Favorite Recipe: Sesame Chicken

I don't branch out very much when I go out to eat Chinese. I tend to stick with just a few favorites, and nine times out of ten, Sesame Chicken is my go to dish. I thought I would take a stab at trying to prepare it at home and stumbled upon the perfect recipe from BlogChef. With just a little bit of tweaking to match my tastes, I created a dish that is better than any I have had in a Chinese restaurant. Not only was the recipe very simple to follow, but I was able to find every ingredient in my pantry or refrigerator without making an extra trip to the grocery store. The Fred liked it so much that she asked me if I would make it again the following night...enjoy!

Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions, sliced
Batter-
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce-
3/8 cup honey (or 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons for those that want to skip the math)
1/4 cup sugar
salt (to taste)
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
a pinch of ground black pepper


Directions:
1) Add 1-inch of peanut or vegetable oil to a skillet and heat to 325 degrees over medium-high heat.

2) In a large bowl, combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.

3) Add chicken to batter mixture and toss to coat. Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the batter and add to oil in skillet. Cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

4) Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Bring to a simmer while stirring and cook until sauce slightly thickens.

5) Toss cooked chicken with prepared sauce in a serving dish and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Should I Include The Instruction Manual?

Sometimes I think that whenever my children are going to be under the care of any individual other than me, I should send along an instruction manual with an outline of very basic procedures categorized by potential circumstances.

To prevent this from happening, you would look under the category, "While Grocery Shopping." Procedure #2 states, "Never place any openable/breakable/poisonous items within reach of children."

Please Burn a Copy for My Deserted Island

We have all heard the hypothetical questions that begin with: "If you were stranded on a deserted island..." Well, The Husby and I were riding in the car, and I decided to fill in the blank with my own hypothetical: "If you were stranded on a deserted island, and you could only have ten albums, which albums would you take with you?"

Now, for me, this is a very difficult question because I love music...all kinds of music. There are several albums that I could listen to over and over again without getting tired of them. Narrowing down this list really became a daunting task because I wasn't sure if I could live without some of my faves. Now, don't read too much into this question. We aren't concerned with exposing future generations to music with our selections. We are only worried about what we could listen to every day without it becoming monotonous and boring.

Luckily for The Husby, most of our selections were the same, so it would probably be okay if we could each only pick five. I might let him stay on my deserted island after all. My top ten album picks are not in any specific order...there was no way I could manage to rank them by importance. I'm sure that if The Big Drummer Boy reads this, I will have to make some changes to my list. He seems to be my spiritual brother when it comes to music, and he would probably think of something that I forgot.

Now, it's your turn to fill-in the blank for my hypothetical question...have at it!

1) Rage Against the Machine: Self-Titled Album
2) Incubus: Morning View
3) Tool: Aenima
4) Korn: MTV Unplugged
5) Dave Matthews Band: Crash
6) Outkast: ATLiens
7) Al Green: Greatest Hits
8) Red Hot Chili Peppers: Greatest Hits
9) Seether: One Cold Night
10)Pearl Jam: Ten

They Might Like Each Other

It has been a long time since The Husby and I have had a night out sans kiddos, let alone not having them for a whole 24 hours. The Boy Dentist and TerriblyShy were very good to us and have been entertaining them at their house. The Fred and StickyBun-Scotti were so excited when I told them that they were going to spend the night that I wasn't sure if either of them would get any sleep the night before.

Since it was just me at home yesterday afternoon, I got a lot of stuff done around the house...and I didn't have to be quiet. I got our HDTV cable and our DVR hooked up, so, needless to say, we have been having fun playing with the remote. The Husby took me out to dinner at The Melting Pot, and the meal was delish...and very quiet! After our three hour, four-course meal complete with a wine flight, we came home and crashed. I guess the only good thing to do when you don't have the kids is catch up on some much needed rest...but I'm not complaining.

The Biggest Loser: Week Three

Week three of The Biggest Loser Challenege was not a great one for me since my percentage lost was only 0.599%, but ToothFairy captured the top spot with an amazing 6.29% weight loss! Congrats to ToothFairy on this phenomenal percentage lost and all of her hard work!

At the close of week three, I am in fifth place with a total percentage lost of 3.77%, and JayDoug is still in the lead with a total percentage lost of 7.991%. Everyone's numbers have been amazing, so everyone keep up the good work! I have a feeling NonLucidDrivel may come out on top at the end of week four after silently hanging close to the top spot for the past few weeks...good luck!

