual triangles and place the rolls on a working surface.

Smear pumpkin mixture on one side of each triangle with about 1 tsp of mixture.  (Putting too much will cause the mixture to ooze out when baking.)  Starting at the large end roll dough toward small point until a crescent is formed.  Place on a baking sheet.  Continue until all dough is rolled in crescents. 

Sprinkle a little fresh ground nutmeg over the tops.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Triple Berry Cream Cheese Spread

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I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

We took a little bit of time off to relax and celebrate with friends.  It was wonderful seeing good friends, playing in the pool, and eating all that great food!

It's hard to get back into the daily swing when we had such a relaxing holiday.  One way to do that is to make life simple, and to make our breakfast's simple too.  After a weekend of goodies it's time stop the baking and cooking for a little bit.  In doing so we decided to spend our last day of holiday with a quick and easy breakfast of fruits, coffee and tea, and fresh bagels. 

We are lucky to live near a Western Bagel store and so we picked up several varieties of bagels to enjoy.  My all time favorite is an egg bagel.  Soft and yummy, that's how I like them.  There's nothing better than fresh, soft bagels and Western Bagel has the best in Los Angeles. 

To go with our bagels I decided to whip up a special cream cheese spread.  I wanted to make it just a little bit fancier...just a little.  Which leads us to today's recipe, Triple Berry Cream Cheese Spread.  It's a blend of cream cheese, feta cheese and Smucker's new Fruit N' Honey fruit spreads.  Smucker's describes them as " Ripened fruit is naturally sweetened with honey for a simply delicious way to complement your breakfast or dress up your appetizers and desserts."  I found this new product at my store and decided to pick up a couple.  The one I used today was Fruit & Honey Triple Berry Fruit Spread.  Of course you could use this recipe with any jam, jelly, or fruit spread, I chose this one because I was curious to have a spread with honey in it instead of refined sugar.  

It's just the perfect additive to my cream cheese to jazz it up a bit for our breakfast.  It turned out so delicious, with little chunks of fruit mixed in.  Perfect on a bagel or a piece of toast.

So next time you have a simple breakfast, try this easy cream cheese spread.  You'll enjoy it's light and fruity taste, and make your breakfast extra special!

Enjoy!




Triple Berry Cream Cheese Spread


1/2 tub of whipped cream cheese
3 Tbls feta cheese crumbled
3-4 Tbls Triple Berry Fruit Spread (Smucker's - or your favorite fruit spread)

In a medium bowl add all the ingredients and stir until well combined.  Serve with bagels or toast.  Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator up to a week.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

The last of the season's strawberries are among us.

I just went to the farmer's market and bought a HUGE amount of strawberries in order to make my love of them last.  How can it last?  By making freezer jam!

Have you made this yet?  This was my first attempt and I must say, it is easy to do.  Plus, it turned out great. The jam was chunky like I like it and not too sweet. (I cut down the sugar a bit, cause I like it a bit tart) Perfect on homemade biscuits, or on an English muffin, bagel, or toast.  

If you like jam this is perfect for you.  You can use this recipe with any fruit.  Just choose your favorite and cook away!  Next I think I'll make blackberry jam.  I spied a great source for blackberries at the farmer's market the other day.  Plus I love the tart flavor of blackberries.

What makes this easier than normal canning is the process.  You don't have to boil all the jars, and then fill and seal them in simmering water.  None of that.  Just cook the fruit, prepare the pectin, and mix them together.  Freezing your jam removes the need for the canning process.  So this is an easy take on canning.

I hope you enjoy some summer fruit by turning it into jam.  How great would it be to take a bit in January of some fresh strawberry goodness?  Pretty great, I'd say!

What's your favorite item to can?



Strawberry Freezer Jam

makes 5 (1 cup) containers

2 cups crushed strawberries (buy 1 qt. fully ripe strawberries)
3 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
3/4 cup water
1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

Stem strawberries and place in a bowl.  Using a potato masher crush strawberries thoroughly.  Measure 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.

In a small saucepan mix water and pectin.  Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is almost dissolved.

Fill 5 1/2 pint mason jars or freezer safe containers (1 cup containers) to within 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. It may be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks or you may freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.