Kung Pao Chicken with Peanuts

I have a great recipe for Kung Pao Chicken that turns out every time. I adapted it from my cookboook Spices of Life. I also use this recipe to make Cashew Chicken by adding cashews instead of peanuts and omitting the crushed red pepper. Great for a healthy week-night dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces

2/3 c carrots, chopped into bite-size pieces

2/3 c celery, chopped into bite-size pieces

1/2 c water chesnuts, chopped into bite-size pieces

Marinade

2 T soy sauce

2 T rice wine

1 t sesame oil

1 t cornstarch

Seasonings

2 T minced green onion

1 1/2 T ginger, minced

1 1/2 T garlic, minced

1 t crushed red pepper (as desired)

4 1/2 T olive oil

Sauce

1/2 c chicken broth

2 1/2 T soy sauce

2 T rice wine

1 t sesame oil

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 1/4 t cornstarch

1/2 c scallion greens, cut into 1-inch lengths

2/3 c dry-roasted peanuts

Directions
1. Place chicken and marinade in bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2. Heat a skillet/wok, add 2 1/2 T oil and heat until very hot. Add the chicken until cooked, then remove and wipe out pan.

3. Add remaining oil and heat until hot. Add seasonings and stir-fry briefly, about 15 seconds. Add the vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the sauce and cook until thick. Return the cooked chicken to pan and add scallion greens and peanuts. Serve with steamed rice.

When you're pregnant and it's your birthday...

...you can order lots of dessert!

I had a great birthday on Sunday! Actually, it was more of a weekend-long birthday celebration! Starting earlier last week, I received b-day cards in the mail from family and friends (thank you, thank you, thank you!). As well as some super cute gifts and phone calls (thank you, thank you, thank you!).

On Saturday, my parents decided to come up to do a little shopping and take us out for my birthday! We decided on McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant on Nicollet. I love this restaurant because they have private booths, called "snugs," where you can even close the curtain if you want privacy. The food was fantastic, and we had such a great "double date!" I got the Parmesan-Crusted Dover Sole with Lemon Butter Sauce and a (virgin, of course) Mojito. Yum! Disclaimer from picture above: the dessert wasn't all for me!


Then on Sunday after church, Kyle let me pick "three things that I wanted to do" that day. Here were my three picks!

1. A day at the beach. We put on our swimsuits and packed up towels, books, and a cooler with drinks and headed for the beach at Lake Nokomis! We got Jimmy John's on the way, and had a picnic on the beach. This is one of our favorite summer hang-outs in the Twin Cities. Our time there also included laying out and reading, a walk around the lake for some exercise, then a swim to cool off. It was perfect, and I closed my eyes and imagined that I was on vacation!

2. A snowcone! Anyone that knows me knows that I love frozen sugary treats, especially in the summer. (What I really wanted was Tropical Sno, which is shaved ice that is sooo good! The cantaloupe flavor is my favorite! I haven't found one around the Twin Cities...actually, I just found the website and the nearest one is 20 miles away. Hmmm....)

3. LOST. We have been wanting to start Season 1 of this series for awhile now. Okay, so we are a couple years behind, as we are with most of our television watching. But we had a nice night just relaxing and getting hooked on the beginning of the drama. Watching these people who are stranded on a desert island makes me wonder how I would react in a survival situation like that.


Overall, I had a wonderful birthday. Thanks so much to family and friends for making it perfect!

How to tell if you're having a boy or a girl

I read the following in one of my many pregnancy books, where they were just presented as "so they say." Of course, I am curious to hear if there is any truth to any of it. Fellow moms out there, feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you would say any of these things are right on, or if they are just old wives’ tales!

It's a boy if...

• When you add your age at the time of conception and the number of the month you conceived, the sum is an even number.
• The dad-to-be is packing on the sympathy weight.
• You skipped morning sickness in early pregnancy.
• Headaches are a regular occurrence.
• You’ve never looked better!
• You look like you’ve stuffed a basketball under your shirt.
• Your nose is getting wider.
• Your leg hairs are growing like weeds!
• Your areolas get a serious suntan without sun exposure.
• Your pee is Easter-egg yellow.
• You crave salty or sour foods or proteins.
• Your baby’s heart rate doesn’t exceed 140 beats per minute.
• Your tootsies are chillier than usual.
• Your hands are as dry as the desert.
• Your bump rides low.
• A ring swings back and forth when dangled from a string over your belly.

It's a girl if...

• When you add your age at the time of conception and the number of the month you conceived, the sum is an odd number.
• Your age when you conceived and the year that you conceived are both even or both odd numbers.
• Your junk is in the trunk and your hips rather than your tummy area.
• You got intimate with morning sickness during the first trimester.
• PMS is nothing compared to your pregnancy moods.
• Pregnancy doesn’t become you.
• You look like you stuffed a watermelon under your shirt.
• You look like you got a boob job.
• Your left breast could beat your right if both were in a wet tee-shirt contest where size mattered.
• Your hair turned slightly redhead.
• Your pee is a dull yellow color.
• Sweets are your craving of choice.
• Your baby’s heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute.
• Your face reminisces the breakouts of your teen years.
• You are carrying high.
• A ring swings in a circular motion when dangled from a string over your belly.

Lenkert, Erica. The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy. DK Publishing 2008, p 28-29.

Books

I think my new favorite thing has been reading books about pregnancy, babies, baby names, and everything else! I'm so thankful for all of the great books I’ve received from friends and family, and of course the library and Barnes & Noble. As you can see, I have lots of reading to do!

Moms, do you have any other suggestions?

Sharing the News

Sharing our exciting news with my husband, and then our families, was a really fun experience for us! Here’s the story of how I told my husband that we were pregnant.

