Sunday's Show & Tell

The Summer heat may not be winding down, but Summer is slowly coming to an end. First signs of Autumn are every where - high school football has began along with the Pros, the leaves in the trees are being to change and fall. Sue told me that she saw a fuzzy worm this past week. Normally when you start to see them, Fall's a coming along with cooler temperatures. Y'all I'm getting the fever - AUTUMN is right around the corner. Normally, it doesn't start feeling good and cool during the day until around October, but the night in September are usually real nice. Stores are feeling the same fever because the magazine aisles are solid with the holiday books and magazines. I've mentioned before that I'm a big "Taste of Home" fan. Love, love, love their recipes. So, as I'm waiting in line at Walmart to check out. What should I see?   This . . .

I have to say that I had so much fun reading and viewing ALL the great sounding recipes. Most of these recipes look and sound so scrumptious. I can't hardly wait to dig in.

So many great Halloween ideas to make for the kids

The graveyard is actually a veggie pizza

The spiders are actually ham 'n cheese melts ~ Katie will love 'em

Mexican taco dip ~ to make the ghost, cut out flour tortillas with a cookie cutter and bake in the oven.
What a great idea!

There are not just recipes, but also craft and no-sew costume ideas.

Pumpkin carving templates

This sweet lion costume is made out of a sleeper, fleece material (mane) and infant boggan.

Handmade Autumn Note Cards

Mandarin Chicken Stir-Fry with Sesame Soy Ginger Noodles Recipe

I've been experimenting with Asian dishes.  I bought a Lawry's seasoning packet for Beef 'n Broccoli.  Doug thought the meal was good, but I was disappointed.  I tasted the heat from the spices, but no real flavor.  It was pretty bland.  It reminded me of your basic brown gravy. 

Friday as Doug and I were doing our grocery shopping, I found myself checking out the Asian food aisle once again.  Doug spotted the sauces "Panda Express" and he told me that was the same company that owns "P.F. Chang's" restaurant, which happens to be our favorite Asian restaurant.  So, I picked up the sauce "Mandarin".  I made a simple stir-fry and just poured a little bit of the sauce once the stir-fry was complete.  I have to apologize because I didn't use any measurements, it was pretty much a guess.  Oh but it was absolutely delicious.  We had very little left for leftovers. 

(above: Mi's Mandarin Chicken Stir-Fry w/Sesame Soy Ginger Noodles)

(note: all of these meaurements are approx.)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up in small pieces

1 bunch of broccoli florets (I used fresh broccoli and cut off the stems, but you could use frozen)

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Sprinkle of equal amounts of minced garlic, salt & black pepper (for seasoning)

3-4 Splashes of Panda Express' Mandarin Sauce (to your liking)

Using a large skillet on stovetop (medium-high heat); warm up your oil; add broccoli and pepper.  Stir and cook until veggies are tender.

Add meat to skillet and cook at medium heat until well done (approx. 170 degrees).  The chicken will probably sear, which is normal.  Stir and watch that it doesn't burn.  Add garlic, salt & pepper seasoning while cooking. 

Once cooked thoroughly, add sauce.  Bring the sauce to a boil at medium to high heat.  Then turn the heat down to medium to low heat; simmer to thicken sauce a little.  Taste and add sauce, if you feel you need more to satisfy your tastebuds. 

Note:  I bought baby bella mushrooms to put in this dish, but completely forgot about them.  You might want to throw some in or anything veggie you think will taste good with it.  Experiment and play.

We are not rice people, so I made noodles for our side.  I've found a great box noodles from "Simply Asian" that I absolutely LOVE.  The flavor I prefer is called "Soy Ginger."  I was told it's the ginger that makes the meal.  I couldn't agree more because these noodles with the seasoning taste just like P.F. Chang's, in my opinion.  It took me maybe 10 minutes to fix the noodles to go with our Mandarin Chicken Stir-Fry.  Yummy!