Chinese Dinner

So we're officially all moved in and unpacked! I absolutely love our new place. I'll post pictures later but for now I'm going to do my first recipe post. For awhile now I've really been wanting to try my hand at making homemade Chinese food. So this week I decided to finally give it a shot. I found this recipe for sweet and sour chicken on Pinterest. I found the recipe here. Here's what you'll need:

-3-5 chicken breasts
-salt and pepper
-2 eggs beaten
-approx 1 cup of cornstarch
-oil to fry the chicken in (The original recipe calls for canola oil but I used vegetable oil)

First you'll need to rinse and chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes

Once the chicken is cut, dip the chicken first in cornstarch and then in the egg (this can and will get REALLY messy). The fry the chicken till its golden brown.

Once the chicken is fried, put it into a baking dish. I used about 3 chicken breast and it fit perfectly into a 9x13 dish. Now for the sauce. You'll need:

-3/4 cups of sugar

-4 tablespoons of ketchup

-1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

-1 tablespoon of soy sauce

-1 teaspoon of garlic salt

The original recipe calls for distilled vinegar, but some people were saying that it was a little to vinegary so I took used apple cider to cut the taste down. It tasted delicious anyways. :) Just mix all the ingredients together until smooth.

Once all the chicken is fried and in the dish pour the sauce over the chicken, make sure you turn over the chicken so the sauce gets on both sides. Once that's done put the chicken into the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn the chicken and put it in for another 15.

Trust me the chicken looks as good as it tastes. Now to compliment the main dish. I searched high and low for an easy and simple lo-mein. I finally found it here. Its pretty simple and straight forward. However I made a few mistakes with it (crazy right?). It was mostly just little things, my mind has been pretty scattered brain lately. I had twice the amount of pasta needed and forgot the vegetables, but it was still decent. The final addition to the meal was Chinese doughnuts. You usually find these at buffets, but the were always my favorite. These are pretty simple to make as well. Get some refrigerated biscuits, fry them, let them drain on a paper towel and roll them in some sugar. They tasted great! Put all these things together and you have a wonderful Chinese meal at home.

Michael really loved all of it, and requested it to be made again. So in my book that's a win. :)

Looking Ahead

Life has been busy as our upcoming move is getting closer (next week!). Cleaning the apartment has been my major focus right now as I've already packed some and don't have to much left to pack. The apartment wasn't in the greatest condition when we moved in, nevertheless I'm making sure the place is spotless. So I've been scrubbing the floors (I mean literally on my hands and knees scrubbing) and vacuuming every corner. There's no reason this place shouldn't pass inspection (they would be crazy if didn't). Anyways, I want to share with you some things that I'm looking forward to at the new place.


1.  Location Location Location

The location of the new place is such a huge blessing. Its just minutes away from Michael's work and minutes away from everything else that we will most likely be making weekly trips too (i.e. grocery, laundry, gas station etc). It's also in a great area of town. Its going to feel like a major upgrade from where we are at now.

2. Paint!

We will be allowed to paint the walls! I was really excited when we heard this. I thought I wouldn't be able to paint until we owned our own place (if that ever happens). The ideas have been coming in full force for possible colors. I really love this color green for the kitchen. It brightens it up!

3. Patio

Last summer I kept wishing I had a place I could just go sit outside and relax, maybe plant some flowers and just enjoy the fresh air and this summer I'll be able to do just that! 

4. Pets

Isn't he the cutest thing?

My long desire for a dog may soon be fulfilled! Allowing pets was one of the main things we were looking for in the next place. Michael and I tend to disagree on what dog to get. I'm a big fan of large dogs whereas Michael likes the smaller ones. However, we've both have agreed on a sheltie. Michael grew up with having a sheltie and I just adore the cuteness!