I <3 Cashew Chicken (and other things...)

Friends: My dear friend Abi got married on Saturday (May 2) - and her and Kyle's wedding was fabulous and fit them so well. It was great to see a bunch of friends from college too! I wish them every happiness.

Fun: This is going to sound incredibly dorky, but I had a little excitement Sunday afternoon...I took my car through the carwash. I haven't gone through the automatic carwash in years, and I've never taken my own car through one. But the weather was sunny, the line was short, and there was a $2 off deal if you bought gasoline. I remember being a little kid and thinking the carwash was pretty stinkin' awesome...which it is.

Part of the reason I ended up going through the carwash was because my normal method of getting the car washed proved ineffective over the weekend - Josie, who's usually up for making a few bucks, said she was "too tired and lazy" to do the job this time around. : ) I could have done it myself when I got back to the apartment, but as far as I can tell, there's no place to hook up a hose at the building.

Food: Last night I got low-censused for the last four hours of work, so I made cashew chicken. This is one of my most favorite dishes and I love bringing it for a potluck. Although I have a recipe to make it from scratch, I've come to discover that dressing up a Wanchai Ferry kit from the grocery store works even better! I'm going to be in big trouble if General Mills ever quits making them...

Ingredients:

1 Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken kit

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons diced garlic

2 green bell peppers, sliced

Oil

1 can pineapple chunks, well-drained

Extra cashews, if desired (I always desire them!)

Lots of rice

Here you can see what the Wanchai Ferry kit looks like - you can find it in the Asian foods aisle. The rice in the kit is typical white rice (not Minute rice), so you can mix it with long-grain rice if you need more.

Get your rice going first - I cook mine in a rice cooker. Trust me, investing in one of those babies is so, so worth it - and you won't have to invest much. If you don't eat a lot of rice, you can always use it to steam veggies.


Next, stir fry the onion, garlic, and peppers in about 1 Tablespoon of oil until tender, then set aside. I like using a wok, but mine is getting junky...I ended up using a non-stick skillet for the rest of this recipe.



Mix the cubed chicken with the cornstarch in the kit, then stir fry it in another 1 Tablespoon of oil until it's cooked through. Add cashews, then the pineapple, and stir it around a few times. Reduce the heat and add the vegetables.



Yum! Add the cashew sauce packet and 1/2 cup of water, then simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, grab a plate of rice, and enjoy!!!