Grilled Mongolian Chicken

I love lots of Asian inspired foods, and I have found that it is relatively easy to make many of my favorite dishes at home. I probably make Baked Egg Rolls at least once or twice a month, and I love Bourbon Chicken and Sesame Noodles. I discovered San-J Tamari Sauce a while back and have been using it ever since, so when they contacted me about trying their new line of Asian Cooking Sauces, I was happy to oblige!

SanJ Sauces

These are the three I chose, but there are available. I’m on a mission to try them all! The first one I used was the Mongolian Stir-Fry & Marinade Sauce. I simply added the sauce to boneless, skinless chicken thighs and froze them. When ready to use, I let the chicken thaw in the refrigerator overnight, which also gave it time to marinate well.

Freezer meals

I cooked these on the grill, which is my favorite way to eat chicken thighs. The thighs are great for grilling due to the higher fat content, and they really absorb a lot of flavor from whatever marinade you choose.

Grilled Mongolian Chicken Pin

These were juicy and flavorful! I served them over brown rice, with a little added spicy chili paste. So good! I am planning on adapting this Pineapple Chicken into Orange Chicken using the Orange Sauce next. It’s my oldest daughter’s favorite, so at least I will be guaranteed to make at least one family member happy at the dinner table! Sometimes (most times) it’s a struggle. *sigh*

Grilled Mongolian Chicken

Grilled Mongolian Chicken

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/2 bottle San J Mongolian Stir-Fry & Marinade Sauce

Instructions

  1. Place chicken in a gallon size Ziploc bag, add sauce.
  2. Seal* and place in refrigerator to marinate (the longer it sits, the more flavor the chicken will absorb. I recommend at least 4 hours.)
  3. Remove chicken, discard extra sauce.
  4. Cook on preheated grill until internal temp is at least 165 degrees F.
  5. Baste with extra sauce while cooking if desired.
  6. *Chicken can also be frozen at this point. Thaw in fridge when ready to cook.
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San-J provided me with samples to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

I’ll admit, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with copycat recipes of late. I’m not sure if it is because I live so far from restaurants now, or because I just want to see if I can replicate restaurant food at home. I imagine it’s a little of both! This particular salad is my husband’s favorite thing from Applebee’s Restaurant, so I wanted to give it a try. There are several versions of the recipe on line, but I based mine off of one from .Looks good, right?!  What’s even better…it is very easy to put together with some pre-packaged items from the grocery store.

Copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

from 
Dressing – 
3 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise (*I use )
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
 
Salad – 
6 crispy chicken strips, cooked
Pre-packaged salad mix (w/romaine lettuce, carrots, and cabbage)
Pre-packaged coleslaw mix
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (I used toasted sesame seeds instead)
1 cup Chow Mein noodles
 
  • For the Dressing 
Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Refrigerate while preparing salad.
 
  • For the Salad 
Cut chicken strips into bite size pieces. Set aside.
Mix together about half the bag of each of the pre-packaged salad and coleslaw mixes.
Top with cut up chicken, almonds & Chow Mein noodles. 
Drizzle the dressing on top, to taste.
Makes approx. 3 large salads
You can make as much or as little as you want by altering the amounts of salad used.  The amount of dressing used per salad is such an individual preference, so you may need more or less.  The amount listed was enough for 3 salads (a dinner sized salad entree) for us, but my husband said he would have liked more dressing (he likes a lot, where I like just a little!)
I added mandarin oranges to my salad, and I used toasted sesame seeds in the place of almonds, just because I love them! This was a convenient, filling and delicious salad, and I can’t wait to tackle my next copycat recipe!  So far, I’ve tried Copycat Chick-fil-a ChickenOlive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, and Chili’s Monterey Chicken.
Have you got a restaurant favorite that you make at home? I’d love to hear about it!
I’m linking up this recipe over at – (Wednesday) , , , , , , , ,  (Thursday)  ,, , ,  , , (Friday) ,  , , , , ,, , , , ,, ,  (Saturday) , ,  ,  (Sunday) 
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Slow Cooker Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

I’m back!  One thing my grandma truly loved was food, and she would not want me to stop sharing recipes.  I may not have adopted her Southern ways of cooking, (no fat-back or collard greens for me, thank you) but I do share her love of all things food.  I even taught her a thing or two…for example, she thought she hated pumpkin until my pumpkin breads and muffins 🙂

Today, I wanted to share a crock-pot recipe.  I love using my crock pot, and have been trying lots of different recipes to build up a good rotation.  For a while, it seemed like everything I slow-cooked (mainly chicken!) always came out tasting the same…bland.  Of course, a lot of the recipes have had similar ingredients, b/c I just can’t be too creative with my family.  They have really boring taste buds 😉  This chicken dish, found at , was a hit with everyone. Except Mr. Three, who eats nothing worth mentioning.

A huge thanks to everyone who has come over from Pinterest! I’d love for you to become a regular around here. You can receive my posts via , or ; follow on , ,  and .  Please link back if re-posting on your own blog, I’m finding my picture everywhere with no credit/link given.  It’s just common courtesy folks (not to mention my posts and pictures are copyright protected.)

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar & Garlic Chicken 

adapted from

4-6 chicken breasts *I used 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 cup packed brown sugar *I used 3/4 cup
2/3 cup vinegar  *I used apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda *I used Sprite Zero
2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic *I used about 1 1/2 T. fresh minced garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons water

Red pepper flakes (optional) 

Directions:

  • Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. (Crock pot liners are also great!)
  • Place chicken (frozen, thawed or fresh) inside slow cooker. 
  • Mix together the sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper, and pour over chicken. 
  • Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. (Frozen chicken will obviously need a longer cook time.)
  • Remove chicken from slow cooker (it should basically fall apart) and pour remaining sauce into a saucepan over high heat. 
  • Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. 
  • Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools).
  • Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired.  

This can be served over rice or noodles, but we had ours with a baked potato on the side (It’s good on top of the potato too!)

Verdict? Everyone enjoyed this.  I liked it because it was not too sweet like some of the other recipes I have tried, and the red pepper flakes gave it a nice little kick.  I bet it would be good with a little sriracha too!  The kids, of course, skipped the spice, and enjoyed it as is.  This, along with Sticky Chicken, will be made again.

I’m linking this up over at – , , , , , , , ;