My Dad's Stir Fry

Ever since I was little, my dad has made stir fry. Veggies and chicken over rice. It always sounded really simple, but I was never able to get it to taste like Dad's. Last year I asked my Dad if he would come over and teach me how to make it. It went well, but I tried it later on and something wasn't right. So, I asked Dad to teach me again this last Monday, and I made it tonight. It. Was. AWESOME!! JUST like Dad's!! I completely spaced out and failed to take pictures of things in process, but I got a picture of the end product.

Ingredients I used:
1 steamable bag of broccoli
1 steamable bag of broccoli/cauliflower {I really like the broccoli in this dish}
1 yellow zucchini
1 green zucchini
2 containers whole mushrooms {quartered - I really like the mushrooms too, Dad used one container}
1 package boneless/skinless chicken thighs {cut into bite-sized pieces}
1 can of diced tomatoes {only because I forgot to buy a tomato}
1/3 c teriyaki sauce
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c water {combine with teriyaki and soy sauces}

I heated oil in a pan over high heat and cooked the chicken until almost done, then added the broccoli and cauliflower {that had been steamed according to the directions on the bag} and added some of the liquids. I stirred it and let it cook for a couple of minutes with the cover on. Then I added the zucchini, more liquid, stirred and covered it again for a couple of minutes. Next I added the mushrooms and tomatoes and the rest of the liquid and - you guessed it - stirred and covered. After those two minutes I took off the cover and smelled awesomeness! I tasted a piece of broccoli {they are my favorite} and it was perfect! YUMMY!! Serve over rice.

p.s.
I had the bottle of soy sauce on the table because I wasn't sure if the mixture I used was going to be flavorful enough for me, but it was! You can certainly use more or less depending on your taste.

I Love Summer!

Summer is the time for grilling! The only thing I am good at grilling are potatoes in tinfoil and s'mores. However, I am married to a grilling God! The steaks Brian made tonight were phenomenal!! They were juicy, seasoned and cooked perfectly! In fact, I told him I would like to buy a cow so we would be able to have amazing steaks like that any night we wanted!! How crazy is that?!

Doesn't this look amazing?!

Along with the steaks I made a little sauteed mixture of onion, mushroom and green beans. I seasoned them with garlic, salt and pepper. The dish was really great, but I felt it was missing something. I think next time I will try adding some balsamic and some cheese. That sounds delish!

Two pictures of the side dish!

We also had strawberries to round things out. Adelle grabbed a bunch and took off the stems. She picked them off one leaf at a time, gave them to me and said, "ishy, Mommy!"

One of the perfect summer meals!

Peach-Whiskey BBQ Chicken -Pioneer Woman

Thank you Kelly for introducing me to The Pioneer Woman!!

I tried making her Peach-Whiskey BBQ Chicken recipe last night and it was amazing!! The meat was super tender and fell off the bone, and the sauce was a great mixture of sweet and tangy. I can't wait for leftovers!!

I tried to take pictures but couldn't find my camera. I ended up using my phone and, well, they aren't the best.

I started by getting everything together. Forget to take pictures until AFTER I had started so I don't have everything pictured!



Then I heated oil and butter in a large pot (I used my dutch oven). I browned both sides of 13 chicken thighs (bone-in and skin-on) then set them on a plate while I made the rest of the recipe in the same pot.


Once the chicken was browned, I took out half of the grease and added a yellow onion that I had chopped. I think next time I will take out MORE grease because, for some reason, I had a lot on top of my finished meal. Next, I added the whiskey. I am not a fan of whiskey so this part was difficult for me. I don't like the smell of it! I let that reduce a bit.


After stirring the whiskey and onion mixture, I added the BBQ sauce, peach preserves, water and Worcestershire sauce then stirred.


I added the chicken back into the pot. I even poured the juice that was on the plate into the pot as well. I put it in the oven for about 2 hours at 300 degrees. I took the pot out of the oven and it smelled great! I put a couple of thighs onto a plate, along with some mashed potatoes and a piece of zucchini bread. I would have liked the sauce to be a little thinker, so I'll keep that in mind next time. It was amazing though! I highly recommend this recipe!!




YUMMY!

Yummy Reads!

I've added a few links to the right side of the blog. There are some of the sites I read and learn from. I like to read things I feel I would be able to make, and things that are easy. I do that because I am a simple girl. I don't like all sorts of fancy things (maybe with the exception of diamonds :) and I feel my cooking should speak for itself. I don't think it needs all sorts of spices. When I cook, I want the natural flavors of things to come out, I want my family to love it, and I want it to have that feeling of love. You know, when you think of that dish later on you feel like you've been hugged because it was so good.

THAT is the kind of cook I want to become. The kind of cook I am... a little.

The Sandwich

There are a few things I love: Brian, Adelle, being a Mama, teaching, and sandwiches! Two in particular are the Grilled Cheese and the BLT. I love eating grilled cheese sandwiches during the winter. The melted warmth of the cheese warms my belly. During the summer I love eating the cool crispness of the BLT. It IS the summer sandwich!

Now, a lot of people like their BLT with toasted bread. I don't! I have sensitive gums and prefer not to tear them up, no matter how tasty the food. I like the obvious bacon, lettuce and tomato - the main ingredients in this delicious sandwich. I also like a slathering of mayo on my honey wheat, untoasted bread. I really like it when the tomatoes are home grown and juicy, while the bacon needs to be crispy yet not too done.

One of my favorite BLTs is made by Subway of all places! When someone else, Subway, makes my BLT I get it with black olives, onion and cucumbers too. There is something amazing about all of the tastes rolled into one bite. Avocado is an incredible addition to this tasty sandwich, though you need to make sure it's cut thin enough to not slip out of the sandwich when bite it.

I think I'm ready for another BLT!

Idea

I've decided to write an additional blog. About cooking.

It's going to feature food; food that I cook or bake. Don't get me wrong, I am not a chef or baker by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, I can follow a recipe and the dish usually turns out. Usually. Most of the time though, I don't use a recipe. I just throw things I like together into a pan, add some butter and mix it up! I used to cook like that a lot during college and I had some of the best meals because of it!

Well, today during Writing, I had my students cut out pictures from old magazines.Some of the magazines had amazing pictures of food on the cover and inside the actual magazine. I mean, they looked so good I wanted to eat them immediately!! However, because those pictures, and subsequent recipes, looked so good, I got inspired.

I have decided to take pictures of the things I/we cook for dinner and share them with you. Share how they tasted, how they looked and how it went cooking them!!

I am excited to start!!