Arizona Here I Come!

Antique Photography Store
Originally uploaded by videoal.

Yes I am still busted but I have an opportunity to visit Arizona and teach some of my collage classes. I'll get a little vacation and thank God it's not too hot there yet. I'll get to see family and make a little extra moola teaching my classes! So... sing it with me every one... "I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again" (that's for all you old school peeps), actually I do know when I'll be back, April 23rd. So stay tuned here at cheap chic lifestyle blog.

Healthy Stir Fry for about $2.00 per Person!

Tonight I didn't feel like cooking. The weather is getting warmer and it can get pretty hot standing over a stove for long periods of time. I had thawed out 2 boneless chicken breasts (Costco) so I was racking my brain for recipe ideas. I thought about making a salad with grilled chicken but I wanted something more than a salad. Then I remembered that I had a 16oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer and a jar of stir fry sauce from Trader Joe's in the cupboard. That's it! We'll have stir fried chicken and veggies on top of steamed rice. It's easy, it's fast and it's healthy. Best of all... you guessed it, it's CHEAP!

This is what you'll need and how it's prepared...

1 lb of Boneless Chicken Breasts (cut into bite size pieces) Marinate about 1 hour in 3 tbsp Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp Oil (any), 2 Cloves Minced Garlic and 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional). Stir Fry on medium high until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Transfer to a bowl.

1 16oz Bag of Frozen Mixed Vegetables (any kind) Steam in Microwave according to package directions. Drain off excess water. Stir fry in the same pan for about 3 minute on medium high.

Add Chicken back into the pan with the veggies and mix together.

Stir about 1/2 jar (6oz) of Stir Fry Sauce (any kind). I used Ginger Scallion Thai Stir Fry Sauce from Trader Joe's ($1.99)

Cook a Cup of white Rice according to package directions. Makes about 3 cups cooked.

Viola!!! (That's my new word, ha!)

Place the rice on cute little plates (like the one above - from a thrift store) and spoon stir fry mixture on top.

Garnish with Chopped Green Onion, Fresh Cilantro, Slivered Almonds or anything you'd like! I bet this would even taste good with a few bits of pineapple...yum!

Makes about 6 servings

This was so satisfying and I only spent a few minutes at the stove. A nice glass of Gallo Sauvignon Blanc ($5.99 per 1.5L bottle) goes very well with this dish. It cut the spice and cooled the palate! Oh my my aren't I quite the gourmet!

Getting Ready for Easter

I did some Easter shopping today at where else... the Dollar Tree! I mean really why would anyone go anywhere else? (note: I think Dollar Tree should start paying me for advertising) I found Easter egg dye and even real eggs! They also had the cutest ceramic crosses! The sign above the crosses said "Starving Artist". Now I know, if all else fails, I can make art for the Dollar Tree ha! I got lots of Easter basket goodies too. Time to buy lots of sugary treats and useless little crap for the kiddies! Better get shopping ya'll Easter's just around the corner!

Beautiful Colored Eggs in Vintage Ice Bucket

The beautiful colors on these Easter eggs are extra vivid because they were left in the (cheap) dye for about 20 minutes. For a different display look put them in a vintage glass ice bucket as my friend Becky has done. These look beautiful sitting on her kitchen counter.