Preparing for a Multi-Celebratory Family Dinner and the Weekly Menu

Our eldest son, Chuck, is on his way home form Virginia.  It has been 4 years since he has been home and we are celebrating.

Cashew Shrimp and the Weekly Menu

Welcome to February!!!  Tons of celebrations this month to ward off the winter doldrums, starting with Lunar New Year.  

This delicious and healthy Cashew Shrimp is perfect for a Fish Friday or a wonderful way to celebrate Chinese New Year. 

Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, Chinese Hot Pot, Sticky Wings and a Book Review

 Last night we celebrated Chinese Lantern Festival that concludes the Chinese New Year.  We had family dinner featuring a Hot Pot.

Woo Dip Harr #SundayFunday

We have been celebrating Chinese New Year for the past two weeks.  Today is the final day of celebration and we are having a party.  Let's start with a dish that was probably not invented or served in China but is commonly found on Chinese Menus here in the USA.

Woo Dip Harr is butterflied shrimp with bacon served over caramelized onions that are still slightly crisp. So Good!!!!

The Jungle Cruise Tiger Cake #MoviesandMunchies

What did this Lunar New Year and our Movies and Munchies film have in common? They both featured Tigers.  This Lunar New Year celebration had me baking up and serving a Tiger Cake for dessert.  

It was a busy time here on the farm and I never got a chance to share this tasty cake with you.  Ok, just use your imagination....this is supposed to look like tiger skin.

Tiger Salad (Laohu Cai) for Chinese New Year #SundayFunday

Hello Sunday Funday Friends.  Today we are sharing recipes to help you plan for your Chinese New Year celebration.  2022 is the Year of the Tiger so I am sharing with you Laohu Cai which translates to Tiger Vegetable.

Chinese New Year 2022 begins Tuesday, February 1st.  Much like our 12 Days of Christmas the Lunar New Year is celebrated for 15 days ending with the Lantern Festival on February 15th this year.

Easy Chicken Egg Rolls #SundayFunday

These egg rolls using leftover chicken and packaged cole slaw mix couldn't be easier or faster.  They are the perfect start to your Chinese New Year Celebration.

Join the Sunday Funday Bloggers as we share some of our favorite Chinese recipes.......

Lots of Family Time, Pork Fajitas and the Weekly Menu

We were blessed to have our second daughter, Nicole, over for lunch on Tuesday to celebrate her birthday.  Her birthday isn't until Sunday but she is the manager of a popular restaurant and since Michigan has been allowed to partially re-open, she is going to be busy.  We were pleased that she spent her only day off with us this past week.

Since it was Taco Tuesday I cooked up some Pulled Pork Fajitas that I am sharing with you today.  They were delicious.  The fresh mango topping was a breath of the tropics in February.  We normally are on a dive trip during February so I am craving and cooking foods that take me away.......

On Sunday we are having Jessica, Julien and Melody over for dinner.  Jessica has an early appointment on Monday so Melody is going to spend the night here. 

On Friday we are celebrating Chinese New Year.   2021 is the Year of the Ox.  That includes 1973, the year of Amy's birth, so the celebration is extra special this year.  Here is our Menu for this fun feast......

And here is the menu for the week....Do you celebrate Chinese New Year?  What is your favorite dish to serve?   You will find the Pulled Pork Fajita recipe following the Weekly Menu.......

Soup Saturday

Green Vegetable Minestrone

Italian Dinner Rolls

Sunday Supper

Salad

Mushroom Stroganoff

Double Coffee Bundt Cake

Meatless Monday

Cheese and Potato Pierogi

Kapusta (delete sausage)

Taco Tuesday

Chicken Enchiladas 

Wednesday

Turkey Burgers

Tater Tots

Thursday

Chili

Corn Bread

Fish Friday-Chinese New Year

See Menu posted above

Slow Cooker, Pork, Tacos, Fajitas,

Entrees, Pork, Slow Cooker

Mexican

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Wendy Klik

Slow Cooker Pork for Fajitas

Pork Shoulder Steaks seasoned and slow cooked to fall off the bone tenderness, served up on flour tortillas with a tomatillo salsa and fresh mango.

