My Sister is a Bad Influence

Yesterday I got home from work with every intention of going to the gym, and getting at least 3.5 miles in.  I was even halfway to getting changed when my sister came into my room, plopped herself on my bed, and whined at me not to go to the gym.  I half heartedly told her that, “Nooo, I have to” to which she said “Nooo don’t go” and then I gave in.  In compromise she agreed to go with me on Friday instead.

Since I wasn’t going to work out I figured the least I could do was make a real dinner for us for once this week.  I took some chicken out of the freezer and a bottle of teriyaki marinade out of the pantry and stared at the two for a while.  Then I went back to the pantry, grabbed a box of whole wheat fettucine and stared some more.  I was trying to piece together a yummy chicken teriyaki and noodle dinner with very few ingredients.  Then I remembered about some frozen broccoli and corn, and dinner was a go.

I started by cutting up my still slightly frozen chicken into bite sized pieces (fun fact: chicken is immensely easier to cut if it’s still a little frozen) and marinading it in some Lawry’s Teriyaki with Pineapple Juice and a few Tbsps of Sesame Oil while I chopped up some onion and garlic.  Then I poured some vegetable oil into a pan, let it heat up, and added my chicken to it.  I let the chicken cook for a few minutes, and then dumped in the onion and garlic.

While all of this cooked together I put of pot of water on to cook my fettucine.  I would say I let the chicken, onion, and garlic cook together for about five minutes before adding the corn and broccoli.  Just throw it in there still frozen, it will cook.

When there was about two minutes left on the time for my pasta, I took it off the heat, drained it, and threw it in the pan with the rest of the ingredients.  This way it finishes cooking in the teriyaki sauce and absorbs more flavor.  I also added another sprinkling of sauce from the bottle to make sure there was enough.

I let everything cook together for about another five minutes before I decided it was ready for eatin.

I wish I could have thrown some peppers and other veggies in there, but it was still delicious with just the broccoli and corn.  My sister loved it also, and we both cleaned our plates :).  This was one of the simplest and quickest dinners that I have ever prepared, well once I figured out what I was going to cook that is.

• 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Lawry’s Teriyaki Marinade
• Sesame Oil
• Vegetable Oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 of an onion
• Broccoli
• Corn
• Some sort of pasta

Cut up your chicken into bit size pieces, marinade it in the Lawry’s and Sesame Oil for at least half an hour.  Heat up the vegetable oil in a large pan and add the marinated chicken.  Once the chicken has started to cook, add in the onion and garlic and let cook for 2-3 minutes.  While that is cooking, prepare the water for your pasta and add in a large handful once it has come to a boil.  Add your vegetables to the chicken, onion, and garlic and saute until everything is cooked through.  When the pasta has about 2-3 minutes cook time remaining, remove from heat, drain, and add to the pan with everything else.  Cook until the noodles have absorbed most of the liquid and are no longer hard.  Enjoy!

I kind of wish I had made a bigger portion of this, because leftovers would have been perfect for lunch today.  Oh well, next time I know to make lots.  In other news, Happy Thursday!  I can’t decide whether this weekend feels like it has been dragging or flying by.  I think starting Monday out with seeing the boyfriend and drinking too much wine made it go a little slow.  Oh well I can make it through one more day I think.  I’m excited for this weekend because I’m off to Atlantic City on Saturday for one of my friends bachelorette parties.  It should be a show, for sure.  What are you all looking forward to this weekend?  I hope you all have a great day!