Today we finished moving the furniture around. So now everything is where Todd wants it to be. What a load of work that was. It took all morning. First I had to empty the whole large china cabinet and find a space to put everything while we worked.
Of course you know how things like that go. Once I got everything out, I wanted to wash and polish all the shelves/ mirrors inside . . . and of course I wanted to wash all my crystal and china so that everything was tickety boo and sparkling.
Once I did all of that it was time to move things. Oh boy . . . we grossly underestimated the weight of the thing, even empty. So we then had to call in help. Thankfully our friend Dennis was about so he came round and helped Todd to do it. It separates into two parts, thank goodness, which made it a tiny bit easier. Even so I had to get our next door neighbor to come over and help Todd. I will be baking some banana bread for him as he loves my Banana Cranberry & Walnut Loaf.
Once we got everything moved and back into place, then of course we needed to hoover etc. Its amazing what you find when you move furniture. Todd stepped in something he shouldn't have near the back door, and that needed to be cleaned up, etc. Suffice it to say when it came to cooking dinner I was pretty tired out!
Its a good thing I always keep a package or two of these in the freezer at all times. They are really good, made with 100% chicken breast meat, and not reconstituted chicken breast meat either. They are actually chunks of chicken breast.
All battered, fried and frozen . . . only needing heating up in the oven. It may be a bit of a cheat, but whatever works works! You don't always have the energy or time to do things from scratch.
These are great for Chinese dishes such as sweet and sour, lemon chicken, etc. Today I created a delicious oriental Sticky Sesame Sauce for them.
It was very quick and easy to throw together while the chicken chunks were baking in the oven.
It is a delicious mix of toasted sesame oil, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, tomato ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce . . .
A delicious mix of salty, sour and sweet . . .
You simmer these ingredients together in a skillet for just a few minutes until they thicken and get scrumptiously sticky . . .
Toss in your oven cooked chicken chunks . . . . rolling them around to coat them in the sauce . . . let them simmer in it for a minute or so and presto!
You have a delicious entree that everyone is sure to love. Its like magic! The recipe makes about 3 servings, but you can easily double it to serve more.
Crispy Sesame Chicken
Yield: 3
Author: Marie RaynerCrispy chicken chunks in a deliciously sticky sweet and spicy Asian flavoured sauce. Quick and easy to make. All you need on the side is some steamed rice and a vegetable stir fry. If you use ready cooked rice in the pouches, then your meal really will be on the table in hardly any time at all.
ingredients:
- 1 package (18 piece) frozen battered chicken breast chunks
- 1 TBS toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS Chinese rice wine vinegar
- 2 TBS liquid honey
- 2 TBS sweet chili sauce
- 3 TBS tomato Ketchup
- 2 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 4 TBS soy sauce
- 2 spring onions, trimmed washed and chopped
- 2 TBS sesame seeds
- steamed white rice
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to the temperature required by the package directions of your chicken. Lay the pieces onto a foil lined baking tray and then pop them into the oven and cook for the required time.
- While the chicken bits are cooking, cook your rice, chop your spring onions and whisk together the sesame oil, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce until smooth.
- Pour this into a skillet. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer as soon as your chicken is finished cooking. Tip the cooked chicken into the hot sauce and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with the spring onions and sesame seeds.
Todd was smacking his lips as he ate this. He said to me, this is really good!! I love it when he loves what I cook. I served it with some microwavable ready cooked plain white rice and I had some leftover vegetables from yesterday that I heated up on the side. I forgot to sprinkle the sesame seeds on top! (You will just have to imagine what they might look like!) I really hope you will try this!
I am so glad to get all that work over with. I don't want to be moving any more furniture for a very long time. Whew!