So, it's been 9 months since my last post and coincidentally, the reason for my hiatus was largely a result of another life event taking place over 9 months. Charlotte was born in February and the months leading up to her birth and especially after her birth have been a blur. There was minimal cooking going on. Nothing that stands out too much. However, I knew if I didn't get something up soon, I'd likely lose all 6 followers so I'm diving back in.
A new baby is a miraculous thing. She'll make you smile, she'll make you love, she'll make you eat just about anything you can get your hands on in the brief 5 minutes you have to eat a meal. Burgers, pizza, endless lists of takeout food were consumed over the last 5 months. While Adrienne has a nice breast feeding diet going on (and looks AMAZING), yours truly has ballooned in size. The task at hand is to cut back on the junk, produce something healthy and produce it quickly....en masse. The other trick is making something dairy free that'll keep mom and baby happy.
Enter, asian orzo salad. If you time it right, you're looking at about 30 minutes including prep and cook time. Simple ingredients, enough to last 3-4 days and nutritious.
A new baby is a miraculous thing. She'll make you smile, she'll make you love, she'll make you eat just about anything you can get your hands on in the brief 5 minutes you have to eat a meal. Burgers, pizza, endless lists of takeout food were consumed over the last 5 months. While Adrienne has a nice breast feeding diet going on (and looks AMAZING), yours truly has ballooned in size. The task at hand is to cut back on the junk, produce something healthy and produce it quickly....en masse. The other trick is making something dairy free that'll keep mom and baby happy.
Enter, asian orzo salad. If you time it right, you're looking at about 30 minutes including prep and cook time. Simple ingredients, enough to last 3-4 days and nutritious.
1 (9-ounce) package frozen sugar snap peas
1 (16-ounce) package orzo, cooked and drained
1 cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 cups diced cooked chicken
3 green onions, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 (2-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted (1/2 cup)
Cook up your rice while you bake your chicken, mix in the veggies, add the almonds and top it off with the sauce. I cut back on the vegetable oil to about 1/3 cup and upped the hoison to 3 teaspoons. Serve it right away or put it in the fridge to chill. Low-fat, easy prep, easy meal. Just in time to take over baby bouncing duty.
No shots during production, but here's the final product.
