Noodle & Co.'s Thai Peanut Saute

Can I just say that I'm really liking Sriracha Chili Sauce? It adds such a great flavor and a little kick (or a lot) to things. I think it helps add a great element to this dish. I see so many recipes that are Thai that just use peanut butter and soy sauce but they're really lacking some other great flavors, in my opinion. (I know, to get even more authentic you'd have to start adding fish sauce and stuff, but I'm not there yet! :)

This has a long ingredient list, but it's really not too hard. Just have all your chopping done and ingredients gathered before you start and it will go smoothly.
On with the recipe. Please pass the Sriracha!

Noodle & Co.'s Thai Peanut Saute
1-2 lbs chicken cut into thin strips or cubes
Sriracha Chili Sauce (start with a little - remember the sauce has it too so don't make it too hot here)
1-3 T. lime juice, depending on what you like
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 T. fresh ginger (I used 1/2 tsp. ginger powder)
3-4 shakes soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste
1 pkg (16 oz) linguine noodles
peanuts, optional

Vegetables: (You can choose which ones and how much of each)
Carrots (shoestring or sliced)
Broccoli florets, chopped small
green onion, sliced
bean sprouts

Peanut Sauce:
1 c. chicken broth
6 heaping T. creamy peanut butter
2-4 tsp. Sriracha Chili Sauce (to taste)
3 T. honey
6 T. soy sauce
3 T. minced fresh ginger (I subbed powdered)
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (I used powdered)

In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil, Sriracha, lime, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and salt & pepper. While chicken is cooking, prepare the linguine. (Toss with some oil when done cooking.)

To prepare the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small pan over medium-low heat until the sauce becomes smooth and well-blended. Taste and see if you need more chili sauce!

After the chicken is cooked, remove from pan and keep warm. Add a little more oil to pan if needed and saute the vegetables (other than the bean sprouts) until crisp tender. Add the bean sprouts and chicken, cover and reduce heat to keep warm.

You can either mix the sauce with the noodles and top with the veggies and chicken or just mix them all together.
Serve with peanuts, if desired.

Recipe slightly altered from www.favfamilyrecipes.com

Dinner Salad with Lemon-Yogurt Dressing

This is a tasty recipe I got from Bon Appetit magazine and then adapted to our personal preferences. It will also make a yummy lunch at work tomorrow - mmm, mmm!

Dinner Salad with Lemon-Yogurt Dressing

Dressing:

1 C fat-free plain Greek yogurt

1/3 C chopped fresh Italian parsley (or a couple good shakes of dried parsley)

1/4 C avocado oil or canola oil

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

8 C coarsely chopped romaine lettuce

2 C baby spinach

2 small carrots, diced

1 celery rib, sliced

3/4 C garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

3/4 C halved olives (black or Kalamata according to your taste)

1/2 C thinly sliced radishes

1 avocado, diced

1/2 C roasted sunflower seeds

Dressing: Whisk first 5 ingredients together in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Salad:  Toss lettuce and spinach together in a large bowl. Divide among dinner plates and top with remaining ingredients. Serve with dressing.

 

Herbed Artichoke Cheese Tortellini

This is another yummy tortellini dish.  It's pretty quick too. :)

Herbed Artichoke Cheese Tortellini

2 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian diced tomatoes, drained then pureed (not completely, but to a lightly chunky consistency)
1 (14.5 oz) can artichoke hearts, chopped to small pieces
1 (16 oz) pkg cheese tortellini
1/2 small onion, diced
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 Tbsp olive oil
1(2 1/4 oz) can sliced olives, drained
1/2 tsp salt
shredded Parmesan cheese, to taste

Cook tortellini according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onions, basil, garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes in olive oil for 4-5 minutes until onions are tender.  Add tomatoes and salt; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, stir in olives and artichokes.  Heat through.  Toss with tortellini and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

chewy lemon snowdrop cookies

I found these a while back on a random food blog and didn't write down which one, but I finally made them tonight and they are super yummy. Jeremy even really likes them and they're lemon!  

chewy lemon snowdrop cookies

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons butter
zest of 2 lemons (finely zested)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice
about 1 cup powdered sugar, for coating

 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
 2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, lemon zest, sugar, and agave nectar. Mix until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and mix in salt.
 3. In a small cup, combine the lemon juice baking soda. With the mixer on low, add in flour and lemon juice mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula and mix the dough by hand a few times to ensure an even distribution of the ingredients.
4. Roll the dough into balls, one inch in diameter. Bake for 10 minutes - remove when golden around edges. Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheets , and then dip in powdered sugar to coat.

Roasted Asparagus with Lemony Breadcrumbs

Another deeeeelish asparagus recipe.  We had this for Easter and it's now one of our favorites, even though Jeff is getting a little tired of asparagus.  : )  The crunch of the breadcrumbs, and the fresh flavor of the lemons really compliment the asparagus.  It's so good!
Oh, we sauteed the asparagus in a frying pan on high heat because the oven was being used for something else, and it worked just fine.

Roasted Asparagus with Lemony Breadcrumbs

2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 C. panko breadcrumbs
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
Garnish: 1/2 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 425°.  Arrange asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle with oil.  Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Roast until tender, 18 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a platter.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add panko, and cook, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, and stir in lemon juice and zest.  Season with salt.
Top asparagus with breadcrumbs, and garnish with lemon.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Blueberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake with Lemon Cream

The creaming step is apparently very important in this recipe....some reviewers on the website said they didn't cream the butter/sour cream/sugar for the entire 8 minutes and they said that the butter separated a little during baking, making a pool of butter at the top of the loaf.....so make sure you cream those ingredients for the whole 8 minutes.  : )  This cake is really nice and moist.  If you happen to prefer sweeter cream, simply add more sugar.   

Blueberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake with Lemon Cream

1 pound (3 1/4 cups), plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
1/2 C. sour cream
2 C. sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs
2 C. blueberries
2 Tbsp sanding sugar, optional

For the Topping:
1 C. heavy cream
1 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325°.  Butter two 9x5-inch loaf pans.  Combine 3 1/4 cups flour and salt in a bowl.
Cream butter, sour cream, and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes.  Scrape down sides of bowl.  Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.
Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides.  Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated.  Toss blueberries in remaining 2 tablespoons flour; fold into finished batter.
Divide batter between pans.  Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.
Before baking, sprinkle sanding sugar over each cake.  Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes.  Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.
Make the lemon cream: Combine heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl.  Beat until soft peaks form.
Serve slices of cake with a dollop of cream.

Recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Thai Stir-Fried Asparagus with Lemongrass

This reicpe originally called for "Thai bird's eye chili peppers".  I've only tried asian chilis once and it was the "so hot that I can't taste the rest of my food now" kind of pepper so even if I knew where to buy these peppers, I was kinda afraid to try them.  : )  So I just sprinkled on some crushed red pepper to taste.  I found the lemongrass at Sprouts.  This smells so good while it's cooking and tastes just as delightful.  Yum yum!!

Thai Stir-Fried Asparagus with Lemongrass

1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off, stalks but into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, ends trimmed off and then remaining stak finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 C. coconut milk
2 Tbsp water
1/2 red bell pepper
crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
2 tsp fish sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan or wok, heat the oil and saute the lemongrass and garlic until aromatic.  Add in the asparagus and stir fry for about one minute.  Add in the bell pepper and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, the reduce heat and simmer for two minutes or until asparagus is crisp tender. 
Serve hot with steamed rice, and enjoy!

Recipe altered slightly from seasonwithspice.com