So, I have been neglecting my blog. Sad, poor, lonely blog...
For no good reason other then I moved, twice (into my parents and then into my new house). Then Christmas came.... and I had to FILL my new house, so I was busy shopping and stalking Kijiji in my spare time. Then my kids have birthdays 3 days apart (turning 2 and 13), so I have been busy with planning, cooking and baking for their parties. Between moving, working, Christmas, birthdays, karate 2 nights a week with my 13 year old and gymnastics with my 2 year old.... all I wanted to do was veg in front of the TV with my man at the end of the day.
So that is what I did. And I did it well.
Meanwhile my blog has been calling my name...
"foo! Do you still love food?!?"
I replied, "I do. A lot." (I really didn't talk to my computer...this is just how I envisioned the conversation going if I did talk to my computer)
So, I have decided to start putting time aside again for my small food blog.
While I ignored my blog, I got out of the habit of meal planning and it was a disaster. I hated it. I stopped the meatless Mondays that I enjoyed and I was not making the healthiest choices. I was scrambling at the end of the day to decide on supper and then getting groceries every day to make those meals. I was dreading the end of my work day because I knew I had to make a decision and follow though in a timely manner. I missed the planning and the organization my blog brought me.
I made my first meal plan last week, got the groceries for the week and I stuck to my plan. I have to say that it was soooo less stressful!
I made a meal plan again this week and I will share that in the next few posts. I am going to be posting my new favourite recipes since I have been on hiatus. I am going to start with my favourite one, Thai Cashew Chicken.
I have made it twice, my mom stole the recipe and my man asks for it every week. I would say it is a keeper :)
Also, did I mention how quick and easy it is to make? Once the food prep is done, it comes together in minutes.
Some adjustments I made:
1. The first time I made this, we ate it ALL. I wanted left overs the next time, so I cut up 3 small chicken breasts, added peppers, used a whole cup of cashews and a whole onion. I also doubled the sauce ingredients.
2. I didn't have the dried red chilies, so I added some hot chili pepper flakes (probably half a tsp).
3. I couldn't find sweet soy sauce so I substituted the 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce for 1 tbsp of soy sauce + 1 tsp brown sugar.
4. I used a wok, but if you don't have one, use the biggest pan you have.
5. This isn't an adjustment, but some good advice that I learned from the original recipe:
THAI CASHEW CHICKEN (click for original recipe)
I made a meal plan again this week and I will share that in the next few posts. I am going to be posting my new favourite recipes since I have been on hiatus. I am going to start with my favourite one, Thai Cashew Chicken.
I have made it twice, my mom stole the recipe and my man asks for it every week. I would say it is a keeper :)
Also, did I mention how quick and easy it is to make? Once the food prep is done, it comes together in minutes.
Some adjustments I made:
1. The first time I made this, we ate it ALL. I wanted left overs the next time, so I cut up 3 small chicken breasts, added peppers, used a whole cup of cashews and a whole onion. I also doubled the sauce ingredients.
2. I didn't have the dried red chilies, so I added some hot chili pepper flakes (probably half a tsp).
3. I couldn't find sweet soy sauce so I substituted the 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce for 1 tbsp of soy sauce + 1 tsp brown sugar.
4. I used a wok, but if you don't have one, use the biggest pan you have.
5. This isn't an adjustment, but some good advice that I learned from the original recipe:
“Stir-Fry” means “stir, THEN fry.” The purpose of stir-frying is to let the ingredients fry and get a lovely brown color before you stir it to keep it from burning. Let the food fry for about 30 seconds at a time before stirring it, and make sure you are using medium-high heat. If you stir it too much, or fry it over too low of a heat, the dish won’t turn out right. The chicken will poach from the steam and be white rather than brown."
THAI CASHEW CHICKEN (click for original recipe)
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Stir-Fry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- ½ small yellow onion, quartered
- 4 finger-length dried red chilies (such as chile de arbol), seeded and cut into halves
- ½ cup roasted cashew nuts
- 8 oz chicken, cut into thin pieces (about one large chicken breast – hold your knife at an angle and slice against the grain to get the thinnest pieces possible)
- 1 green onion, cut into 1” lengths
Instructions
- Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough to produce a sizzle when a drop of water hits it, add in all of the cashew nuts. Fry the cashews until they turn light brown, just a few minutes. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel to rest.
- Add the garlic, onion, peppers and dried red chilies (pepper flakes) to the oil. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until you can start to smell the spicy aroma of the chilies. Add in the chicken and continue to stir-fry until the chicken turns opaque and is cooked through (about 4-5 minutes). Return the cashews to the pan and toss to distribute around the pan.
- Add the sauce to the wok and toss all of the ingredients to coat them well. Turn off the heat and add in the chopped scallions. Serve immediately with a side of jasmine rice.