Teriyaki Chicken with Ramen Noodles

Years (OK, decades to be exact) ago I used to spend the summers with my grandmother while school was out. We spent many afternoons in the kitchen, baking, cooking, making popcorn, and other culinary adventures. I credit her with my love for all things cooking and I have hundreds of memories.

Since The Kid and I are off together this summer, I wanted to create some new kitchen memories with her. I asked her to plan a menu of anything she wanted, and told her we would find recipes and make them together.  There were no restrictions calorie-wise or rules to make things healthy. I was excited to see what she would come up with.

The sky was the limit. She carefully planned out not just one, but two meals and a dessert. First up was teriyaki chicken and noodles. I figured it was fate because the recipe we found used a foil oven bag, and I’ve had one that I’ve been saving for a couple years. I got a free sample one time and never knew what to do with it. So yes, fate. 😉

Teriyaki Chicken with Ramen Noodles 

• 1 regular or large size foil oven bag
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (See notes)
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tsps cornstarch
• 2 (3 oz) packages ramen noodles
• 3 cups broccoli florets (about 8 oz)
• 1 8 oz package white mushrooms
• 1 8 oz package snow peas
• 1 green onion, white and green parts chopped

Coat the inside of the foil bag with non-stick spray and place it on a shallow baking pan. Combine the teriyaki sauce, broth, and cornstarch and a small bowl and whisk well. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

Take the ramen noodle bricks and break them into pieces and drop them into the bag. I had two bricks and broke them each into about 3 – 4 pieces. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to bag. Slice the broccoli into florets and slice the mushrooms and add to the bag. Dump in the snow peas.

Pour the sauce mixture over top. Double fold the open edge of the foil bag to seal and lay down on the baking pan. Bake at 475 degrees for about 30 minutes. Divide evenly and garnish with the green onions.

Makes 4 servings at approximately 300 calories each – 29g protein, 44g carbs, and 4g fat.

Notes

• We made our own teriyaki sauce for fun, but you can use the bottled kind to save time. To make it, whisk 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until thickened. Easy and done. You’ll have plenty of leftovers after using it for the chicken too.
• I used leftover Rice Ramen noodles that I bought at Whole Foods. I used two bricks in the Ramen Noodle Soup and used the remaining two bricks for this recipe. You can substitute the packages that you get really cheap at the grocery store if that’s easier. I really like the Rice Ramen and will definitely be getting more.

We had a great time grocery shopping together, and I also got a chance to teach The Kid some cooking skills for when she moves out on her own. I’ve been very remiss in teaching life skills like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I’ve got tons of catching up to do in the next 3 years!

This weekend we plan to make the other recipe and dessert. I love creating memories of my own and passing on my grandmother’s legacy. She’d be very touched and proud.