Peggy's Thai Chicken Pasta Salad

For a recipe to make it into The Nelson Family cook book, you know it's going be good. The Nelsons love food, and they love good food. This is Peggy's famous Thai Chicken Pasta Salad. It's a wonderful cook ahead meal that refrigerates well and makes delicious left overs. Its full of healthy vegetables and proteins and has a subtle asian flavor to it. 

Ingredients: 

Marinade: 

1 tbs seasame seed oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 clove garlic

1 tbs grated ginger root

1 tbs lime juice

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dressing: 

1/2 cup oil 

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs sesame oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

 1 tbs fresh grated ginger

1 tbs peanut butter

2 tsp fresh lime juice

10 drops hot sauce (optional)

Salad: 

8 ounces vermicelli

1 bunch green onions (sliced) 

1 ted pepper (thinly sliced) 

1 cup carrots (shredded)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Directions: 

Combine marinade ingredients. Marinate chicken for 1 hour. Cook chicken until juices run clear or until white inside. Chop into small pieces and chill. Make dressing and mix well. Refrigerate and allow flavors to blend. Cook pasta, drain, and run cold water over the pasta to cool. Combine noodles, veggies, chicken. Just before serving, mix in the dressing and peanuts. Makes 6 servings. 

Goat Cheese Arugula Salad with Butternut Squash Mushrooms & Bacon

So I made up a salad today with some left over ingredients I had laying around, and it was SO DANG GOOD.  The pantry gods were smiling down upon me, and everything in this dish comes together so beautifully. Its got a lovely savory and satisfying flavor due to the mushrooms and bacon, and its got great for you buttery vegetables and a peppery bite from the arugula. I love eating meat free or very little meat meals. It just feels like a healthy idea. This was a great way to eat vegetables for dinner and not feel sad about it. 

Ingredients: 

1 butternut squash peeled and cubed into 1 inch squares

3 cups bag fresh arugula 

3 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 pkg baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

6 ounces crumbled goat cheese

salt and pepper 

Directions: 

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it begins to crisp up and renders some of its fat. Add your mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Remove the mushrooms and bacon from the pan and set aside. Stir your squash into the remaining bacon grease and cook until the squash is cooked through and crispy on the outside. Pour your arugula into a bowl, top it with the squash, then the bacon/mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Roasted walnuts would be a wonderful add on as well if available. 

This salad was supremely delicious and came together quickly. A quick, healthy, tasty, low meat meal. Winner winner (not a chicken dinner) in my book!

Enjoy!

Creamy Polenta with Sautéed Mushrooms

I discovered a new dish that I cannot wait to make again. It's a creamy and satisfying polenta. It tastes buttery and rich, but is surprisingly low fat. And then you send this dish over the moon balsamic glazed mushrooms. It's seriously so so good. And the best part? It's super simple! The whole dish comes together in about 10 minutes. 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

16 oz mushrooms (I had white which was great, but baby bella or cremini would be wonderful)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

18 ounces instant polenta (we LOVE the organic trader joes brand) 

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf italian parsley

salt and pepper

Directions: 

De-stem and cut your mushrooms in half or quarters depending on the size of the mushroom. You want them to be small bite sized pieces. Remember they will shrink down during cooking. Heat your olive oil in a skillet, add your mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked through (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt your butter and cut open your polenta. Spread the polenta evenly across the pan and warm until cooked through. Top with half of the cheese. Once your mushrooms are done, add them to the top of the polenta. Top with your parsley and the other half of your cheese. Season again with salt and pepper and serve immediately. 

For a 10 minute, meat free, inexpensive and healthy meal, this is one that you will want to make over and over. In fact, I'm going to go make some more right now.