Top 10 Chinese Dishes

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Mom of 4

I am all about shopping in the Ethnic section of our local grocery store, that is where I discovered fish sauce and rice noodles, which totally rocked my world. And boy, was I ever excited to find these: … Continue reading →

Chicken Challenge Day 4: Lemon Chicken Stir Fry

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Mom of 4

This fresh-tasting stir-fry is sure to please both mom and the kiddos. Colorful veggies to make mom happy, and fun, squiggly ramen noodles are sure to make every kids slurpy-noodle dreams come true!

Lemon Chicken Stir Fry

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Ingredients

3 T. Olive oil
1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Thinly Sliced
1 piece (about 1-inch Size) Fresh Ginger Root, Finely Diced
2 cups Water
2 packages (3 Oz. Size) Chicken-Flavored Ramen Noodles, Broken Into Pieces
2 cups Broccoli Florets, Fresh Or Frozen, Thawed
1-½ cup Carrot Shreds
1 whole Red Pepper, Cut Into 1/2 Inch Strips
3 whole Green Onions, Sliced
1 whole Lemon, Zest And Juice, Divided Use
Optional: 2 additional Ramen Packets and chicken broth

Preparation Instructions

Cut red bell pepper into 1/2 inch strips. Slice green onions. Zest a whole lemon. Cut chicken into thin strips.

Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat until hot, then add chicken and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring often to brown evenly. Add finely chopped ginger root, wait 30 seconds, then add water, and bring to a boil. Add noodles that have been broken into pieces, stirring until starting to soften and break apart. Add seasoning packets from Ramen noodles, reduce heat. Add broccoli and carrots, simmer 3 minutes until noodles are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. At this point, add bell pepper, green onions and lemon zest. Just heat through, do not over cook!

Drizzle with fresh lemon juice before serving.

We serve 7 people at dinner time, now that Papa Don usually joins us, so to make this dish go further, I cooked 2 more packages of Ramen noodles, draining the water, then seasoning with 1 of the 2 included packets. This step is optional, but great for feeding a bigger crowd!

*If you are worried about sodium content, simply boil the extra Ramen in chicken broth, drain and stir into stir fry mixture to stretch it, skipping the included packets.

Enjoy this taste of Sunshine on a dreary day!

Asian Noodle Stir Fry

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Mom of 4

I LOOOVE using Authentic flavors and ingredients to create yummy dishes. Like real Mozzarella for Italian, Cotija cheese for Mexican and now? Rice noodles, fish sauce and curry paste for Stir Fry night.

OH MY GOODNESS! It makes ALL the difference!

Be brave, shop in the unusual sections in your grocery store and prepare to be amazed. We didn’t have ONE scrap of noodle left from the recipe, not ONE!!!!!!!

*Note that all of the unusual ingredients in this recipe were easily found in my local, small town grocery store.

Asian Noodle Stir Fry

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Ingredients

8-⅞ ounces, weight Box Of Vermicelli Rice Noodles
4 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
½ cups Sesame Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Pressed
1 pound Cubed Chicken
1 Tablespoon & 1 Tsp. Green Curry Paste
2 teaspoons Ground Turmeric
3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
½ cups Of Raw Broccoli, Cut In Small Pieces
½ cups Broccoli/Rainbow Slaw
½ cups Shredded Carrots
12 ounces, weight Cherry Tomatoes, Cut In Half
1 cup Green Onions, Cut
½ cups Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Soak rice noodles in hot tap water for 1 minute, soak while you cut veggies and prep chicken. Cut noodles in half with kitchen shears.
Combine sugar and lime juice. Set aside.

Heat sesame oil in large skillet or wok, add garlic and cook until soft. Add curry paste and Turmeric.

Stir in chicken cubes and fish sauce and cook until no longer pink. Add lime juice-sugar mixture, broccoli, rainbow slaw and carrots. Stir fry until tender crisp. Add tomatoes and green onions.

Cook 1 minute before adding drained, cut noodles. Stir fry 1 minute or two longer until noodles are warm and coated.

Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

Now go, make this….you can thank me later! 😉

Peppered Beef & Snow Peas with Brown Rice Bake

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Mom of 4

Another 2 post kinda day, I’m telling you I have been hitting the New Recipe JACKPOT! I hardly ever have so many keepers. What a good problem to have.

Hungry for Chinese food? Skip Chinese take out…now you can make your own!

Easy and oh-so delicious!

Peppered Beef & Snow Peas

from One Lovely Life

For Stir Fry:
2 pounds Strip Steak, Thinly Sliced Across Grain
½ cups Soy Sauce
4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger, Minced (don’t Skip This, It Adds Great Flavor! Peel And Mince Remaining Pieces And Freeze For Another Use)
2 teaspoons Cracked Pepper
1-½ teaspoon Sesame Oil
Pinch Of Red Pepper Flakes
8 ounces, weight Snow Peas, Ends Trimmed Off
4 whole Green Onions, Sliced
4 Tablespoons Oil
5 Tablespoons Water

For stir-fry:
In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, black pepper, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Add steak strips to the marinade and toss to coat.

In a large family skillet, heat 2 Tbsp oil over high heat. Add snow peas and cook 1-2 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Heat 2 more Tbsp of oil. Add beef strips and green onion to skillet (squeeze steak strips out to leave as much of the marinade in the bowl as possible). Cook on one side 1 minute without disturbing. Flip and cook an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink. Remove from skillet and set aside with snow peas.

Using the same skillet, pour in remaining marinade and add 5 Tbsp water. Allow marinade to come to boil until thickened. (get it nice and hot to kill any raw meat germs) Return peas and beef to skillet and toss with sauce.

Serve over baked brown rice. YUMMY!

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I have always struggled with sticky rice, not matter how much I rinse the rice, watch the pot, carefully fluff with a fork….my rice is sticky. YUCK!

But, that was before I found this recipe for Brown Rice that you bake in the oven. It turns out perfect everytime!!!!! YAY!

Brown Rice Bake

1-½ cup Brown Basamati Rice

2 cups Chicken Broth

½ cups Water

½ teaspoons Salt

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine brown rice, chicken broth, water and salt in a 8×11 baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before removing foil and fluffing with fork.

Dig in! It was so good there is not one speck left…..guess I better double it next time! 🙂