Plan B: Word Counters

 

 Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with.  

 

This month's number is 50. It was chosen by Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings. 

 

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme.

~ I've chosen the theme Plan B. Actually, it chose me, because Plan B is . . . plan B. I'll explain. First I want to say that for this post, I'm counting "B" as a word. It is a word (be, bee), so choosing between counting it and ignoring it, I'm counting it.

 

~ I was going to write a fictional story with the challenge of allowing the topic to be randomly chosen from a book on my Kindle. I'd open a book and the name of a random chapter would be my topic. Fun, right? Random chapter title: Titty Trap. Ummm . . . plan B.

~ So I moved on to another chapter in the book. It's my favorite genre, a mystery (this one a legal thriller), so I'll just find another chapter, more appropriate, they can't all be like that. Second random chapter title: Spitting and Pissing. Challenge aborted. plan B needs a plan B!

~ Right about at then, Hubs informed me that he'd be running the sprinklers (it had been broiling hot), and then would mow the lawn in the morning and go into work in the afternoon. Sprinklers ran. It poured all night. No mowing the lake lawn in the morning. Plan B.

~ Truth is, one thing that life in general, and recipe development specifically, has taught me, it's that in pretty much every situation, we have to be prepared for plan B. We may not have a specific plan B in mind, but more often than not, things change on the fly.

 

 

Grilled Hoisin Chicken

~ Our lives, most of us, have been, in the recent past, a constant succession of plan B after plan B. Covid has taught us resilience. The way we shop, the way we travel, the people we see, even the food we eat, has all been dictated by plan B choices.

 

~ I'm here to say, that's not a bad thing. To be humbled making choices that wouldn't be our first, to be forced to edit our priorities, to be innovative in reaching our goals, all productive in a country where narcissism reigns. Much can be learned from a forced plan B.

 

~ And yet . . . if that lawn doesn't get mowed soon, it'll take a search party, complete with a St. Bernard (don't forget the barrel of brandy around his neck) to find me if I dare to venture out our back door. Plan B: get me that dog and I'll go voluntarily.

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

 

Grilled Hoisin Chicken

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 TBSP orange juice

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp ginger paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1 green onion, chopped

Directions:

*Trim the chicken and cut each into 2 - 3 pieces, trying to keep the thickness fairly uniform.

*Whisk together the hoisin, soy sauce, orange juice, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger paste, minced garlic and chopped green onion to make the marinade. Pour into a gallon sized bag with the chicken pieces. Seal and refrigerate, turning the bag now and then for at least 4 hours, to overnight.

*Remove the chicken from the marinade. Preheat the grill to about 400 degrees. Once the chicken is on the grill, cover the grill and lower the heat to about 350.

*Grill the chicken pieces for about 8 minutes, turning each piece slightly to the side half way through. Turn the pieces over and grill for another about 4 - 6 minutes.
*NOTE: grill times are approximate as times are affected by the thickness of the meat and how your grill heats. Be sure the chicken is completely cooked through.