So excited for Christmas.

I’ve always struggled with making Chinese food, Thai food, really anything Asian. It always tasted the same, the sauce was never thick enough (one of Mike’s biggest pet peeves) and it certainly never tasted like it did in the restaurant. 

So, I had ruled it out. I decided I wasn’t going to make another Asian recipe until I learned a little more about how to cook it. Then, I came upon this recipe. Mike’s favorite Asian dish is sesame chicken, hands down. He rates Asian restaurants on whether or not they have sesame chicken on the menu. So far The Shanghai Bistro in Eau Claire holds the title for best sesame chicken.

This was good, in fact it made the make again list. Mike liked it, although it didn’t surpass Shanghai Bistro, I still consider it a success. 

One change for next time, make more. 

 

My whole family is coming for Christmas, arriving tomorrow and Saturday and I’m SO excited. In preparation for our house guests I made granola tonight too. I make this a lot, I love it and I love having granola for breakfast. It’s my sisters recipe and it’s awesome. And Mike loves it too. Here’s the recipe:

6 cups oats

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup pumpkin seeds (raw, not roasted or salted)

1/4 cup ground flax seed (optional, but very good for you)

 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

Dried fruit of your choice (optional) – I usually odd some dried cranberries

Add oats, almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, flax, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir. Add oil, honey and sugar to a small saucepan and stir. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and add vanilla, watch out the vanilla causes it to boil up. Pour onto two cookie sheets lined with tinfoil or parchment  paper. Bake for 40 minutes at 300 degrees. Allow to completely cool before putting it into containers. And as my sister says pat yourself on the back because you just made homemade granola. 
 

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