Summer "fun" and a recipe
It's amazing how productive, organized, June Cleaver-y I can be (in my head) when I look at Pinterest. I intended to make a grocery list/meal plan for the week yesterday and it took like 17 hours because a) my kids are annoying and b) Pinterest is DISTRACTING. I got some yummy new recipes I want to try this week though so hopefully it'll be worth it. I wanted some Chinese food yesterday and since we live in Nogoodrestaurantsville, USA I made some my damn self and it turned out pretty good. Recipe below so I don't forget how I did it and in case any of my 2 readers want to make some stir fry. I know it's not like...actual Chinese food, but it killed the craving and it's almost healthy minus the oil for stir-frying and the sugar in some of the sauces but it's better than stuffing your face with lots of other stuff you could stuff your face with so back off.
In other news, my husband took the kids for "trims" yesterday and they both came back with butchered hair that makes me question the sanity of whoever is working at Supercuts in this damn town (and the sanity of him for paying for it...but...I am allowed to hate Supercuts, not him, so....). I know you can't except much from Supercuts but they certainly aren't doing anything to discredit that reputation with the likes of this, now are they?
Since we can't afford a real pool we went out and bought one of those ginormous inflatable ones that we can all fit in if we wanted to and the kids can actually SWIM in it. The positive side of this is that my kids have some entertainment, I have some time to sit and read outside under a shade tree while watching them not drown, and come July-August some relief from the hell-on-earth temperatures that Tennessee will be sweltering in that will make me desperate enough to actually get in said pool and vegetate in the cool-ish water. The negative side of this is that we'll look like total trashy rednecks but heat can make you do some crazy things, yanno? Besides, we have a fenced backyard so our shame will only be limited to our immediate neighbors who are unfortunately unlucky enough to be able to see over the fence. Sorry.
That's all for now.
_____________________________
Chicken Stir Fry:
Marinate thinly sliced chicken breast pieces in soy sauce & ginger sesame salad dressing for several hours or overnight
Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for several minutes until scorching hot. Brown the chicken on all sides, you may need to do this in two batches. (I did, with about 1.5 lbs of chicken)
Remove from skillet, then add chopped onions and bell peppers in the skillet. Any other veggies you want (mushrooms, celery, carrots, baby corns, zucchini, squash...really, the possibilities are endless, but I kept it simple last night with onions, red and green peppers and broccoli) should go in now, except broccoli- I steam that and add at the very end because scorched/browned/burned broccoli tastes like shit. Cook for a few minutes until cooked but still a little crunchy, then add the chicken back in the pan.
Deglaze pan with about 1/4 cup Mirin. Then add a mixture (that you should make ahead of time) of about 1 tablespoon corn starch, whisked with about 1/4 cup water until dissolved. Add to that about 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup oyster sauce, 1 cloved minced garlic, 1-2-3 tsp Sriracha sauce depending on how spicy you like things and add that to the pan, stir for a minute until it thickens and then serve over rice. (I used Jasmine rice)
If I was a real food blogger I'd have taken pics but I'm not a real food blogger, I just don't want to forget how I made this 'cause I made it up as I went along, and it was a hit. My kids even ate it, sans vegetables, of course.
In other news, my husband took the kids for "trims" yesterday and they both came back with butchered hair that makes me question the sanity of whoever is working at Supercuts in this damn town (and the sanity of him for paying for it...but...I am allowed to hate Supercuts, not him, so....). I know you can't except much from Supercuts but they certainly aren't doing anything to discredit that reputation with the likes of this, now are they?
Since we can't afford a real pool we went out and bought one of those ginormous inflatable ones that we can all fit in if we wanted to and the kids can actually SWIM in it. The positive side of this is that my kids have some entertainment, I have some time to sit and read outside under a shade tree while watching them not drown, and come July-August some relief from the hell-on-earth temperatures that Tennessee will be sweltering in that will make me desperate enough to actually get in said pool and vegetate in the cool-ish water. The negative side of this is that we'll look like total trashy rednecks but heat can make you do some crazy things, yanno? Besides, we have a fenced backyard so our shame will only be limited to our immediate neighbors who are unfortunately unlucky enough to be able to see over the fence. Sorry.
That's all for now.
_____________________________
Chicken Stir Fry:
Marinate thinly sliced chicken breast pieces in soy sauce & ginger sesame salad dressing for several hours or overnight
Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for several minutes until scorching hot. Brown the chicken on all sides, you may need to do this in two batches. (I did, with about 1.5 lbs of chicken)
Remove from skillet, then add chopped onions and bell peppers in the skillet. Any other veggies you want (mushrooms, celery, carrots, baby corns, zucchini, squash...really, the possibilities are endless, but I kept it simple last night with onions, red and green peppers and broccoli) should go in now, except broccoli- I steam that and add at the very end because scorched/browned/burned broccoli tastes like shit. Cook for a few minutes until cooked but still a little crunchy, then add the chicken back in the pan.
Deglaze pan with about 1/4 cup Mirin. Then add a mixture (that you should make ahead of time) of about 1 tablespoon corn starch, whisked with about 1/4 cup water until dissolved. Add to that about 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup oyster sauce, 1 cloved minced garlic, 1-2-3 tsp Sriracha sauce depending on how spicy you like things and add that to the pan, stir for a minute until it thickens and then serve over rice. (I used Jasmine rice)
If I was a real food blogger I'd have taken pics but I'm not a real food blogger, I just don't want to forget how I made this 'cause I made it up as I went along, and it was a hit. My kids even ate it, sans vegetables, of course.