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 4 Hourinactive time: 3 H & 30 MTotal time: 7 H & 45 M

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder steaks, trimmed
• 1 t. chili powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 c. water, divided 
• 2 tomatillos, husked and chopped
• 1/4 onion, chopped 
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and cut in small dice
• 1 t. cilantro paste
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 12 flour tortillas (fajita size)
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Sour cream and Shredded Mexican Style Cheese, if desired

Instructions

1. Season the pork steaks with chili powder, salt and pepper.  Place in a slow cooker with 1/2 c. of water.  Cook on low for 4 hrs, until fork tender.
2. Place the tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, lime juice and 1/2 c. of water in a saucepan.  Place over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring occasionally until tomatillo and onion is tender and liquid is partially absorbed season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a bowl to cool.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet over med high heat. Cook each tortilla for a few seconds on each side until lightly browned and warmed through. Place into a towel lined basket to keep warm.
4. Remove the pork from the slow cooker, trim any remaining fat and remove bones.  Shred the pork and put into a bowl.
5. Pass the toritillas, pork, tomatillo salsa and mango to allow people to make as desired. 
6. I also placed sour cream and cheese on the table for those who wished to add it.  

Notes:

Adapted from a recipe found at Eating Well

Calories

699.05

Fat (grams)

28.16

Sat. Fat (grams)

9.62

Carbs (grams)

70.37

Fiber (grams)

4.83

Net carbs

65.54

Sugar (grams)

13.38

Protein (grams)

39.45

Sodium (milligrams)

666.60

Cholesterol (grams)

113.53

Similar Recipes

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

Honey Lime Chicken Fajitas

https://adayinthelifeonthefarm.blogspot.com/2021/02/lots-of-family-time-pork-fajitas-and.html

Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm

Created using The Recipes Generator

Happy Chinese New Year and The Weekly Menu

Today is the start of the Spring Festival.  Better known as Chinese New Year.  Just like Christmas is an entire season, so it Chinese New Year.  It starts with 8 days of Little Year followed by 11 days of Spring Festival and finishes with 4 days of Lantern Festival.

This year we are celebrating the Year of the Rat.  Thirteen years ago we were blessed with an exchange student from China.  She has gone back to China a few times for visits with her birth family but she has made us her family here in the United States.  If you are a regular visitor to this blog you know her as Tingting or Jessica, as she now calls herself.  She is our daughter and the mother of my Angel Face.

Cheers!! It's Chinese New Year #CooktheBooks #FoodnFlix

This quintessential celebratory cocktail, the Singapore Sling, is the perfect way to kick off Chinese New Year.

This cocktail was inspired by the book and movie Crazy Rich Asians, both of which are another perfect way to celebrate Chinese New Year.........

Chinese New Year 2018 Menu and an extended Weekly Menu

We arrived home from California late last night.  It was a wonderful whirlwind of a week.  We spent a lot of time with family and friends.

We spent time with our great nieces and nephews as often as we could.  We visited Avila Beach, San Simeon, and Morro Bay.  We went to wineries, restaurants and parks.  We walked every morning and had dinner with family and friends each evening.  It was a wonderful time and I look forward to returning next year.

But, as is always the case, I am very happy to be home.  I missed my dogs.  I missed my bed.  Most of all I missed my kids and my Little Miss Melody.

So we are getting right back into the swing of things.  Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  We have choir practice tonight and will be spending the next month preparing for our Triduum.

Tomorrow will be spent shopping for Chinese New Year that we will be celebrating on Sunday.  Saturday will be spent prepping for our party and our Angel Face will be spending the night with us.

Sunday is the big day.....Here is what we will be serving up this year:

Appetizers

Chun Juan

(Spring Rolls)

Siu Mai

(Dumplings)

Soup

Bok Choy Gai See Tong

 (Bok Choy and Shredded Chicken Soup)

Entrée

Jo Moh Sang Yat Gai

(Grandmother's Birthday Chicken)

Char Siu

(Barbecued Pork)

Ji Geung Lo Mein

(Noodles with Young Ginger)

Dessert

Hua Sheng Bing

(Chinese Peanut Cookies)

Next week is pretty quiet.  I am sharing the extended Weekly Menu today.  Please stop by each day as I share photos, recipes and snippets of our life.

Thursday

Irish Beef Stew

Colcannon

Fish Friday

Fish Fry at Church

Saturday

Pasta with Classic Ragu

Sunday-Chinese New Year Celebration

See above Menu

Meatless Monday

Gnocchi

Toddler Tuesday

Leftovers

Wednesday

Dinner out after returning Melody

Thursday

Meatloaf

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Steamed Green Beans

Fish Friday

Crab Cakes
French Fries
Salad

Happy Little Christmas

photo from Bing

Today, in the Christian world, we celebrate Epiphany.  Also called Three Kings Day, Theophany or, as in our home, Little Christmas.  It is the day that our Lord was revealed as the Christ.  Our Lord and Savior.  God made man.

It is our final day of Christmas.  We will celebrate with one final family dinner being hosted by Frank's sister, Roz, and her husband, Ron.  The Christmas lights will shine for their final night.

