With them being gone, it meant that Daryl and I would have all weekend together with just each other. What would we talk about?? What would we do?? It's hard to go back to that time before we had kids and remember what we used to do and talk about. Because I'm a SAHM, my life pretty much revolves around my kids, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect over the weekend without them. As it turned out, it was a very nice, laid back and relaxing weekend and quiet to say the least, without the constant noise of a tv or video game going in the background.
On Friday evening I had gotten a few boxes delivered from UPS so I knew I would be busy over the weekend going through boxes of new items for my website and I also had received a shipment from At Home America, from a home party I'd had earlier. I couldn't wait to go through all the boxes of goodies.
One of the things that I had earned from At Home America, was a wrought iron bowl stand. I had seen it at my friends house (she's also a consultant) during her open house and loved it. Daryl and I put it together on Saturday morning and I spent the rest of the morning filling it and changing things around in my dining room while he puttered around doing his thing.
I also decorated our house for Valentine's, which I don't normally do, but have been so inspired by so many crafty blogger, I just had to do something. Especially since Amanda's birthday was also on Valentine's day.
Daryl and I had many nice talks without being interrupted and enjoyed a small quiet lunch together. Evening came and since the kids were gone, we decided to have a special dinner including seafood. We don't really cook much seafood because the kids don't care for it and I refuse to make two meals at suppertime. It was so nice, both of us working side by side in the kitchen as we prepared a yummy recipe for Kung Pao Shrimp. It was so pretty when we dished it into the plates, I told him it was pretty enough to take a picture. He knows me so well, and told me to go ahead and take a picture before we ate. :)
Here's the recipe if you want to try it. It's delicious!
Ingredients: 1 Cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 TBSP oyster sauce
2 tsp. hot sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 LB. extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 Cup dry roasted peanuts
1 red bell pepper, seed and chopped
3 garlive cloves, minced
1 TBSP grated fresh ginger (we didn't have that so we added about 1/2 tsp ground ginger to the recipe
Directions: Whisk broth, oyster sauce hot sauce and cornstarch in a medium bowl.
Heat 1 TBSP oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking (ours didn't smoke). Add shrimp and peanuts and cook until shrimp isn't opaque anymore; transfer to a plate. Add remaing oil and bell pepper to empty skillet and cook until lightly browned. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until frangrant (we cooked for about a minute). Stir in broth mixture and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and peanuts and simmer until sauce has thickened and shrimp are cooked through. Serve over white rice.
I hope if you try this recipe, you enjoy it. Drop me a post if you do. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for visiting and listening while I shared about our quiet weekend. Hugs & blessings~ Birgit
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