Thai Peanut Noodles

I developed this dish sophomore year in undergrad from a Rachel Ray recipe (when I still had the Food Network--or TV at all for that matter). It's evolved over the last few years into a much simpler version than the original. Basically, you can pick whatever add-ins you want to complement the basic noodles and sauce "base." Try cooked shrimp instead of chicken, or add zucchini and carrots sliced lengthwise with a vegetable peeler, or just add sugar snap peas, bean sprouts or spinach. 

Since we were starving when I made this the other night, I didn't get a picture. I'm sure I'll make this again soon since it's cheap and easy, so I'll update one then. You'll just have to make it yourself to see how delicious this is!

1 lb. spaghetti noodles 
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/4  cup soy sauce
2 tsp. lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped
1 tbl. vegetable oil
cilantro, chopped
peanuts
chopped veggies ( most recently I used one yellow onion, red bell pepper, broccoli and carrots)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Cook noodles just short of al dente. Strain and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, mix peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, lime juice and garlic and ginger-set aside. Taste your sauce. If you want more sweet, add a little brown sugar. If you're looking for something hot, add red pepper flakes. Want it more salty/savory? Add a few teaspoons more soy sauce.

Cut chicken into 1 in. pieces, season w/ salt and pepper then fry in large pan w/ oil. Add veggies and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add noodles and sauce, stir to coat. Top with cilantro and peanuts.Serve, chopsticks optional.

Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I also made this pie for the cabin weekend retreat. Only problem was that when I reheated it, the crust wasn't as crispy/flakey as when I first baked it.. If you are going to bake this then reheat it, I recommend baking it for a few minutes longer, and letting it cool completely before freezing. If you follow those steps (I cut corners I'll admit) then it should be just as good as when it first comes out. Or just avoid all this and indulge right after you bake! Despite my reheating problems, the pie was devoured before I got a chance to snap a pic...

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 cup rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp. butter
Store-bought Pastry for double crust pie

In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and ground nutmeg. Add rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries, toss gently to coat fruit. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Pour fruit mixture into pie plate. Dot with butter, place pastry on top of filling. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape; seal and flute edge. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.

Chicken-Penne Pasta Bake

I made this dish for a cabin retreat with some friends--and it was a hit! The prep is time consuming but very worth it, especially because you can freeze one or both pans for later. I topped the dish with shredded Parmesan cheese while baking for an extra crisp, cheesy topping. One batch (two pans) served 11 people with no leftovers.

    6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes

    coarse salt and ground pepper

    1 pound penne rigate

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally

    1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

    4 garlic cloves, minced

    6 cups whole milk

    1 yellow onion, chopped lengthwise

    1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced

    1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)

    1 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes-for super easy cleanup use store bought disposable ones. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.

   2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook onions and chicken until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

   3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

   4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with cup Parmesan.

   5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

For freezing:

   6. Prepare through step 4; let cool. Cover tightly with foil, and freeze, up to 3 months.

   7. Preheat oven to 400, and bake (still covered in foil) on a rimmed baking sheet until center is hot, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil; bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

The sauce for this dish is surprisingly simple for how delicious tastes. I guess I'm finding that out a lot lately--it doesn't take much to replicate flavors from really unhealthy dishes with good-for-you ingredients (or just less of the bad stuff). Anyway, the recipe below is for 2 people plus some leftovers, but could definitely stretch to 4 servings if need be. The sauce is versatile so use it for other stir-frys and Asian inspired food, too!

Sauce:
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vingear

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar. Set aside.

Stir-fry
1 cup white rice (make according to directions and set aside) 
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bell peppers (any color), seeded and diced large
1 cup green beans (I used frozen because that's what I had, but fresh would be ideal)
1 small bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Heat about 1 tbsp vegetable oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Add chicken, bell peppers, and green beans and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, ginger, garlic and cook, stirring until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk soy sauce mixture and add to skillet, and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff rice. Serve on rice and top with peanuts.

Variation: For more crispy chicken pieces, omit the cornstarch from the sauce, and increase to 3 tbsp and season with salt and pepper. Toss uncooked but dry chicken pieces in cornstarch mix before adding to pan. Continue the rest as above.

Spiced-rubbed Cod over Lemon Rice and Zucchini

This fish meal was delicious with barely any fat--the only cooking oil you use is a little bit of butter at the very beginning to soften the onions. The spice mix was so aromatic I think I will make it a day ahead next time just to let it smell up the kitchen with spicy goodness. Try slicing thing lemon pieces and putting them on top of the fish toward the end to give the fish a lemony essence and provide a pretty serving presentation.

Spice Mix:
1/4 cup ground coriander (Using a soup can I banged coriander seeds up in a double-bagged plastic baggie. lol)
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. paprika (use cayenne pepper if you want something really spicy)
1 tbsp. course salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Main dish:
1 tbsp. butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped small
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 cup white rice
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into one inch pieces, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
salt and pepper
enough cod for 4 fillets
spice mix (recipe above)

In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Stir in rice and cook 1 minute. Stir in lemon zest and juice, broth, and zucchini and season with salt and pepper.Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 13 minutes. Sprinkle spice mix over fish. Arrange fish snugly in a single layer, spice side up, on top of rice, cover and cook until rice is tender and fish is opaque throughout. The original recipe told me this takes about 5 to 7 minutes, but it actually took mine about 12 minutes for the fish to fully cook--just watch the rice on the bottom of the pan to avoid burning it. Using spatula, scoop fish fillet and rice from pan to plate, and serve.

Monster Cookies

I've never tried to make monster cookies before, but they were a request so I gave it a shot. Most recipes I found called for something like 12 eggs--needless to say they were very large batches. This one seemed like the best smaller version. The cookies turned out pretty good--a little chewier than ones you would get at the store. You have to press them flat after you put them in balls on the cookie sheet so they get bigger in the oven, otherwise they will just end up being really condensed mounds of chocolate chips and M&Ms.

1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. soda
1 3/4 c. flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. quick oatmeal
1/4 bag of chocolate chips

1/4 bag of plain M&Ms
1/4 bag of peanut butter M&Ms

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Mix ingredients in bowl (does order really matter?) Drop by large tablespoon or ice cream scoop and flatten. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Do not over bake! 

Washington Street Tuna

Drew loves the Third Street Tuna from the Good Food Store. Unfortunately a 5 oz. deli size costs almost six bucks. So we did a little detective work and bought all the ingredients on the nutrition label to try and come up with our own (much cheaper!) version. Luckily, it turned out almost perfect the very first try. 

4 cans (5-ounce size) solid white tuna in water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 ribs celery, minced
1/2 minced red onion

1/3 cup currants
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup canola mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Drain tuna in colander. I rinsed with a little water than wrung out the excess moisture with my hands before transferring to a bowl.  Shred with fingers until no clumps remain and texture is fine and even. Mix in salt, pepper, celery, onion, currants, vinegar, and thyme.

Fold in mayonnaise and mustard until tuna is evenly moistened. Since it will probably be at room temperature, I recommend popping in the refrigerator for about a ½ hour so all the ingredients really meld with each other and the salad gets cold. Then, enjoy!