Tomorrow, life returns to normal.  The decorations will start coming down.  The Christmas décor removed, the winter décor put in it's place.  It is going to be a short "normalcy" this year.  Our Lenten season begins February 14th with Ash Wednesday.  Yes, our season of atonement begins, this year, on St. Valentine's Day.  

Photo provided by Bing

Thus will start our 40 day journey to prepare ourselves for the resurrection of our Christ.   Easter, more than Christmas, is the holiday that is the most important to me in my faith life.  It is by His death and resurrection that I see Jesus as the Christ.  Had He not risen from the dead, Jesus would have just been another great man.  It is this resurrection that proved Him our Lord and our God.

Photo from Bing

Easter this year falls on April 1st.  Yep, Easter is on April Fool's Day this year.  I'm sure some of my agnostic and atheist friends will have a riot with that one.  It's okay....our God has big shoulders.

photo provided by Bing

Lent will not be completely solemn though.  The 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays.  Sundays are set aside to revel in our Lord's goodness.  So our Chinese New Year celebration will take place on Sunday, February 18th.  

This is the year of the dog.  It officially begins on Friday, February 16th. The characteristic word this year is Action...that is a very good word.  I have decided that it will be my word and goal for this year.  My birth year is in the year of the dog....the prediction is that this will be a very good year for me but also an exhausting one.  THAT will be a switch LOL.

Each year, since Tingting became our daughter, we have celebrated Chinese New Year.  We first would go to a restaurant that had a celebration each year, including dragon dancers, fortune tellers and fireworks along with traditional foods.  They stopped doing this several years ago so I continued the tradition by preparing dinner and having a party here at home.

The final day of the Chinese New Year is celebrated by releasing lanterns that had been used as decorations for the homes in which the celebration was held.  These lanterns were provided by our friends, Linda and Greg, the first year we celebrated at home.

Last year we celebrated the Year of the Rooster, with a family dinner.  The previous year we also celebrated Nicole's birthday and Valentine's Day along with Chinese New Year.  In 2015, Chinese New Year fell on Ash Wednesday so we moved our celebration to the following Saturday.  The first year, that I had this bash, we celebrated on Super Bowl Sunday.  I gave the most in depth account of the festivities and posted a lot of photos in this post.

I am looking forward to this year's celebration.  I will spend the next few weeks planning my menu and finding the decorations to make this a special day for our Chinese daughter and granddaughter. 

Happy Little Christmas everyone!!!

Orange Chicken for #SundaySupper

One day, a few weeks ago, I had been on vacation and had not yet gotten to the grocery store come dinner time the following day.  I had pulled out some chicken breasts but wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.

Then, at lunchtime I was cutting up an orange for my Little Miss Melody when it struck me that Orange Chicken would be the perfect dinner to serve up to Frank and I on my first full day home from vacation.

So when Candace, of Authentically Candace, chose Easy Dinners for 2 as the theme for this week's Sunday Supper, I knew that this recipe would be perfect.  

Even with this dish requiring two separate fryings, the first to solidify the coating (see center right photo) and the second to darken and crisp the pieces of chicken (bottom left photo), it is still a quick and easy fix. Perfect for Valentine's Day that falls on a Tuesday and is still during Chinese New Year celebration that continues until February 15th this year.  

Once I had decided to make Orange Chicken, I needed a recipe and located this one from Ree, The Pioneer Woman, on FoodNetwork.com.and adapted it to fit the ingredients I had available.   I started my meal by putting brown rice in the rice cooker and setting it to steam for one hour.  I then whisked together some cornstarch and egg whites and put the chicken in to soak while my oil heated in a dutch oven.  I also took this time to slice up some veggies that I had in the refrigerator to stir fry and serve with dinner and make the orange sauce.

When the oil is ready, fry the chicken in batches until light golden brown, removing to a paper towel lined plated after frying.  When this is done you will refry the chicken, again in batches until deep golden brown.  After draining onto a paper towel lined plate the second time, you can now put it into the orange sauce and toss to coat.  Keep the chicken in the sauce on low for a few minutes while you stir fry your veggies.  The rice should be perfectly steamed at this point and you are ready to plate in an hour's time.

Orange Chicken

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

2 T. cornstarch

4 egg whites

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces

Juice of 2 oranges

Zest of 1 orange

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. brown sugar

1 T. seasoned rice wine vinegar

1/4 t. olive oil

salt to taste

crushed red pepper, to taste

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2" piece of fresh garlic, minced

1 t. cornstarch

Canola Oil for frying

Whisk together the cornstarch and eggs in a bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat.  Set aside while making sauce and heating oil.