Favorite Recipe: Black Bean Pie

Ihave been trying to find some more simple recipes to add to my recipe files, and I ran across this one and decided to give it a try. Of course, I had to make some changes to the original recipe, but it was a hit with the whole family. For those of you that shop at ALDI, all of the ingredients can be found there, and the entire meal can be made for under eight dollars. Since it makes eight servings and leftovers can be frozen, this meal turns out to be a lot of bang for the buck.

Not only was this meal delicious, but it was extremely easy to prepare. I would highly recommend this recipe the next time you need a quick meal. Enjoy!

Black Bean Pie

Ingredients:
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro (optional)
1 (11 ounce) can Mexican corn, drained
1 (2 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 (4 ounce) can black olives, sliced
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
reduced-fat sour cream (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) In a large bowl, mix together black beans, taco sauce, garlic, cilantro, corn, green chiles, and black olives.
3) Place 2 tortillas side-by-side in the bottom of a casserole dish. Spread 1/3 of bean mixture over tortillas. Top with 2/3 cup cheese, and cover with two more tortillas. Spread another 1/3 of bean mixture over tortillas, and top with 2/3 cup cheese. Cover with remaining tortillas, and top with remaining bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese.
4) Cover with foil, and bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Cut into eight sections, and serve with hot sauce and sour cream.

Conversations With The Fred: Part Three

As I was putting The Fred to bed last night, we made our way through the usual bedtime routine: two braids, two books, chocolate milk, and a movie. Once we reached the "movie" part of the routine, The Fred and I had an interesting conversation...

The Fred: "Momma, this is not the beginning of the movie."

MommaDrool: "Well, hold your horses! I'm getting there."

The Fred: "Hold the horses? Momma, we are in my room. There are not any horses to hold."


Very wise, my little one, very wise...

Favorite Recipe: Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Casserole

Since I am participating in The Biggest Loser Challenge, I thought that I would share one of my favorite Weight Watchers recipes. This casserole can be made ahead of time and still tastes great re-heated. At a Points Value of 5, this is a filling meal that is a great start to the day. You can also add vegetable fillings...I have added steamed spinach and mushrooms, and the result was very good. Enjoy!

Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Casserole

Ingredients:
6 slices turkey bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 (12-ounce) bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
3 large eggs
3 egg whites
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2/3 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray three 2-cup oval baking dishes, casseroles, or ramekins with cooking spray.
2) Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and onion and cook until potatoes are tender and golden, about 6 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and let cool slightly.
3) Beat the eggs and egg whites in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, 1/3 cup of the Swiss cheese, the Parmesan, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne, stirring until blended. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/3 cup of Swiss cheese.
4) Bake until the casseroles are slightly puffed and golden and the cheese is melted, approximately 20-25 minutes.

(*If you bake the casserole in a single dish, the cooking time should be increased.)

Yields 6 servings.

Nutritional Info (per serving): 220 Cal, 9g Fat, 4g Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 134mg Chol, 445mg Sod, 17g Carb, 1g Fib, 18g Prot, 271mg Calc

The Biggest Loser: Week Two

The results are in for the weigh-in from the second week of the Biggest Loser challenge, and once again, JayDoug came out on top with 3.024% lost! This puts JayDoug's overall percentage lost at 5.832% at the close of week two. Congrats to JayDoug on all of the hard work!

For week two, I came in third place with 2.244% lost and an overall percentage lost of 3.188%. At this rate, I am well within reach of meeting my goals over the remaining ten weeks. Best of luck to everyone!

Favorite Photos

The number of digital photo files on my computer had become so large that I finally sat down to organize the other day. I get so nostalgic every time I look at some of my favorite photos because they remind me of such important and special events in my life. It is amazing to see how much The Fred and StickyBun-Scotti have grown. I compiled a file folder with some of my favorite pics and decided to showcase them in a slideshow for all to enjoy!

The Biggest Loser: Week One

Some of us have gotten together to participate in a Biggest Loser challenge over the next twelve weeks, and we just completed the first week of our challenge. Our group is made up of men and women of varying ages, fitness levels, and starting weights, and of course, we are all competing for a cash prize.

After the first week, I had lost two pounds, but our top dog, JayDoug, was down six and a half pounds at the close of week one. I have factored in a heavier cardio load for this week, and I am almost down by another four and a half pounds. The official weigh-ins will be every Saturday with the results figured as the percentage of weight lost, so I will update for each week once the results are posted with the winner for that week (nicknames only).

