Recipe of the Week: Chicken Fried Rice

Woo-hoo! I love this recipe concocted from a basic plan I found in Parents magazine and my own additions. It's easy, healthy, can be made-ahead (Todd, are you reading this?) and tastes like takeout. It's a trifecta perfecta! Here are the star ingredients:



And here's the recipe:

Heat 2 T. peanut oil in a large skillet and add 3 – 4 c. cooked brown rice that’s been chilled a few hours. (I make the rice the night before, cover and put in the fridge.)

Once the rice begins to brown, add 1 c. chopped cooked chicken (I like to poach several chicken breasts at once, wrap individually and freeze for recipes like this and 1 c. frozen peas.

Stir in 2 T. light soy sauce and 1 T. dark sesame oil. (I have also added some chopped green onion at this stage, too, but you don't have to. It's good either way.)

While this mixture is heating through, whisk one egg then add to the skillet, stirring constantly so that the little scrambled bits get incorporated.

Fortune cookies optional.

This is a great recipe for little ones learning to eat table food, as well as big kids. Add some baby carrots and a dish of mandarin oranges to make a whole meal.

Project Progress: Baby Steps

For those of you who read this blog regularly (all 3 of you), I thought I'd update you on the status of our projects around here. Things tend to move at a snail's pace because of that little job of raising a family, but we have made a few baby steps in the name of progress. Here's an updated list of half-done stuff:

I've got 4 1 (yes, 4 1!) lamps that I'm trying to refab...I bought one for our console table, made one into a vase, and put a ruffled lampshade on another. I'm still afraid to plug in the fourth. Read the sad story here.



Our entryway still needs the rest of its base molding, a new closet door, paint, a new light fixture...and I've got a mirror in the basement that's crying out to be hung, but why do that until I've painted?

I've started painting painted the cabinetry in our upstairs bathroom but haven't finished. now I just have to rehang the doors and find hardware I like for the wall cabinet.

I've got paint chips taped to the walls in 3 out of the 6 spaces just one room downstairs but can't seem to decide on anything. My mom helped me paint the family room so I just have to finish the foyer wall that extends into the living room. The dining room and kitchen are a whole 'nother story.



The girls' artwork is A MESS and it's EVERYwhere. I'm trying to figure out a bulletin board wall for our youngest and an art station for our oldest. I've got fabric tacked up on walls, half the items I need for the art station, and old frames that need spray painted. I did buy the spray paint, but now I'm not sure I like the color. One step forward, two steps back...Well, the addendum to this is that the artwork is still everywhere but it's no longer a mess in our oldest daughter's room because of this:



But I still don't have a bulletin board system figured out for our youngest.

While we're priming the built-in in our entryway, I should really just prime the fireplace, right? Or is that starting another project before I'm ready? (The answer is yes, and I'm not ready, so I've resisted the urge.)

Artwork is only propped in our family room...I've got ideas for hanging some but I should paint first, right? (Yes, and I have! See above...I have purchased some things, and actually plan on hanging them today.)

Our family room desperately no longer needs curtains! Love them! Thanks, Mom!



I've got wallpaper ideas for our half-bath bookmarked online, but (still) haven't committed.

And I haven't even talked about our dining room! Egads! It's (still) hilariously half-done, and that's overstating. It has a table, folks, and that's about it, but I have hung up some pictures! (Pictures of pictures to come in a later post).

So there you have it. We're seeing some progress, but you know I still have a list a mile long. I hope to have the foyer painted and more artwork hung before Easter. We'll see!

Craft of the Week: Jute-Wrapped Initial

I've been seeing these jute-wrapped initials lately on Pinterest and such, and just think they seem so simple and chic. Here are some of my favorites:

This one is made into a door hanging by Embellished Living on Etsy.



From
Style Me Pretty...



Teal and Lime only wrapped the middle and painted the rest.



And finally, if you need a tutorial, Two-Twenty-One offers one here. Here's her "N."



Obviously, you'll wrap differently based on which letter you're doing, but anyway...it's a cute idea, no?