Pad Tai

Neil and I got culinarily creative this weekend and it was a HUGE success.
This requires some unusual ingredients, but if you buy them at an Asian food store you get a LOT for super cheap, much much cheaper than at Kroger/Dominicks/Whole Foods etc.

Pad Tai
Serves 2 (generously...)

1 8 oz package dried flat rice noodles
3 tbsp fish sauce (it smells bad... be forewarned)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oyster suace
1 tbsp Asian chili pepper sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup veg oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
8 oz skinless boneless chicken breast cut in pieces
2 eggs beaten
3 cups bean sprouts
6 green onions cut up
2 tbsp dry roasted unsalted peantus

Fill a large bowl with HOT tap water and soak noodles 20 mins.

In a small bowl, mix fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, oyster sauce, chili sauce and chicken stock. set aside

Heat large skillet over high heat with veg oil. cook garlic, then add chicken and cook 7 minutes, stir constantly (or till chicken is cooked through). You could make this with any meat /seafood or tofu or omit this step entirely.

Move everything in the wok (or large frying pan) to the sides and pour eggs in center, cook till firm. Add noodles, pour in sauce, cook till noodles are tender. Stir in bean sprouts and onions. Remove from heat and garnish with peanuts and more sprouts. Serve with a lime wedge.

Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup

I was kind of looking for something new and I came across this great soup recipe on The Recipe Girl. This is a great and simple soup. I'm really starting to love fresh cilantro, so this was right up my alley. My husband even said this might have to become a regular meal for us. It has a little spice to it, but it's not too spicy. The good thing about this recipe is you can control the heat. The serving size is perfect for a small family, but it could easily be double if you have guests.

½ tsp ground cumin
One 15.5-ounce can navy beans, rinsed and drained
One 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes
One 14-ounce can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 whole chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, finely chopped**
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about ½ pound)
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Partially mash tomatoes and beans with a potato masher. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in oil. Place 1¼ cups soup in each of four bowls. Top each serving with 2 Tablespoons sour cream and 1 Tablespoon cilantro.

Servings: 4

** I used 2 chiles and the soup just had a little heat, for me anyways. Next time I'm using 3 maybe 4. The can of chiles has at least 6 in it, so it's not like you're paying more for more heat.

Guilt Free Guacamole

You guys are going to think I am losing my mind with the kind of food stuff I have been experimenting with lately, but with no job, what's a girl to do? cook! This is from the Weight Watchers cookbook, though we do not use weight watchers. Anyways, it's kind of a crazy idea, but it actually tasted good and would also be good for baby food?? Maybe? I don't have babies, so i'm not sure what kind of restrictions there are for making baby food.

Guilt Free Guacamole
Serves about 6, makes one large bowl full

12 spears of asparagus, steamed or boiled or otherwise cooked to tender
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup salsa
pinch of salt/pepper

Pulverize all of those in a blender till chunky and walla! you have a guacamole looking food. Honestly, it's pretty tasty, though I do have some suggested changes that I will implement next time. Careful not to overblend it because there is a lot of water in asparagus and I blended mine beyond recognition and there was some water in it, but no matter.

It could DEFINITELY use more garlic. The original recipe makes a LOT so i posted the half size portion which is what I made. The original recipe also called for 2 cloves garlic.

I would also add probably a tablespoon of lime juice, some minced jalapenos and maybe some diced tomatoes depending on how you like your traditional guac.

My dad also suggested substituting half of the asparagus for actual guacacmole. I'm not sure how that would turn out, but might be worth exploring.

Cannellini Bean Pate

This is another really super easy snack or sandwich spread. (or pita spread for that matter). It came from "Best Ever Three & Four Ingredient Cookbook".

2 14oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 oz Cheddar cheese (i think it's about a half a cup..though my math may be way off)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley ( i skipped this, we didn't have it, you could substitute anything really)
3 tbps olive oil

Put cannellini beans in the food processor with the olive oil in a steady stream. Process to a chunky paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the shredded cheese and parsley. Sprinkle with a little paprika , if desired. Serve with wholegrain toast.

I heated mine in the microwave because melted cheese is awesome and it tasted really good. I dipped carrots in mine, though I would probably not use that particular vegetable next time. I also think that tyou can whip this stuff on top of a tortilla with some lettuce and tomato and BOOM you have quesadillas! brillant, yo!

Cuban Pizza

This is what you can use some of that extra pork from the roasted pork, beans and rice. Lately I've been all about using leftovers in pizza form, and I think this is my husbands favorite so far. This is so good, it tastes like a Cuban sandwich (minus the ham). This is from the same blog I got the pork, rice and beans from, and yes, I still can't figure it out.

CUBAN PIZZA

1 pizza dough

yellow mustard

3 cups mozzarella cheese
2 cups Swiss cheese

Dill Pickles

Left Over shredded Roast Pork

Adobo Seasoning

Directions
Preheat your oven according to your directions on the dough package, mine was 400 degrees.

1. Roll out your pizza dough. Spread is with a nice helping of mustard( I know I know..just trust me on this one)
2. Cover it with the mozzarella and Swiss cheese
3. Put on the pork
4. Put your pickles on some paper towel and pat this dry. Put the pickles on the pizza.
5. Sprinkle with a bit of Adobo Seasoning.
6. Cook according to your dough package, mine was 13-15 minutes.