Orange Chicken and Rice Pilaf

Here are a couple of dishes I made a two Sundays ago. I gave the recipes to my mom and she made them and they were a big hit with my dad and younger brother, so I thought I'd share. Really, these are two very simple recipes that I got from allrecipes.com. As I cook more, I'm learning things don't have to have 50 ingredients to taste good, sometimes simple is better. Just do simple well (in my case that means following the recipe and only deviating if I'm really sure I'm going to like the deviation).

Orange Chicken:

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix, crushed (I used Stove Top Sage)
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Orange slices

Directions:
1. In a shallow bowl, beat egg, add orange juice.
2. In another bowl, combine stuffing mix, paprika, orange peel and salt.
3. Dip chicken into the egg mixture, then into crumbs, turning to coat well.
4. Pour butter into a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Place chicken in baking dish, turning once to butter both sides. 4.
5. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender and juices run clear. Garnish with orange slices if desired.

This is not a traditional Asian flavored orange chicken, but it is still really good. Everybody ate it and there was only 2 chicken breast halves left over. I think cutting them in half is important because it makes them cook faster and makes more manageable portions.

Rice Pilaf:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups chicken broth

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a lidded skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Cook and stir orzo pasta until golden brown (about 5 minutes, but watch it).
3. Stir in onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Mix in the rice and chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

This is a really simple rice pilaf that is a great side dish. We've had it with salmon and chicken. It's really easy to make and I love the orzo pasta in it. I haven't added any veggies to it yet, but I think it would go really well with any number of veggies.

I hope that if you try these recipes you enjoy them as much as we did.

My Sleep Test

I have a sleeping problem. It started in college when I was a Resident Assistant. I had a rowdy floor, and a fairly strict hall director, so consequently, I became a light sleeper. I've also always had sinus issues, so that doesn't help. The bottom line is, most nights, I wake up every 2-3 hours. I wake up every morning tired and sometimes with headaches. Due to my poor sleeping, I'm hesitant to ever give myself less than 8 hours to sleep because I know that I will really only get 5-6 hours of generally restless sleep. I really believe I hardly ever get into a good deep sleep due to frequent waking.

Lately, this has been getting worse. In fact, 2 nights ago, I couldn't fall asleep until nearly 3 am, and I had to be to work at 8:30 for a meeting. Needless to say, it was a tough day. I've even resorted to having a Coke on multiple occasions for the caffeine. I have never been a coffee drinker.

I've lived like this for the past 12 years. About a month ago, I asked my doctor about this, and he said it sure sounds like Sleep Apnea, but we need to do a sleep test to be sure. My wife has suspected I have some form of Sleep Apnea due to my snoring and irregular breathing. But, I've never actually stopped breathing in my sleep. Anyway, my sleep test was last night.

For those who have never participated in a sleep test, it's quite the thing. I had to show up at the Sleep Center (yes they have those) at 7:45 pm. They had me change into my sleeping clothes, and then they started putting probes on me. The technician, who was very nice, connected about 10 probes to my scalp, and several more to my face, neck and chest. She then put probes on my leg to test for restless leg syndrome. Next it was 2 different breathing sensors for the nose, and one that went over the mouth. Finally, a blood oxygen sensor for my finger.

After all that, I'm thinking that there is no way I'm going to be able to fall asleep with all this on, even with the Ambien my doctor gave me. Boy was I wrong...that Ambien is strong stuff. After some calibration of the recording equipment, including a camera, I fell asleep very quickly. This was about 9:30. Sometime during the night, the technician woke me to get me to roll onto my back. They have to test both back and side sleeping. Around the same time, I had to go through the adventure of going to the bathroom, which involved a bunch of cables hanging off me qnd some very careful movement.

The technician had warned me that if I had a certain number of breathing "events", she would come in and attach a CPAP machine to me. I was really worried about this. I tend to get a little claustrophobic, so the idea of a CPAP machine frightens me a bit. Anyway, this didn't happen, thank God.

My technician woke me up a little after 4 am, and I was on the road home by 4:40. I took the long way home to let my wife and kids sleep undisturbed for a while, but was home shortly after 5 am. I wasn't tired anymore, but did squeeze in a 20 minute nap before I left for work at 8.

Overall, it was quite the experience. I was very nervous about the whole ordeal, but with the help of a lot of prayer and a very encouraging wife, I got through it. I'm so grateful that my technician was good at her job. She made the process as easy as possible for me. She also told me that we got a "complete test". Now we have to wait for the Sleep Doctor to review the results. The next step might be another sleep test with a CPAP machine, or it might be something else, depending on what they find. My personal doctor will be contacting me in a few weeks to discuss the results.

