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Friday, March 16, 2012

Chicken Experiments


 I have been doing experiments on chicken. No they aren't alive and clucking for all those PETA advocates. Not only is chicken easy to get it is also cheap. Well, cheaper than most meats. In our freezer we have chicken breasts, chicken legs, chicken wings, a whole chicken, fish sticks, turkey burgers, Johnsonville brats and 2 pounds of hamburger meat.

As i stare into the freezer this afternoon trying to decide what to cook for dinner, the abundance of chicken stares me in the face. What to do with chicken besides the normal BBQ, shake and bake, lemon pepper, oven roasted, or grilled on the Foreman. With the help of Google, I found a new recipe for the chicken.

Thus we have Hibachi Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice.


 No those aren't pickles it is zucchini.

Recipe: 
4 chicken breast halves
2 medium zucchini
2 cups sliced mushrooms
veggie oil
soy sauce
butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice 

Pour 1 Tbs oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken in cut up strips add 1 Tbs soy sauce, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until no longer pink in the middle. Add lemon juice, give pan a swirl, then remove chicken from pan and cover with foil. Add 1 Tbs butter to empty pan, then add zucchini and 1 Tbs soy sauce (or more to taste), and a dash of salt and pepper. Saute zucchini, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender (or softer, if that's how you like them). Remove from pan, cover with foil. Then add mushrooms then saute until golden (but still moist)

Now for the rice:
2 cups cooked rice, cooled to room temperature
2 eggs, beaten
veggie oil
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 onion
1 1/2 tbs butter
2 tbs soy sauce 

Scramble eggs over medium heat, stirring often to chop chunks of egg into small bits with your spatula. Place rice in large mixing bowl, then add peas (I don't like peas so I didn't add them), carrots, eggs, and onion to bowl and toss ingredients together. Melt butter in large frying pan over medium-high heat, then dump rice mixture into pan and add soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Taste once before removing from pan, adding more butter or soy sauce as desired.

Yum! Wasn't too bad. 
 
 
 Picture update on Marley




Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Homesick day 2 & 3


 Being so exhausted from the day before, I missed my alarm and was awoke 45 minutes later to Mexican music in my ear from the alarm clock. Again no shower just time to wash my hair in the sink, pull it into a bun and put on some makeup. Got dressed and left for DC at 815. Reached the Rayburn House at 850. 10 minutes to spare.

A whole day of talks from 9-5 with lunch in between. Not only am I getting stir crazy but my cold is getting worse. Sneezing, coughing, runny nose and there is no pharmacy anywhere near us. I enjoyed the talks but I was so excited to get back into my cozy king bed still coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose every few minutes.

Day 3:Presentation Day. Enough said.

So excited to see Allen pull up to the arrival gate with roses and cold medicine.






home sick day 1


In the past 4 days, I have been in more planes than I wanted. I left lovely Nashville International Airport Sunday morning. Flew to Pittsburgh for an hour layover (which contains a funny story). Landed in Baltimore International Airport for the conference. Last night at 8 I boarded in Baltimore and flew to Charlotte then home to Nashville.

When I landed in Pittsburgh it was 1030ish. And of course why I was in the air, the the gates got changed. I have no idea why I didn't check the gates. I was sitting in the original gate for over an hour. Turns out that gate was headed to Alaska not Baltimore. So I go to the information desk, my plane had already left but there was another 2 hours later.

Finally got to Baltimore and to the hotel via a shuttle but it was 315 and I was supposed to be in downtown Washington DC at 430. I quickly get dressed but I look like crap. No make-up on (no time)and  hair still in a pony tail (hence no time). The Metro is 3-4 blocks from the hotel. So @ 345, with my tivas and hi-heels in hand I begin the trek . Get to the metro station @ 4 and the train is delayed .

It's 430 when the train gets to my stop and 445 when I reach the museum.  800 when I get back to the hotel. Day 1: completely exhausted and cold getting worse.