Random Recipe: Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken

Posted by random olio

I have been feeling blah about food lately, and needed some inspiration. Chris made this last night, and it hit the spot and was just what I needed. I only had to control myself a bit and not overstuff myself — which is hard to do when something is so yummy! Now I will tell you, there is a word I pretty much hate using: moist. However, baking this chicken with these specific ingredients meant that when you cut into the chicken it was the absolute definition of moist. The ingredient list looks long, but it is not hard at all (just ask Chris!)

Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken [Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addition]

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup pineapple chunks

Directions:

Whisk cornstarch and water together in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Simmer over low heat (whisking occasionally). Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside so it will thicken.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F.
Place chicken and pineapple chunks in any oven safe dish or pan. Pour sauce over chicken and pineapple ensure all sides of the chicken is covered.
Bake (uncovered) for 30 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.

We served it over brown rice and then added some steamed broccoli. Yum!

The tricks our minds play

Posted by random olio

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago about a topic that tends to come and go in my life. It is one that always seems a bit hard to put into words. I can remember a time almost ten years ago when I was sitting on our bed in a loft we were living in. I had this surreal moment when I looked around and thought: all these things happening in my life are all a distraction to get me to not look at the painful stuff. A clearer thought was: working through the painful stuff is what moves you forward to that next level of understanding. It was not a fun time in my life. That day I was alone. Chris was traveling in China and life felt rough, bumpy, and not much fun.

The conversation from a few weeks ago circled back to that same feeling. Do we all have the craziest of lives because it keeps us distracted from the real and raw stuff we are supposed to be looking at the most? We do not want to so we stay hyper-focused on all that we have to do? We stay extremely busy, and then we never have to get really quiet and listen to that voice inside that tells us where we should really be looking? It has been true for me from time to time. I like to think that I am still listening even between all the many responsibilities and deadlines. Am I lying to myself though? Is it really possible? Or do you just need to walk away from it all, whether for a week, or month to really be able to see inside?

I just finished reading a book called “Dinner with Buddha” by Roland Merullo. At first it was a hard book to read. I could not get into it, and then as I found a few morsels of inspiration I was pulled into the quiet, thoughtful ideas inside. While it is a novel, it reads like a self-help book. There were quite a few ideas that come from the story and analogies the author shares. This idea in particular resonated as it made me think of that day ten years ago, and the conversation from a few weeks ago:

“Plugging along at monk-speed, I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t all some kind of trick we were playing on ourselves. Maybe the more we crammed into a day the less we actually experienced. Maybe the addictive hurry was all a kind of racing away from our existential predicament, as if we could outrun old age and death, and as though, if we kept busy enough, kept moving, traveled farther, checked more items off the to-do list on any given day, then, like astronauts in orbit, we’d escape the bonds of ordinary time. Or escape, at least, the manic workings of our minds.” Page 118-119

Is that truly why we do so much? We are trying to get away from our minds and true thoughts? I sure hope not, but I can see it being true. I know it from the tricks my mind plays on me. Yet I want so badly to slow down, stop moving, get rid of the to-do list and live moment by moment into what my mind wants me to learn, however painful as it may be to look into all that is there for me to learn.

What do you think?

Take Up Space

Posted by random olio

My sister just shared this video on Facebook and I immediately was sucked in. It reminded me of fast poetry and the likes of something I would watch and be interested in – in college, especially during my feminist stage. Regardless it is the message that is so important. “Take Up Space.” Yes, do it. I finally did.

After so many years (and something I have often blogged about) where my dad was so keen on reminding us that children were to be seen and not heard, it took me to my junior and senior years of college to realize I was NOT taking up any space. Being seen and not heard was so ingrained in who I was, that I did not know what it was like to say what I thought. I was on the quieter side. Eventually through my women’s study classes, and learning more about “voice” I realized how much I really had to say.

In order to truly speak up and talk I needed to take up space. A novel idea to someone who for so many years was basically told to be invisible. I know I was/am like so many women that struggle with taking up space. Instead of hiding or being quiet — instead say what you need to say. Say it again. Take up some space.

Thank you for sharing, sis.

Random Recipe: Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Quesadilla

Posted by random olio

It is the perfect midnight snack. You know those times when you for some reason are starving and you are not sure why, but you need something now? A warm mixture of peanut butter, chocolate, and bananas may just hit the spot. Yum. What is not to love? It is so easy, and takes all of two minutes.

It could also be the perfect breakfast treat. Or it reminds me of when you go to a crepe restaurant and you get a savory one and then follow it with a sweet one. Make a chicken quesadilla and then follow it with gooey peanut butter, chocolate, and bananas. Try it. You will not be disappointed.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Quesadillas [Adapted from Budget Bytes]

Ingredients

1 8-inch whole wheat tortilla
2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
½ medium banana
1 Tbsp semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Spread the peanut butter over the surface of the tortilla.
Slice the banana very thinly and then arrange the slices over half of the tortilla. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the banana slices and then fold the tortilla in half.
Cook the quesadilla in a skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown and crispy on both sides.

Soak it up.

Posted by random olio

Learning. I am a sponge. I learn from books, and listening intently to perspectives from other individuals. I stare. I become fascinated with the nuances of why people say the things they do, and act the way they act. Often we do not realize how we are perceived, and whether people are nurtured and inspired by our presence, or if they are repelled and drained by us. At times the story we tell, and how we express ourselves greatly dictate other’s perceptions of us.

Each of us have such a unique past and specific experiences that mold us into who we are and how we embark on our day. We constantly absorb the moments, attitudes, mood, and energy of those around us. As we consume those around us, we decide moment by moment how we are going to respond and react, or maybe do nothing at all. Some of us have a harder time letting go of any bad energy that exudes from those around us. Others make it their mission to get rid of any toxic energy that comes into their experience.

As a sponge, it can sometimes be hard to react quickly, because the absorption process happens so quickly. In that way, we have to protect ourselves from others, and sometimes ourselves. For those of us who are sponges, we have to be aware and take care of ourselves. Keeping tabs on the energy around you, and what drains you can be a step in determining if you are breathing in toxic energy. Learning how to be less absorbent in those moments is a protection in sanity, and what you want to breathe into your world.

Soak it all up, just watch what you let touch you.