Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

8 oz. bacon, not thick-sliced

1 can pineapple chunks

Teriyaki Baste and Glaze (I like Kikkoman or LaChoy)

Kebab skewers or toothpicks

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you'll need by how many pieces of bacon you have; you probably won't use all the bacon, but you'll need about 8 oz. or 2/3 of a standard-sized package of bacon. So count the bacon pieces and keep that in mind when cutting up your chicken.

Drain the pineapple and set up a little work station with skewers, bacon, chicken, and a 9x13 baking dish (for big skewers) or a sturdy Ziploc bag (for toothpick skewers). Wrap a piece of bacon around a chicken piece, secure with toothpick/skewer, and top with a chunk of pineapple. Repeat twice if using large skewers.

When all chicken pieces have been sufficiently staked, pour Teriyaki sauce over everything, reserving about 1/4 c., and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Preheat grill; when about 350-400 degrees, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes.  If cooking in oven, preheat oven to 400 and bake about 20 minutes, turning once, following the same basting instructions.  If you use the oven, broil the kabobs for a minute to get the bacon crispy just before serving.

I was not a pro at wrapping the chicken with the bacon. So I ended up “weaving” the bacon along with the chicken onto the skewer. It tasted just as good and didn’t take nearly as much time.  These kabobs were awesome! Packed with protein and flavor you just can’t go wrong with these sweet little nuggets of fun. Note, my husband isn’t a huge fan of pineapple so I did a few skewers without the fruit for him but he said they were equally awesome.  

Spicy Pretzels

Review by Lyndee:

1 bag skinny pretzels sticks or knots

1/4 cup vegetable or popcorn oil

1 package hidden valley ranch dressing mix

1 teaspoon garlic salt (I used garlic powder instead)

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Mix oil, ranch mix, garlic and cayenne together in a gallon size Ziploc bag.  Once mixed, add pretzels.  Shake well so that pretzels are completely coated.  Place in roasting pan a roasting pan or cookie sheet.  Bake at 200* for 1 1/2- 2 hours.  Stir every 20-30 minutes.

Super easy to make and a great snack for a party. 

Popcorn cake

Review by Lyndee:

2 bags butter flavor microwave popcorn

2 cups M&M’s

½ cup broken pretzel sticks

1 stick butter

16 oz bag mini marshmallows

½ cup creamy peanut butter

Prepare a large bundt  or 9 x 13 pan by spraying evenly with cooking spray.

Pop 2 bags of buttered microwave popcorn as directed on the package and dump into a large bowl. I used a butter flavored.  Pick out the kernels that didn’t pop.  Mix in M&M’s and pretzel sticks.  Melt butter over low in a large saucepan. Once melted add mini marshmallows and peanut butter. Stir until melted and smooth.

Remove from heat.  Let sit a minute or two so it doesn’t melt your M&M’s. Pour over your popcorn mix. Stir until all the ingredients are combined and then press into the prepared pan. Cover with foil and let your cake set for at least an hour to cool.

When you are ready to serve the cake loosen sides of your cake from the pan by running a butter knife around the edges. Flip your pan over onto your serving platter. I used a 9x13 pyrex pan that had a lid instead of bundt. I used butter to coat the pan instead of cooking spray. 

This was so yummy! It’s like a cross between a rice krispy treat and a popcorn ball.  It was a big hit at my nephews birthday party.