Asian Chicken Pinwheels

Every year, my daughter Lindsay picks Asian Chicken Pinwheels

for her birthday dinner.

It's her favorite meal, but I think it's a bit messy and pesky to make,

so save this recipe for a special meal.

Asian Chicken Pinwheels

To feed four:

6 to 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cup teriyaki marinade and sauce (found in Asian food section of grocery store)

2/3 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tsp. Asian sesame oil (found in Asian food section)

1 bunch of green onions chopped

sesame seeds

Basmati Rice to serve four

I always buy ice-glazed boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the grocery freezer

section whenever it goes on sale.

That way I have chicken on hand all the time and can defrost as much as I need.

Thaw the chicken breasts.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 360-degrees

Cover the bottom half of your broiling pan with heavy foil.

I like EASY clean-up!

Spray the top lightly with Pam.

Rinse, then chop the entire bunch of green onions...

both the green and white parts.

Put chopped onions in a bowl and set aside.

Mix together the teriyaki sauce, dark brown sugar and sesame oil in a bowl.

Cut off all visible fat from the chicken breasts.

Place each breast...one at a time, in a gallon sized Ziplock bag.

Squeeze out excess air and zip the bag shut.

Pound the chicken flat with a meat mallet.

The bag keeps the meat from flinging all over you and the kitchen.

You can use the same bag for all the breasts even if you get a few holes in the bag.

Sure saves on clean-up!

Place flattened chicken on a plate and spread with the sauce.

Spread with green onions.

Roll up the meat like a jelly roll.

Secure with tooth picks and place on prepared broiler pan.

Do this with all the chicken breasts.

Bake the chicken rolls at 360-degrees for about a half hour.

While chicken is cooking, prepare Basmati rice according to package directions.

This rice takes about 20 minutes to cook.

If you don't want to be bothered you can use an instant rice.

While rice and chicken cook,

pour remaining sauce into a sauce pan.

Bring to boil over medium/low heat.

I have burned this sauce before, so you must stay with it,

stirring constantly until it thickens.

Lower heat if it looks or smells like it's burning.

Takes about 3 minutes of boiling to thicken.

Remove pan from burner and set aside.

You can check if chicken rolls are done by cutting one in half.

When they are cooked through,

Slice into pinwheels.

Make sure to remove all toothpicks.

Arrange the pinwheels over the rice.

Spoon sauce over the top to taste.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

It really is a fancy and delicious meal,

but not the recipe you will want to whip up after a hard day at work.

Enjoy on a special occasion.