Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside. Elizabeth von Arnim

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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sweet and Sour Chicken

It was only 8 degrees and windy so once again it was a basement walk for me as I listened to the next CD.  I walked 5 1/2 miles.

Karen was wondering about the clothes I wear when I walk outside in the cold and thought maybe others might be interested too. I've talked about it before but it's been quite a while.
I just wear lots of layers.  On the coldest days I walk I wear sweat pants over two of those stretch leggings.  On my feet, a pair of trouser socks and then a pair of regular socks.  On top I wear two long sleeve turtle neck tee shirts, a regular sweatshirt, and a hooded sweatshirt.  If its really cold I wear another hooded sweatshirt OR my jacket.  On my head I have on a thick headband that I put over my ears and the two hoods.  I don't wear mittens or gloves because they make my hands cold.  I just tuck my hands up inside my sleeves and my hands stay nice and warm.  That is until I take my camera out.  : )  The cold doesn't really bother me but I don't usually walk if it gets 12 or below because it is just too cold for my face.  Where I lived before it rarely got that cold but here it does and I've missed a lot more days than is usual for me.  I'm looking forward to the time when I can just get up every morning and just be able to walk outside.  Not being able to walk every day is really hard for me.

I hate to disappoint some of you but I decided NOT to finish that puzzle.   I just wasn't enjoying it.  The colors all blended together and the picture seemed a big blur. So I slid all the pieces off the table right into the trash can.  It was nice to have the table back to a regular size too.
With that puzzle gone, we did one of the ones we bought last week.  It was an easy one with only 500 pieces.
After lunch we headed up to Happy Trails to see what's going on up there.  We couldn't even get up the driveway so we parked the truck and walked in and walked around up on the land for a little while.  There is a powdery snow on top of an icy crust which made it difficult to walk so we got a good workout.
 I tried a new recipe tonight for supper, Sweet and Sour Chicken and it was delicious.  Both Ken and I loved it.  I think it is my new favorite meal.
If you like sweet and sour chicken you must try this.
Here's the recipe.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
For the sweet and sour sauce
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
To make the sauce, whisk together sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic powder
in large bowl' set aside.
In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to combine.
Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs.
Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Top with sweet and sour sauce.

Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened, about 55 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes to evenly coat the chicken.  ( I only had to bake it 45 minutes)
Serve immediately.
Here it is cooked and ready to eat with some white rice.  
My mouth waters just looking at it again.
After supper I walked over to the library for my book club.  There were 8 of us and we had a nice time talking about the last two books we read and then just talked about this and that.

This evening we watched some television and I had some chocolate fudge ice cream for my snack.

Hope your day has been a happy one.
happyone : )
Love is the thing that enables a woman 
to sing while she mops up the floor 
after her husband has walked across it in his barn boot.
~ The Hoosier Farmer

Today's Three Thankful Things
  1. Happy Trails
  2. A delicious new recipe
  3. A nice time with my book club friends

7 comments:

Nellie said...

Love the description of what you wear when you walk outdoors in the cold. My closet is very poorly equipped for being in cold weather! The recipe sounds absolutely delicious! So does your snack.:)

The Furry Gnome said...

You need those snowshoes for walking at Happy Trails in the winter!

Deb J. in Utah said...

I would love to be in a book club like yours. I am going to put this recipe on my "to try" list. I really like your new puzzle. No use trying to complete one you don't like that is just making you frustrated. I started a new puzzle to but haven't had much time to work on it yet. Have a Happy Thursday!

Vee said...

Oh your supper looks very good and tasty. Yes, it must be challenging not to be able to walk as you'd like. Does your local high school have a track? Lots of our local walkers use the track, which is kept clear all winter. So you threw out the puzzle? It really was a bad one. Life's too short for doing things you don't really enjoy.

Beth said...

The chicken recipe sounds so good. I had no idea you bundled up so much.

Karen said...

Thank you for answering my question about what you wear. Now I just need to get brave enough to actually get out there! Your recipe looks delicious and I intend to try that this week. I laughed when I read that you slid the puzzle directly into the trash. That must have been one awful puzzle! But I agree with the other commenters that life is too short to frustrate yourself needlessly. Life throws us enough frustrations as it is!

o2bhiking said...

Layers are key for the out of doors. Walking fast generates a lot of heat but one's face still can get too cold as you said. When I hike I usually have to put on a jacket during a lunch break. Stay safe in this cold! Art