Recipe Wednesday

Recipe Wednesday

This was AH-MAZING!  Make it NOOOOOWWWW!!! : )  You will want it for supper every night! I found it on How Sweet It Is. 

(Sorry for the awful flash picture!) (Need to invest in better picture taking lighting in our kitchen!)

Crunchy Honey Chicken Stir Fry

1 pound thinly sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 egg whites
1/3 cup cornstarch (or flour – for dredging)
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
a handful of sugar snap peas (about 3/4 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare and slice all veggies – feel free to add whatever you would like. In 2 separate bowls, add the egg whites (lightly beaten) and the cornstarch or flour. (The cornstarch will yield a “crispier” chicken). Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add veggies with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add in olive oil and stir so veggies are coated. Remove from skillet and set aside in a bowl.

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat the same skillet (or you can use a different one, I just use the same to make it easier) over medium-high heat and add remaining olive oil. Dip chicken pieces in egg whites and then lightly dredge in cornstarch. Add to the skillet and let brown for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Continue with remaining chicken pieces, and do so in batches if needed.

Once chicken is cooked, add veggies back in the skillet. Add honey and thoroughly mix to combine. Taste and season with salt, pepper, additional honey or soy sauce. Serve with rice.

3 questions for you and me

If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
--I don't know on this one.  I really like my job, so I think I would maybe go part time?  I would actually let my husband quit his job first.  He works hard and does a good job even if he doesn't love what he is doing.

To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
--Well, I have always been a leader of some sort.  If I was passionate about something, the sky was the limit.  I worked hard in school.  Not because I had to, but because I wanted to.  I wasn't a traditional "college student."  I worked almost 40 hours a week between two jobs when I went to NIACC, and then 44 hours full time when I went to Upper Iowa.  Not sure on this time in my life if I was more concerned about money or school.  I wish I would have lived in a dorm.  I have wondered what that would have been like.  But who knows if I would have been lazy and not done my homework.  When I worked for Sherwin-Williams I was somewhat miserable.  I wasn't doing what I really truly wanted to do yet.  And now, I am satisfied at this job, but still curious as to what is out there.  I am glad I made the move though. 
I think I have totally controlled my course of life.  I chose this path, and I excelled to the best of my ability. 

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like, and like so many things we don't do?
--Things I don't like:  washing dishes, paying bills, lots of other random things.
--Things I like:  traveling, spending time with family, shopping, relaxing.
I think you choose what you want to do and how/when you want to do it when it comes to this question.  I hate washing the dishes.  So we bought a new faucet that has a button on it to make it spray instead of just pour out...this is small, but I liked it so now I am semi okay with doing dishes.  Yes, I know it seems stupid, but it really did make it better for me! Paying bills is a given...sure no one wants to fork over their hard earned cash for heat and water instead of a new pair of shoes, but that's life!  Deal!  I looooove seeing new places.  Traveling is huge for me.  Jason and I want to see things.  We have already been to Mexico, New York City, and Texas together.  We have dreams of seeing Oregon, NYC again, and maybe another tropical place?  I spend time with family whenever I can...those are moments you can't get back, and if I have to rearrange my schedule to do it...so be it! 
If you want something bad enough, and have the drive to get it, you can do it.  It takes time, but anything is possible!!

I like these...they made me think a little bit : ) 

Random...

A few weeks ago I saw these two desks outside of a home that had a "Free for the taking" sign slapped on them.  I snatched those bad boys right up!  I plan on painting this white one, and making it look nice.

This, which I thought was a desk, was actually a sewing machine desk!  I do not sew, but my mother does, and I know she would use this...maybe?  So, not so sure on what I am going to do with this one, but maybe something will come to me!

And here are some pictures I snapped of my cat, Talouse.  He was sitting in a sunspot on the couch.  

That is all for now! Happy Monday! :)

Well...

I






am








still.........


sick.  And it sucks.  A lot. 

I don't get sick...ever.  I can't remember the time I have had the flu in the last 4 years.  I just don't get sick like that.  Or have a cold go to my chest as this one has done. 
Boo. 

On a positive note, I got a text from my cousin Lindsay and her husband Jim that they are expecting a little one in June!  Congrats to them!! 

Ok, I am off to find the Kleenex and pour up a shot of Nyquil...yeah it's only 8:30 but that sounds like just the right time to hit the hay.  Ugh.... I.Feel.Like.[insert something yucky here.]

Night.

Living in the moment...

How often do you get one day ahead of yourself?  Do you sit and think of what will happen tomorrow, even though you ultimately have NO control over what may or may not happen? 

Now...Do you live in the moment? 

I never used to understand this phrase...live in the moment?  What the heck is that supposed to mean?  It never really hit me until I realized that I wasn't doing this.  I would always be thinking one step ahead of myself.  Stressing myself out about life, school, family. 

I think I finally realized this after my little brother was in a serious 4-wheeler accident a year ago.  He came down head first off his ATV after doing a high jump and not landing right.  He had a helmet on, but it still could have snapped his neck.  He was rushed to the hospital, and then airlifted to Mayo in Rochester.  We went up their and saw him...thankfully he had an angel looking down on him, because all he had was a concussion and a few broken ribs along with scratches and bruises.

When he started college he had to take a required English class that pretty much makes you write papers all the time.  He came home one weekend, and I happened to see one of his papers laying out.  I snatched it up, and read what he had wrote...

In this paper he had said that he always used to worry about what other people thought of him, and if he was doing something right or wrong...he said he struggled with this, until he got in this accident and realized it didn't matter.  He was going to live in the moment, for whatever he wanted to live for.  If he wanted to dance, he was going to dance whether or not other people thought he was a bad dancer.  He was going to live, and be himself.  He taught me something that day, that you don't always get a second chance, so make the most of your first, live.  Be yourself, let loose! 

Thank you little brother.  For showing me that it's OK to be me and to let go of all my inhibitions and be the crazy/confident/outgoing person that I am.

 I don't care if you don't like my outfit... I don't care if you don't agree with how I live...I don't care if I am a crazy all-over-the-place dancer...this is me.  It's who I am. 

Try living in the moment...dream big...anything can happen! : ) 

Molly is...

--listening to Christmas music...because I like it and because I can. 

--loving how the weather is beautiful in NOVEMBER!

--excited for the winter sports scene and watching my two brothers Andy and Jacob on the wrestling mat.

--stoked to watch TV tonight with my husband.  It's our show night...The Office and Outsourced.  I may   even catch up on this weeks Glee as well.

--tempted to put up the Christmas tree early?  But not ready for our cats to climb it like a real tree :/

--making a meal with tofu as the main ingredient tonight...and I'm quite nervous about it. 

--excited for the first snow...but not when their is 2-3 feet of snow piled up later in the season. 

--reminiscing about visiting New York City last year during December.  Amazing. 

--hoping, praying, begging for nice weather next Saturday (20th) to run the Living History Farms race. 

--wanting to watch all of the Home Alone videos...love them!

--a little obsessed with Christmas today...

--thinking of getting a Keurig...are they worth it? 

--unfortunately sick.  Cough, chills, congestion, and a really bad sore throat.  : (  Sad day.

Happy Thursday to you and yours! : )

Recipe Wednesday

Recipe Wednesday

Have the weeks been flying by for you like they have been for me?  Man, I feel like I just can't keep up with what day it is anymore... :) 

Anyway, here is your recipe for Wednesday...I have been meaning to make these for a long time, but just haven't buckled down and done it yet!  So maybe Friday?  Hmmm... we shall see! :)

Ingredients

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour


2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda


Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.


To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.