Deeeeeelicious Dinner!

I made a new recipe last night, Empress Chicken, from my 365 Ways to Cook Chicken recipe book. It was awesome. While Jim ate he kept going, "Mmm. Mmm." He said I could make it again. Here's the recipe.


1/4 c. soy sauce
1 T. dry sherry
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 t. grated fresh ginger (I used the stuff in a tube)
1 T. Sesame Oil
1 t. anise seed (I didn't put that much in because it is a really strong spice)
1/4 t. Chinese 5-Spice (I actually added a bit more)
1/4 - 1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
2-3 boneless chicken breasts
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. cold water


1. Combine first 8 ingredients in bowl. Add chicken and marinate 15-30 minutes.
2. In medium-sized saucepan, bring 2 cups water to boil. Add chicken with marinate. Reduce heat to low and poach chicken, turning occasionally (15 minutes). Remove chicken and set aside.
3. Boil poaching liquid until reduced by half. Add dissolved cornstarch and stir until thick. Slice chicken thin. Pour sauce over slices.


I mixed the chicken with sugar snap peas and served over rice. It would be good with broccoli or snow peas (though I hate these) too I think. Try it!


Okay - I'm off to school. Yesterday is forgotten. Well, I'm not going to let it bother me anymore.

Oh, I had a dream that I left Jim and got an apartment in Clifton (you know, at the bottom of MLK - at the Forum - the apartment building where all the college kids live - Ugh!!!). I was there less than a night and I called Jim and told him I had made a mistake. Thank God he took me back. In the meantime, however, I had an apartment that I had signed a lease for. So, Kristyn decided to use it. Not to live but to store all her pictures. Apparently she had about 100 boxes of pictures that she had nowhere to put. Problem solved! Oh, and some of the pictures were "Arbaugh" pictures that she had snaked from us. Going through the albums, I found my class pictures from Mercy - specifically the one of me in a green jumper with a white turtle neck sweater under, short hair and lips the size of Gibraltar because they were chapped beyond recognition. This is an actual picture. I think I was about 7 or 8. It's funny I dreamt about it.


K - must scat. Jim's not home yet so I have to get the kids all tucked in etc. Later.