Sunday, November 27, 2011

JoAnn's Black Friday!

I LOVE the Black Friday sales at JoAnn's. 

L.
O.
V.
E.

Really only because of the flannel. This year it was $1.49/yard so I got TONS of fabric for baby blankets to make. I made 2 for me and the rest will be for gifts.  Here are the ones I already finished for me the new baby.


Can I get a vote on the above blanket? Dave thinks the polka dots (which are black) make the top one a little girly. Is it girly or boyish?? Now I'm worried about it.

This blanket I LOVE! And because I bought the last of the bolt of the monkeys, she gave me 75% off the sale price! I paid .50 for 1 1/2 yards of those little soccer monkeys! haha!!


More to come as I finish them!
 




Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Chicken Lo Mein


adapted from Ming Tsai

I'm not gonna lie - finding the ingredients for this was NOT fun. Smelling the individual ingredients before it was cooked was not a good idea. BUT, Once I tasted the final product to check for seasoning it was BAM in my mouth!!!! It is SOOOOO good!!!! It was so worth it and I WILL be making this again!

Here are the ingredients:

Marinade:
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
1/2 C oyster sauce (found mine at walmart)
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 C sliced scallions
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chile sauce

mix all that together in a bowl and add 1 pound boneless skinless chicken - thighs are traditional and hold up well in high heat cooking. let it marinate for 1-2 hours.

In a hot wok, add some canola oil and cook the chicken.  When the chicken is cooked, add:
1 C chicken stock
6 cloves sliced garlic
3/4 head cabbage, sliced thin (don't worry, it will cook down)

after the cabbage is cooked, add 8-10 ounces of blanched lo mein noodles. (you can use linguini, but I went and found real lo mein noodles).
toss until the noodles are warm and taste for salt and pepper seasoning. Mine didn't need anything extra.

This was awesome.
Even Dave said so.



Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Menu


As the feasting season is upon us my son asked me this morning what we were going to eat for Thanksgiving. aaahhhh!!!!! I haven't thought about it ONCE. My birthday is Saturday and I'm prepping for a pie crust class I'm teaching at church next week (read: making lots of pies).

Well, let's talk about the feast.

Since we will not be traveling and it will just be our family, I don't need to make a 10 course dinner for 2 adults and 3 kids, right?? So let's discuss the necessities.

Turkey. duh. I'm a HUGE fan of a brined turkey since it infuses the flavors into the meat and keeps it moist while cooking. My eyes are peeled for .39/lb sales!

Pies. double duh. I'm thinking I'll make an apple crisp to go alongside my pumpkin pie. I LOVE pumpkin pie. As well as apple crisp. That should tide us over for a little while.

Sweet potato casserole. I love this. Dave loves this. my kids don't love this. but I DON'T CARE!! Yes, I just yelled at you over the internet. Dave and I can finish this on our own, that's how delicious it is.

Salad. I'm thinking along the lines of a broccoli bacon salad. Something like this.

Rolls. Homemade? heat and serve? I've got to mull that one over.

another veggie side of some kind. What are your favorites??

cranberry sauce!


gotta get shopping.