I pray that we are able to find some solution to my sleeping trouble. I have managed to get by like this for a long time, but have recently started to wonder what life would be like if I had more energy. Will I be able to stick to a workout plan? Will I be willing to go out with the guys after choir because I know I'll be able to sleep when I get home? Will I be a better worker because of increased energy? Most importantly, I wonder will I have more energy to be the Christian, husband and father I want to be? I pray that all this will be possible. I am willing to try what the doctors suggest, even if it is a CPAP machine. If it is, I pray that God will give me the strength to adjust and persevere through any initial difficulties.

Anyway, that's my sleep test story...thanks for taking the time to read it.

Top 5 Movies where Nicholas Cage Doesn't Annoy Me

I was talking to Nuke today and was mentioning about my favorite movies. Nuke said that he wouldn't ever be able to do a top 10 list, but instead he'd have to do categories. And then he proceeded to tell me some categories, such as "Top 5 Movies where you can Geek Out." That was one of my favorites. We spent a little more time coming up with possible "Top 5's", and then I decided I would do a weekly blog on this topic. So, each week I'll come up with a new top 5 list, some of which might be serious, and some of which won't be serious...like this one.

By the way, the best idea for a list came from my cube mate (yes, I'm an engineer in a cube). The Top 5 Movies where you could replace Keanu Reeves with C-3PO and nobody would mind.

Without further adieu, here are the Top 5 Movies where Nicholas Cage Doesn't Annoy Me (obviously, Cage has to be in the movie).

5. "Con-Air" - This is a testament to how annoying I find Nicholas Cage. This movie really shouldn't make any top lists, but Cage doesn't talk much and it has some good fight scenes. Plus they crash a C-130 onto the Vegas strip.

4. "National Treasure" - The original movie was good, but not as good as the sequel.

3. "National Treasure 2, Book of Secrets" - This is just a good time. Highly entertaining and they end up at Mt. Rushmore. I think this one actually rated out at 5 stars, which tells me even Nicholas Cage is capable of a good movie.

2. "Sorcerer's Apprentice" - My favorite movie of 2010. Cage is actually good as Balthazar Blake, but Jay Baruchel makes the movie. This was very close to being the top movie in this list. However, I can't move one of the 1990 classics off the list.

1. "The Rock" - Still the best Cage film. He's really good as Dr. Stanley Goodspeed...so many great one-liners. It doesn't hurt that Sean Connery is his co-star either. This is a great movie, probably in my top 20 of all time.

And, just so you know, there are 2 or 3 other movies that I didn't find Nicholas Cage annoying, but it was only 2 or 3 other movies. I'm sort of excited about "Season of the Witch" so we'll see if we can find another, non-annoying Cage role.

Drive Time Pondering

I was driving home tonight, and I saw, yet another Barack Obama bumper sticker on a minivan that was ahead of me. This one said "Women for Obama" and the O was the stupid logo Obama used during the 2008 campaign. These Obama Bumper sticker sitings always get me thinking...
Anyway, here's the synopsis of the stream of thought I had, with some background info thrown in for completeness.

Living in a liberal area of the People's Republic of Iowa I see this often. I know the people around here aren't the most logical sort as demonstrated by their voting record, but by now I would have expected to see some of these bumper stickers scratched off, or blacked out, or something. I gotta think those normally right thinking people, who were swayed by Obama's fancy speeches and empty rhetoric are now realizing that they voted for a man wholly unqualified for the job he is doing.

Seriously, unemployment is still too high, the economy is recovering very slowly, we've had a disaster of a health care bill rammed down our throats and President Obama has botched just about every foreign policy decision he has made. Some of these people have to be having second thoughts. Maybe they're just too proud to admit it at this point. I guess we'll find out in 2012.

All this went through my head as I was driving home. It took about 6 seconds to have all those thoughts. The rest of my drive home was spent listening to quality radio and trying to stay warm.

Movie Review: "The Karate Kid"

I'm reviewing the new version of "The Karate Kid" starring Jaden Smith (Wil Smith's kid) and Jackie Chan. But, when reviewing the new version, one can't help but compare to the original, 1980's classic, "The Karate Kid" starring a very young Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue. Frankly, the new version doesn't stack up to the original. Now, maybe that's because I'm a child of the 80's, or maybe it's because I absolutely loved the original when I was a kid, or maybe it's because this new version just wasn't that good. I put it at 2-2.5 stars at best.

There are many reasons why.

