Chicken Peanut Thai Noodles

1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
½ Cup smooth peanut butter
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 Cup hot water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup finely chopped white onion
½ Cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper
1 Cup cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ Cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (missing in picture, it’s much better with cilantro)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ Cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package. Drain, rinse with cold water, place in large pasta bowl and toss with sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water. Set aside.
3. Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in chicken breast, cilantro and salt. Stir until heated through.
4. Add sauce and chicken mixture to noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds if desired.
6 servings

Recipe from Picky Palate.

Fried Rice

2 c. uncooked long-grain white rice
4 c. water
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (If you REALLY like sesame oil, use 3 Tbsp. and no vegetable oil)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1-2 c. cubed ham (you can also use shrimp, chicken, or a combination of all 3)
Diced veggies or peas (optional)
3 eggs, beaten
soy sauce

Cook rice according to package directions (with long-grain white rice it is usually 2 c. rice to 4 c. water.. but if for some reason your package directions are different, cook it accordingly). We actually prefer using a rice cooker, it always turns out perfectly. Heat sesame oil and vegetable oil in a LARGE skillet over medium-high heat and stir in onion. When onions become clear and light brown, add garlic. When garlic is lightly browned, add ham and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until ham is nice and hot. Add veggies (optional) and cook until veggies are tender. Stir in beaten egg and cook until egg is scrambled and firm. When rice is done, add to skillet and mix in thoroughly. Stir in soy sauce (we use just enough to get it LIGHT brown, you don't want to add to much... remember, you can always add more later when it's on your plate, but you can't take it away if you use too much!) Serve immediately.

Recipe from Favorite Family Recipes.

General Tso's Chicken

1 Lb. chicken breasts (cut into 1" pieces)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. "lite" soy sauce
1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 c. white distilled vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp. water
4 green onions, sliced

Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil over medium heat (in a wok or a skillet) until golden brown and crispy. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne over the chicken and keep warm on low heat. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger) and heat gently. When sauce is smooth and sugar has dissolved, SLOWLY add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until sauce has thickened to desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onion and hot red pepper flakes (optional). Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Recipe from Favorite Family Recipes.

Balsamic Chicken with Feta

4 chicken breasts
balsamic vinaigrette
Italian seasoning (or basil and oregano)
2 tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper
feta cheese

Marinate the chicken in some of the balsamic vinaigrette for about 2-3 hours. Remove chicken from marinade (discard excess marinade). Place chicken in a glass baking dish and add a little more balsamic vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle generously with italian seasoning. Bake in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes (or until cooked through). Remove from oven, top with tomatoes (salt and pepper the tomatoes) and feta, then broil for about 5 minutes or until the feta is lightly browned.

Recipe from Favorite Family Recipes.

Mongolian Beef

This tastes JUST like P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef! You can serve it how P.F. Changs does (by draining the excess sauce and serving it semi-dry) OR you can keep the excess sauce and spoon it over rice (which is what we like to do because the sauce is SO good).

4 tsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. water
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
1 c. vegetable oil
2 Lb. flank steaks
½ c. cornstarch
3 large green onions

Make the sauce by heating 4 tsp. vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit about 10 min. so the cornstarch sticks. As the beef sits, heat up 1 c. oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until its hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.

After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook for 1 minute while stirring and add green onions. Cook for 1 more minute. Now at this point you can either remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs and discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang's does) OR thicken the sauce with a cornstarch-water mixture to desired thickness and serve it over rice with the beef.

Recipe from Favorite Family Recipes.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

2 cups Broccoli - cooked (tender)
2 cups Chicken - cooked & cubed
1 cup Bread Crumbs

Sauce:

1 can Cream of Chicken
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 cup Mayonnaise
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Broccoli Water
1 cup grate Cheddar Cheese

Mix.

Directions:

Layer Broccoli & Chicken in 9X13 pan.

Put sauce mixture over Broccoli & Chicken.

Cut in with a knife to mix it a bit.

Top with Bread Crumbs.

Cook 35 Minutes at 350 degrees uncovered.

Serve over Rice.

Recipe from Kelly.

Kung Pao Chicken

This Kung Pao chicken is so good! Feel free so add shredded carrot, celery, baby corn, or even zucchini for a little extra flavor. YUM!

1 lb. chicken, cut into chunks
1/4 c. chicken broth
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
6 Tbsp. sesame oil, divided
4 Tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
3 heaping Tbsp. hot chile paste
3 tsp. distilled white vinegar
6 tsp brown sugar
5 green onions, chopped
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 can water chestnuts
1-2 handfuls peanuts
water

In a medium-sized bowl, combine 1 Tbsp. chicken broth, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Add chicken pieces to mixture. Toss to coat. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining broth, soy sauce, oil and cornstarch/water mixture. Add chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together and add green onion, garlic, water chestnuts and peanuts. In a large skillet, heat sauce slowly.

Remove chicken from marinade and saute in a medium skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. Add sauteed chicken to sauce and let simmer together until sauce thickens. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit of water at a time until sauce reaches desired thickness.

Recipe from Favorite Family Recipes.