Monopoly Strikes Again

It is spring break in our neck of the North Carolina woods which for me means days and days of hungry little boys underfoot. So far I have to say that they’ve been pretty good.

Yesterday I persuaded them to scoop up two gimantico trash bags full of sweet gumballs (dang I hate those things) and old mulchy leaves. They only ran in circles around the yard wearing the body-sized black bags for a few minutes before I reminded them that THAT is the reason the box says KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. Then they got down to business.

If you’ve been following me here for the last few months, you already know that my littlest boy, Evan, loves board games. In particular he loves Monopoly. No one else loves Monopoly. Most days I can talk myself out of playing Monopoly because I am busy and there is no foreseeable end to that game. But it’s spring break. And my kid is cute. And after I laid down my new play outside rules (more on that in a post or two), Evan had me cornered in the living room.

Yesterday I learned that my oldest son, Andrew, is some kind of Monopoly real estate whiz. He is also pretty ruthless. He managed to buy Park Place in his first turn or two, proceeded to purchase 4 houses, traded them in for a hotel, and totally bankrupted me within 30 minutes.
Railroads are not a good investment.

But when you head towards the coffee pot at 6 am and find that your 9 year old has paid homage to your game in the form of cartoon, it is all totally worth it.

This week the weather here is supposed to be perfect. Easter has passed. It is time to break out the grill and wear white shoes (or just do like me and don’t wear any at all). I spied this recipe a few weeks ago while visiting The Sugared Pecan and decided that I really needed to make it. Actually I decided that I really needed to eat it… so I did.

 
And Smile when your kids say, “Mommy that chicken was really good. Can I have another piece?”

Chicken Satay & Stir Fried Veggies

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Sugar Dish Me

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• ¾ cup peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
• ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup honey
• 1½ Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon ginger (ground or fresh and very finely minced)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1-2 teaspoons sriracha hot chili sauce, or to taste
• 1- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast pieces, cut into strips
• wooden skewers, soaked in water for about 30 minutes prior to cooking
• 1-2 tablespoons oil
• about 2 cups of fresh chopped vegetables per person
• a little extra soy sauce for drizzling the vegetables

Instructions

1. Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, and sriracha hot chili sauce. Save half of the sauce for your prepared noodles if you prefer.
2. Add the chicken pieces. Cover and marinate for at least an hour (the longer the better). When the chicken has soaked up enough flavor, skewer the pieces and fire up the grill.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok and stir fry the vegetables, drizzling with the soy sauce halfway through.
4. Grill the chicken skewers- depending on the thickness, they should only require a few minutes on each side.
5. Serve the chicken with the vegetables, rice noodles, and the reserved sauce.

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