New recipes

One of the things I really want to get better at this year is trying new recipes. I'm always reading about my sister-in-law trying all sorts of interesting recipes, and now my sister. I need to get in on the action too!! Mostly I'm just really tired of having the same things over and over. It gets boring, for everyone. I'm also hoping that this will help us eat at home more. So far I've tried two new recipes. They were both really good, or at least the majority thought so. It's a bit difficult to cook new things with two picky kids. I'm thankful that at least Avery is willing to try most things.

The first recipe I tried was cashew chicken. It was pretty good, except for the water chestnuts. They didn't have any flavor, but I couldn't take the consistency. I was trying to hide my disdain for them until the kids ate some. I wanted to see what they thought without me saying anything. They didn't like them either. Keith was the only one that liked them, so I guess next time he gets them all!!
Also, I can't stand mushrooms. I think they are the food equivalent to cockroaches. So I will always omit them, but I'll put the whole recipe on here, in case you guys don't feel the same!
I would like to make this again, but I would add more veggies. It didn't have as much flavor as if we ate out, but it was definitely a nice change, and worth making again.

Cashew Chicken

2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1 cup hot water
1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbls vegetable oil
1Tbls cornstarch
2 Tbls soy sauce
.5 cup sliced green onions
2 tsp brown sugar
.5 tsp ground ginger
1 (8 oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1(8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
.5 cup cashews, toasted
3 cups hot cooked rice

Dissolve bouillon granules in hot water; set aside.
Brown chicken in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken, reserving drippings in skillet; set chicken aside.
Combine cornstarch and soy sauce; stir until smooth. Stir in bouillon mixture, green onions, brown sugar, and ginger. Set aside.
Cook mushrooms, green pepper, and water chestnuts in drippings over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until tender.
Add chicken and bouillon mixture to vegetable mixture; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cashews.
Serve over rice.


*Funny story...I was at kroger getting all the ingredients, and for most of the time, I smelled something like b.0. I kept wondering what the smell was, and more importantly, who it was. I never could figure it out, but I was happy to get away from it. So, fast forward a little bit...I was at publix(i shop at both stores to get the best deals), and I was loading my stuff into the van. It was then that I realized the smell in kroger was me. Or really my green onions. Don't you love realizing that YOU were the one that stunk up the whole store?!?