I feel quite proud of myself tonight. As I was driving home, I was thinking about stopping to pick something up for dinner because I didn't really feel like cooking. But then I remembered that I'd taken the time and thought to take some chicken from the freezer last night and I'd bought the ingredients for a specific recipe, so I decided that I should just cook.
Usually when I get home I pull myself up the stairs, change from my work clothes, putter around, maybe read for a few minutes or turn on the TV...you know, just mess around. But not tonight. Tonight I walked right into the kitchen, took out all the ingredients I needed for the dish and started cooking. I cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. I chopped up a small onion and a large clove of garlic. I heated up a little olive oil and threw the onion, garlic and some red pepper flakes into the hot oil. When the onions were soft and fragrant, I added the chicken, tossing them through the oil, onions and garlic until they were coated and left them to brown.
While the chicken was cooking, I made a sauce with chicken broth, corn starch, soy sauce, ground ginger, sugar, and white wine vinegar. (I think that was it.) I whisked that together and when the chicken was browned and the onions were a little carmelized, I added the sauce.
Corn starch is so magical! The sauce was just liquid until it hit the pan and started to heat. The corn starch caused it to thicken beautifully. The sauce was sweet but tangy. Yum! I served the chicken and sauce over brown rice. The boys loved it!
Does it sound good? It's the Weight Watchers version of General Tso chicken - only 6 Points per serving! It came together quickly and easily. We were done eating by 7:00, and I got home at 6:00! Lots of time to do other stuff, like play Spider Solitaire on my computer. I can waste amazing amounts of time playing that game.
If you compare what I did with the recipe, you'll note that I did not use scallions or peanut oil. Here's my defense: I forgot to buy the scallions at the store and I couldn't find any peanut oil. The peanut oil would add a wonderful flavor, but it was tasty anyway. I liked the carmelized onions quite a lot, so I didn't really miss the scallions, but they would add a fresh onion-y flavor.
I've been writing about food a lot lately. I'm not obsessed or extra hungry, I just feel like cooking!
By the way, I've found a couple of new food items that I really like, so I'm going to tell you about them.
Bagelfuls: These little guys are so good! For 4 Points, I feel like I'm getting a delicious cross between a bagel and a donut. It is a great on-the-go breakfast when I'm running a little behind and don't have time for a sit-down breakfast. And it keeps me full for a few hours, so I feel good about it. I've had the plain bagel with plain cream cheese and strawberry filling. Yum!
Dole Apple Cinnamon Fruit Crisp: I just tried this little treat yesterday and it was the perfect afternoon snack! There are few things I love more than hot, gooey apples (I bet you didn't know that, did you?!) and I've tried to find a great recipe, but apple crisps are kind of labor-intensive and I'm really the only person in the house who loves hot apples. So this really works for me. I think I figured it was about 4 Points, which is kind of high for a snack for me, but it was really worth it. Delicious!
Tomorrow is my sister's birthday and she shares the date with my mother-in-law, so I'll be thinking joyous loving thoughts toward both of them tomorrow and wish them the happiest of days! I'm also looking forward to tomorrow because we'll be going to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I". I've very excited! I love the Harry Potter series and Deathly Hallows was a great book. And to make it even better, I'm off work all next week and I am so looking forward to the break!
That's all I've got for now. Good night!
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