Remember when I said I couldn’t wait to get to the 10-month mark?
It was because I knew that by 10 months, it’d be spring. So here we are; and it is. In fact, it is supposed to be 80 degrees on Saturday, and like 75 on Sunday. Finally! Yayy!
Now we’re looking forward to the big 1-year mark. We’ll be in San Francisco!
Wedding-related confession: Our photographers sent us the electronic proofs of our album pages like 3-4 weeks ago and I have done almost nothing with them. I know that I want to make changes, but am completely overwhelmed by it. I don’t even know how to start. At this rate, our album will NEVER be done! I wanted to have it by our first anniversary, but I highly doubt that is going to happen. :(
Last week, we were in the mood to try something new for dinner. I was thinking about something Asian-inspired, but didn’t want stirfry. I wanted something different.
First, I did some blog searching, but didn’t find anything that sounded quite right. So I turned to my trusty-dusty allrecipes.com. A couple of clicks and I landed on this recipe for Chicken Lo Mein.
This ended up being exactly what I was looking for. Simple, and the ingredients required (aside from the veggies) were mostly things we already had on hand. I didn’t want to have to buy a bunch of new ingredients that aren’t used for very many recipes.
The only things we changed about the original recipe were the veggies we used, and the proportions. Since we used a lot of vegetables and additional pasta, so we had to increase the sauce ingredients a bit to make sure we had enough to coat everything. We also didn’t have any bouillon granules, so I used a bit of extra chicken broth instead. It worked out perfectly. The changes we made are reflected in the recipe below.
I wouldn’t call this “fake-out take-out,” because it really doesn’t taste like any lo mein I’ve ever had at a restaurant. But this dish has great flavor, and you wanna know the best part? I thought the leftovers a couple days later were even better tasting than the night we made it. Give this one a try!
Chicken Lo Mein
(Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch
– 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
– 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
– 1/4 cup sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth + an additional 1/4-1/2 cup (we used the chicken broth)
– 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
– 1 box uncooked linguine or spaghetti
– approx. 1/2 lb. broccoli florets
– 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
– 1/4 large onion
– a bunch of green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces (use however many you like, depending on preference)
– 3 tbsp. canola oil, divided.
– 2 tsp. sesame oil
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce, and sherry or broth until smooth. Add chicken and stir to coat; set aside.
2. Cook linguine or spaghetti according to package directions.
3. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry vegetables in 1-2 tbsp. canola oil for 3-5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. In the same skillet, stir-fry chicken mixture in remaining canola oil for 4-5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add in 1/4 – 1/2 cup additional sherry or chicken broth (depending on how much sauce you want/need), and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Return vegetables to skillet.
5. Drain pasta; add sesame oil and pasta to skillet. Toss to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes longer or until heated through.
Today we drove down for Logan’s baptism. It’s so hard to believe our newest little nephew is 7 weeks old already! This was only our second opportunity to see him, so we enjoyed every minute. Both Brendan and Logan are growing so quickly.
Of course, I brought my camera and snapped as many photos as possible. I wanted to share a few of my favorites…
A sweet moment with mommy right before the baptism began.
Logan was so good. He didn’t seem to mind the water at all.
Their little family. Love it.
With my husband’s family.
Cute shot of Brendan with Uncle Michael. Brendan absolutely looooved him today.
In fact, he even gave him kisses. (Seriously, how cute is this?)
Logan has already started smiling! There is nothing more precious than those toothless grins.
Uncle Michael with baby Logan.
Aunt Heather had to have a turn, too.
Godmother/Aunt Cristina with the baby. Adorable.
Brendan was running around with a bunch of his cousins outside. It’s so funny because he is so big, yet still so little. He loves to play.
It felt like as soon as we drove down there, we had to turn around and come back. Thankfully, we will be seeing them all again in a few weeks, when they make a trip up here to visit in early May.
Speaking of nephews… only a few more weeks until we welcome another one! I am so, so excited.
Summer is coming.
Last night, we dragged the grill out of the garage for the first time this season. We sipped a couple of beers, and I pulled weeds while Michael grilled our burgers. I could not have been happier.
Friday + warm temperatures + sunshine + grilling + hamburgers + beer = EXCELLENCE.
And this is just the beginning. It puts me in such a good mood!
Let’s kick off the weekend with something uplifting, shall we?
I see it as my personal duty to ensure that everyone I know has seen this.
I had seen bits and pieces of this on the news early this week, and I thought it was a great story. But it wasn’t until I watched the full thing while eating my cereal on Wednesday morning that I came to fully appreciate it.
I sat there and watched in awe as Susan Boyle was instantly judged by the show’s judges and its audience, based solely on her appearance and her age. I was actually kind of disgusted over the looks that were shown on people’s faces.
And then she began to sing.
Instant tears welled up in my eyes, and I got goosebumps all up and down my arms. Even the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Amazing.
By the time she was done, I was full of pride for this woman. Not only had she just gone out there and done a bang-up job singing one of my favorite Les Mis songs, but I was so happy that she had proved everyone wrong. Sweet, sweet victory from this “ugly duckling” who no one ever expected to be wowed by. But she did it, and she did it amazingly well.
Frankly, I was proud of the judges for owning up to their first impressions of her, and apologizing for it. Well, except for Simon Cowell. I don’t watch American Idol, so I don’t have a lot of experience with him, but from what I’ve seen… you can’t expect much from him. I think his reaction to Susan’s singing was about as nice as he gets. So, whatever.
I hope Susan continues to tear up the stage for the rest of her competition. Beyond that, I hope all of her dreams come true. Go get ’em, Susan!
Now I’m going to make a complete 180 and talk about politics. It’s related to this post because to me, it’s a second piece of really good news that came out of this week.
I’m excited that yesterday, Governor David Paterson introduced legislation to legalize gay marriage here in New York State. There is a loooong way to go with this, but at least he got the ball rolling. Governor Paterson is throwing his weight and influence behind it, and I hope that he’s able to get the State Senate to see that there really is no debate. It’s not a question of should they or shouldn’t they, it’s a question of right or wrong, and so far, New York (and most of the rest of the country) has been wrong. MAKE IT RIGHT.
I’m appalled that we are still dealing with issues of equal rights in 2009. Really, I am. I’m sad that it took several other states to get New York to start this process. We’re New York, for crying out loud! (Although I look at California, a state I also have high expectations of, and I remember Prop 8. I still can’t believe it happened.) But right now, I don’t care how or why Paterson made his decision to do this; I’m just glad he did. COME ON, NEW YORK. Don’t let me down.
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
