Sweet & Sour Chicken

We don't order take-out very often. If we do it's because I'm sick, or had a really bad day and can't muster up the energy to cook. Typically we order Chinese food if we want take-out and my favorite things to order are monogolian beef, sesame chicken, and sweet and sour chicken.

I've tried making monogolian beef at home a long time ago. It failed miserably! I do make fried rice at home (I didn't this time around) but that still needs work too. I came across this recipe for sweet and sour chicken on Mel's Kitchen Cafe and was amazed at how many people love it. I kind of feel like the last blogger on Earth to make it!

This did not disappoint! It was true to and I'd even say better than most take-out places that I've ever had. I loooooved it. When my husband got home I gave him all that was left after the mini me and I attacked it (which was still a lot, this makes plenty of leftovers) and he devoured it. Needless to say, this will definitely be added to our dinner rotation. Don't you love it when that happens- a recipe that is a true winner.

Source: Mel's Kitchen

For the Chicken
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

For the Sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Season the pieces with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Add

the chicken to the bag and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet (it's best to do this with tongs). Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Do this in batches until all the chicken is golden, transferring to the baking dish, making sure the chicken is in a single layer. 

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and pour it over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken pieces over at least once, so they're all coated in the sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Five on Friday

It may seem like I've dropped the ball on blogging, and in many ways, that's true. I've had very little motivation this week, with teething shaking up our normally peaceful, happy days, and other distractions. But I promise to be back next week! As for today, it's Friday, and I've missed linking up for Five on Friday!

1. Decorating

I bought the painting from World Market that I mentioned seeing last week. I went back to the store after showing the hubby a picture of it and he really liked it. So we hung it up to see how it would look in our living room and we both love it! Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect throw pillows.

2. Snow!

It "snowed" earlier this week, which made me really excited! I love that I was able to sit back and watch it fall as the flakes were pretty big, just like I used to do in Michigan. There's something so magical about snow (at first anyway, after dealing with it for months before I slowly started to hate it). Miss A and I went outside so I could show it to her and she was not impressed! Haha, I never know what to expect from her.

3. Organizing Photos

I finally, FINALLY, but together a photo book of Miss A's newborn pictures. I've been meaning to do this for...oh, about a YEAR and have slacked so much on putting her photos together in albums. I think it's because we have too much! Anyway, I love how her book turned out from Shutterfly.

4. Where does the time go?

We've got Miss A's 18 month check up today and I'm not looking forward to it. I swear it feels like I'm the one getting the shots! I can't believe we're here- 18 months! I think the next appointment isn't until she's two years old. TWO! How is this happening so fast?

5. Chocolate Cake Cookies 

By far my favorite pin this week! I'm dying to make these, preferably with festive Valentine M&M's!

Happy Friday!

Decorating Our Home

When we moved in to our house, we were coming from a two bedroom apartment. We didn't have a ton of furniture, decorative items, and wall art. I'm still trying to figure out what to do about this wall in our living room. There's a nail already there left behind from the previous owners, just waiting for us to hang something. 

I've thought about doing a gallery wall, hanging a pretty mirror, or finding a cool piece of art work. Yesterday I was at World Market and saw this beautiful canvas. 

What do you think? I'm really torn. For sure I would get rid of our toss pillows (I hate them anyway) and get a brighter, not-as-busy pattern. I love the gold painted birds, something about it speaks to me. 

I've started ordering some gallery-wrapped canvas prints, of all the important, special moments of our lives. This one is from Easy Canvas Prints and is one of my favorites from our maternity session. I loved ordering from Easy Canvas Prints, their website is very easy to use and I'm so happy with the result. The canvas is beautiful! If you'd like to purchase one of your own, Easy Canvas Prints is offering all This Woman Cooks! readers 50% all their canvas prints!

The other print is from our wedding day and I plan to order several more, along with photos from Miss A's newborn session and 1st birthday. 

Eventually I'd like to have all these photos upstairs, on this large, empty wall we have in the hallway. 

There's also the mantle to think about. We have a brown wooden mirror from our old apartment that could work above the mantle, but I'd have to get crafty and spray paint it black to match our mantle and other furniture.

Decorating a house isn't as easy as I thought it would be! So much time and effort to get it right. For now I'm focusing on creating our gallery wall and finishing up the living room. I'll be sure to share our progress as we go along.  

