Teriyaki Chicken

This has always been one of my favorite dishes, but I hated using the pre-made marinades or sauces because they always came out too salty. I had to work on this recipe for quite some time before I was happy with it.

Ingredients:

1 c. soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp cold water

20 oz. pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved

2 tsp oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root, peeled and minced

3 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips

1 broccoli crown, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 carrots, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls were the first time I ever tried to make a breakfast pastry from scratch and I learned a lot! The dough was surprisingly flaky and delicious.

Next time I will make a change:

• Make 1/2 the amount of dough. This will make the pumpkin & cinnamon to dough ratio higher. If you like your cinnamon rolls more doughy, leave the proportions the same but split the dough in half and use two 9x13 baking dishes. This will make the glaze easier to drizzle, since the dough needs room to rise. 

Ingredients (split these in half for less doughy, more pumpkiny rolls):

2 (0.25 oz) packages Rapid Rise Active Dry Yeast

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups warm water (approximately 110 degrees, I just used hot tap water)

1 tbsp salt

6 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

Glaze:

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp milk

Pineapple Dream Dessert

This is a dessert to make for potluck or event, because it is best to eat it on the first day, it doesn't keep well and the crust gets soggy. On the first day you make it, the pretzel crust is buttery and crisp. The saltiness of the crust is a great counterpart to the sweet & tart pineapple. Some people told me they wished the crust was a bit thicker, next time I make this I'll probably do 3 cups of pretzels and 1 1/2 sticks of butter and bake it for a few minutes longer.

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed pretzels

1 stick butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup sugar

8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

2-20 oz cans of crushed pineapple

1 package banana pudding mix