Asian Flare!

So it was Asian Flare night at the Titus' tonight (I just made that up btw) and I decided to do a little something different to spice things up a bit.

I started with a Baked Teriyaki Chicken Recipe I found at allrecipes.com

Prep time for this meal is about 20-25 minutes. Cook time is about an hour.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup white sugar (I substituted with 1/2 cup splenda for baking)

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup soy sauce (I substituted with 1/2 cup La Choy Lite Soy Sauce)

1/4 cup cider vinegar (I substituted with 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar)

1 clove garlic, minced (I substituted with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 
  
• 12 skinless chicken thighs (I thawed out 4 drumsticks for James)

*** The cooking directions are super simple! ***

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combined the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)

3. Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over and brush again. (I used a small round glass dish that fit the 4 drumsticks nicely.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake for another 30 minutes or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

I coupled the chicken with simple white rice that I made in the rice cooker.

As an appetizer (and my main course) I made Tofu Egg Rolls -- Yum

Tofu Egg Rolls Ingredients

1 pkg Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps (I made about 7 so you can separate and save the remaining)

1/2 pkg of Extra Firm Tofu (of course you can use ground pork, chicken, whatever you like)

1 tsp minced ginger

2 cups of old fashioned coleslaw mix (finely chopped cabbage, bean sprouts, and carrots work too)

3 green onions finely chopped

2 tbsp of my left over Teriyaki sauce from above (you can also use oyster sauce or already bottled Teriyaki sauce as well)

Fat-free cream cheese

Cooking:

Stir fry the Tofu and ginger until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add the coleslaw mix and green onions, cook 2 minutes. Stir in the Teriyaki sauce (or oyster sauce). Let mixture cool. Take out one wrap. Lightly spread with cream cheese. Fill with 2 tbs of filling for each egg roll. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners (just like you were making an envelope out of paper). Brush top corner of wrap with water to tightly enclose the filling and seal the roll with the top flap.

You can either fry the rolls or bake them. I fry them in Olive Oil. Take a large skillet and fill the bottom with olive oil. Heat on medium. Once oil is hot, place the rolls in the skillet flap down, a few at a time, turning occasionally until golden, about 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towel.

I serve the Tofu Egg Rolls with La Choy sweet and sour sauce. Delic!!!! and super healthy!

I received a 8/9 on this meal. James said the homemade Teriyaki sauce was really good and it tasted like a restaurant quality meal. We figure that the entire meal probably cost about $10 to make and at a restaurant about $30 to eat!

I think this meal came at a time when a change up was definitely needed.

For dessert, my homemade fat free espresso frozen yogurt! Stay tuned!