Monday, January 3, 2011

Welcome 2011 !!

I must say, I am sad to see 2010 go. It was a year filled with so many exciting changes for Forrest and me and I know I will always cherish last year. In summary, we moved back to our hometown (where both of our families live), the best food city in the world:

Forrest got an awesome new job.

We built and moved into our first home and I got my dream kitchen (partial picture of said kitchen below):

And most importantly, we welcomed our most favorite foodie to the family:

As you can imagine, 2010 will be a hard year to top for my little family. But alas, 2010 is gone and 2011 is here to stay. We will focus on being thankful for our many blessings last year and are eager to see what the future holds. I have included a healthy take-out alternative for all of you who are looking to lighten up your fare in 2011. This was much quicker than ordering out and certainly easier on the waistline.

Kung Pao Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light December 2010

Yield:
4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces all fat removed
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon, peeled minced ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large pepper)
  • 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
Preparation

1. Heat sesame oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan;

sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Being careful not to let it burn. Add chicken;

sauté 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.

2. Combine 3/4 cup water and the next 5 ingredients (through crushed red pepper) in a liquid measuring cup,

stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add water mixture to pan;

bring to a boil. Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan;

cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens. Sprinkle with nuts.

3. Serve over brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

11 comments:

Victor said...

I love open space kitchens, it is a great place to have good conversation with your guests while cooking. Unfortunately, my kitchen is very small and can only fit 2 people.

The Kum Pao chicken looks really good! Thanks for sharing!

fuat gencal said...

Merhabalar, ellerinize, emeğinize sağlık. Çok leziz ve iştah açıcı olmuş.

Saygılar.

Anonymous said...

You have an exciting new year ahead of you. This dish looks really good. I'm going to bookmark it so I can make it for my husband.

Woody said...

We did have an exciting 2010, and to add to the events listed above: The New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl, the Auburn Tiger went undefeated, and most importantly our son came into the world. 2010 will be the year of Rex.

I ate this dish for breakfast the next day it was so good.


PS. Happy 29th Birthday to my wife day!


Love the Husband

Forrest

teresa said...

happy new year! love this dish!

Cynthia said...

I am excited to try this recipe! Happy New Year, I hope it holds as much joy for you as last year did!

MaryBeth said...

This is my husband Ed's most favorite to get when we go out...he will love that we now have a great home version for him to try.

Sush said...

Happy New Year Elizabeth and a belated Happy Birthday! I know it was a wonderful year for you all, the move back home and the birth of your first child! Wow! I love the new recipe and look forward to all those to come! Since first finding your blog about a year ago I have loved your blog and all your recipes. The fact that you are also a New Orleans gal as I just makes it more fun! As so many from home would say, "My hand to Gawd, dawlin hawt!"

Anonymous said...

Sure the pics of the food look great, but oh my --- how cute is that picture of your little boy.

Congratualations and happy 2011!

Jennifer said...

I am so happy for you and your hubby! Congrats!

Desi said...

Your baby is so beautiful! And so is your home! Happy 2011 to you and your fam, I love reading your blog :)

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