Saturday 10 February 2018

A Different Supper

I tend to get bored with the same meals. I need to change things up fairly often, whereas my husband would be content to have a "Monday meal", "Tuesday meal", etc. But I knew I'd be making supper tonight, so I searched through ideas that I had pinned from Pinterest in my "food" file and found something that looked good and was different than what I have usually been making. I figured out what ingredients I already had, then made sure to pick up the rest when I went grocery shopping today, because it's Saturday, and that's grocery shopping day!

This is teriyaki chicken and rice in the making. It was pretty easy to make and ended up being a big casserole, perfect for leftovers later in the week.


You make a teriyaki sauce with soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, ginger, minced garlic and a bit of olive oil, thickened with cornstarch. Then you cook four boneless, skinless chicken breasts in some of the sauce. Once the chicken is cooked, you shred it (I use two forks to do this) and add cooked rice, cooked Asian vegetables (the packaged, frozen kind), pineapple tidbits and more of the sauce. Then this mixture gets put back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

Once it comes out, you drizzle the remainder of the sauce on top. It was excellent!! If I make it again, I will add more than the cup of pineapple recommended. I think the pineapple helps to balance out the saltiness of the sauce.


That's the finished product with a couple of helpings already gone. My son will enjoy this when he gets home from work because he loves anything involving soy sauce.

My daughter, meanwhile, texted and sent a picture of a place that she and her boyfriend ate at tonight. It was an all you can eat Indian buffet. It looked wonderful. We have no Indian food restaurants around here at all, and it's a pity!

What about you, do you get bored with the same old reliable meals you tend to make over and over?

36 comments:

  1. The only "day" meals I remember were in school

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm guessing you mean lunches you were provided at school? We never had that. Everyone brought their lunch, so it's whatever your mother packed for you. -Jenn

      Delete
  2. That looks lovely. I chuckled at your mister because mine would be the same if he could!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, at least we know they wouldn't complain about the meals! -Jenn

      Delete
  3. I really should be more adventurous with my cooking but it's so easy to fall back on tried and tested recipes. It does get boring though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's often what I do, though. Pasta, roasted chicken pieces with vegetables, burritos, roast beef... I just want different flavours sometimes. It all depends on time and how tired I am after work, too. -Jenn

      Delete
  4. I like to vary what I cook, especially now I live alone and the farmer has gone (he was rather conventional with his food) and I like trying new things - I amcontemplating going veggie and have a veggie cook book but the food is all a bit bland for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure I could go vegetarian. I really do enjoy certain kinds of meat with a meal, or ways of preparing it. I always like hearing what you have when you go out for lunch with friends! It's inspiring! -Jenn

      Delete
  5. I like to change things up too. My husband grew up in a home where thursday was chicken cutlet day, Friday pork roast, etc. etc.... to me that's just boring, although my MIL was an excellent cook. Your dish looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My best friend's family was like that too. Each day was a predictable meal. Oh well, that makes shopping easier, I suppose. -Jenn

      Delete
  6. I do get bored with the same meals and frequently go trolling the internet for new ideas . This looks good but my husband doesn't like breast meat, wonder if you can make it with thighs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh definitely, you could use thigh meat. You just want to be able to pull it apart in chunks so you the meat it distributed throughout the casserole. -Jenn

      Delete
  7. Wow! That sounds really good. I don't do nearly as much cooking anymore as John is not able to eat regular foods. At first it was a relief not to have to cook everyday--but I find I miss it...and I DO love to bake!!!! xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always felt so bad for your husband when he wasn't even able to eat at all, and now he is limited. From what I've read, I'm sure you are a great cook, and baker! -Jenn

      Delete
  8. I am an adventurous eater, I love to try new things but the husband only has about four things he likes so we just have the same old same old all the time.
    That casserole looks so good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jane, I think you are a new reader. Welcome. That's too bad that your eating doesn't match your husband's. Maybe when you go out to a restaurant you can try different things. -Jenn

      Delete
  9. I prepare the same conventional meals week in and week out but I never think of it as boring because they are all our favourite things! When I eat out at a restaurant I like to have something different, the more foreign the better, because I know I am never going to make it myself at home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I like to have ethnic food because I don't know how to make it myself, or we don't have those kinds of ingredients around here. -Jenn

      Delete
  10. I miss Chinese and Indian because there is nothing like that around here. I do make curries and we can get instant noodles but nothing like what I remember. I get sick of Greek food. Same thing all the time, olive oil and lemon juice.
    I just might try your recipe ...for me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I think it would take me a while to get tired of Greek food. We also don't have any authentic Greek restaurants here. -Jenn

      Delete
  11. Looks delish! I love a good teriyaki sauce on many things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was easier making the sauce than I thought, too. -Jenn

      Delete
  12. This looks so delicious! I love the idea of a one dish recipe. I also like to shake things up a bit or I get bored of cooking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Martha! One dish recipes are great, especially for reheating. -Jenn

      Delete
  13. I'm interested in the Indian Buffet your daughter recommended. Can you share the name and location?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried to email you privately, Chris and couldn't really find an address to use, so hopefully you will check back here. It's the Indian Fusion Buffet in Cambridge. I haven't been there myself, but daughter and boyfriend were stuffed and happy. -Jenn

      Delete
  14. YES! I do get bored with my own cooking. (Especially so 'cause I crave a lot of variety in the food I eat.) My husband is like yours and would eat something day after day if it was one of his favorites. I know he'd like this new dish you made because he's a fan of soy sauce, too. It looks yummy.

    We went out to eat (something we do rarely) last Friday night. I was pretty excited about it as I truly don't remember the last time we did so. It was a total disaster. So much so that I have absolutely no desire now to go out again. (W-h-y-y-y am I being punished so?? Waaaaah. :o( Cue in violins.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, now that's disappointing. Was the food not very good? -Jenn

      Delete
  15. Hi Jenn :) that dish looks really good, I'm a big teriyaki fan! I think I'm more like your hubby. I've been known to eat the same meal every night for weeks and weeks. Then I get sick of it and move on to something else. Mind you, since I've been with Alex I make more of an effort and try to make something really different often. Once in a while, especially winter, I tend to go back to the tried and true recipes, but that's just for lack of ingredients!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the recipe share. I like easy casseroles, teriyaki & pineapple (yes I'm one of those crazies that puts pineapple on a pizza). ... Mary-Lou =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your chicken teriyaki looks positively delish, Jenn. Hope you have a fabulous week.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That looks like a very promising addition to my weekend menu! I only have time to cook on the weekends and then live off of leftovers for the week.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That looks a lot better and fancier than my meals! I go in spurts. Not too bored, but sometimes...!

    ReplyDelete
  20. That looks really good!! I would have to use low sodium soy sauce but other than that, yummm. Yes, I do sometimes need to switch things up although I could eat pasta 5 nights a week, ha ha!! Tonight I'm going to sous vide some chicken strips I have marinating and then toss them with sauteed peppers and onions and put it over rice. Not sure what else is going in there yet....it's sort of still working its way around my mind!

    ReplyDelete
  21. This looks delicious and easy to make. I will be trying this. I am in Ontario too. B

    ReplyDelete
  22. I will also be trying it. You have to love how Pinterest has helped encourage new recipes. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete