New Recipe, 4 Miles, Book Review, Car Update

Thanks you guys! I really appreciate all of your support with this car stuff! It looks like it's going good and I should have a new car by the weekend - woo! Also, sounds like i'm not the only one who loved The Help! Such a great book - I hope they make it int a movie so I can have a love/hate relationship with it!

Yesterday was a pretty blah day - I just wasn't ready to go back in the office! Who was?! Anywho, I sucked it up and got a lot of work done, walked 4 miles during lunch, worked more, heard from the inspector: GREAT CAR INSPECTION, so the dealership picked it up to get to work on detailing it, then I headed straight home after work to cook. We made these four new recipes whilst watching Veronica Mars Season 2:

• 4 servings of chicken basil stirfry
• 4 servings of sausage skillet scramble
• 4 servings of beef & bean tanquitos
• 4 servings of chicken mushroom parpardelle

We also prepped chicken for later this week, grated cheese and are ready for a few more recipes - yay! I had the chicken basil stirfry for dinner - LOVED IT! This is definitely a new staple. Here's the recipe for 4 servings:

Chicken and Basil Stirfry (adapted from Cooking Light)

in pan before dividing!

1 pound chicken
½ red bell pepper, cut in thin strips
4 oz mushrooms
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
3 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed
3 cups white rice, cooked per instructions in microwave
Salt and siracha sauce to taste

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick strips 2 to 3 inches long. Place a 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat; when hot, add oil, garlic, ginger, flakes and chicken. Stir often until chicken is barely still pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add peppers and mushrooms, stir for 3 to 4 more minutes until chicken is no longer pink. In a small bowl, mix broth, soy sauce and cornstarch until smooth. Add to pan and stir until sauce is boiling, about 1 minute. Add basil leaves and stir just until barely wilted, about 30 seconds. Add salt to taste and pour into a serving bowl over rice.
4 servings!

My serving - YUM!

Nutritional Information: 416 calories, 59 carbs, 5 fat grams and 28 protein grams.

Review: Seriously - loved it! The flavors were great, the mushrooms + red peppers made it flavorful and colorful, I loved the sauce - it was like 'brown sauce' at Chinese restaurants that I used to get on the side. A definite new standard for the casa - and it gives me a way to use some of our basil (we no longer have basil plants; we have basil bushes!).

After dinner we hung out, watched Entourage and CHILLED. Great end to a blah day. I ended up at 1,564 calories, 186 carbs, 56 fat grams and 70 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Book Review Time! Here is my review for Elizabeth Brundage's The Doctor's Wife. This book was a huge page turner. I picked it up off of Ruje's bookshelf on Sunday and read it nonstop until I finished it Monday night. It was about a doctor, his wife, a painter and his wife - and how their four lives intersect. Everything from religious fanatics and abortion to adultery and murder. It bounced around, was told from different perspectives and kept me flipping pages until the very end. Lots of suspense, a good bit of surprise and a great storyline. Yes, a few parts were a bit too graphic for me, but overall I give it a 4.5/5. It would have been a 5 if the characters had been a bit more likeable, especially the doctor - he annoyed me! I recommend it though!

Q: Can you read books or watch movies/TV shows with unlikeable characters? I like one or two of course for drama, but I have to have at least one character I like and/or relate to!

Q: What's your favorite type of cuisine? Normally I'd say Mexican or Italian, but lately I've been on a Chinese kick again - loving these new Asian-inspired recipes!

Tomorrow I'll post a book review for a book I finished on the way in to work this a.m., James Patterson's The Fifth Horseman, and i'll post a new recipe for Real Mom Kitchen's Skillet Tacos. (I know, a book review and a recipe - i'm so unpredicatable!) haha