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. 

Peggy's Glazed Carrot Cake

One of my mother-in-law's recipes that my husband drools over is her glazed carrot cake. He would rather spend a night with this cake than with me. Even if you're not a fan of carrot cake, this cake will win you over. It's has the perfect moist crumble due to its delicious glaze and one secret ingredient: crushed pineapple! Maybe we should rename this Peggy's glazed pineapple carrot cake? Regardless of what we call it, we will always call it delicious. 

Cake Ingredients: 
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots (4-5 medium carrots) 
3 1/2 oz flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Glaze Ingredients: 
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

Frosting Ingredients: 
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar 

Grease and flour two round cake pans. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together your  cake ingredients. Divide into two and pour into your cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then prepare your glaze by mixing together all your ingredients (minus the vanilla) in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add your vanilla to the glaze and pour it over each of the cake rounds. Let cakes cool. Mix together your frosting ingredients in an electric mixer until smooth. Add extra powdered sugar if you prefer your frosting thicker. Frost the top of one cake round, stack the other on top of it, frost that as well. Serve and enjoy! 

Vietnamese Bahn Mi Sandwich

There is a wonderful authentic Vietnamese joint here in town that sells the most delightful bahn mi sandwiches. My husband has been wanting me to recreate these at home for some time but  I'll admit, I was intimidated. Today I finally decided to make his wish come true and wow, are these sandwiches good! I'm kicking myself for not trying to make them sooner! 

6-8 hoagie type buns

1 carrot, julienned 

1 diaikon (carrot sized), julienned 

1 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1 pound lean ground pork

1 pound lean ground beef 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, diced 

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2/3 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup hoisin sauce 

1 cup oyster sauce 

Black pepper

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Chopped cilantro as garnish 

Simmer your vinegar, salt, and sugar together in a sauce pan until sugar is dissolved. Combine your carrots and diaikon in a bowl and cover them with the vinegar mixture. Allow the mixture to marinate for at least one hour. 

Add your oil to a large deep skillet and soften onion. Add your garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute. Add 1/2 a cup of the vinegar your veggies are sitting in and simmer for an additional minute or two. Add your stock, hoisin, oyster sauce, and pepper. Allow sauce to reduce for 10 minutes. Add your beef and pork and break it up into peices and cook it through (about 7-8 minutes). 

While your meat cooks place your rolls in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up. Slice down the center without cutting them into 2 pieces. Fill with meat, top with the pickled vegetables, cilantro, and peanuts. 

This is such a flavorful and memorable sandwich. You will love chowing down in flavor town. Enjoy! 

Moroccan Chicken Drumstick Soup

I debated naming this "holy hell this is good" soup, but I figured it wasn't specific enough. I stumbled on this recipe by accident because I had some chicken drumsticks I needed to use in my freezer. This was the perfect application for them. The bones and extra fat add so much flavor to the soup, and since drumsticks are so affordable this is a very inexpensive meal. It's tastes spicy (in a cinnamon way, not a pepper way) and is just a very unique take on a traditional chicken soup. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 pounds chicken drumsticks bone in 

Water

4 carrots peeled and chopped 

5 celery stalks chopped 

1 large onion diced 

2 cloves garlic minced 

1 tsp red pepper flakes 

1 lemon 

1 bunch fresh Tyme 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg 

3 bay leaves 

Salt & pepper 

Optional add ins: 

1 can navy beans 

1 cup Acine de pepe or orchiette pasta 

Few sprigs fresh Cilantro for garnish 

Add olive oil to large medium heat pot, then add onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and bay leaves and fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken plus about 2-3 extra inches of water depending on how much broth you like. Bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes.

Cut your lemon in half and juice it into the pot. Then throw in your lemon halves. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional 2 hours.

Pull your chicken, lemons, and bay leaves out. Take the skin off the chicken and remove the bones and excess fat. Return just the good meat to the soup. Then depending on how much your broth has reduced, you can add your drained beans, or your cooked pasta. Season again with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with cilantro as a garnish. 

