Channeling Jessie Spano

To quote Ms. Spano:

There’s NO time! There’s NEVER. ANY. TIME!

Remember Jessie’s caffeine pill addiction?? I remember thinking it was SO SCANDALOUS!! I was very…sheltered…when I was young.

Seriously though, between a Mom walk and 45 minute yoga sesh, there was just no time for blogging this morning. Though, instead of caffeinated pills, I turned to a caffeinated beverage from Starbys as a pick me up on my way to work. A more practical choice, no? Who was your favorite Saved by the Bell character? 

Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much anyways. Oh wait, yes you did – I brought some Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal for breakfast!!

I have been very vigilant in checking the cereal aisle at the grocery store just waiting for this pup to go on sale. I LOVE IT SO MUCH, but a box usually costs $3.50+. Ummm, not happening. I swooped one up when it was $2.99 this weekend though, and have been crunching on it ever since!

I seriously felt so awful eating it at work today. IT. IS. SO.CRUNCHY. Literally one of the crunchiest foods I have ever eaten. I’ll dine at home next time, and save all my co-workers’ sanity!

Lunch was a pretty standard peanut butter sandwich on a thin bun. You know what a PB sandwich looks like, don’t ya?!

Dinner was undeniably the star of the day – Chicken & Vegetable Satay!

The star was this Satay Partay simmer sauce from Tasty Bite.  

Remember when I tried their Good Korma sauce?

Ben and I both fell in love with it, so we were anxious to try another flavor from their line of simmer sauces.

I’ve never met a peanut sauce I didn’t like, so I knew this peanut, lemongrass & coconut based simmah sawce was going to be right up my ally.

First, some prep work!

I cooked up a cup of brown rice in a pot on the stove.

Rice Cooking Tip: A lot of times when I’m cooking rice, my ill fitting pot lid lets starchy bubbles escape, which then turn to liquid and trickle down the side of the pot. Then the liquid burns and crusts on the stovetop! No good. Today I solved my little problem by getting a little gangsta. I gave my pot a doo rag! This is just a rolled up kitchen towel, wrapped around the lid/pot seal and secured with a clothes pin. Problem solved!

While the rice cooked, I chopped up some chicken and zucchini/squash,  

and cooked them up separately on the stovetop in a little extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

When everything was cooked, I added it all back into the pot with the simmer sauce and recommended 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, and…

Presto – Satay Partay!!!

My trusty 1001 Foods To Die For book informs me that chicken satay is a staple finger food throughout Southeast Asia where meat is cut into bite-sized pieces and marinated in spices. The marinated pieces are threaded onto bamboo skewers, grilled over a charcoal fire, and served immediately with their contrasting dipping sauce.

The dipping sauces vary from country to country and region to region, but the best known are made from peanuts. YUM!!

This particular dipping simmer sauce was out of this world!

Slightly sweet, and not too peanutty. I actually could have used a little more peanut kick, but Ben thought it was perfect. He requested that I make this weekly!

Seeing as how the sauce packet costs $2.50 and the whole dinner takes, oh, 20 minutes to make – I think I can make that happen.

The tender chicken pieces and zucchini slices melted into the savory sauce, which I also mixed my rice into. Normally I am a NO MIX kind of gal – I like to keep my rice and sauce completely separate, thank you very much – but I was noat about to waste a drop of this stuff!

So fab! Look for this sauce the next time you go to the store – you’ll love it!

Well, my husband has invited me out on a mini date to the gas station, then out to get a treat. How romantic…? Hehe just kidding, he really does have to fill up his gas tank and then I think we might venture near an ice cream parlor.

I WILL be back in time for LOST though. For some reason I am so excited for tonight’s episode even though I know I won’t have a clue as to what’s going on!

C. U.!

~~~~~

What teeny-bopper shows did you used to watch? Saved by the Bell, Melrose Place, 90210?

I swear I have every line of every SBTB episode ever made!!!

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