A Peanuts Life

When I was a child the Peanuts characters were some of my favorites. Whether it was the Joe Cool (Snoopy) T-shirt that was my favorite or the stuffed animal (also Snoopy) on my bed, the characters were around. My first reading of the newspaper started with the Peanuts comic strip. And the holiday specials, whether it was the Great Pumpkin, Linus wrapping his blanket around the pitiful tree, having popcorn for Thanksgiving or Charlie Brown never getting a valentine, kept me glued to the television.

As I have gotten older the strip has lost much of its luster (except for those holiday specials). After Charles Schulz died, I thought it was a bad idea when they decided to re-run the strip in the newspapers.

One thing that Schulz did well was capture an idea in a greatly worded quote or speech (typically from Linus). Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

• “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
• “I love mankind; its people I can’t stand.”
• “It doesn’t matter what you believe just so long as you’re sincere.”
• “Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask ‘where I have gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me ‘this is going to take more than one night!”

Hot Chicken with Peanuts

Peanuts make this dish too!

A simple dish to make.

Make the sauce.

With the chicken.

In the wok.

I added some broccoli.

A dish Snoopy would love!

Hot Chicken with Peanuts

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken breasts
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup peanut oil
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions and tops
• 1 tsp garlic

Directions:

1) cube chicken breasts 1/2 ”
2) combine egg white, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 3 tsp corn starch in a small bowl; stir in chicken. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour ( you may want to add some garlic).
3) blend remaining 1 tbsp soy and 1 tsp cornstarch, sherry and sugar; set aside.
4) heat oil in wok to 375°. Stir in chicken. Stir fry 1 minute or until chicken is white all the way through. Remove.
5) pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil. Add red pepper and cooked chicken; stir fry 1 minute. Add soy mixture; cook and stir until chicken pieces are glazed with sauce (add garlic). Stir in peanuts and green onions and serve.