Pad Thai

We love Thai food. Whenever we go I want to try new things but also can’t resist ordering my favorite, Pad Thai. I think that problem is solved because this recipe tastes as good to me as anything I’ve had at a restaurant. Now I can eat Pad Thai at home and try new things when we go out. Win-win!! The long list of ingredients looked intimidating to me at first (especially the fish sauce…look for that near the soy and thai sauces at your grocery store) but it’s very easy to make. We liked it so much we ate it twice this week, so try it out!

PAD THAI

3/4 pound bean sprouts
6 ounces pad thai rice noodles
4 eggs
salt
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons sesame or extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 cups grated carrots
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (optional)
2/3 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced

Bring pot of water to boil and prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Add the bean sprouts to the boiling noodles during the last minute of cooking. Drain noodles/beans and rinse with cold water.
Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Stir together the lime juice, ketchup, brown sugar, and fish sauce in a separate bowl and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet (or wok) over medium heat. Fry the garlic for about a minute. Add red pepper flakes and carrot and stir fry for one minute, move to one side of the skillet.  Add the beaten egg to the opposite side of the skillet and scramble.  Once eggs have set, mix them with the peppers and carrots. Add peanut butter and mix in until melted. Add the noodles, sprouts, green onions, peanuts, and sauce. Toss and serve.
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Silly Pancakes

This is my 4 yr old daughter's favorite breakfast. She loves to watch them bake into crazy bumps and bubbles. She started calling them "Crazy Pancakes" and it sort of stuck at our house. I have made these gluten-free several times, but this is the recipe that gave me the best results.

Silly Pancakes (German Pancakes)

Put the following ingredients into blender:
6 eggs
1 cup milk (I use vanilla soy and it's delicious)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt

Blend for about 1 minute. Meanwhile, place 3 Tbsp of butter in a 9x13in baking dish and set it in the oven while you preheat to 400 degrees. Keep an eye on it and pull it out once the butter is melted. When batter is well blended, pour into buttered dish and bake for about 20 min. Serve with maple syrup.

Kung Pao Chicken

I recently had my first experience with Kung Pao Chicken.  The restaurant version was great, but this recipe I made at home was even better. I am a big fan of simple recipes.  At first glance this seems a bit complex, but really it's simple. The steps are just broken down for my own benefit, so I don't screw-up. Dinner time is easily my hardest time of day as that's when I need to be paying attention to what I'm doing in the kitchen as well as the precious baby girl clinging to my legs.  Anyway, try the Kung Pao. It's divine.

Kung Pao Chicken

1 lb chicken (I used 2 frozen boneless skinless breast halves) cut into strips

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp sweet thai chilli sauce (I used 3 tbsp)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp sesame oil

2 green onions, diced. separate green pieces from white

1 medium green bell pepper (I did half green, half red), diced

2 medium carrots thinly sliced

1/2 cup zucchini, diced (optional)

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts

3 cups prepared jasmine rice

Prepare chicken marinade: Dissolve 1 Tbsp of corn starch in 1 Tbsp of water and then add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, 1 Tbsp of rice vinegar, and 2 tsp of minced garlic. Stir well. Pour over chicken in a container, cover and refridgerate while you prepare the rest.

Prepare the sauce: Dissolve 1 Tbsp of corn starch in 1 Tbsp of water. Then add 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1 tsp sesame oil. Stir to combine and dissolve the brown sugar. Set the sauce aside.

Prepare the veggies: Slice the peppers, carrots, zucchini and green onion.

Prepare rice: add 1.5 cups jasmine rice to 2.5 cups boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Heat 2 T. oil in medium skillet. When it's very hot add white portions of the onions and cook for about 1 minute. Add marinated chicken and stir-fry until cooked through (about 5 min).

Add veggies and peanuts, cook for about 2 minutes. Add the sauce and cook until thickened (about 2-3 min). Serve chicken and veggie mixture over prepared rice.

Crockpot Potato Soup

My favorite part about this cold weather is busting-out all the soup recipes we love so much. This is one of my favorites. You can kind of play around with different ingredients and quantities so it's really easy.

Crockpot Potato Soup

Mix these ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hrs or on high for 4 hrs.
5 cups chicken broth
8-10 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper

Using a measuring cup, scoop about 2 cups of cooked soup from crockpot into blender and puree until smooth. Then pour pureed soup back into crockpot. This makes it really creamy without adding cream/fat. Then add any of these optional ingredients:
1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
2 green onions, sliced