Easy-Peasy Chicken Lo Mein

If good food is something you are interested in, definitely try out this recipe. I got it from Pinterest, but I added a few more ingredients to make it even more delicious. The added bonus is that it's healthy! Wahoo!

*I have changed the original recipe a bit. My recipe has more protein (chicken) and vegetables.

*sans mushrooms!

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 12-14 oz whole wheat linguine, broken in half (I use a whole box of Dreamfields linguine)
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thin strips (approx. 3 inches long)
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cut in thin strips
• 1 bunch green onions, white part sliced and green part cut in 3 inch long strips
• 5 cloves minced garlic 
• 1/3 cup soy sauce (healthier substitute: Bragg's Liquid Amino Acid)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper (add 1 teaspoon for more of a kick!)
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (3 cans)
• 1 cup water
• 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

*Add 1 cup mushrooms (halved) if that's something you're into!

Cooking Instructions

• Put chicken then pasta into large ir extra large saucepan/stockpot
• Add all other ingredients
• Cover pan and bring to a boil
• Stir and reduce to a simmer
• Cook covered for 25 minutes, stir occasionally (make sure you stir enough so the noodles don't burn!)
• Cook until chicken is cooked through

*Add a small amount of water when reheating leftovers; otherwise, it might taste a little dry, and nobody wants that!

Enjoy!

-j.Clarke

Virgin America Makes Safety Entertaining

By: Jillian Clarke

If you have ever flown in an airplane, then you can probably recall hearing a boring speech from the flight attendant or watching a mundane safety video. Recently, Virgin America challenged the boring flight safety routine and released the new video that will now be shown to their customers before takeoff. 

While watching the video, I was really interested the whole time. A handful of good-looking people parade around the screen while singing and dancing to a rather catchy song that explains all of the flight safety information. I think my favorite part is when the little kid sings about no smoking on the plane. I have a feeling he'll grow up to be extremely cool. 

Entertainment was definitely the main focus of this video, and although I enjoyed the video, I can't help but wonder if it could be a distraction. The video tells you to put away your electric devices, but I feel like some people might take extra time to update their social media on their electric device to tell their friends about the cool video. But maybe I'm just looking into it a little too much. Only time will tell if Virgin America customers give it a thumbs up or down!

Watch the video for yourself. Do you think it's clever? Or something that won't be cute the second time you see it before takeoff? 

-j.Clarke

#NotSuccessful

By Jillian Clarke

The trend that began all trends: the hashtag. Twitter was the first social media outlet to use the hashtag to connect its users to related content. The simple # has proven to be a successful marketing tool for businesses and topics alike, which is why other social media sites have adopted it, such as Vine, Instagram, and now Facebook.

Because the hashtag has been around for a few years, most of us have become accustomed to how it works and connects us to content; however, Facebook has thrown us a curveball. An article on Entrepreneur.com has explored Facebook's unsuccessful attempt to implement the trend into its network. Instead of connecting users to related content, clicking on a Facebook hashtag will only take you to content that you are connected to on Facebook. The article goes on to explain that the Facebook flop will most likely switch to the original use of the hashtag.

We can only hope.

Personally, I would be just fine if Facebook got rid of hashtags altogether. A lot of times, hashtags are made up, too long, not relevant, or plain stupid. So, if I only had to see them on three social media outlets, that would be great. Only the future will tell!

What do you think about hashtags on Facebook? #lovethem or #leavethem?


-j.Clarke