Basil Chicken and a Sore Booty

Have I mentioned how much I love holidays? I do! Yesterday my hubby and I packed up and headed out (in the rain, mind you) to hike Dragon's Tooth trail. We drove and drove, but found it! It was a 2.5 mile hike up, and then 2.5 back. The first mile and a half wasn't bad - but the last mile up was quite tough. It was pretty much sheer rocks, which isn't great for an unathletic dog (and her semi-athletic mom). We ended up tying Maggie up as we climbed the last little bit - and she whined like a baby. However, the view from the top was awesome, and I was quite proud of us. We made it down without event, with plans to get back in to hiking like we used to do in our dating days! :) My behind is not so sure about these plans.

Jonathan enjoying his snack!

Maggie enjoying her first rest break.

We made it!!

Quite a view!!

Where's Waldo?

Now, for a recipe. April stole this one from Rachel Ray, and I stole it from her. It's pretty simple and quite tasty. Just don't read the label on the fish sauce!

Basil, Chili, and Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce (we use low sodium)
2 tbsp fish sauce (seriously, ignore the label)
4 tsp sugar (we use splenda)
2 tsp crushed red pepper (we use a mix of black and red peppers)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced onion (we leave this out)
3 tbsp chopped garlic (about 8 cloves)
1/2 lb. rice noodles
1 1/2 lb. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup torn basil leaves

Mix water, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper until dissolved. Set aside
Cook rice noodles in salted water (they stick quite a bit, be careful!)
Put oil in wok or skillet and cook all onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Set aside.
Put oil in a wok or skillet and cook chicken on one side - then turn and cook other side until no longer pink.
Add water/sauce mixture and garlic/onion mixture to chicken and cook until fully done. Remove from heat and add basil leaves (torn) until they start to wilt. Serve chicken/sauce mixture over rice noodles.

I hope yours is as pretty as April's. Either way, it'll taste good! :)