It's kind of difficult (and expensive) to shop local in WV during the off season. So, we try to at least buy organic as often as we can and I think we are going to start ordering meat from Monroe Farms (I think that's what it is called) or Sandy Creek Farms (they deliver!) - do any of you order meat from local farmers? We would like it to be local and grass fed, free range, all that good stuff. We don't mind paying a little extra and after reading the article in TIME magazine last week on the differences between grain fed and grass fed cattle's impact on the environment, I think that if we are going to continue eating meat, we need to be aware of where are meet comes from, how it is treated, killed, and the impact it has on the environment and our bellies. I already knew about the impact that feed lots have on the environment, but it was a nice refresher. 

So anyway, for this recipe we bought hormone free chicken at the grocery store and I find that it has a better taste than the other stuff. Here is the recipe plus our changes. 

Honey Ginger Chicken with Peppers (And Pineapple - our addition)

1/4 cup honey

2 tbs. rice vinegar

2 tbs. soy sauce (I'd say we used 2 and a half)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/4 inch strips (we used two small chicken breasts and found that it was more than enough meat for the two of us plus leftovers)

1/4 cup minced peeled fresh ginger (yum!)

2 garlic cloves, minced (we used 3, we LOVE garlic)

3 red, orange or yellow bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed) thinly sliced (we mixed up all three colors)

cooked rice, for serving (we made whole grain rice and actually added it into the mix when finished so that it could soak up some of the moisture)

fresh cilantro leaves, for serving (we didn't do this)

1 cup fresh pineapple cut into little chunks, or whatever size you want. (we added this ingredient)

1/2 of a package of fresh sliced mushrooms, you can add more depending on how much you like (we love them so this was our add too!)

2 or 3 tablespoons of Soy Vay Veri Yeri Teriyaki (it is a delicious tasting Teriyaki marinade that has a blue and white label on a glass bottle)

In a small bowl, stir together honey, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat a large skillet over high heat until hot. Add 1 tbs oil (we used olive oil),  and swirl it around in the skillet to make sure it is coated. Add chicken and stir until opaque but not cooked through,  this takes 3 or 4 minutes; transfer to a plate. Now, add another tbs of oil, the ginger, and the garlic to the skillet and stir until fragrant and yummy smelling. Add peppers and stir for a few minutes. Add soy mixture and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and toss it around until you have a nice thicker sauce and the chicken is cooked all the way through. The magazine says to serve over rice, but we just mixed the already cooked rice (forgot to mention that you should cook your rice while doing everything else) in with everything else. Enjoy! YUM!

Maybe it is the yellow plate, or maybe the cilantro leaves would have really jazzed it up, because this isn't the best looking dish in the whole world, but it is super yummy and reasonably healthy, especially if you use low sodium soy and lay off on the teriyaki! Really, if you like ginger, I highly suggest you try it out.