Sunday, May 25, 2008

"Noodle Nests" with Peanut Sauce

This is a great way to use up leftover spaghetti (but fresh works well too). Mia even ate it. I haven't tried it, but I hear you can also do a similar thing with noodles and fresh basil and do a marinara-type dipping sauce...

Noodle Nests (I found the name is a good sell to kids)
1 to 3 t curry paste (depending on your feelings for curry)
4 eggs
6 oz (2/3 C) tofu diced in small cubes
1/4 to 1/2 C cilantro
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 t salt
4 C spaghetti noodles, cold

1 T sesame oil or olive oil in a pan

Turn on a frying pan to med high heat. Mix the eggs and curry paste together in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with your hands so the noodles don't break. Put small circular piles of the noodle mixture in the pan (they keep their shape better if you use a circle shaped biscuit cutter as a mold). Make sure you get the tofu on there too because sometimes it sinks to the bottom of the bowl. Cook until golden brown on each side. Top with Peanut sauce or use sauce for dipping.

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 C honey (although you could probably leave this out if you use the PB w/sugar in it already)
1/4 C peanut butter
2 T rice vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T sesame oil
2 t garlic
1 T ginger
1 t red pepper flakes (if you want a little kick)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

White Chili

1 or 2 chicken breasts (boil for 20 min for short method or allow extra time for crockpot cooking)
4 cans great northern beans (white)
1 small can green chilis (chopped peeled)
1 can white sweet corn
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated monteray jack cheese
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

For crockpot method: combine chicken broth, onion, and chicken in crockpot. Cook on high for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until chicken is done. Add remaining ingredients except sour cream and cheese. You can add 2 tsp corn starch with 1 T cold water to thicken chili if you want it to be thicker. Continue cooking for one hour. Turn heat to low. Stir in sour cream. Serve with breadsticks and garnish with grated cheese and additional sour cream. Yum!