Friday, March 7, 2014

Recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken; Kristie's Example of Endurance

I am excited about the healthy adaptations that are included in my new cookbook (2nd edition).  Here is one of the recipes.  My husband actually invented the sauce, and we love it!

Honey Garlic Chicken

Healthy Adaptation

SERVES 4 

1-2 cups cooked brown rice
1-2 boneless, skinless chicken
 breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced green or red bell
 peppers
½ cup diced onion
5-6 sliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider
 vinegar
1 tablespoon butter or Earth
 Balance® margarine
½ cup honey
gluten-free corn tortillas
tomatoes, diced
avocados, diced
lettuce, shredded
ranch dressing

1.  Prepare cooked rice.

2.  Slice chicken breasts into chunks and cook in oil, along with diced bell pepper and onion.  Add sliced mushrooms and cooked rice.

3.  (Reduce the sauce ingredients by half if you don't want as much sweet flavor for the amount of rice and vegetables).   In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, add garlic, salt, vinegar, butter, and honey.  Microwave until combined and pour-able.

4.  Pour over chicken and fry for several more minutes.  Make a wrap using a warmed corn tortilla topped with cooked chicken, rice, vegetable mixture, tomatoes, avocados, lettuce, and ranch dressing.  (I also added cooked zucchini and yellow squash this time, as you see in the photo.) :)




Lately my blog posts have included some of my heroes, and today's post is no exception.  My friend, Kristie, doesn't have celiac disease, but her husband does, as well as one of her sons.  

She has a wonderful family.  In fact, one of her sons stopped to help me a few months ago when he noticed that I slid on icy roads and ended up without harm--but very stuck--in a snow bank.  They are friendly and helpful people.  

Kristie spoke before a large group of young adults about a year and a half ago and recounted what happened as her son, Tyson, was killed in an accident.  Her husband and another son were injured.  Here is a segment from her talk:


Tyson’s injuries were critical. He was intubated on arrival at the hospital, and rushed for a CT scan. During the CT scan he coded. Our good friend started CPR and was able to get his heart beating again. I was grateful to be able to be by his side.

The CT showed that Tyson had sustained a shattered spleen, multiple liver lacerations, and bone fractures. He was immediately taken into surgery. His spleen was removed and his liver was packed in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It was determined he should be life-flighted.  During the second surgery he coded multiple times and was resuscitated. I was able to be with him when he was brought into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Tyson had the best medical care that was available; including IV’s, blood transfusions, platelets and clotting factors. None of this was able to stop the bleeding. His internal bleeding was so severe that it was impossible for the medical team to replace the blood he was losing.

My husband was not able to accompany me to Salt Lake because his injuries were so significant. It was very difficult for him and for me to be separated. A family member stayed with him during the night and I will be forever grateful that they were there with him when I called to tell him that Tyson had died in the early morning hours; eleven hours and two surgeries after the accident.

I can tell you that this is not what I prayed for...I remember thinking everything would be alright but I didn't know what side of “alright” I was going to be on.

After Tyson died, kindness was again extended to our family...Looking back I am still humbled by the sacrifices family, friends, and others made on our behalf. 


Kristie commented in an email to me, "These past nine years have been filled with tumultuous moments and tender mercies.  Truly blessings come through trials and endurance...I am grateful for so many blessings in my life."  Kristie know how to endure life's difficulties with strength.  Thomas S. Monson said,  

"This should be our purpose—to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow. Were it not for challenges to overcome and problems to solve, we would remain much as we are, with little or no progress... The poet expressed much the same thought in these words:


Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.8

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