I received a product to review from Easy Canvas Prints, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. For more custom print options, visit Build A Sign www.buildasign.com and Allied Shirts. 

Life as a SAHM- Sleep or Not to Sleep

Sometimes it feels that way, right? Teething, sickness, and being out of town, has taken a toll on Miss A. Since we've been back from Miami, naps are completely off schedule and wake ups in the middle of the night are happening waaaay to frequently.

So what's a Mama to do? I try to do my best, but honestly, sometimes I push aside the chores to tomorrow, I put my feet up during a nap (when and if they happen) and I tell myself it's only temporary. Eventually, hopefully, she will go back to normal. In the meantime, I may be going a little batty, and I'm so grateful for all my friends who receive phone calls and text messages from me daily. Thanks for putting up with me!

Let's move on to some fun topics! We've started "mommy school" after being inspired by Leah. We're working on identifying animals and the sounds they make. Yesterday we read all her books on animals, played with a puzzle, and attempted to do a craft with cotton balls and glue. Haha, that was interesting- the glue was much more entertaining and the cotton balls, well, they didn't stay on for very long!

I'm also so thrilled to be a part of a new playgroup with toddlers very close to Miss A's age. Hopefully we will continue to meet once a week and enjoy making some new friends. If there's nothing else a tired, sleep-deprived mom needs, it's other tired, sleep-deprived moms to share in her woes. Getting out of the house is also a major perk, especially with this dreary, rainy weather we've been having lately.

Miss A's obsession with Mickey and Minnie is no secret and everyone is buying and sending her all kinds of Mickey related clothes and toys. She carries this Minnie doll with her everywhere. Minnie's clothes, shoes, and bows snap on and off so you can change her outfit, which means that I'm replacing her bow 15363 times a day. It's so adorable, I can't hardly stand it.

Lots of new words have been added to her vocabulary: sit, Daisy (Daisy duck from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), hi, bye, night night, agua, outside, inside, mama, dada, sisi (Sandy, or dog), Minnie, Mickey, all done, out, book, baby, ball, car, eyes, nose and I'm sure there's many more that I'm forgetting right now, not to mention all the other words and commands she understands.

This is such a fun age, I can't believe she is 18 months old today. I feel like her "babyness" is slipping away and she's becoming more and more of a little girl every day. I usually don't get sad about this because I'm always excited to watch her change and grow, but lately I have been a little sad, knowing that I will miss these days so much. If only time could slow down and she could stay my baby longer!

Dinner Lately

Lightened Up Chicken Parmesan

I made this chicken parmesan from Cooking Light last week. It's a little better for you than traditional chicken parmesan- instead of using bread crumbs, you use panko, and the tomato sauce isn't weighed down by lots of salt and tastes like you've been slaving away on the stove all day. We both loved it, including the mini!

Rotisserie Chicken with Lemon Risotto 

& Bacon Brussel Sprouts 

Last Friday I wasn't in the mood to cook so Miss A and I made a last minute trip to the grocery store for a rotisserie chicken. As we were leaving I saw that arborio rice was on sale and picked some up, suddenly with a huge craving for some risotto! The only risotto I make is lemon risotto, a Rachael Ray recipe. Gah, it is SO good!! I could easily sit there and eat the whole pot.

I also grabbed some brussel sprouts while we were at the store to make a super easy and quick veggie side dish. I don't know why brussel sprouts get such a bad rep- they are delicious, if you make them correctly! I follow this recipe from Picky Palate, but I omit the extra toppings and I cook mine in bacon fat. ;) I fry up three slices of bacon in a skillet, remove the bacon, leave the drippings and add a tablespoon of olive oil, then I add the sprouts. Perfect every single time!

Classic Cheeseburgers 

My husband loves having burgers for dinner. Sometimes we have burgers once a week, especially if I'm looking for something easy to make. I make them pretty much the same every time- salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and spoonful of barbecue sauce go into the mix. I cook them on the stove top and top them with cheddar cheese, red onions, and lettuce. 

Baked Potato Soup 

This is my favorite baked potato soup recipe. I made it two months ago while my parents were visiting. My dad loves to eat soup when it's cold out, which means he doesn't eat it very often, seeing as it rarely gets chilly in Miami. He requested soup one day for lunch and I had this recipe from Skinnytaste pinned that I really wanted to try. I love that the recipe calls for a head of cauliflower, so it's easy not to feel bad about eating this soup! Crispy bacon and cheddar cheese are a must for toppings!