Oh. My. God.

Holy cow!! Everybody go out RIGHT NOW and buy an Orka Steamer. Seriously. This has just become my new favorite kitchen appliance. Appliance? First of all, I know the picture sucks. I am having camera issues.

I had been eying the Orka Steamers for quite awhile, and after Christmas, they went on sale on Amazon, so I went ahead and got one. Unfortunately, with all the hoopla of the last couple of weeks, I haven't had a chance to try it. Until now. No boy tonight, so I wanted to do something simple. And I was freezing, so I wanted something hot. And I didn't want any leftovers

Cue Orka Steamer! I had some chicken breasts in the freezer (note: I probably shouldn't have used year old chicken, but it was still pretty good!). The chicken isn't very pretty, but it is good! The vegetables turned out beautifully - I was afraid they would get all smushy. But no! They were soft inside but also crisp! So, I kind of made this up as I went, because the box only had like, 3 recipes. Does anybody have an Orka Steamer? Do you have any tried and true recipes for it?

Ingredients:
1 Chicken Breast
1 Serving Veggies (I used green beans, carrots and tomatoes)
1 tbsp (ish) EVOO
Italian Dressing
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Place everything in the steamer.

Drizzle with EVOO and salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle with Italian Dressing.

Cook in microwave 7 minutes (this is according to Orka's instructions for a frozen chicken breast).

Told you it was easy :)

Product Review: Lipton Sides Thai Sesami Noodles

I have been lazy this week. I have had some long days at work and don't feel like putting a lot of effort or energy into cooking. Since it was just me tonight, I decided that I would make one of the Lipton sides - not to mention that my dad works for Unilever (who manufactures Lipton) so I get a ton of these for free!

This is the first time that I have tried the Thai Sesame Noodles. Of course, they were easy to cook - I always go for the microwave directions instead of the stove top. I kind of have an aversion to boiling water. It just never works out too well for me. So, I made these in the microwave - all you need is water and oil if you have it. I also added about a cup of leftover chicken to make it a little heartier since this was my entire dinner. Yeah, that's right. I don't worry about sides when the boy isn't here. Heck, most of the time I don't even cook this much for just me! All in all, this was pretty good. I think it would definitely be better as a side or to do some peanut chicken or shrimp or something and use this as the "serve on a bed of noodles or rice" part of the recipe. These probably would've been better if I had added a little soy sauce or teriyaki sauce or something. Still good, considering the ease and the cost! :)

Product Review: Cuisine Solutions Chicken Marsala

Happy New Year!! So, I didn't feel like cooking last night, so I pulled out something from the freezer. The boy and I have a lot of fun trying out chicken marsala at different places. A local deli makes our favorite so far. I got this at The Fresh Market last week and last night was the perfect time to try it out.

First let me say that the chicken breasts were really small. Perfect size for me, but too small for the boy. I heated it up in the oven, because I thought that was probably better than the microwave. The presentation didn't turn out very pretty and the marsala sauce never got very saucy - more like a gel, which isn't very enticing. It was okay. I probably won't buy it again, but as far as ease, it wasn't bad. And, unlike most frozen chicken, it didn't taste fake. It was like something that I had made myself and then froze. But then again, I have a weird thing with frozen chicken, so maybe it was just me.

So, easy and better tasting than a Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine meal, but I would do take out from your favorite Italian place first. Our New Years Eve was rather uneventful. We were in bed by 9:30. I know, we're no fun. But, it was still 2009 when we woke up. At 6:00 AM.

Wishing everyone the best in 2009!