Chicken Fried

How many of you have that song stuck in your head right now??  It's one of our most favorites.  Of course, we're HUGE Zac Brown fans, so go figure :)  I always cringe a little when I hear my boys belt out the, "...cold beer on a Friday night..." part.  I like to tell them he's singing about Root Beer...as I enjoy my ice cold Miller Light ;)

  #parentingfail

This last week seems like a bit of a blur.  It was an absolute whirlwind to say the least.  This is the first time I've opened up my laptop since last Wednesday!!!  I drove to Oklahoma last week for a professional development training I was doing for the amazing teachers in/of Choctaw Nation.  Such a FUN time!!!!  Since the casino (where the training was held) was only an hour away from where I used to live, I decided to turn my work trip into a fun trip and stay Thursday night with some friends.  Then I headed to my old school in Allen to visit all my former students and co-workers.  Hands down, the best school in the Metroplex!!!  Goodness I miss my old school family!!!  And I sure do miss having my own classroom!

My boys and I have a pre-travel tradition.  Before I started traveling last October, my boys begged for me to snuggle up and take a lot of pictures with them so I wouldn't forget their faces.  Bless.  Now everytime I have to go out of town, I hop in their bed, snuggle up real close, and take a million "ussies".  We always end up in a fit of laughter by the time it's all said and done.

I finished up my visit with a stop by my most favorite bakery (under the guise that I needed to bring the boys back some treats).  But let's be real...the red velvet were ALL for me!!!   Society Bakery has my heart (but I'd like to return the extra 5 lbs. it gave to me :)

 #bestcupcakesinDallas

Right  before I headed back to Houston, I met up with my BFF and her sweet girl for chips and queso :)  The absolute BEST way to start a road trip!  I always wanted 3 boys.  We were blessed with two and I wouldn't trade their messy rooms and smelly feet for anything, but goodness... I would take this sweet girl home with me in a heartbeat.  Love her to pieces!!!

I got home just in time for #ALLTHERAIN.  Dear Lord.  Can we please divert it's path to California?!  PLEASE?!?!  I think I figured out why the raining won't let up....

I haven't had ice cream since Blue Bell closed it's doors.  SAD.

We're about 45 minutes east of Houston an even though it's rained an INSANE amount here (the other night from about 9:30 to 6:00 non-stop), we've managed to avoid a massive amount of flooding.  We haven't seen anything like our friends in Houston have seen.  This was what we woke up to the morning after the non-stop rain...really not as bad as I was expecting!!!  

Of course, lots of rain equals lots of mud and lots of mud equals this...

My parents are pretty close to one of the bayous in town.  They experienced some flooding in the areas surrounding them, but no damage to their house.  I am just sick for all of the people who have experienced so much worse!  My Aunt's sister-in-law lost EVERYTHING.  Her entire apartment flooded and her car went under, too.  She said it was all a total loss.  That's just one story of MANY.  If you think about it, would you add the people of Texas to your prayer list?!  Especially the people directly affected by this historic flooding!!!

In other news, our upstairs bathroom, bar, and door installation are pretty much complete!  After 5 weeks of being banned from the stairs, we can finally go up and enjoy the new-to-us space!!  Just a few more touch ups and little details, but at least it's all usable!

On the other hand, our master bath is definitely NOT.  UGH.  While I'm so grateful they were able to catch the problem before it got bigger, I'm anxious to have our bathroom back.  There used to be a storage closet in the bathroom (random) and everything that was being housed inside is now currently on the floor in our bedroom.  It's a hot mess.  

Now let's move onto a little chicken fried goodness.  I first tried Chinese food when I was in college.  I went to UNT in Denton (GO EAGLES!!!!) and I was taking a class that required us to bring in a sampling of food representing our culture.  One of the guys brought egg rolls.  I had never had one up to that point and I was hooked after my first bite.  There was a tiny little drive through Chinese restaurant about a mile from campus and I would visit it almost every week after sampling those egg rolls!  I eventually tried more Chinese fare and now I love it all.  My favorite staple....besides egg rolls...is chicken fried rice.  That little drive-thru in Denton had the best!!

I love to eat fried rice like nobody's business, but I know my waistline would prefer me to avoid it at all cost.  I decided to try out this healthier version in hopes it wouldn't leave me feeling so guilty after each bite and I think this one might just fit the bill!!!  While it's no Denton special, it's pretty delicious to say the least!

HEALTHY CHICKEN FRIED RICE

2 cups of brown rice, uncooked

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 small white onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced PLUS 2 more cloves of garlic, minced

Sea Salt and pepper

3 tsp. coconut oil PLUS 2 more tsp. of coconut oil

1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables, frozen

3-5 green onions, chopped

3 large eggs

Low-sodium soy sauce, to taste

This is a pretty simple meal to throw together and doesn't take much time from start to finish.  While my oldest turned up his nose and gagged his way through eating what we put on his plate, my youngest DEVOURED it.  As did my husband ( and me, too!) .  Note to self:   Focus on portion control. #thestruggleisreal

First up, let's go ahead and cook/steam your rice.  I'd love to give you some good tips on how to do this, but rice cooking is not my forte.  I prefer the boil-in-a-bag version.  So I used that instead :)

While the rice is cooking, cut your chicken into small cubes and season with sea salt and pepper. Go ahead and mince your garlic and chop your onion while you're at it.   Add 3 teaspoons of coconut oil to your skillet or wok and heat on medium/high.  When the oil is heated through, toss in the chicken, garlic, and chopped white onion.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (no more pink!!!).

Remove the chicken from the skillet/wok and...in the same pan...add 2 more teaspoons of coconut oil.  Give that just a second to heat up and then toss in your frozen veggies.  I like a variety of veggies in my fried rice, but you could always trade the mixed blend for just peas and carrots.  Let the veggies cook through...about 3-5 minutes...and then toss in the additional 2 cloves of minced garlic (mentioned in the ingredient list above).  Let that saute for a couple of minutes or until fragrant and then add the chopped green onion to the mix.  

Give your green onions a couple of minutes to satue as well and then toss in the eggs.  You will want to make sure you're constantly stirring and mixing so as to scramble the eggs thoroughly!!!  Once the eggs are scrambled, add the cooked rice and chicken to the pan.  

Stir all ingredients until well combined and turn heat to low.  Season the mixture with your low-sodium soy sauce. (You could also use Bragg's Liquid Aminos as a natural soy sauce alternative).   Let the mixture sit over low heat for about 5-10 minutes.  Serve and ENJOY!