Undercover – The Greatest Food Deception of all Time – Chicken Pad Thai with Spaghetti Squash

Do you ever have to go “under cover” when cooking dinner for your family?

I have had to go under cover often times.  My husband says he doesn’t like certain vegetables or ingredients and as long as he doesn’t see or know the ingredients 99% of the time he loves it!  This undercover recipe incorporates two foods that he claims to dislike:  spaghetti squash and cabbage!  I make Pad Thai quite often, usually with shrimp, rice noodles and lettuce.  He liked this dish and I had to stop myself from laughing when he tasted it and said rice noodles and lettuce.  And he actually thought I was trying to pass off the chicken as pork which I have done before with success!  Too funny!!

This recipe is a winner and iI can’t wait to make it again; this time with shrimp.

Go under cover and make this … you’ll love it!  ENJOY!

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

INGREDIENTS:

1 small spaghetti squash, halved and seeded Sauce: 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 3 tablespoons peanut butter 1 tablespoon chile-garlic sauce 1 tablespoon fish sauce 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 tablespoons cold water 1 tablespoon cornstarch Vegetables: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 (12 ounce) package broccoli coleslaw mix 1 zucchini, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/2 cup sliced green onions 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 2 cubed cooked chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place spaghetti squash, cut-side up, on a baking sheet.
2.	Bake in the preheated oven until squash is tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Shred squash meat using a fork and discard the peel.
3.	Combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chile-garlic sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and black pepper together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Whisk water and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth; add to broth mixture and continue boiling until sauce thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce.
4.	Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; saute broccoli slaw, zucchini, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, and shredded spaghetti squash until tender, about 10 minutes. Add chicken and sauce to squash mixture; cook and stir until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Source:  Allrecipes.com

Use Your Garden Fresh Snow Peas – Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

If you are a reader of my blog it is no secret that I’m huge fan of Asian food.  As I often do, I found myself craving Thai food.  While searching for Thai recipes I discovered this recipe at theyummylife.com and it doesn’t disappoint.  It is delicious, easy to pull together and I can use my fresh snow peas from the garden.  I do like her suggestion of making extra sauce and freezing it!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. rice noodles, cooked
• 2-3 chicken breasts, thinly sliced across the grain into bite-sized pieces (shrimp is good, too)
• 6-7 cups (approx.) cut veggies of your choice (I like 1 c. carrots, 1-1/2 c. snow peas, 2 c. mushrooms, 3/4 c. red pepper, 1 c. baby bok choy, 3/4 c. green onions)
• 1-2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 c. (or more) chicken broth (use water for vegetarian version)
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1 c. peanut sauce (recipe below)
• For garnish:
• Unsalted, roasted peanuts, chopped
• Cilantro, chopped

Directions

In large skillet or wok, stir fry chicken in 1-2 T. oil.  Remove from pan.
Stir fry veggies in batches in same skillet (add more oil, if necessary).  Remove from pan after each batch. For example, stir fry mushrooms & remove from pan; stir fry carrots and snow peas & remove from pan; stir fry red pepper, baby bok choy, green onions & remove from pan. Add chicken broth (or water) and soy sauce to skillet and stir to remove brown bits from bottom of pan.  Add peanut sauce and whisk together.  Add more chicken broth or peanut sauce, if necessary, to achieve a gravy consistency.  Add cooked rice noodles, chicken and veggies; toss with tongs.  Heat through and serve.  If desired, garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro; add crushed red pepper flakes for more heat.

Asian Peanut Sauce

Servings: Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 2 T. soy or tamari sauce
• 2 t. rice vinegar
• 1 t. toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (or more for additional heat)
• 1-1/2 t. grated ginger root
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 1 t. honey or sugar
• 1/2 c. water (or more)

Directions

Whisk together Peanut Sauce ingredients in sauce pan over med-low heat. Cook on low for 10 minutes.Toss with noodles, or serve as a condiment with satay, lettuce wraps, or raw veggies.

This recipe freezes well. Try making a double or triple batch of peanut sauce and freezing it in 1-cup portions for future use.

Source:  TheYummyLife.com

Asian Inspired Baked Tilapia – “Oh My This is So Good”!

I was planning on having a salad for dinner from my garden and maybe adding some chicken and vegetables.  How quickly plans can change.  I went to the supermarket on my lunch break and just happened to pass by the fish case … fresh tilapia was calling my name.  I also picked up a huge ripe mango and was thinking maybe grilled tilapia with mango salsa, but I’ve had that before and I wanted something different.  I searched the internet for tilapia and came up with 3 recipes that sounded good; with ingredients I had at home.  I finally decided on this recipe.  I usually grill my fish, and rarely, if ever bake fish.  That is about to change after making this recipe!  Oh my … I was totally unprepared for this taste sensation!!  I knew that I liked the ingredients, but I just didn’t imagine it would be this good.  For a recipe so simple, and so quick I was quite simply amazed that it was this incredibly good!  My original idea of a salad came together, but with a wonderful surprising twist and a recipe that I will be making over and over again.  An added bonus is that this is very light and healthy and high in flavor!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Asian Inspired Baked Tilapia (serves 2)

• 2-3 tilapia fillets – about 3/4 pound
•  1 jalapeno pepper
•  3 green onions
• 2 -3 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• Juice of 1/2 lime
•  2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Red Pepper, chopped for garnish
• Scallions, chopped for garnish
• Extra cilantro, to garnish
• 1 package/bag Mixed Baby Salad Greens

Heat the oven to 475F. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish. Add jalapeno pepper, green onion, chopped ginger, and cilantro into small food processor and pulse until combined.  Add the mixture to a small bowl with the fresh lime juice, soy sauce, white wine, and sesame oil. Mix until blended. Pour the sauce over the fish, pressing the solid ingredients down into the fish a bit. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through. Divide the salad greens between two plates.  Remove the tilapia with a spatula and place half on top of the greens on each plate.  Drizzle the fish with the marinade left in the pan.  Garnish with chopped red pepper, cilantro and green onion.  Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Adapted from:  weheartfood.com