Soboro Don

Credit: Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken (regular or lean work fine)
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

Put the ground chicken in a cold nonstick skillet (no oil needed). Mix the rest of the ingredients together, then pour over the chicken. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink. Then cook until the juices have evaporated and there are some brown bits on the chicken. Serve over rice with shredded pickled red ginger (kizami beni shoga) and a vegetable.

Notes

This takes only about 15 minutes! You can also serve it traditionally with slightly sweetened scrambled eggs (about 2/3 tsp sugar per egg).

Tijuana Dog

Ingredients

hot dog
bacon
hot dog bun
pickled jalapeños
sauce: mayo, mustard, hot sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Wrap a raw piece of bacon around a hot dog, and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, turning half-way through, until the bacon is cooked. Place in bun with pickled jalapeños. Mix some mayo, mustard, and hot sauce together and drizzle on top.

Notes

The combo of bacon, pickled jalapeños, and the hot sauce is great with the hot dog! The bacon makes it more filling ^_^

Turkey Taco Bowl

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey, 93% lean
1 yellow onion
some olive oil
2 cloves garlic
8 oz tomato sauce
1 tbsp taco seasoning, more if needed

tortilla chips
beans
cheese
avocado
sour cream
veggies

Directions

Sauté the onion and garlic in some olive oil. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add the taco seasoning and mix. Then portion out taco meat, anything else you want to add, and eat with tortilla chips or Fritos Scoops!

Notes

Ok, this is comfort in a bowl, and quick!

Cheesy Chicken Fritters

Credit: Natasha Kravchuk, Natasha’s Kitchen

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts
2 large eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 oz mozzarella cheese (or 4 sticks of string cheese, diced fine)
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt , or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper
avocado oil or other high-heat oil

Directions

Dice the chicken into 1/4-inch pieces. Add to a bowl along with the other ingredients, mix, and let sit in the fridge at least 2 hours. Take a scoop and pan-fry in batches, about 3-4 minutes per side. When they’re cooked, put them on a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm until serving.

Notes

The most time-consuming thing is dicing the chicken. Once that’s done, these are so easy! The dill just makes it, and serving it with garlic yogurt sauce is a must!

Roasted Pork Loin

Ingredients

pork loin
salt
rosemary
garlic
olive oil

Directions

Combine the salt, rosemary, garlic, and olive oil into a paste in a mortar and pestle. Rub onto the pork. Roast at 550 for 15 minutes until brown, then at 350-375 until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145.

Notes

This pork is so great for batch cooking. My husband got a 4lb loin at Trader Joe’s and we had it warm with a baked potato and kale, cold thinly sliced on a charcuterie board, and in fried rice!

Avocado Tuna Salad

Credit: Natasha’s Kitchen

Ingredients

15 oz tuna in oil, drained and flaked
1/2 - 1 English cucumber depending on size, sliced
2 large or 3 medium avocados, diced
1 small to medium red onion, thinly sliced or diced
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients.

Notes

If there’s such a thing as a feel-good salad, this is it. When my son first tried it, he kept saying how good it was!

Chicken Adobo

Credit: Alana Kysar, Aloha Kitchen

Ingredients

3 bay leaves
4 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp neutral oil
1/2 cup Datu Puti cane vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smahed
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions

Brown chicken, and cook in remaining ingredients.

Notes

Total comfort food, and so good over rice to soak up the juices.

Huli Chicken

Credit: Alana Kysar, Aloha Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions

Marinate at least 8 hours ideally, then broil.

Notes

So simple and a total crowd-pleaser!