Baked Honey Sesame Chicken

This chicken recipe is so good it became an instant hit! I found it at therecipecritic.com and only made one modification (sucanat for brown sugar). Yum!

Baked Honey Sesame Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 c. cornstarch
3 eggs
salt and pepper
1/4 c. canola oil

Sauce:
1/2 c. honey
3/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. sucanat (or raw sugar)

1/2 c. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tb. cornstarch
sesame seeds for garnish (omitted this time, but I want to use them next time)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture. Can also put chicken pieces in gallon size bag and shake to coat.

Heat canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place chicken in 9 x 13 greased baking dish.

In medium sized mixing bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, sucanat, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and 1 Tb. cornstarch. Pour over chicken and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Stir chicken every 15 minutes to coat with sauce.

Budget Saver Tip #37: Paperback Swap

It's been ages since I wrote a budget saver tip! This tip is something I've been enjoying the last several months but first learned of years ago. (And if you're not a bookworm, like I am, this tip won't do you much good. Although, you could always pass it along to someone else...)

My family has always been a regular patron of the local library and I hardly ever bought books until recently. Now my library is farther away and often doesn't have the books I need right on the shelves--and I don't always plan ahead to order in what I want (because sometimes it's fun just to browse). It's been a bit frustrating. However, my city also has a lot more yard sales than where I've lived previously--and better quality yard sales--so I've been picking up books in great condition that I already know are excellent to add to my family's collection. I've found many, many great books this way for 25 cents to $1 (I don't typically buy them if they're more than that) and often use them as Christmas and birthday presents. Now, I'm not one for collecting things and I regularly purge our house of things we haven't used/worn/missed for the past year, but books are my exception. Because books bring me such pleasure, can be read with other family members (which equals quality time), and can be read over and over, I consider them an investment, not something that just takes up space.

So here's where Paperback Swap comes in. At the aforementioned yard sales, I've started my family's collection of some of my favorite series. But I can't always find every book in the series at the same time. So I joined Paperback Swap to see if they had some of the ones I was missing. They did! And they have a system set up so you can add books to your wish list and then when they show up, you get an email notification so you can order it while it's available. Slowly but surely I'm completing our collection of a few different series (as well as other well-desired books).

For those of us on a tight budget, here's the nice thing: There is no charge for joining Paperback Swap. All you have to do is offer 10 books on the system--and most books are accepted as long as they're in good condition. When my mom and I scrounged around for books we had but didn't want or need anymore, we easily came up with enough to get me started. Once you've posted your 10 books, you get two free book credits to use immediately. And one book credit is good for one free book! By the way, Paperback Swap also has textbooks, audiobooks, and DVDs, and they have hardback books as well as paperbacks. So if your experience is like mine, you'll post your 10 books online, request two free books to be sent to you, and while you're waiting for them, other members will start requesting the books you've posted. Then, you just have to package those books, take them to the post office, and pay postage (which is usually under $3 each). Once the recipients receive the books you sent, you receive one credit per book and can order more books! It's a wonderful cycle that I have had a lot of fun with, and from a monetary standpoint it has been worth it for me to be part of.

Italian Pasta Salad

I first fell in love with this salad about three years ago, but forgot about it over the past year. Last night I finally made it again and it was lovely. There is just no substitute for fresh basil! Here is a revamped version of the recipe, updated with pictures:

Original post 6/11-- During the summer I seem to be drawn more toward pasta salads than at any other time of the year. Maybe it's the fact that they can be prepared without heating up the oven (and the house), or that they can be eaten cold. Whatever the case, I know I'm not alone in this summertime trend.

In my search for a new pasta salad recipe last week, I found this one at Disneyfamily.com. I changed a couple things to make it a little more kid-friendly, and I thought it was superb. Especially with the fresh basil from our garden...!

Italian Pasta Salad

1 pound dried pasta shapes (fusilli, orecchiette, penne)--I use whole wheat pasta, whatever variety
2 pounds tomatoes (around 6 medium) roughly diced
1/2 to 1 pound fresh, water-packed mozzarella, cubed--I just used regular mozzarella
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar--I used 1/8 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil--I used less than this the first night we ate it, but on leftover night I had to add a bit more, since it had gotten a bit dry
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. kosher salt (or half as much table salt)--I use Real Salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 packed cup basil leaves, washed, spun dry, and slivered
1/3 c. toasted pine nuts--I've never had these to add to the recipe, but I'm sure they would be good

Cook pasta until just done.

Meanwhile, prepare tomatoes and cheese and put them in very large bowl. 

Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, garlic, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper to taste; mayo will help keep oil and vinegar from separating.

Drain hot pasta and shake dry, then add to bowl with cheese and tomatoes and stir with
rubber spatula to combine. (I let my pasta cool for a while before mixing it with other ingredients.)

Add about half the dressing, stir again, then fold in basil and pine nuts. 

Now taste pasta, and add more dressing and salt, if needed. If you have time, cover it and let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so to let flavors blend and to let pasta absorb some of the juice that will come out of the tomatoes. Taste just before serving and re-season as necessary. (Original recipe says not to refrigerate because it might change consistency of pasta, etc, but the second time around, I thought it was almost as good as the first time.)

Fresh Fruit: Good for your Tongue AND your Heart

Truly, is there anything better than fresh fruit, in season? Now that our peach and nectarine season is past (one of my favorite parts of summer), we're into pear season. And oh, are they delectable! 

They're such gorgeous, curvy fruit, especially when they're just beginning to develop a blush. I just couldn't resist doing a photo shoot. :)

Almost too pretty to eat... Almost.

Oh, and then there are the fresh grapes, cantaloupe, other melons, etc. Yum!

If taste and beauty aren't enough, the health benefits of eating fruit should be! A new study from the UK states that when it comes to fruit, "Scientists have found that consuming a portion and a half can lower the chances of suffering the deadly condition [heart disease] by up to 40 per cent. And the more fruit you eat the better--with the benefits increasing as servings grow."

Not only that, but "the researchers also found that people who consumed fruit more often had significantly lower blood pressure."

"This study adds to the growing body of evidence that shows the more fruit and vegetables we eat the better our heart health. Even eating just one more portion a day helped lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, which should give us all that extra incentive." (link)