Wednesday, January 8, 2014

2014...here we go !

I'm going to start off by saying that it's been a bit of a rocky start to the new year. And by "Rocky"  I mean ...blizzards,  MINUS 35 degree wind chill temperatures, bird murders,  2 guys who forgot it was my birthday who live in my house, days with the real time temps in the negative double digits (like -14) and all around craziness.  Today is Wednesday, and the last time I was off the plantation (as it were) was last Saturday. Which isn't really that big a deal, but I like the dramatic sound of it.  We went to a city about 2 hours northeast of us for New Years Eve and came back home the next day, just ahead of a serious snowstorm that dumped about 6 inches of snow on us. About 3 days later, the Polar Vortex came through and hit us with another 13 inches.  The temps have been unbelievably cold for us, and none of that snow is going anywhere. Today is back up in the mid 20's, and might even hit 28. We'll see...

  They finally got my road semi-plowed. The Irishman got out yesterday for work, but not Monday. He got out today too, and the boy is out as well. Both have trucks. I have a little Ford Focus, and it's not going anywhere.  lol Even though they have run the plow down the road, it's treacherous, and I am not going to risk running off the road and getting stuck.

  Okay, that said...there has been some cold weather cooking going on around here.  I made a big pot of Vegetable Beef soup the day the storm was coming and we finished that off.  Then I made a big pot of white chili last night and it's about gone, between supper and lunch.


  Today I am going to make a crock pot Thai Garlic Chicken dish...and I'm going to start it as soon as my camera battery charges up.  lol  I have reached that place where I cannot cook without my digital camera at my side.  


It starts like this:
 The recipe called for 6-7 cloves of fresh garlic, minced. So...I used 13.  Right ??

  I looked at several recipes for this dish and finally picked one and then reworked it to suit me. Which is what I often do, and probably what everyone doers.  Here's the list of ingredients:

  5-6 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
  Ground black pepper
  3/4 cup low sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
  3/4-1 cup honey
  1/4 cup pure molasses
  4-6 cloves fresh garlic minced **
  1 tbsp. crushed basil  (or you could use fresh leaves, rolled and sliced thin, if you have it)
  1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  1 tsp ginger (I used ground ginger because I don't have any fresh)
  1/2-3/4 cup catsup--(I used my home made and canned bbq sauce.)


  So, we start by peeling and mincing all the garlic your little heart desires.  My little heart desired a LOT today, so I minced about 13 cloves. I mixed all this up in a 4 cup measuring cup, to keep it simple. Put all the ingredients EXCEPT the chicken and black pepper in the bowl/measuring cup and mix it well.


 Looks pretty yummy, doesn't it ??

  Then take your cutting board and cube all the  chicken.

  I used my big crockpot today for this (because I can't find my little one.  lol)  I sprayed it with olive oil  to help (hopefully) with the cleanup.  I put all the cubed chicken in and then peppered it good, stirring and stirring it until I distributed it evenly.

  Then, just pour the mixture of goo over it and stir until all the pieces are well coated.  Turn the crockpot on high and go do something else for a few hours.  Me??  I just got 3 new huge Rubbermaid totes that I'm going to put all the Xmas decos in.


Now, I've put the lid on, will let it cook on high for about an hour (as my chicken was partially frozen) and then turn it to low. It should be done in about 4 hours, maybe 5, depending on how big you cut the chunks of chicken. Mine are probably 1x1 inch cubes. Mostly.  :)  When the chicken is done, make a thickener with cornstarch and water and pour it into the crockpot. Stir it in well, turn it back on high and let it go until it thickens. Shouldn't take long.


 See you later...before it's all done,. I will cook some brown rice and steam some broccoli  and that will be supper.  I have to make bread today too, and granola.   I'll be back with pictures of the finished project and platings.   See Ya !!!!


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  Okay...here it is.  Thai Garlic Chicken served over brown rice with a side of beautiful steamed carrots and broccoli (with a half an onion thrown in).  Lordy, lordy--was it ever good.  I will definitely make this dish again.  Easy, healthy and delicious !!




Bon Apetit !

4 comments:

  1. Hmmm...4 days and not a comment. Wonder if something's up? I'm posting to see...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy anniversary Annie! Love you and your blog-Robin A

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Robin--lol--I was trying to figure out where this post was !! LOL

    ReplyDelete

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