Humble Blog Beginnings

My friends recently coerced me into beginning another blog. My previous attempt, if I may grant myself these adjectives, was witty and fun, but relatively short lived. Alas, to my disappointment, http://www.how-merlot-can-you-go.blogspot.com/ did not catapult me into a state of fame and fortune where my career solely consisted of traveling to exotic winery locations and receiving a hefty pay check to divulge in unlimited free libations of the tastiest sort. Our winery hopping days have come to a halt since an eventful 2010 where we had an engagement, pre-deployment work ups, wedding, deployment, and three Xanex-inducing moves. We've settled into married life in Hubert, NC and I've settled into a love that rivals that of wine: cooking.
I've always loved to cook. Okay, that's a lie. In high school I managed to catch the kitchen on fire. To this day, I still blame the author of this recipe. I followed her explicit directions! Heat pan over high: check. Put butter in: check. What Martha Stewart failed to explain was that one should not go straighten your hair during the high heat - insert butter interval. Well, move over, Martha, I've learned a few things since then.
Through this blog, I hope to diligently,and sometime drunkenly recall my recipes of that day or week. Some will be my own. Some will be borrowed (I'll reluctantly give credit where credit is due) ... Some will be delicious. Some will be inedible unless, you, too, on your 3rd bottle of your Wine-of-the-Month club. Regardless of the outcome I hope you enjoy.





















Orange Chicken and Shrimp with Parsley Brown Rice

2 small chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and devained
1/2 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed & cut into thirds
1 bunch scallions, ends trimmed & cut into thirds
1 cup Ken's Asian Sesame salad dressing
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp soy Sauce
1 tblsp oyster Sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade

2 cups quick cook brown rice
1/2 cup fresh parsley, rough chopped.

1. Marinade chicken and shrimp in seperate bowls in the salad dressing for 30 minutes - 1 hour
2. Heat butter in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Saute chicken 1-2 minutes per side until browned.
3. Add scallions and saute for 2 minutes stirring frequently.
4. Add asparagus and cook for 2 additional minutes stirring frequently.
5. Add shrimp, marmalade, soy, and oyster sauces.
6. Cook until shrimp are pink and sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Stir in parsely to finished rice. Serve the chicken and shrimp over the rice, spooning extra sauce over the dish.

Serves 4

Or in my case with my Arnold-esque, strong-man aspiring husband 2 ;)