Sweet & Sour Chicken

I don't usually post recipes - in fact I think this is a first - but I made one of my all time favorite meals this week and wanted to share the yummy-ness! I learned this recipe from my mom and have it memorized from making it so much. It's just that good!

It takes a little work, but the payoff is so worth it! The only trick is getting the three parts (meat, sauce, and rice) ready at the same time. I usually get my meat prepped to go in the pan, mix the sauce, then start the rice and cook the meat and sauce while the rice simmers. It's really easy because the rice & sauce are really low maintenance! Now, for the recipe....

Sweet & Sour Chicken

The Meat:

• Chicken cut into bite size pieces (I use 3 breasts for the two of us and have plenty of leftovers to eat later!) You can use another type of meat if you prefer.
• 1 egg yolk (but I just use the whole egg, beaten)
• 1 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 1/2 c. Corn Starch (I never measure, just dump some in until the chicken is coated)
• Oil to fry in

Combine chicken, egg, and soy sauce until chicken is well coated. Add cornstarch until chicken is coated. Heat oil in a pan, I use a thin layer of canola oil. Drop pieces of coated chicken into hot oil until bottom is crispy golden brown, then flip them over to cook the other side. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel. I usually make enough chicken to fill my pan twice.

The Sauce:

• 1 c. water
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. vinegar
• 1/3 c. ketchup
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tbs. corn starch
• pineapple, diced red pepper, or any add-ins you want!

Combine 1c. water, sugar, vinegar, & ketchup in microwave safe bowl (or a small pan if you prefer stovetop cooking) and bring it to a boil stirring often - I microwave it a minute at a time, stir, and do another minute until it boils. Combine 1/4c. water & corn starch in a small bowl, then add it to the boiling sauce, mixing well. It will look foggy now, continue to let it cook a while longer until it becomes more transparent. Remove from heat and stir in pineapple, red pepper, and whatever else you want. Done!

(the container in the background is my Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day dough!)

Serve chicken & sauce on a bed of rice. Then dig in. And go back for seconds. Maybe thirds.

And I'll leave you with these pictures of Baby B enjoying an unseasonably warm day last week. He's not sure about grass, buy he loves a good stick!

Let me know if you give this recipe a try and what you think. What is your favorite recipe?
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Tag, I'm it!

I was double-tagged this week by Active Fingers and Lifestyles of the Stay at Home Mom! Is is okay to answer both tags in one post? I hope so. :) Check out Anna's answers here and Shantalle's answers here. The rules from the two were a little different, so I kind of mashed them together to make these:

The Rules:

#1: You must post these rules.
#2: Each person must post 12 things about themselves on their blog.
#3: Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 12 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

#4: Tag some friends (Or bloggers you blog-stalk!)

#5: Let them know you've tagged them

12 Fun things about me:

1. I was homeschooled from 1st grade through high school graduation, but I still went to college and had friends like a normal person. And I wear normal pants.
2. I have 6 sisters, no brothers. My identical twin and I are the oldest (but I'm 10 minutes older than her), and my youngest sister turned 8 just before Baby B was born. They were all in my wedding.
3. I played trombone and piano when I was younger. The trombone was in a homeschool band consisting of one flute, one clarinet, one violin, one trumpet, two trombones (which stole the show by drowning out everyone else), and two drums. It was less than normal. :) I don't miss the trombone, but I wish I had tried harder to learn the piano.
4. I have a degree in interior design and won a prize for highest GPA in my department. The prize was a book written by the university president. Wop-wop.
5. With the interior design major, I had a geology minor. You know, just for fun. Geology had the best field trips including a week camping in wilderness of Canada. Although camping in November isn't ideal no matter where you are.
6. My freshman year my sister & I woke up at 6am three days a week to play ultimate frisbee in the gym. Those are some of my best college memories. Nothing else can make me willingly get up that early. I was in the best shape of my life that year.
7. When I was little I cut up my curtains to make Barbie towels and blamed it on a friend. I just confessed to my mom 2 weeks ago. Because I'm so mature.
8. I finally went to Disneyland when I was 23. I was also pregnant at the time, but didn't know it yet. It works out well because now Baby B can't say I never took him anywhere. 
9. I do not like animals. Any of them. Except maybe ponies. I fully intend to retire to a pony farm where my grandkids will beg their parents to let them spend their summers. 
10. I like gravy. A lot. It's like the frosting of meats. And bacon is the candy.
11. I need a lot of sleep. In college I was rarely up past 11pm. As a freshman I was require to get a "late pass" to be out past midnight. I only used one all year, and I used it because I was with a study group finishing up a project the night before finals. 

 Questions from Anna:

1. What is your favorite food? Ice cream. And anything involving bacon.
2. What is your dream job? Hmmm... Something involving crafting and design that I could do from home. I don't know exactly. :)
3. Favorite movie/TV show? I'm loving Psych right now! And The Stupids might be my all time favorite movie. It's as good as it sounds. Go watch it now.
4. Favorite game? Board game - Settlers of Catan, Active game - Ultimate Frisbee.
5. Do you like sports? Do you prefer to play or watch? I like to play! But hockey is the only sport I like to watch. Football is my bane.
6. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Machu Picchu! I would love to explore ancient ruins!
7. Your dream vacation would be… Staying in a nice hotel at a beach or in the mountains. Pretty much anywhere that is unique and not like home!
8. Do you prefer to bake or cook? I prefer to cook but I enjoy both. But I hate the cleanup after!
9. What is your favorite craft? Sewing! Especially making bags and things for my home.
10. City or small town? Why? Small town because it's how I grew up. I liked knowing everyone and how quiet the streets were.
11. Favorite thing that happened in 2011 and what you are most looking forward to in 2012 Baby B was born in 2011! One thing I'm really looking forward to in 2012 is working on our kitchen. 