Time To Revamp

Well, I decided that it was time to customize my cookie-cutter Blogger layout, and with a few tips from BloggerBuster, it was relatively quick and painless. After a few creations in Photoshop, things are looking a bit more my style, and I have a few more tricks up my sleeve...

I have been in awe of some of the great designs that I have seen from my fellow bloggers, so I decided to follow their lead and make some necessary design updates. Also, a big thank you to Squidfingers for my beautiful background pattern. For all of you that arrive here, I hope that you enjoy the new scenery!

Fishin' Time

You Could Have Left That Part Out

Ifinally made an appointment with a family medicine physician here in town and met with him yesterday afternoon. "Doc AM" has been telling The Husby and I since we moved here that we really needed to find a family doctor and quit using the "doc-in-the-box" for all of our ailments. Well, since I needed a physical examination and several immunizations for my medical clearance at the hospital, I figured that there was no time like the present.

Upon my arrival at the physician's office, I filled out and signed all of the necessary paperwork before following the nurse back to my exam room. The nurse was friendly and did a thorough background history before asking me the reason for my visit. I gave her the forms that needed to be filled out and signed for the medical clearance with a list of the immunizations that I needed. She told me that the doctor would be in soon and left the exam room.

I was pleased to meet the doctor, and he reminded very much of my OB/Gyn at the hospital where StickyBun-Scotti was born. Since I loved my OB/Gyn, I was pretty sure that this doctor would be someone that I would want to see again in the future. After some discussion, the doctor exited the room and let me know that the nurse would be back to give me my immunizations as well as draw blood for a titer test.

Normally, I am not fearful of having blood drawn or getting a shot, but I don't look forward to it. I also don't like to watch it happen to me...if it is someone else, I enjoying watching...I just would rather not watch when I am the patient.

As the nurse walks back into the room, she says something that I wish she had just left out, "I haven't done this many times before. I am still in school, so you may have to be patient with me. I haven't gotten really good at it yet."

WHAT!!!???

Now, I know that this could be me one day, but I also know that there are some times when it is better to keep your mouth closed. With those words, I had to try as hard as possible not to have an anxiety attack. I was just happy that I was the patient and not The Husby. If he had been the patient in that situation, he would have gotten up and walked out...or maybe he would run...and never gone back.

I wasn't too worried about her lack of experience when it came to the immunizations, but the blood draw had me a bit worried. I became even more worried when the nurse said, "Well, I want to make sure that I can find the vein before I start." You think?! After three sticks with the needle, she was successful, and I left there feeling like a pin cushion.

The moral of this story is..."Some things are better left unsaid."

Favorite Recipe: Spicy Shrimp Roll

If there is one food that I crave more than anything else, it would probably be sushi. The only problem with sushi is the effect that it tends to have on my wallet. The Husby and I have really enjoyed the sushi at a popular Thai restaurant in Five Points, and we always order the Spicy Shrimp Roll which was recommended by our waitress the first time we had sushi there.

I mentioned to The Husby that I would love to be able to make sushi at home, but I did not think that I would be able to pull it off. The Husby told me that the key to making sushi was to use a rice cooker, so I decided to invest in one and give it a try. I found a rice cooker for $15 at Wal-Mart and did some research online regarding sushi preparation. After watching some animations at Sushi University, I was confident enough to give it a try.

The endeavor was a complete success, and we may be eating sushi at home quite frequently now! Enjoy!

Spicy Shrimp Roll

Ingredients:
nori, one sheet
cooked sushi rice, handful
3-4 tempura shrimp, tails removed
avocado, 2-3 thin slices
cucumber, 2-3 thin sticks
imitation crab meat
spicy mayo (1/4 cup mayo, 1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce, 1 drop sesame oil)

Directions:
1) Lay nori sheet on bamboo rolling mat with the rough side facing up.
2) Get your hands wet, and grab a handful of rice. Place the rice in the middle of the nori sheet, and spread it into an even layer on the nori, covering all but the top inch of the sheet.
3) Place your shrimp on the bottom edge of the nori sheet and arrange avocado and cucumber snugly against top edge of shrimp. Mix crab meat with spicy mayo and spread on top of shrimp.
4) Roll sushi tightly with the bamboo mat and cut with a sharp knife into 6-8 pieces.
5) Optional step: Lay the pieces on a plate facing up and drizzle with a small amount of spicy mayo.
6) Serve with wasabi and soy sauce for dipping.