Snow Day Stir-Fry and Cupcakes

For over a week, meteorologists predicted an intense snowstorm forming on the East coast during the first week of March. Every map and storm projection showed that the hardest hit area would be through the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, aka Home Sweet Home, with predictions of 18-20+ inches. I began checking the weather multiple times every day and found myself giddy at the thought of an actual BIG snowstorm and the possibility of a few final snow days from school.


The storm was supposed to begin Tuesday night and continue through Wednesday evening. After hours of waiting for some snow to begin Tuesday evening, I went to bed disappointed that once again the meteorologists had been wrong.  Resorting to the fact that we would in fact have school on Wednesday, I set my 5:45 alarm and fell asleep.

When I woke on Wednesday morning, I was thrilled to find several inches of snow on the ground. The evergreen trees were layered in billowing pillows of fluff, and the entire town was filled with silence. Baxter, our 3-month-old kitten, sat in the window cooing at the falling flakes.  I stepped out of bed and had an overwhelming urge to clean the house and when finished, sit beside the window with a cup of coffee and my Kindle.

Halfway through my second load of laundry, I realized that what I wanted to do even more was bake. Something about snow days always turns me into a little Betty Crocker.  I had laid out some chicken to thaw a few days ago and needed to use it. As I was looking through the pantry, I stumbled upon a cake mix we bought several months ago.  It's new from Pillsbury: Sugar-Free Classic Yellow Cake (found here).  The possibilities of what I could make started running through my mind--lemon cake, strawberry, raspberry, spice, maple. I finally settled on cupcakes, keeping the cake mix plain and making some lemon icing (found here).

Please excuse the bad icing job--this was done quickly with a zip-lock bag as my piper

While waiting for the cupcakes to cool, I decided on one of my all-time favorite recipes for dinner: Chicken Stir-Fry.  This is one of the easiest recipes I know how to make and can be changed to fit anyone's preferences. I generally switch between chicken breast and smoked sausage for the meat, but if you prefer shrimp or even vegetarian, it would work just fine.

Stir-Fry--
Ingredients:
1 Bag Stir-Fry Vegetables (I generally buy the generic store brand)
1 lb chicken breast, cubed -or- 1 pkg smoked sausage -or- your choice of meat (optional)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cups pasta (optional)

Directions:
1. If you're making pasta to go with your stir-fry, put the water on to boil.  Once it comes to a boil, cook until done.
2.  Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in large skillet or wok on medium-high heat. While the oil is heating, cut the meat into bite-size pieces.  Add the meat to the hot oil and cook until lightly browned and meat is no longer raw.
3.  Add the frozen vegetables to the skillet with the meat and cook until warmed but not mushy.  As vegetables are thawing, add the tablespoon of soy sauce to the skillet and cook for about 5-10 more minutes.
4.  Serve while warm and enjoy!

Nom!

 One final picture for the day--
I swear JellyBean never leaves the bed.