I would say this soup serves 4 people. It is delish and a one you should really try. 

Original recipe inspiration: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe.html

Lentil Soup

This lentil soup has been a go to fall and winter recipe for us for years. It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, makes plenty of leftovers, and is satisfying without being fattening. And it's affordable! It's a real winner winner not chicken dinner.  

4 strips of bacon

3 medium carrots

1 yellow onion

1 1/2 cup dry lentils

2 tsp dried Tyme 

Salt/pepper 

2 cans chicken broth 

1/2 cup water 

3 garlic cloves 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Chop your bacon into lentil sized peices. In a heavy soup pan crisp your bacon on medium heat. (Non crisp peices will be gross in the soup later, so be patient). Then chop your onion and carrots into lentil sized peices and add them into the pot. Cook until onions are clear. Add salt and pepper. Then add minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Then add your lentils, cans of stock, Tyme, and salt and pepper again. 

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes. If you cook out all the stock you can add 1/2 cup of water later on. Add your vinegar at the end. Salt and pepper again as needed. You can top with Parmesan shavings if you want, but it really doesn't need it. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Lavender Honey Carrot Muffins

My husband has been requesting that I bake something "healthy" for awhile. I always distrust healthy recipes I see on blogs because most people that cook healthy all the time have distorted taste buds on what is actually yummy. Well this muffin recipe won't disappoint. My one year old scarfed down two whole muffins before I could even get a bite in. They were great, and this is coming from someone who doesn't even like non-healthy muffins. 

Mix on medium speed:

1 stick softened butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup lavender honey (I get mine from www.thelavenderapple.com)

Add on slow speed:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ginger 

Batter will seem extra thick at this point. Here is what mine looked like at the end:

Then fold in by hand:

1 cup apple sauce 

1 small cup of grated carrots 

Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes depending on the size of your muffin tins. Makes 12 delicious muffins. 

 

Thai Chicken Pasta Salad

This is a lovely savory half salad half pasta dish. I love when a pasta dish is full of veggies and I love when it has a dressing that makes it really satisfying. This salad is served cold and is very easy to whip up. 

Chicken Marinade:

1 tbs. Sesame seed oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Garlic clove

1 tbs grated ginger root

1 tbs lime juice

(Or if your feeling lazy, you can use any teriyaki marinade you have on hand. Just don't tell my mother-in-law.) 

Combine marinade ingredients. Marinate chicken for 1 hour then bake chicken till 180 degrees. Chop chicken into small pieces then chill. 

Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tbs soy sauce 

1 tbs sesame oil 

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 clove garlic minced 

1 tbs grated ginger root

1 tbs peanut butter 

2 tsp lime juice

Make dressing, mix, chill.

Salad:

8 ounces vermicelli (or whatever pasta you choose. Tonight I used Asian corn noodle.)

1/2 bunch green onions chopped 

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

1 1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup roasted peanuts 

Cook pasta, drain, run under cool water to chill. Combine all ingredients and mix and serve. Serves 6. 

Thai Chicken Quinoa

My husband is not a fan of quinoa. I'm not sure why. I mean it's in a ton of trendy health recipes lately and he's always telling me to cook healthier for him. Quinoa is easy to keep stocked in the pantry, easy to cook, and full of protein. So last night when my husband was at school late, I decided it was the perfect night to serve myself up some quinoa. It was so good that when my husband begrudgingly took leftovers for lunch today, I got a text telling me how "awesome" it was. 😄

Thai Chicken Quinoa 

YIELD: SERVES 4

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

ingredients:

1 cups uncooked quinoa then cooked, (I cook mine in 2 cups chicken stock with a little salt for about 20 minutes, similar to couscous)
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (try to chop chicken and veggies same size)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup shelled edamame
1 cup chopped green onions

3/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro

sauce
1/2 tsp chili sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter 
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 lime, juice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Melt sauce over stove while you sautée veggies, then mix it all together and salt and pepper it. Add vegetable oil and soy sauce if it needs more liquid. Yum yum!