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?"
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok and stir fry the vegetables, drizzling with the soy sauce halfway through.
- Grill the chicken skewers- depending on the thickness, they should only require a few minutes on each side.
- Serve the chicken with the vegetables, rice noodles, and the reserved sauce.
Yummy!!! I have some brocolli in the fridge and some chicken breast in the freezer. I know what we're having for dinner tonight!!!
Oh this was really good. And EASY. It was a great weeknight meal- my kids LOVED it.
Oh that's so cute! I haven't played it in years, though I was indulged liberally growing up. Having said that, I have a secret wish my girl doesn't get to know the game!! She's only five though, so there's a while yet ...
That plate of food sounds amazing! And it looks so good to eat..diving in with mouth open 🙂
Hello, Caroline! So happy to hear from you! I'm so glad Evan will usually let me talk him into Uno or Sorry!-- they don't last forever and never require paying bills. For you I'll keep my fingers crosssed as far as your Lil' Lass & Monopoly go... cause once you're in it, YOU ARE IN IT.
Looks super yummy!
Thank you!
hehehe.. My brother used to cheat when we played Monopoly as kids. lol. Oh and yes, that satay looks SOOO good!! Back in Asia I would have satay sticks almost every second day!!! They're my staple! Yummy yum...
Thanks, Sam! I think I could quite honestly be totally okay with eating these chicken sticks every other day.
Playing Monopoly is painful for me because a. my 7-year-old takes 100 years to make a decision and b. I am not a fan of board games! 🙂 I am a terrible mother. 🙂
The satay looks delicious!
If it makes you feel better I laugh at my kids when they cry about losing. Because seriously... that's a little bit ridiculous. 🙂
Love the story of your son's passion for monpoly. It could be a sign of a bright future for him 🙂 Great recipe. So hilarious, just made Satay last night. Good to see our recipes are on par...
The Satay was so good! And I find that I am usually on some sort of wavelength with blogs I read... I'll be making a banana cake and all of a sudden everyone is writing about dessert-full browned bananas. A few weeks ago I posted asparagus and then it was unintentionally everywhere I looked. Hope to see your Satay soon!
Heather, this looks really good!
BTW, any crying from Evan this time? Or was he winning?
No crying!!! There is no crying in Monopoly. Gah.
He didn't win, but he lost graciously. I also sold him everything I had left for $100, and then my kids proceeded to talk all sortsa board game smack for another hour or so 🙂
Aww to cute! Nothing beats playing monopoly in my book either 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
So many Monopoly fans! I'm good with it once I get started, but the thought of hours upon hours of paying bills and shuffling around little green houses makes me wanna run away. I was actually having a lot of fun until Andrew bankrupted me.
I think this is my favourite post so far. Firstly because it has decided my dinner for tomorrow nigjht -yum yum! And secondly because I know how your little one Evan feels - in my house growing up I was always the one everyone avoided playing monopoly with from a similarly young age (although I always buy the stations!)! I'd like to tell you he'll grow out of it, but even now I find myself hopefully suggesting it at Christmas time/weekends home only to be told "no, but we could play *insert something shorter and easier here* instead. Monopoly is ace - I'm going to go even geekier here - do you all have a 'regular' playing piece that you always use? I'm ALWAYS the iron!
Haha so glad you enjoyed it! Evan always has to be the car. He picks my piece for me; usually he gives me the scotty dog. Andrew likes to be the hat and also seems to spend a tremendous amount of time in jail...
Chad avoids Monopoly all together. He literally heads for the hills 🙂 He'll volunteer to play soccer in the yard any day of the week, though so the kids let his Monopoly absence slide.
Oh, yum-yum!! Looks fabulous and that is the cutest cartoon ever! I like your long flippy hair 🙂
Haha I know! It's really fancy 🙂