Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Tangy Orange Chicken with Green Bean Mandarin Salad

I made a orange chicken that had a bit of a kick to it. With a green bean salad on the side. It was a great dinner....

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
white pepper
oil (for frying)
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon ginger root, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red chili pepper
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon rice wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Orange Sauce for Stir Fry:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons white vinegar
1 orange, zest of

Directions:

It is easier to prepare the orange sauce first. Put soy sauce, water, sugar, white vinegar, and orange zest in a bowl. Whisk it up and set aside. In a large bowl stir together egg, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil and mix well. Stir cornstarch and flour together. Mix flour mixture and egg mixture. Add chicken pieces, stirring to coat. Heat oil for deep-frying in wok or deep-fryer to 375 degrees. Add chicken, small batches at a time, and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until golden crisp. (Do not overcook chicken). Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside.

Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant; about 10 seconds. Add and stir-fry crushed chiles and green onions. Add rice wine and stir 3 seconds. Add Orange Sauce and bring to boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed. Stir water into remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth and add to chicken. Heat until sauce is thickened. Stir in sesame oil last minute. Take off heat and serve over rice.

Green Bean Mandarin Salad

1/2lb fresh green beans
1 can of mandarin oranges
Ground pepper (lightly to taste )
Olive oil to drizzle
Balsamic Vinegar

Clean green beans. Boil green beans to al dente. Throw green beans in large bowl of cold ice water. Drain. Add can of mandarin juice and all. Toss in pepper and oil. When green beans are well coated add Balsamic vinegar to taste. Serve cold.

Slimy fun

My daughter had no school today due to the district having a half a day. She is only in half a day kindergarten so they just give them the day off for both A.M. and P.M. Though we were both feeling under the weather I didn't want the day wasted in front of the TV. I got this recipe for slime from our visit to the Boston Museum of Science. It's super easy and fun.

All you need is borax, water, food coloring, and glue. You can use white glue for a creamy looking slime or the clear glue. We used white glue, I buy two for a dollar at the Dollar Tree since we are using the entire bottle.

1) First take a cup of water and dissolve a teaspoon of borax right in the measuring cup.
2) In a bowl empty the bottle of glue then add a half cup water.
3) Add food coloring and stir it up.
4) Then add the borax mixture.
5) Stir it up.
6) Once you see it sticking together start kneading it with your hands.
7) Once a majority if not all the liquid is soaked in you are all set to play with it.

Things happen quickly so this takes minutes. Luckily it cleans up easily. Just make sure your kiddos don't flick the slime around like my daughter did. Still it wasn't terrible to clean. It's what I get thinking I could leave her with it while I folded laundry.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Rescue From The Attic

Rescued from my parent's attic was a doll I had when I was young. She was a mess to say the least. The poor doll's hair looked like rats had made a nest and was living in it since 1994. The sad thing was I had already tried saving this doll once already. But today I tried something that actually worked. I used a Magic Eraser on her face, arms, and legs. I suggest that if you are going to try this to test an area first as I have heard Magic Erasers can take shine off of surfaces. Then I added about 2 or 3 Tablespoons of fabric softener to a spray bottle of water. I shook it to get the fabric softener mixed well with the water. Then I sprayed it all over the doll's hair. Using a wig comb, I had one for my daughter's American Girl dolls, I worked in small sections slowly  brushing from the bottom up. It came out great. Her hair looks almost as good as the day I got her decades ago. I have a few of my daughter's Barbies that are going to get their hair done next.