Prep for the Big Day!

Nothing says good-bye diet like the 4th of July! Who can even imagine eating healthy when the option of ribs, steak-tips, and drumsticks are floating like sugar plum fairies in your dreams? I have always had trouble saying no to delicious grilled sticky meat treats, but this year I am on a quest to be moderately healthy so I can remain a little woman in my kitchen! (I have been venturing towards being a more medium sized woman in the kitchen due to all the heavy winter foods I love so much)

So this 4th of July I am making grilled chicken kabobs with onion, pepper, zucchini, pineapple, mushrooms, and chicken, all smothered in BBQ Hoisin Sauce! I decided to prep what I could today so that I can spend the day on the beach tomorrow, and then just prance into the kitchen and throw a few things together! Bada boom, bada bing...Chicken kabobs! (at least I hope it will work that way). I am including the recipe for the BBQ Hoisin Sauce below. I made a cute little label for it, because lets face it, i will do anything for cute-ness!


I will post more soon so you can all see how my little kabobs work out! You will also get to see more SmittenKitchen.com adaptions! I am making the blueberry crumb bars and I will be improvising a mango black bean salsa. Stay tuned!


Recipe: BBQ Hoisin Sauce (adapted from SmittenKitchen.com)

2 tsp. vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 c. hoisin sauce
1 tb. soy sauce
2 tb. mirin
1 tb. ketchup
1 tb. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan and cook the garlic over moderately low heat until fragrant, about two minutes. Add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sake, ketchup and rice vinegar and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring, until thickened, about three minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Let cool and serve. (do NOT lick the spatula when it is piping hot and burn your tongue, no matter how good it smells! - something I have not learned yet...)