Iron Chef Inspirations!

So, lets begin this post with a HUGE Congratulations to Chef Chris Hastings from Birmingham, Alabama and the fabulous Hot and Hot Fish Club Restaurant and his wonderful Soux chefs! I just happen to be lucky enough to be friends with one of them...Sedesh Boodram! I'm so proud of all of them! What a great job they did and what a fabulous Iron Chef Show!!

In order to celebrate....I guess I got the "bug" to try something new and different...even though Miller and Sarah had to be the guinea pigs so to speak! I thought it was good but I'm sure the Avocado Egg Rolls they brought back from CPK helped to make it even better!!!

 Anyway...Here is a new recipe if your'e in the mood to be the next....Iron Chef!!!

One of my favorites has always been Chinese food and now it's Thai....Miller takes after his Mama on this one so I thought it would be fun to try a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken! It was really good and fairly easy....

 as long as you don't get the wok too hot!!

That can be fairly dangerous and deadly to a pair of white shorts I was wearing at the time!

 All in all...it was delicious if I do say so myself!

 Not sure it's up to par with Sedesh and Chris and the Iron Chef show....but it will suffice for us!

Congratulations again, Sedesh! We are so very proud of you! 

Kung Pao Chicken

Marinade:

2 egg whites

1 T canola oil

1/4 C cornstarch

salt and white pepper to taste

Chicken and Vegetables:

2-2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken cut into small cubes

1 C diced onion

1 C diced green pepper

8 oz. sliced, fresh mushrooms

1 small can bamboo shoots

3/4 C peanuts or cashews

1 T hot flavored chili oil

1/4 C canola oil

2 t ground fresh chili paste

Stir Fry Sauce:

1 C reduced sodium soy sauce

1 C chicken broth

4 T seasoned rice vinegar

2-3 T cooking sherry

2 T sugar

1 1/2 t minced garlic

1 1/2 t minced ginger

1 1/2 t pepper

Whisk all marinade ingredients together and add cut up chicken and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Mix all veggies together. 

Whisk all Stir Fry Sauce ingredients together in a separate container.

When ready to cook, heat the chili oil and the canola oil in the wok on 350-375 degrees. Add the chili paste and stir for one minute being very careful as it will splatter!!! Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Add all of the veggies and continue to cook, stirring often and breaking up chicken for at least 10 minutes. You will need to turn the heat down every now and then! 

Remove from the wok and put in a large bowl....add the Stir fry sauce to the hot wok and let cook until reduced just a little. Place the chicken/vegetable mixture in the sauce and heat for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

Serve over steamed white or brown rice. 

Happy Weekend!

 On weekends there is just something fun about making a good, savory breakfast every now and then!

When I was growing up my mother made this a lot and sometimes we had it for dinner. I used to do this recipe a long time ago and lately it's been on my mind. It may not seem like "breakfast" fare to you but I sure do love it!

 We call it "Creamed Beef"

Basically, you are satueeing 1/2 of an onion, diced with 2-3 T butter. I use light butter but feel free to use what ever you prefer.

 You simply sauté your onion until its soft and then add 2-3 T all purpose flour

 and stir until it's all incorporated.

 Then, slowly add in 1-2 C milk...I use 1%, and whisk constantly until all of the flour is dissolved and the sauce begins to thicken.

 Add in 1 package of dried beef that you've sliced thinly or to your liking!

 Let simmer until thickened and heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste but be careful because if you used the dried beef in a jar it tends to be salty enough. The dried beef in the package isn't as salty.

 Serve over toasted, sourdough english muffins and there you have it! Creamed Beef for Breakfast! What could be better on a chilly morning! 

(besides picking up Chick-Fil-A that is!)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday! We are off to a Lacrosse game!

 and then it's Spring Fling! The last one for us! Oh dear! I hope I don't get teary! 

We went from this.....

 to this, in the blink of an eye!

A New Year And New Recipes

All of the way home from the beach this past President's Day weekend I kept thinking of all of the conversations I'd had with some friends over dinner one night.

