Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

This recipe is, in my eyes (and taste buds), the best dish I've made in the two years I've been cooking as a hobby.  Kabobs are a great meal whether using chicken, beef, fish or whatever.  The way all the flavors marry together and make your taste buds jump off your tongue.  This Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs recipe I cooked on an electric griddle but would work even better cooked on a grill.  If using wooden skewers on a grill, I would suggest soaking the skewers in cold water so they don't burn or char when on the grill.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

- 2-3 chicken breasts (cubed)

- Lawry's Teriyaki marinade

- 1-2 green bell peppers

- 1 white onion

- 1 can pineapple cubes

- garlic salt & pepper (to taste)

- skewers (wooden or metal)

*Note: I don't measure ingredients when I cook, so I will try to estimate how much I used in the cooking directions below.

Preparation

1.  Take thawed chicken breasts and cut them into cubes.  Mine were roughly 2x2in. cubes but size is up to you.  Try to keep the chicken cut at the same size so cooking time is even.  Place cubed chicken into a gallon sized plastic bag and pour teriyaki marinade over chicken.  I used about 1.5 cups of marinade; just enough to barely cover the chicken.  Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (the more time the better).

2.  While chicken is marinating, cut your green peppers and onions into about 1x1in. squares.

3.  Once the chicken is done marinating it's time to "stab" your food.  This is the part where you can get creative with the order of the food.  Some people might evenly distribute the ingredients, I did mine randomly.  However, there are equal number of chicken on each skewer.  Use the image as a guide if needed.

Cooking

1.  Season kabobs to your taste with the galic salt and pepper. (I don't add extra salt because I am conscious about sodium intake, so the garlic salt is enough sodium for me.)  Place kabobs on griddle/grill on medium to high heat.  Rotate kabobs as needed; cook chicken until no pink in the middle.

*Note: Since I used an electric griddle, after about 5 minutes of cooking I realized that the kabobs weren't going to evenly cook because not all of the items were touching the griddle.  I decided to take a large brownie pan to cover the kabobs.  This creates a steaming effect that helps distribute the heat evenly among the kabobs.  Also, keeps the chicken moist.

2.  Add extra marinade if desired during the cooking process.  Once chicken is cooked through, plate and serve.

The Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs were great on top of white rice and a side of cooked green beans (with olive oil and salt and pepper to season).

(Makes 2 Servings)

Colorful nail tips

As a nurse who washes her hands what seems like several hundred times a day, my nail polish tends to chip very quickly.  Instead of completely taking my polish off and starting over, sometimes I choose to just fix the tips.  When I do,  I get lots of comments from people who can't believe I do it myself.  With practice and the right brushes, it really isn't that difficult. Here is one of the ways I do it!

Supply list: 

-Base coat (purple)

-2 colors with small brushes (Pink/green), or your own small brushes

- Clear top coat

The small brushes are the secret to my success.  They make it very easy to do thin, sharp lines. Pretty much any place you can buy nail polish sells these now.  WalMart has a decent selection.

 Step 1: Apply first color, making quick, confident strokes.  If you try to go really slowly and precisely, chances are you'll end up with a wobbly line.  Experiment with brush positions to see what works best for you.

.

Step 2: Apply second color after first is completely dry

Step 3: Apply clear top coat

It's as easy as that!  I sometimes do patterns like this, other times just solid french manicure tips. Have fun painting!

Acrylic on canvas lion

 

The steps in my (lion) painting process - I definitely do not claim to be a professional, painting is something I do as a hobby.  This painting is part of an African-inspired three-painting series including an elephant and zebra (seen above).

Materials:

Stretched canvas, about 17x21" or so

Acrylic paints

Synthetic brushes, made for acrylics

Crystal Clear Acrylic coating spray

1. Blank canvas. 

2. Lightly sketch your drawing on the canvas with pencil. It doesn't have to be perfect or full of detail, you're just using it as a guide.  Try not to erase too much; erasing can damage the canvas.  I use my own photos or find photos on the internet to base my sketches on.  If you're bad at sketching, you can use a light projector or print your picture, tape it on the back of the canvas, hold it up to a window, and trace.

3. Do a rough color wash with watered down paints for general color blocking. I did the background here too using a sponge-paint method.  Don't forget to paint the sides of the canvas! You may still see some pencil lines here, that's okay.

4. Based on your color wash, begin to add more definitive color, altering the picture to your liking if need be. Start to develop harder, definitive edge lines if that is the style you are going for.  Small details will be added later, but I chose to start the eyes and nose here.

5. Continue to add detail and adjust colors, letting your painting take a more finished look.

6. Add final details, complete picture. Sign your initials - I think everyone should have a signature, not just the pros. I like to add the year too.

7. Spray with clear coating to give a matte finish and protect your painting.  Now you can display for all to see!

Painting with acrylics is fun, relatively easy, and does not have to be done all in one sitting. If you do wish to take a break and work later, make sure to cover your paints and keep a damp sponge or damp crumpled paper towel with them to prevent drying out.  Once acrylics dry, they basically turn into plastic. Sometimes you can peel off the top layer on your pallet and find good paint underneath, but it's best to prevent them from drying out in the first place.

Remember, the more you experiment and try new things, the better you will get at painting!  Don't be afraid to make a mistake - it may end up making the picture better, or you can cover it later.

Mascot canvas magnets

This idea was actually an original of mine that came to me while I was visiting a Blick store in Iowa City.  There was a free kids project table with these canvases and paints, and I thought that they would be perfect for school logos, teams, ect. for myself and as gifts.  I've made many of these, and I think they turn out great!  They also look great in sets (for example: the Big Ten schools)

Acrylic on mini-canvases purchased at Blick, now sold at Michael's too!

Stick-on magnets placed on all four sides of the back.

Drawn lightly with pencil first, then painted.  Make sure to paint the background first, even if it is white.

Costa Rica quilling

I recently went on a family vacation to Costa Rica. While there, I noticed all of the cute hand-made souvenirs and thought, "Hey, I can make some of these!"  These quillings are for my scrapbook.  I plan on doing some other Costa Rica-inspired crafts sometime in the future.

My supplies were purchased from Michael's and JoAnne's craft stores. 

(Side note - don't ever buy anything full price from these stores, there are always deals and coupons!) 

-Slotted quilling tool, approx. $4

-2 pkgs 250 multicolor quilling strips (1/8" by 12"), approx $7 each 

-I used 12"x12" scrapbooking cardstock for the black and cut my own strips

-Glue

-Toothpick for applying glue

-Sewing pins to hold the shapes while the glue was hardening

Here is a site I found helpful for beginning quilling:
http://increations.blogspot.com/2009/12/quilling-tips-patterns-and-tutorials.html

Welcome

Hey everybody! Welcome to our blog! We plan to share some of our many interests and creations with you here on this site.  Some of our creations are original, others inspired.  

Kyle is a Certified Personal Trainer whose interests include nutrition and exercise, cooking, and video games.  He will be posting work-out ideas and tips, recipes, and more.

Kristin is of the crafty, creative sort and will be sharing on topics related to various arts and crafts, baking, and photography.  She will be posting craft ideas with instructions, scrapbooking templates, and more.

We hope you find something of interest here and share it with others. 


Feel free to to add our ideas to Pinterest or other sites, just link them back to here!

Welcome and enjoy!