It was a beautiful, sunny day when Kyle had gotten home from work. We decided that we should do something outside since it was so nice out. He wanted to go play tennis, but I had other plans. I convinced him that we should go to the park and have a picnic. So, we packed up some food, blankets, and games and headed off to the park. I told Kyle I was really in the mood to play some Scrabble, so he (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to play one game. I think his reluctance was secretly because I always beat him! =)

Little did he know I had a surprise for him. Okay, so I had to cheat a little to pull it all off! I had marked (in pencil) on the back of the pieces I needed to spell my word. When drawing letters, Kyle unknowingly drew my “E,” so I started to get a little worried that it wouldn’t work! Thankfully, there are a lot of E’s in Scrabble, and I drew another one soon.

After a few turns, I spelled out the word “ANT.” On my next turn, I added “PREGN” to the “ANT” and spelled “PREGNANT.” He laughed at first and thought it was a funny word, not to mention high scoring, until I told him, “Sweetie… I’m pregnant!”


Needless to say, he was super excited, and loved that I found a creative way to tell him!

Telling our families was also fun. We waited to tell both of them in person, which worked out really well since Memorial Day weekend was coming up!

Late one night in Clear Lake, we decided to take a family picture together with the Rebarcaks, my idea. Kyle “volunteered” to take the picture. We all sat on the couch together, and Kyle said while holding the camera,

“Say... Nealy’s Pregnant!” and took the shot. I love everyone’s expressions on this picture! I think Kiley was screaming!

We met the L's in Ames to share the news with them. It worked out better than we could have planned, because Elyse, his sister that lives in Nashville, just happened to be coming home that weekend, and we didn’t even know it! Kyle decided he just wanted to “tell” them, so we met for lunch at the Café. I was excited and nervous to share the news, and I think he waited until we were almost finished eating! It was so hard to wait! They were all very excited, and it was so much fun to tell them, all together, that they will soon be grandparents and aunts!


We are so thankful for our wonderful families at this time! We think our child is going to have the best grandparents ever, and he/she will have so many great Aunts and Uncles -- 4 Aunts and 3 Uncles, in fact! How much fun!

You Guessed It!

We’re pregnant!

Due January 23rd. So far, the pregnancy has been going fast. We are both so excited! And it’s so much fun to finally have the word out! We heard the heartbeat a few weeks ago, which was an amazing and emotional experience for both of us. I am so incredibly thankful for all of the love and support from friends and family! We feel that God has truly blessed us with this wonderful gift.

Just for fun, I’ll answer the top three questions I’ve been asked about my pregnancy.

Are you going to find out if it’s a girl or a boy? We want to! I can’t wait to know if we’re having a "little Kyle" or a "little Nealy"! The way we figure it, it’s still a “surprise,” no matter if you find out at the ultrasound, or at the birth. We have a few months until we can find out, so we’re enjoying the guessing!

How have you been feeling? This question is primarily asked by other moms who’ve been there and know! Up until about 9-10 weeks, I was super sick – as in always nauseous, always tired, and I had a lot of food aversions. I couldn’t even eat meat or vegetables (I normally love vegetables) for quite awhile – poor baby! Thankfully, I’ve been getting better. I’m still more tired that I think I’ve ever been in my life, but it feels great to not be sick as often. Kyle has been great through the whole process so far. I know it’s not always fun for him when I want to go to be at 8:30 when it’s still light out, but he’s been very understanding!

Have you had any cravings? That’s another question a lot of people have asked. And a good one! Because I’ve been sick, I haven’t really craved anything because I had such a hard time finding any food that sounded good - I actually lost a few pounds, which I wasn’t expecting. I know…being a picky eater has been a strange experience for me! But the one food that I relied on was fruit. I think I ate three whole cantaloupes and a whole watermelon in a matter of weeks…no kidding!

A European 4th of July

I randomly discovered a food blog awhile ago, which is written by a Swedish girl who loves to cook. She hosted a party for the 4th of July, and instructed everyone to bring food that they thought was "American."

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I thought it was a cute idea, and they were pretty much right on in the American food department. As you can see from the picture, the party was even made complete with Kool-Aid! Just for laughs, click here to check out their party!

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In comparison, check out what she calls a "very typical Swedish plate in the summer." Pretty interesting!

Family Reunion

This weekend, we had a great time at our second family reunion of the summer! It's was so much fun to see so many people on the L side of the family. What a cool family!

Everyone rented a huge, beautiful house in Galena, Illinois, where we all hung out. There was tons of stuff to do there, including a rodeo, fireworks, shopping downtown, swimming, canoeing, live music, a pool, lots of great food, and just hanging out with family.

The whole extended family is super close - let me explain. Three brothers (one is Kyle's grandpa) married two sisters (Kyle's grandma) and their cousin. How cool is that! And then again, next generation, two brothers (Kyle's dad) married two cousins (Kyle's mom). So everyone is super-related! Now, we just need to continue this pattern. Maybe we can hook up my two brothers with Kyle's two sisters!?!? Hmm...

A special thanks to Steph for teaching me to make some fabulous artwork! =)

Scrabble Word Search...

There's a secret message here. Can you find it?



More to come!

Amanda's Monster Cookies

Click here for Amanda's amazing Monster Cookies. They are so good, and it's amazing that they are flourless! Yum!

Swiss Cheese Apple Dip with Craisins

I got this recipe from my dear friend Laura, and it reminds me of her whenever I make it (which is quite frequently). It sounds like a strange combination, but it is always a hit!

Ingredients:
1 container pineapple cream cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 t fruit juice (orange or cranberry)
2/3 bag Craisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in bowl and put in pie pan or other oven-proof dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with sliced apples.

Substitution Note: If I can’t find pineapple cream cheese at the grocery store I'm at, I just combine regular cream cheese with a little sugar and crushed pineapple).