Hot and Cold Sesame Noodles

This is a nice, easy Asian dish.  It would work well as a side with a grilled piece of chicken/pork/fish.  This is a Rachel Ray recipe that I saved from a long time ago.  Shawn didn't love the cabbage in it, but I thought it was good.  I also think it would be good loaded with vegetables, like diced cucumber, carrots, peppers, etc.  You could even put in some peanuts for a nice crunch.

ingredients

• 1/2 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup Tamari dark soy, eyeball it
• 1/4 rounded cup smooth peanut butter, softened in microwave 15 seconds on high
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, eyeball it
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce  ( I actually used 2 tsp. of sriracha hot sauce instead)
• 2 cups shredded cabbage and carrot mix, available in produce department
• 1 cup bean sprouts or pea shoots, any variety, available in produce department
• 3 scallions, chopped on an angle
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions

Cook pasta to al dente, with a bite to it, then cold shock it to stop the cooking process by running it under cold water in colander. Drain the pasta very well.

In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together soy, peanut butter, vinegar, oil, sesame oil, and hot sauce. Add noodles and veggies and toss to combine the noodles and coat them evenly with sauce. Sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds throughout the salad and serve.

Naan

This recipe it sooooo delicious, we had it last night and Shawn and I already want it again (Brooke you need to try this).  Shawn and I like Greek/Mediterranean food.  It is usually pretty fresh, healthy stuff with lots of flavor.  I found this recipe for Naan and really wanted to try it, but traditionally in Greek Cuisine these are served with lamb and Taziki sauce (for those of you who have had a Gyro, they are the same thing).  While Shawn likes lamb, I haven't conquered my fear of cooking it. I've promise Shawn one year for Christmas I'll make a big roasted lamb, but until then I'll just stick with chicken:)

Here is the Naan recipe.  The dough is really simple, like any yeast dough, but it does take time rolling each one out.  But, I PROMISE, it is totally worth it.  It is like having homemade tortillas, they are pain to make, but sooo worth it.

NAAN
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast (make sure to always use good yeast, it makes a difference)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes or until foam so you know the yeast is working.  Stir in flour, salt, canola oil, yogurt, and egg.  Mix together and knead until smooth.  Cover with towel and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out into thin circle.  Cook each Naan in a nice hot skillet drizzled with oil and a dab of butter.  Cook about 2-4 minutes until golden and the surface has blister looking things, then flip is over and cook the other side.


You can serve these many ways, but I decided to mix my Greek Food with Mexican.  So I made some taco spiced chicken (I'll post that recipe someday because it's good), and served it with the Naan, Guacamole (Shawn's homemade, I'll have to post that also someday), lettuce, Colby/jack cheese, and my own Mexican Cilantro Taziki Sauce.  I actually make up my own sauce.  I have a recipe for a lime/cilantro vinaigrette, so I made that and added about 1/2 cup plain yogurt to it to thicken it up.  The base of Taziki sauce is yogurt, so I made it the base of my vinaigrette, and I think it turned out delicious.  Here is the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Recipe (from www.ourbestbites.com).

Cilantro-Lime Viaigrette
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup canola oil (the recipe actually calls for 1 cup, but I decreased it because I knew I wanted to add the yogurt and wanted a thicker texture)
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients in blender, except oil.  Blend together and gradually add oil.  This vinaigrette can be served with salad greens, on any type of Mexican dish, or use it ask a marinade.

ENJOY!

Lettuce Wraps

I know that there are lots of PF Change lettuce wrap copy cat recipes out there.  I have tried many of them, and while I have liked all of them, this one is the easiest with lots of good flavor.
10 whole lettuce leafs (iceberg or bib lettuce)
1 lb. ground chicken/turkey/beef (PF Changs uses ground chicken)
1 white onion, chopped
2 T. garlic minced
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped
3 green onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (or you can make your own, recipe below)
1 T. soy sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. chili paste (or 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes)  You can decrease this depending on your tastes
1 T. sesame oil

Homemade Hoisin
While I have Hoisin sauce in my fridge because we like cooking Asian Cuisine, most people don't.  So here is a substitute.
5 T. soy sauce
2 T. bean curd paste (Or you can substitute peanut butter because if you don't has Hoisin, you probably don't have bean curd paste :)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 T. honey
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp hot sauce
(you can adjust the hot sauce and pepper to your taste.)

Cook the ground meet until brown with the white onion and garlic.  Add soy sauce, vinegar, Hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, water chestnuts and green onions.  Cook until green onions start to wilt and then serve.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Another allrecipes.com favorite.  My kids like meatballs, but it's fun to try something different other than marinara sauce.  I like to use homemade meatballs, but you can always use those frozen pre-made ones.  I always add chopped sweet peppers to any sweet and sour type meals, I don't know why, but I do and it taste good.  Of course my kids pick them out, but I don't care.  I like to make this recipe in my crock pot in the morning, and then at dinner time the house smells wonderful and dinner is ready :)

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine beef, egg, onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Roll into meatballs about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in size.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the meatballs until browned on all sides.
3. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, ketchup, cornstarch, sugar and soy sauce. Pour over the meatballs, and allow sauce to thicken. Continue to heat until the sauce just starts to bubble.