Yummy Chicken Marinade

Here is a yummy chicken marinade I came up with over the weekend. Sorry about the lack of definite quantities.

Lani's Chicken Marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
splash of soy sauce
sprinkle black pepper
sprinkle sea salt
double splash of lemon juice
sprinkle oregano
sprinkle basil

Combine ingredients in a freezer bag, add chicken and seal bag. Mix chicken around so that it is evenly coated. Place bag on plate in refrigerator. Check every 30-45 minutes and rotate. I used chicken cut into small peices (about stir-fry size). For whole chicken breast you may want to use more marinade and soak overnight. For the smaller pieces I marinated the chicken for about 1 1/2 hrs and it came out very tasty.

Enjoy!

Smile of the day!

A fun picture to give you (and me) a smile!

Recipes to Share

Here are some more recipes we've been enjoying since we started our $5/day challenge. These are the versions I've been using. I'm not good at using a recipe without modifying, so what you are getting is how I am actually making and eating these things. They are delicious!

Edamame Salad

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (1 pound) package frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)

3 cups frozen corn kernels

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 lb dry black beans, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

1. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt and garlic. Set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the soybeans and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to the boiling water and continue cooking for 1 more minute. Drain very well, and pour into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes and black beans. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to chill and blend the flavors.

 

  Green Bean and Feta salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
• 1 sweet onion, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• splash balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 dash hot sauce
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Thinly slice the onion and place into a colander over the sink. Add the cleaned green beans to a large pot of boiling water and boil until crisp tender (about 4 minutes). When the beans are done, drain the water into the colander to slightly cook the onions. Immediately rinse all in cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. For the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add beans, onions and cheese and stir until combined. Place in a nonreactive container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Enjoy!

A little taste of Hawaii

It's my party!

I had an awesome celebration of the start of my 28th year. Here is a peek into our revels:

Kei and Meg being super cute

Kris and Amanda being super cute

That's a tequila lei (thanks Meg and Kei!) around an ice cream pie

Taylor and Shawn

We don't have any patio furniture, so naturally we moved our living room outside for the event.

Joe seems so confused

This is just a taste. We had burgers, stage combat, singing, thumb biting, Shakespeare quoting, gymnastics and more! Thanks to all my friends and family for a great start to 28!

$5/day Recipe: Chickpea salad

This is my favorite new recipe I discovered while eating on $5 a day. We are continuing the challenge but allowing ourselves on meal out each week as a treat so we don't go crazy while we adjust. But here is my version of the chickpea salad recipe:

Ingredients

• ½ lb dry chickpeas, cooked according to package directions, then chilled –OR- 2 cans (15oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• A few ribs celery, chopped 

• 3 oz cherry tomatoes, quartered

 

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, ground into a paste with salt
   

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper

 

Directions

Combine chick peas with tomatoes, celery, garlic paste, and ground cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. 

Dress salad with vinegar and oil, salt and pepper to taste

Total prep time: 10 minutes (not including cooking time for chickpeas, which is about 90 minutes start to finish—I like to cook the beans in advance and have them in the fridge for when I’m ready to use them for something. Using canned beans cuts down on prep time, but then you should also cut some salt because the canned beans are MUCH saltier. I suggest sticking with dry beans and cooking them.)

Servings: 8

Price per serving: $.57 (I did not calculate the salt or pepper which I already owned)

She Said Yes!

I interrupt the regularly scheduled blogging to announce that my brother and Kristin are engaged and I couldn't be happier for them. In fact, I have pictures to share (come on, that's all you really wanted...admit it!)

 Getting caffeinated

He's made his choice

He's signing for it

I bet you just want to see what the ring looks like now, don't you?

The folks at Zales we very helpful

So pretty

But not as pretty as the happy couple:

Challenge update

I know I owe you an update on our $5/day food challenge. I have recipes to post as well, but all I have time to say for now is that it is going really well, and I have discovered a great new food blog in the process of research recipes.

We have been successful so far, we are on day four and moving into day five without losing steam. I'm not saying it's easy to keep up, but it is certainly saving us money and I'm definitely eating healthier as well.

Stay tuned for fun recipes!

Pretty Young Thing

A few weeks ago we bought a new car. And it has the best license plate ever:

Tenderoni you've got to be

In case you are wondering, it's a 2009 Hyundai Accent.

Sugar, fly with me

I Want To Love You (P.Y.T.)
Pretty Young Thing
You Need Some Lovin' (T.L.C.)
Tender Lovin' Care

Breathtaking Oahu

Shawn and I drove around the island Sunday looking for the breathtaking views that make this a wonderful place to live. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did:

Hawaii Kai

Makapu'u