1968 Camaro

Sooo, this is a post from my point of view, not my husband's.. I'm sure we have very different views on this.  For 5 or 6 years he has been restoring a 1968 Camaro, and it has been a headache to say the least.  Well, after all this time he now has a gorgeous car.

So where did it all start?!

He bought it over eBay while he was in Iraq in 2006 or 2007.  Actually, I think my brother-in-law actually hit "purchase".  The guy who sold it to him found out that he was in Iraq and was nice enough to drive it across the country free of charge.

Dave's dad and the Camaro

Dave got back home and had spent so much time away from home that he decided to pay someone to do the restoration.  They started with a small budget and then after enough time on ProTouring.com (don't ever let your husband start looking there..) his dreams got bigger and bigger and bigger... and.. you get the point. 

And then.. it was stripped down to nothing, with lots of views of this (I'm thinking 3 years?)

Well, during the time of waiting for the car to be done.. Dave has:

• come home from Iraq
• gotten his MBA
• during which he had an internship and met... me!
• got engaged
• got married (and been married over a year)
• got a job and worked there for 3.5 years
• bought a house
• adopted 3 dogs
• become a troop commander

but best of all.. after all of that ... he now has his dream car!!!  And it's soo worth it, I think...

and even better.. it won Builder's Choice at Good Guy's in Des Moines Iowa.

I think we should put on a tux and wedding dress and fake like it truly was our getaway car :)

Pollo a la Crema

I haven't blogged in forever!! Oops!  Well over the 4th I found out that my 2 readers (thanks mom and mother in law) have been checking for posts - so here it goes!

My absolutely favorite dish from back home is Pollo a la Crema from a Mexican Restaurant in Kansas City called Ixtapa.  I like the place sooo much that I even had my bridal shower there! 

I of course had it last time I was home and lucky for me they had a few more details on their menu so I was able to figure out how to recreate it!  I figured out it had chicken,  poblano peppers, white wine, cream of course, and then obviously onions and sometimes corn.  I then found this recipe and adapted from there!

So, you need

2 poblano peppers (2 if you like it spicy, 1 if you like it mild)
canola oil
1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup corn (frozen works great)
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 chicken breasts
salt/pepper

Start by charring the poblano peppers over your gas burner.  I just set them on the burner and then once brown moved them around until ALL sides are brown.

Then put it in a paper towel for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes remove the skin.

Then remove the inside seeds and dice them up.  Set to the side.

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in pan.

Dice half of yellow onion.

Add onion to the pan.

Mince garlic and add to pan.

Let brown for a few minutes.  Once it's good and brown add the corn, then add the wine.  (I like the cheap white wine in the little plastic bottles for cooking)

Let that simmer down.

Add 1/2 cup cream and poblano.

Let simmer.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Blend if you want.

While that simmers, salt and pepper the chicken breasts.

Dice them up.

Heat canola oil in a separate pan.

Cook the chicken.

Once the chicken is brown add to the cream sauce.  Stir together!!

YUMMY!!! I swear it's the same as Ixtapa's!! Yay!!

Serve with Mexican rice and beans and maybe even a tortilla!

Enjoy!!

Chicken Fried Rice and Benihana Mustard Sauce

There are two parts to this post, Dave's Chicken Fried Rice and... my newest addiction... Benihana's mustard sauce.  We go to Benihana (the Japanese steakhouse) wayy to many times and I think it all boils down to me wanting fried rice with mustard sauce.  So, we try to do it at home to save some money.


Dave's Chicken Fried Rice: 

Ingredients:

1 c. White Rice (Uncooked)

1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

¼ c.  Chopped green and / or Red Peppers

¼ c. Chopped Yellow and / or Green Onion

2 eggs

4 tbsp. Margarine

2 tbsp. Soybean oil (vegetable oil can be substituted)

4 Cloves of Garlic

1tsp. salt

2 tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 tbsp. Sesame Seed

Tips:

·        Tenderize the chicken with a mallet before dicing and cooking, this will make the chicken less tough once cooked.

·        Stir the rice only as often as you need to, otherwise the rice will become pasty or “gooey”.

·        Keep your stove turned up as hot as it will go until everything is mixed together and almost done cooking to prevent “soupy” fried rice. 

o   The high heat makes this a fast paced meal to cook but a lot of fun!

·        Be sure the vegetables are as dry as possible before adding them to the rice to prevent “soupy” or liquid fried rice.

·        Using two large skillets to cook with will bring the ingredients together at the right time. If you don’t want to use two skillets, cook the chicken and egg first then add the rice. (I don’t recommend this!)    

Directions:

1.  Boil rice in rice cooker or on stove top until done, allow to cool.

2.  Tenderize then dice chicken breast into bite size pieces.

3.  Mix cooked rice, peppers and onion in a large bowl. 

4.  Mix Margarine and 4 cloves of minced garlic in a separate small bowl. 

5.  In two separate large skillets heat 1 tbsp. (each) of oil on high heat; do not add ingredients until the oil is hot! 

6.  Add rice and veggies and salt to one of the skillets.  Allow the rice to brown in the oil turning infrequently.  (Approx. 1 to 2 min).

7.  In a separate skillet; brown the chicken and on the other side of the same skillet cook your eggs. (Keep them separate to allow the chicken to brown).

a.  Eggs: mix whites with yokes thoroughly and fry, chop when done. 

8.  Add Soy Sauce, sesame seed, margarine and garlic, to the rice, turn on high heat until well mixed but only as much as you have to!

9.  Add Rice mixture to the same skillet as the chicken and egg (once they are cooked), turn until well mixed….. but only as much as you have to!

10.      Allow everything to cook together for a few minutes and enjoy!

Now for my favorite part!

The mustard sauce...I found the recipe for my addiction here
Here's what you'll need:

1 tbsp Sesame seeds
3 tbsp Dry mustard
2 tbsp Hot water
3/4 cup Soy sauce
1 Garlic clove – crushed
3 tbsp Heavy cream – whipped

Toast the mustard seeds in a pan or in the oven.

Mix 3 T. dry mustard with 2 T. hot water until it makes a paste

Put the seeds in the food processor and pulse.  I probably should have done this, that's why mine are still whole.

Add the mustard paste.

Add 3/4 cup soy sauce.

Add a garlic clove.

Pulse until smooth.

Stir in 3 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.  I pour it over fried rice, dip veggies in it, put steak in it, basically I drink it.  Just kidding, I haven't done that... yet.