"He Cooks.....He Microwaves"

I love that my daughter never ceases to amuse me. She's been really into cooking lately - using works like chef, and cook, and all things related. It started when her dad jokingly told her she could work at McDonalds when she grew up. She was really excited by that possibility. So today during lunch she was talking about being a chef, and the following conversation took place between us:

"I love the food dad cooks."

"Dad cooks food?" He doesn't. Ever.

"Yea, he's the best chef."

"Really, what does he cook?"

"He cooks.....(thinking, thinking).......he microwaves!"

"He microwaves? What does he microwave?"

"Chinese."

"Oh, like the Chinese we get at a restaurant and bring home?"

"Yea, it's sooooo good."

I'm just glad she likes it.

Since I'm on this topic of food, particularly Chinese food - yesterday Quincy helped me make this recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken (and that's what we were eating during this conversation). It's really good. My mom thinks it's really easy - I think it takes a while but it's worth it.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

4-8 chicken breasts - boneless, skinless (I've tried 3 and 7, and think that 5 would probably be perfect).

1 beaten egg

cornstarch

oil

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1 cup vinegar

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Dip them in egg to coat. Dip them in cornstarch to coat. Cook them in a small about of oil until light tan ( ;) TerriLyn). Place them in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix all the rest of the ingredients together - sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir a little.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes.

Here's a pictures of The Girl helping me, I was kind of surprised, I would never touch raw meat until I got married and was forced into it.

I realize now that I am cementing the fact that this post is a jumble of only loosely related things. Oh, well, it's my blog, I can do that. Some day Quincy will love reading all these things about herself - I hope. Anyway, she said something today that reminded me of my dad. When I was a teenager, he referred to me as an "aggressive" driver. That's law enforcement man talk for someone who goes through tires and brakes quickly. I wasn't really aggressive as in mean, or road rage. I just liked to let my car exercise. I have received alot of tickets though. I've become of big fan of cruise control, but I call it ticket control. As a side note - sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't get out of a ticket by saying you are hurrying to the next bathroom - I think you have to have beads of sweat on your forehead to get away with it - so keep a spray bottle close. I think I have only received one ticket in the last four years (I've been a mom for four years too, that's probably why). Anyway, my dad became pretty good natured in his heckling me. One day I pulled into my parking spot while he was outside. He said something like "Were you just parking a car, or landing a jet?" That always makes me smile. Yesterday I was getting the kids in the car and after I buckled Quincy in, and while I was buckling myself she said out of the blue "Ready for takeoff!" Funny girl.