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BBQ Stir Fry

I saw Sandra Lee make this on Money Saving Meals this weekend and I thought it looked really good. This is called a BBQ Stir Fry because the sauce in it is a hoisin sauce, which is a Chinese BBQ sauce. I've changed the recipe a little bit. For instance, she used beef and I decided to use chicken. Also, I'm not a fan of ginger, so I left it out. This recipe could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the meat. Add a little tofu for some extra protein.

I also got to use my new $5 wok from IKEA. Yes, I said $5 and it worked pretty great. This recipe calls for lo mein noodles, which should be pretty easy to find in the oriental section of your grocery store.

What you'll need for the stir fry:
1 pound chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
2 Tbsps canola or olive oil
2 carrots, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
2 stalks celery, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 (16-ounce) package lo mein noodles, cooked according to package directions

What you'll need for the Hoisin Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsps tomato paste
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp hot sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsps cider vinegar
1/8 tsp pepper

How to make it:
In a wok or large skillet over high heat add the canola oil. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through. Set aside on a plate.

To the same pan the chicken was cooked in, add the carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and broccoli and stir-fry until slightly tender but not soft, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken back to the skillet along with half of the hoisin sauce, and toss to coat the chicken. Add in the noodles, and toss, adding a little more sauce if you'd like.


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A Day Of Chocolate Cupcakes

Today was a day filled with chocolate!  Chocolate cupcakes that is!  I started out early this morning with the first batch and I made it up as I went along. That's what I do.  I make up the recipe or I fix a recipe to make it better.  I took the first batch used a certain chocolate and mixed away.  In the oven they went and 15 minutes later my husband and I were taste testing!  Not so bad for a first try.  Fluffy and had a great taste.  Not bad for the first go around. 



Well, then I thought what if I use a better chocolate instead of my first choice of chocolate.  Which then led to the second try at chocolate cupcakes.  Oh what a mess that was!  I have no idea what happen but those but they were not happy cupcakes.  Maybe I left something out or maybe it was just the new spin I put on the recipe.  Who knows.  What I do know is that those cupcakes went straight from the oven to the trash!

I wasn't going to let one failed cupcake attempt stop me. Along come try number three and some chocolate ganache to go with it.  Well at this point I didn't care if the cupcakes came out bad or amazing because that ganache was amazing!  Yummy.  Well, in went my third batch into my over worked oven and 15 min later my neighbors were over to be my taste testers! 


Dozens of cupcakes later and we have a cupcake we think is good enough to sell.  There will be one more go around with chocolate cupcakes after a friend sends me her recipe.  Then we'll have a real winner! 

Today's cupcake adventure was great.  Chocolate and cupcakes together -what can be better?  I'll tell you what can be better .............  tomorrows cupcake adventure!  I will be working on Red Velvet Cupcakes. Yum Yum Yum.  My husband will be first in line to make sure he gets a taste since he loves red velvet.   Come back around tomorrow to see how well my next baking adventure goes.

Stay happy - eat a sweet!
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Vanilla Cupcakes Take Two............

Well the first batch came out very dense and not very cupcake like.  That's what I get for using a random recipe I found online.  I took the recipe and fixed it up.  I went ahead and made a second batch today with the fixed up recipe.  Those came out better. Not perfect but better.  These were way more fluffy and way more cupcake like!  Thanks to my very cool and amazing neighbors - I had myself some taste testers tonight. They were extremely helpful!  They were honest and totally cool about eating some cupcakes. LOL Little do they know I'll have the next batch for them to try tomorrow!  The vanilla cupcakes are almost perfected.  That wasn't too hard.  It's the chocolate ones that I think I'll have some issues with. I'll be ringing some door bells this week for some more taste testing! 
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
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First Attempt At The Cupcake!

My house smells amazing and heavenly.  I just finished baking a batch of vanilla cupcakes from scratch. I haven't done that in ages and I'm so glad I did.  I'm going to try and build a business on the cupcakes and cookies that I make.  My family and friends are always saying how good my cookies are and how well I can bake.  Well, I'm taking the time to try my hand at making some money off of my skill.  Perhaps a little help from a family member or two will come in handy!  I'm going to subject my neighbors into becoming taste testers this week too!  

I love baking.  I can't stand to cook.  To me cooking is a task and a dull one at best.  However, baking is this incredible, flavor filled and happy occasion.  Everyone loves a good dessert.  It's the ending to a meal and a celebration of good times.  It can be sweet or savory and sometimes even both at the same time. 

My grandmother always said to eat your dessert first because who knows what's next.   

No frosting yet, right out of the oven, no liners, vanilla cupcake from scratch.

There will be more photo's one I get these finished. Plus, we'll see how the taste test went!
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"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars,
or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a
new heaven to the human spirit."

Helen Keller
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“Great minds have purposes; little minds have wishes.
 Little minds are subdued by misfortunes;
great minds rise above them.”

Washington Irving
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