 Questions from Shantalle:
1. If you could change your name to anything, what would it be? I actually really like my name... but I would change my middle name to Danger!
2. If I gave you $100.00 what would you do with it? Buy trim & paint to finally tackle our kitchen cabinets.
3. Do you parallel park or drive around the block? Drive around the block as many times as necessary. And park blocks away if I have to.
4. Do you prefer a rainy day or a snowy day? Snowy... as long as I get to stay home!
5. What makes you bored? Watching sports. (sorry, husband!)
6. If I took your electronics away (ALL OF THEM), could you survive? Technically yes, but I might lose my mind.
7. Do you know any phone numbers by heart or are they all on speed dial? I know my parents and a few friends and relatives by heart (mostly just the ones I learned when I was little) but I used speed dial anyway. :)
8. What do you fear the most & why? Tornadoes. I have no idea. I've never even seen one.
9. Name your top 5 movies. Pride & Prejudice, Lord of the Rings (counts as one?), Harry Potter (also counts as one?), The Stupids, and Muppet Treasure Island.
10. Do you prefer a kindle over a paperback & why or why not? Nope. I just like paper. I prefer paper to screens for sure. I like making lists on paper, too. Plus I like seeing how much I have left to read and being able to mark and highlight (which I realize you can do with a kindle, but come on, it's just not the same!). With that said I don't have a kindle and might be won over if I actually had one!
11. Pumps, Sandals or flats? Flats & flip flops = 95% of the shoes I own.
12. Are you a pillow flipper? Nope, I can pretty much sleep where/how I drop!

 My Questions for YOU:

1. What is your dream job?
2. What is your favorite summer activity?
3. Are you a morning or evening person?
4. What is your favorite book?
5. What is your favorite room in your house?
6. What is your favorite craft project?
7. Do you wear shoes in the summer or go barefoot?
8. What's the best vacation you've taken?
9. If I gave you $100 what would you do with it?
10. Cake or ice cream? 
11. How long did you leave up your Christmas tree?
12. What are your favorite baby (or pet!) names?

And I'm going to tag....
Rhetta @ On Raspberry Hill
Keight @ Put Up Your Dukes
Christine @ Keeping Up with the Cases
Dan @ The Goulson Movie Marathon

No pressure if you guys don't want to participate, but if you do let me know so I can check out your answers! And I would LOVE to see answers from anyone else who wants to participate - either leave a blog link or just answer in the comments! 

Possibilities

It turns out I can't pass up pretty sheets at the thrift store. Not because I need sheets, but because sheets are essentially fabric and I like to sew. I recently found these bad boys:

$1.25 for a queen (I think) flat

$3.00 for a queen set

The problem is I have a whole list of things I want to do with them and not enough fabric to do them all! So maybe you can help me decide? Here are my top contenders:

1. make a new duvet cover for the guest room

2. make some pretty scarves

3. make this new bag pattern my mom got me for Christmas

4. make decorative pillow cases for my bed

5. make curtains for my room

Any thoughts? Which ideas do you like best and with which fabric? Or do you have a better idea? Let me hear it! It's so hard to cut it up but I can't wait to make some pretty new things!

Office Chair Makeover

My grandma gave me my desk chair a few years ago. Since I got it I've been wanting to give it a makeover to add a fun pop of color to the office and I finally took the plunge! I don't have a "before" pic, but it was just a brown wooden chair with a brown seat and it has a great shape and really great details on the back & legs. To start my makeover I decided to paint it a nice bright color and since I'm on a yellow kick (check out my yellow dresser and yellow kitchen) I had leftover yellow paint in the basement. Pretty, free, and already in the house? Sold. I started by taking off the seat and using some small wood scraps to prop the chair up off the grass. Then I used a brush and small roller to apply a nice, even coat of paint.

As you can tell from that lovely, lush grass, I actually did the painting last summer and never finished the project until now.

I guess it doesn't show up very well in the pictures, but after that first coat it looked really uneven and splotchy so once it dried I did a second coat and then some final touch ups to get it nice and even.

Fast forward to February - after several months of using this chair with the seat unattached (and miraculously remembering where I put the screws!) it's time to tackle the last step!

A big part of the reason I put it off so long was that I couldn't find a fabric that I wanted to use (mostly because I'm too cheap to buy something new and I was hoping a new scrap would show up in my basket). Then the miracle happened and I actually won a stack of fat quarters in a blog giveaway! They were really pretty, but seemed to small for most of the projects I do so they just sat around for a while. Until last week when it suddenly hit me that they were just barely big enough to cover my seat! So I picked the greenest one (because you just can't go wrong with green!).

Then I wrapped it around and stapled it on the back. See how close the fit was? Normally I would add a layer of batting first to make it a little cushier, but I don't think the fabric would have reached if I did this time! Also, I usually use a heavier weight fabric but this was free and oh-so pretty. It will last long enough, because I'll get bored and want to change it eventually anyway! :)

Then I just grabbed a screwdriver and put the seat back on. Then sit on it and think about all the other crafty things I want to do. Sitting on a pretty chair makes me more creative, right? I'm so excited to turn our office/craft space into a fun, inspiring environment!

Have you ever done a chair makeover? What color are you using most right now?
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