Of course after those talks I spent a good portion of the drive home trying to think about what I could make this week to have some healthy, easy dinners that would satisfy me and my two "men" that are left in my house at this time! I truly love to cook for them and love to cook period, but I'm also ready to focus on losing about 10 pounds and feeling good about myself again....which doesn't mean wanting to be "skinny"...it just means wanting to be healthy! To feel like I have more energy and that I'm doing all I can to feed my body physically, mentally and spiritually! And yes, if yoga or pilates or anything of that nature needs to be worked in...it will! All of that to say....my first attempt at a healthy dinner was a wonderful concoction that I revised a wee bit from a cookbook that I normally leave at our beach house. Chef Tim Creehan has some wonderful recipes if you ever want to check out his famous restaurants or cookbooks! This was a wonderful Roasted Chicken recipe with carrots and potatoes. I also did some roasted green beans with a twist! It was all very yummy!

 It makes a very pretty presentation!

 This is the "after" picture!

Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Vegetables

6 chicken breasts with bone in and skin on

to taste....salt

to taste....granulated garlic

to taste...cayenne pepper

2 T dried Rosemary

several sprigs of fresh Rosemary

1-2 T minced garlic

Fingerling potatoes, about 10

5 carrots, scraped and cut into 3 inch pieces

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C white wine

1 C water

1 C chicken broth

1 T lemon juice

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Place in a greased roasting pan sprayed with Pam with Olive Oil. Sprinkle the chicken breast with the salt, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper. Add cleaned potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle with the minced garlic, dried rosemary and add the sprigs of fresh rosemary. Blend the olive oil, white wine, water, chicken broth and lemon juice together and pour over all. Bake uncovered at 400 for 30-40 minutes. Turn heat to 425 and bake for 15 minutes more. Test for doneness.

Roasted Green Beans, Zucchini and Tomatoes

 Place a small bag of washed, trimmed and broken green beans on a greased cookie sheet....add 2 zucchini's that are washed, halved and then sliced in half moon portions. Toss with a small amount of olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Add 1 carton grape tomatoes, halved....and roast for another 20 minutes or until tender

Toss well and sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese!

Enjoy! 

A Gift To Remember....

NEVER before have I been so excited about a Valentine gift I was able to give....it just doesn't happen! The countless hours that were spent on this project made me wonder if it was worth it at times! And then....it happened!!! That glorious moment when I hit "Send"...and it asked me...have you checked this, have  you checked that...etc, etc, etc.....I've never felt such a burden lift off of my shoulders! Suddenly my dream became a reality!

After months of living with "sticky notes" and recipe cards....it was fun to really see it come to completion!

It was also really fun to be able to see my family enjoy it!

There is nothing like giving a gift that you know will be treasured for a lifetime! Even Miller seemed genuinely excited about it! And the pictures make it so personal! It's a great program if you ever want to do it for your family or make any book for that matter! It's called Blurb for Booksmart and if I can do it anyone can do it!

 Maybe this will inspire you to do the same thing! You will certainly be creating a lifelong treasure if you do!

From The Heart....

This is the month of Love!!!

Ok....Let's just say the week of Love!

All of these images are cute....

And some are even fun!

Some are just simply, and naturally pretty!

Some are reminders to me of God's love every year at the same time.....

From my same Camellia bush that is in full bloom this time EVERY year!!

 Just like my oldest child's birthday, February 12th....reminds me of how much I love him.

And he always requests this incredible Banana Cream Pie with a Nutter Butter Crust that we all love!

 He has always brought us such joy! I love celebrating his birthday and Valentine's Day all in one!

 Just look at that angel face!!

And that good-looking dad of his! 

I'm looking very forward to this year as well since Holly will be here. However, it will be her first Valentine's Day apart from Brad in many years! He will be at a meeting~but I feel pretty sure that we will all have a wonderful time and that we might even face-time Brad just to make him feel included and loved!  As he is!

 All of our children bring us such joy...even if we are far away at times....or just being silly!

These are priceless moments that still warm a mother's heart!

I'm so very grateful for each of them!

And thankful we get to spend another Valentine's Day/ Birthday together!

And this year we just may have someone new added to the festivities!

Let's hope these two can behave themselves!

Last year we celebrated with friends....and that was a lot of fun as well! 

It's always fun to celebrate a joyous occasion! 

So..... Happy Almost Valentine's Day!!

And..... Happy Almost Birthday, Mitch!

And for certain....I need to memorize this verse and pray that God will help me to guard me heart....not only on Valentine's Day...but each and every day!!
Love,