Pad Thai

Since we have been eating more at home I have been trying some new recipes. I tried a Pad Thai recipe today that was simply wonderful. I was a bit apprehensive when I was making it because the fish sauce in the sauce did not smell very good but the end result was great. The recipe is below.

Pad Thai

Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package rice noodles

2 Tbsp butter

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp fish sauce

3 Tbsp white sugar

1/8 Tbsp crushed red pepper

2 c. bean sprouts

1/4 c. crushed peanuts

3 green onions, chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

Soak rice noodles in cold water 30 to 50 minutes, or until soft. Drain, and set aside. I did 50 minutes and it wasn't long enough so plan some time for this.

Heat butter in a wok or large heavy skillet. Saute chicken until browned. Remove, and set aside. Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Crack eggs into hot oil, and cook until firm. Stir in chicken, and cook for 5 minutes. Add softened noodles, and vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and red pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. Mix while cooking, until noodles are tender. Add bean sprouts, and mix for 3 minutes.

A couple of things I did was marinate the chicken in some brown sugar and bourbon marinade before cooking and also made the sauce combination of vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and red pepper earlier on to just pour over when I needed to. I multiplied those four ingredients by 6 and could have still had more to make it as saucy as I like. I didn't use quite as much fish sauce as the other three ingredients so when I make it next time I will multiply the fish sauce by 5 and everything else by 7. I never would have guessed that particular combination of things would taste so good!

Mama's Asian Chicken and Rice

I have made this recipe twice and it is delicious. If you are looking for a sweet and sour type recipe this is NOT it but the sauce is spicy and with a side of asparagus makes for a great dinner. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1/3 c. warm water 2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. packed brown sugar 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts cubed
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce 2 cups water
2 Tbsp. ketchup 1 c. uncooked white rice
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
4 cloves garlic minced 2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 2 Tbsp. cold water
1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder chopped green onions for garnish
1 tsp grated orange peel

Directions:
1. In a bowl, stir together warm water, brown sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, ketchup, white vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, five-spice powder, and orange peel until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is well combined.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat, and cook and stir the chicken until the outside is golden brown and the inside is no longer pink, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover the skillet. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. White the chicken and sauce are simmering, bring the rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the rice aside and keep warm.

4. Whisk the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl until smooth, and stir into the chicken and sauce, a few teaspoons at a time Let the chicken and sauce cook for about 2 minutes to thicken, then serve over hot cooked rice, sprinkled with green onion.

My own modifications included using jasmine rice instead of regular rice and I also sprinkled sesame seeds over the top as garnish with the green onion. This is pretty spicy so if you don't like as much spice use less of the red pepper flakes. I also doubled the recipe as the leftovers are great for lunches.

Bean Dip

Be careful, this bean dip is so good you will be requested to bring it to every gathering. This is what has happened to me! Between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve the request was for me to bring this dip and it was requested no less than 4 times.

Bean Dip
2 cans refried beans (can be fat free)
2 bricks of cream cheese (can be light or fat free)
8 ounces of sour cream (can be light or fat free)
16 ounces of salsa
2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 cups of cheddar cheese
2 cups of monterey jack cheese

Put in the crock pot on high for an hour to an hour and a half. Stir and turn to low. Delicious.

I have done all of the suggested items fat free or light at one time or another but I have never done all of them light or fat free in one recipe.