Combine the orange juice, zest, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, olive oil, salt, red pepper, garlic and ginger in a skillet.  Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbling, stirring occasionally until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.  Whisk the cornstarch with a 1/4  c. water, making a slurry.  Add the slurry to the sauce, stirring continuously for a minute.  Add another 1/4 c. water to the sauce, stir to combine and hold on lowest heat while cooking the chicken.

Heat about 2" of oil in the bottom of a dutch oven to 350*.  Carefully add the chicken pieces, flipping gently until light golden brown, about 3 minutes, drain on a plate lined with paper towel. When all the chicken is fried, start with the first batch and return it to the hot oil for 1 or 2 more minutes until a deep golden brown.  Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Toss with the warm orange sauce and serve. Print Recipe

More Easy Dinner Recipes for Two

Chicken Recipes

• Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas by Pies and Plots
• Chicken Marsala by A Mind “Full” Mom
• Classic Coq Au Vin for Two by The Crumby Cupcake
• Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs by The Texan New Yorker
• Date Night Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry by Gourmet Every Day
• Orange Chicken by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Salsa Chicken by Simple and Savory

Pasta Recipes

• Chicken and Spinach Pasta with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce by Pook’s Pantry
• One Pan Shrimp and Asparagus Linguini by Jersey Girl Cooks
• Scallop Pasta with Garlic and White Wine by Caroline’s Cooking
• Skillet Rigatoni alla Vodka for Two by Eat, Drink and be Tracy

Pork Recipes

• Porchetta by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Roast Pork Loin with Plum Sauce by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Red Meat Recipes

• Filet Mignon with Shiitake Mushrooms by Cooking Chat
• French Onion Filet Mignon by The Chef Next Door
• Honey Lime Steak Kebabs by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Mini Mushroom Meatloaf by Cricket’s Confections
• Mushroom Topped Pepper Steak for Two by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Pan Seared Sirloin Steak Dinner for Two by Life Tastes Good
• Pan-Seared Nutella Skirt Steak by Brunch-n-Bites
• Petit Filet with Red Wine Pan Sauce & Garlic Mash by Authentically Candace
• Rack of Lamb with Strawberry Mint Glaze by Sunday Supper Movement
• Steak Au Poivre by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures

Seafood Recipes

• Baked Salmon with Ginger Marinade by Feeding Big
• Crab Caesar Salad by What Smells So Good?
• Crab Imperial by Monica’s Table
• Creamy Shrimp & Sausage Skillet by Crazed Mom
• Grilled Swordfish with Husk Cherry Salsa by From the Bookshelf
• Peppadew Trout en Croûte by Food Lust People Love
• Shrimp and Grits with Andouille Cream Sauce by Soulfully Made
• Surf and Turf for Two by The Freshman Cook

Veggie Recipes

• Colorful Matchstick Salad with Mint Vinaigrette by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Curried Split Peas by Wholistic Woman
• Edamame Waldorf Salad by Ninja Baker
• Saffron and Leek Risotto – Served 2 Ways by Sprinkles and Sprouts

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

The Year of the Rooster...Menu for our Chinese New Year Celebration.

Saturday is the onset of two weeks of celebration for the Chinese New Year.  Chinese New Year is a celebration of Spring and there are traditional, symbolic foods served during the celebration.  You can learn more about it at this website.  2017 is the year of the Rooster and you can read more about this at here.

Return readers of this blog know that nearly 10 years ago we took in an exchange student from China and she has been with us ever since.  We used to take her out to a restaurant that had a huge Chinese New Year celebration each year but for some reason they stopped having their party.  I started having a party here each year instead.  My first party was in 2014 and was a great success. This was my menu that year.  In 2015, Chinese New Year fell on Ash Wednesday so we waited until the following Saturday for our celebration.  Last year, we combined our Chinese New Year celebration with our daughter, Nicole's birthday celebration and threw in a Valentine's celebration as well.  What a great celebration that was!!

This year, Chinese New Year falls on a Saturday so it is perfect for celebrating.  I invited all the kids but haven't heard back from Nicole or Anthony yet.  Saturdays are tough for them as they are both in the restaurant business.  So, while I am not sure yet who and how many are joining in the fun, I am planning the party.....first order of business?  The Menu......

The Year of the Rooster

Menu for Chinese New Year 2017

Shou Mian

(Chinese Egg Noodles in Broth)

denotes longevity

Dumplings

denotes wealth

Whole Roasted Fish

denotes prosperity

Kan Choi Siu Juk

 Chinese Celery with Pork

denotes hard work

Steamed Rice

Stir Fry Vegetables

Dongzhi Tang Yuan

(Sweet Rice Dumplings)

denotes family togetherness