1. Jaden Smith - While he has many of his father's facial expressions down, he's just not that great in this movie. He's no Ralph Macchio (a.k.a Daniel-san).
2. Jackie Chan - Normally, I love Jackie Chan. The guy is hilarious, but he just doesn't stack up when compared to Mr. Miyagi. And come on...no "Wax On, Wax Off?" Unbelievable!!! This new film parallels the original in so many ways, yet drops one of the best lines. I mean, some of the lines are 99.9% the same...it just makes no sense.
3. A romance between 12 year olds? Ok, it was fine when it was Daniel and Ali (Elisabeth Shue) because they were at least playing high schoolers. These kids are supposed to be 12...boys barely notice girls at age 12.
4. The new version is set in Beijing and they are doing Kung Fu. It's the "Karate" kid, not the "Kung Fu Kid". And, the use of subtitles for the Chinese was inconsistent at best.
5. The villains in this one weren't as good as the Cobra Kai. There's something endearing about cheesy, 1980's high school stereotype villains and their Sensei that you just can't capture with 12 year old Chinese kids and a middle aged dude with weird hair.
6. The music wasn't as good. Who will ever forget, "You're the Best Around" by Joe Esposito.
7. Daniel's mom was slightly annoying in the original. Dre's (Jaden Smith) mom is slightly more annoying.
8. If you remember the very end of the original movie, with Mr. Miyagi and Sensei Kreese of the Cobra Kai...well let's just say that you may be disappointed that they deviated from the original.

My recommendation is skip this version of "The Karate Kid" and instead watch the original. You'll be much happier, and it'll bring back positive memories of a simpler time, when the big debate was VHS or Beta.

It's About Time!!!

Shannon Sharpe is a Pro Football Hall of Fame member...finally!!! Sharpe was the all time leader amongst Tight Ends in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns when he retired from the Denver Broncos in 2003. He was an integral part of 2 Super Bowl wins for the Broncos and another for the Baltimore Ravens during his "dark years" when he left the Broncos. Still, as a fan, I forgive his "dark years", and remember him as the great Broncos player he was.

I am excited about this! I have a Shannon Sharpe jersey hanging in my closet, right next to my John Elway and Terrell Davis jerseys. Sharpe was a talker during his playing days. The most famous talking Sharpe ever did was during a game against the Patriots. The Broncos were blowing the Patriots out, and Sharpe picked up a phone on the sidelines, near a camera, and said something along the lines of "Call the President, Call the Marines, Call the National Guard because we are killin' the Patriots!" He was the type of player that you loved to have on your team and hated him when he was not on your team.

I don't know why it took 3 years for the Hall of Fame voters to put Shannon Sharpe into the Hall of Fame. Nobody really understands how they decide on the football hall of fame. Thirty guys go into a room and come out several hours later with a list of the new Hall members. But, at least they finally got this one right.

Now, all we need to do is get Terrell Davis, Rod Smith, Steve Atwater, Dennis Smith, and Karl Mecklenberg into the Hall of Fame, and all will be right with the world.

Book Review x 2

The multi-movie review went so well, I thought I'd try a multi- book review. Though, these books are both great and could get their own review.

"The Pawn" by Steven James is the first book in the Patrick Bowers series. Patrick Bowers is an FBI agent who specializes in environmental profiling. Basically, his theory is that criminals have patterns and go through the same things as normal people do, so by looking at the patterns of the crimes, one can identify where and who the most likely criminals are. I'm not doing it justice...trust me it's cool.

In "The Pawn", Bowers is called to North Carolina to track a serial killer who leaves a Pawn with each body. The killer, called "The Illusionist" is murdering young women throughout the Asheville, North Carolina area. Once Patrick Bowers is on the case, The Illusionist steps it up a notch, and Bowers fears that he has finally met his match. Complicating things is that 2 of the murders seem out of place, and Bowers is still struggling with the death of his wife and his new role as father to her 17 year old daughter.

I really enjoyed this book. Apparently it's by a Christian publishing house, and there are occasions in the book where Bowers is really seen to struggle with why God lets things happen the way they do, but it's not the focus of the book. The mystery kept me guessing until the end, and, well, I was wrong. If you like a good mystery, give "The Pawn" by Steven James a try.

"Ranger's Apprentice, Halt's Peril" is the 9th book in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. This time, Will, Horace and Halt are still on the trail of cult leader Tennyson. Unfortunately Halt gets poisoned by one of Tennyson's assassins. Can Will save his mentor and still stop the bad guy? You'll have to read to find out.

"Ranger's Apprentice" continues to be one of the most fun series I've read. It's not as good as "Percy Jackson" or "Harry Potter" but it's a good, fast paced read with really strong characters and nice stories.

I read on Wikipedia (so it must be true) that there are 12 books planned for this series. I'm thrilled about this. I knew there was at least one more book planned, and I was content with that, knowing that I could read these again with my kids. However, the potential for 3 new books makes me very happy.