Progressive Dinner

For tonight's post I've decided to do what I'm calling a "progressive post." The idea is I'm going to try and make dinner, take pictures of the cooking process, and describe it all to you live! This should be pretty awesome since I am known for my extraordinary culinary skills including, but not limited to, my amazing toaster proficiencies! I know. You're jealous, right? I can make a MEAN piece of toast and sometimes even a pop tart!
BAM! (channeling Emeril)

(This may be the last time you see my house as it might burn down during the course of this ambitious endeavor, but I do have fire insurance, so I'm willing to take the risk. )

Here we go:
Tonight I will attempt to make P-ta's Stir Fry.

Step 1: Open a bottle of wine, turn-on some music, and open a snack of some sort. I'm going with Sutter Home's White Merlot and Garden of Eatin' Greek Isle pita chips (made with organic wheat). I'm currently listening to a local radio station that is playing Def Lepard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" which actually seems right for cooking. All's well so far.

OK. Note 1: I DO NOT recommend the pita chip/White Merlot combo. SO GROSS! However, that has not stopped my consumption of either.

Step 2: Pull hair back into a clippy of some sort and wear shoes in the kitchen. You learn this in Food Handling 101, people.. and yes. I did take that course when I ironically worked at the healthy food store which turned into a BBQ place (I heart Texas!).

Step 3: WASH YOUR HANDS! for the love of God.

Step 4: Break out the ingredients:
1. One package of chicken tenders(cleaned with a lemon) OR if you're a vegetarian, substitute with tofu or another veg- whatever's your poison.
2. Organic yellow squash
3. Not organic zucchini (b/c the organic zucchini was looking exceptionally pitiful at the store)
4. One of each of the following:
-red bell pepper
-green bell pepper
-orange bell pepper (all organic. I am making a point of saying organic to try and impress Fougs with all of my organic awesomeness today)
5. Carrots
6. Teriyaki sauce (I chose Kikkoman Less Sodium because the bottle is orange and I totally dig things that are orange.)
7. Rice (I use Uncle Ben's Boil in a Bag rice because it's easiest.)

Step 5: Rinse and chop everything except for the sauce and the rice (duh!).
Tip: Start with the chicken so that can be cooking as you chop the veggies. Be careful not to cross contaminate!!! For me, that means over sanitizing with kitchen cleaner. I pretty much have to take a shower in between the chicken and the veggies.

Step 6: In a large skillet, add chicken covered in a light layer of Teriyaki sauce. Cook on Medium heat as you chop the other veggies.

Step 7: Cut the "thick" veggies first since they need longer in the skillet to soften. That means carrots, peppers, then squash.

Note 2: If your mom calls during the cooking/blogging/picture taking, talk to her! My mom is especially awesome, so that was fun! I LOVE you Mom!!!

Step 8: When the chicken is cooked, add the veggies into the same skillet one by one (until each has a chance to get a little bit soft) and another layer of sauce.

Step 9: Make the rice (according to the directions on the box:) )

Step 10: If you are not full on snacks or DRUNK by the time the stir fry is ready (which I am not), ENJOY! (Music is still on: Gwen Stefani's remake of "It's My Life" is especially appropriate as I taste the final product. I love this remake!)

All this AND I did a load of laundry! The Wonder Woman underoos certainly paid off!
(and if things didn't go according to plan, you can always order a pizza... there's no shame in ordering pizza)