Make your own takeout
Hi friends! Howโs your day going?
Huge congratulations to my friends who ran the Boston Marathon this morning! Did you, or anyone you know, run today?? Iโm so so excited for Sarah, Tina, Janae and Kristin; you are amazing. <3
itโs been an interesting afternoon over here. The Pilot is home sick with food poisoning -I hate that he feels so terrible- and my eyes are bothering me, so Iโm in glasses while tears run down my face. Letโs see how spin class goes haha.
At least breakfast was a win,
(oat banana blender pancakes!)
BODYPUMP was a beast -a fun beast, but Iโm always so sore after a new release!- and Liv and I had a great morning together at her gymnastics class, hitting up Better Buzz and making Play Doh sculptures outside.
Dinner was pretty glorious last night, too. ๐
Iโve been really hankering for Chinese food lately, so I added cashew chicken to this weekโs meal plan. Itโs so easy to make, often using ingredients we already have on-hand, and a healthier version of takeout. While getting takeout is always fun, it is nice to have a say in the ingredients and sodium content of your food. Hereโs the quick recipe if you want to give it a try! We also had some not-fried quinoa, which Liv surprisingly LOVED. Note to make it more often!
(A super informal recipe; this how I cook at home for most of our meals)
-Cut one pack of chicken thighs into cubes and season well with salt and pepper
-Start the quinoa (rinse and boil in water. I did 1 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cups water)
-Make the sauce with 1/4 cup Tamari, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, salt, pepper, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce and 1 tablespoon honey
-Brown the chicken on medium in a little olive oil. When itโs almost finished cooking, add the sauce (as much as needed to coat the chicken) and take the heat down the low. Stir occasionally while you do the quinoa.
-Drain the quinoa, and in a medium pan, heat some stir fry veggies on high (I used half of a frozen mix from TJs). When theyโre crisp, add the quinoa back to the pan and move to the side. Crack an egg into the side of the pan and use your spoon to scramble it into the quinoa. Season well with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a splash of Tamari.
-Stir some raw cashews into the chicken (and more sauce if needed) and sprinkle with chopped green onions if youโd like!
Our little heirloom tomato plant is started to grow tiny tomatoes! I canโt wait to until theyโre ready to harvestโฆ caprese and bruschetta all summer long.
Just because this post is already random, some more eats from lately:
(Cilantro-lime shrimp for taco night! I just sautรฉed some garlic in olive oil, added the shrimp and seasoned well with salt and pepper. Before they were almost finished cooking, about 1-2 minutes per side, I added the zest and juice of one lime and some cilantro just before serving. We added them to our corn tortillas with lettuce, guacamole and salsa. Perfection.)
(cheese board to go! We had a picnic date with friends, so I packed up some manchego, goat cheese, dates, dried cherries, medjool dates, sliced pear -with lemon juice so it didnโt brown- and drizzled with honey. + Maryโs crack, hummus, and fruit crushers for the kiddos on the side.)
and Sephora finds! The VIB sale ends tomorrow, so I picked up a couple of necessities this weekend. (My Sephora impulse-buy-stopper was with me, who rightfully wants to smell and touch everything. So we smell a few pretty things and get out of there as quickly as possible.)
Beloved BB cream, argan oil light (this size is awesome for travel) and a new bronzer compact.
Whatโs your favorite takeout meal to make at home? Any awesome recipes to share?? What was on the workout plan today?
Hope you have a lovely night!
xoxo
Gina
New post on the Family page here!
Workout challenge: a barre burn to sweat and shake. Give it a whirl before bed!
That cashew chicken “takeout” sounds so yum! “Throwing” things together is how most of our dinners are. Love keeping it simple and tasty!
Those pancakes look so good. Sorry to hear about Tom. I came down with food poisoning this past Thursday night and didn’t start eating real food til Sunday afternoon. I ate a bad egg (floater, hard boiled. It was the worst)= and now I never want to touch an egg again. Ginger capsules, kombucha, garlic, activated charcoal and eaters digest tea helped me a lot!
Oh no I hope the pilot feels better soon!
The cashew chicken looks amazing! I like making quesadillas at home because I hope they are a little healthier!
Anything by Rachel Ray is a takeout winner in my book. We don’t make it nearly enough, but you’re absolutely right that it’s nice just to make a home cooked meal that tastes like takeout. I love Cashew Chicken. it’s amazing.
Is it just me, or does everyone make a huge mess when cooking quinoa?? First, I can never rinse it correctly. I use a mesh colander and every time the little quinoa pieces get stuck in it! Then somehow I always spill the little kernels when I’m putting them into the pan to cook. It is a little ridiculous. Any tips on rinsing it without making a mess? =)
Also, is it just me or do dates remind anyone else of a cockroach? I just cant bring myself to buy or eat them because of it! Maybe it is because I live in Texas and our waterbugs/cockroaches are ginormous?
To end on a not gross note, congrats on the pregnancy! I started following your blog when I was pregnant the beginning of last year, had a miscarriage, and then got pregnant pretty quickly after. Reading about your pregnancy with Liv really helped calm my nerves and provided so much information. My little one is now 3 months old and I love reading about your family!
Ugh, sorry that the Pilot is feeling so crummy! Hope he’s doing better. No fun!
On a happier note, that cashew chicken looks delicious – I think I may make that for dinner tonight. Thanks for the recipe ๐
thank you <3
let me know if you try it!
That’s my faaaaaaav BB cream. So light (I have oily skin), and the perfect amount of tint to rock on “no-makeup” days so I can avoid the look-like-death look.
yes! i use it like foundation. just enough coverage without being clowntastic
Thanks for sharing this! I’m dying to try your (not)fried quinoa! Such a creative spin-off of Chinese fried rice.
Made the cashew chicken tonight and it was great! So easy (minus the rinsing of the quinoa–I echo the other comment on how impossible it is to do this without making a huge mess) and so delicious! Thanks for the recipe!