Asian Glazed Drumsticks

Last week was my husband's spring break. I took one too - we left for Kansas City, saw some fun sites and museums. I didn't do much cooking or cleaning. It was fabulous.
Are you guys watching March Madness? Our team was in through the sweet 16, unfortunately loosing last Thursday night by just a few points. It was sweet while it lasted.
Even though it was just my husband and I watching the game I thought we needed some party food - so I finally made these Asian Drumsticks from Gina's Skinny Recipes. These were delicious, and you would never guess they were low calorie. Mmm!

Asian Glazed Drumsticks

recipe via Gina's Skinny Recipes
8 medium chicken drumsticks, skin removed
Pam spray oil
1 cup water
1 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp agave nectar (or sugar)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 Tbsp chives or scallions, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds

In a heavy large saucepan, brown chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little spray oil. Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, agave, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Remove cover and bring heat to high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 8-10 minutes, until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally. (Keep an eye on glaze, you don't want it to burn when it start becoming thick) Transfer chicken to a platter and pour glaze on top. Top with chives and sesame seeds and serve.

Yellow Thai Curry

I just started working night shifts now for my job. It is so much nicer to only miss a few hours of Lou's day - rather than the whole thing. I think we will both do much better.
The only problem is the obvious one - I am tired. I have great friends who are helping me watch Lou for a few hours in the morning so I can sleep, plus I sleep during her nap. That gives me about 6 hours of sleep - which is much better than I expected. But, I am a 8-9 hour girl. I know there are few of us out there, but I really need that amount of sleep or I am cranky/weepy/impatient. The days after I work I am moving slow and don't get much done around the house. Then dinner rolls around - and I need something fast and easy. This Thai Curry recipe is just that - easy easy! Thank you Trader Joe's!

Yellow Thai Curry

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, cut in half then sliced
1 large bell pepper, sliced
1-2 tomatoes, sliced (I like to use a Roma or something with a lot of flesh and not a lot of juice)
Trader Joe's Yellow Thai Curry sauce (I use about half the jar)
Salt and Pepper

In a large frying pan or a wok, heat up a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper. Toss in wok, stirring occasionally, until almost cooked through. Add in onion, cook for an additional two minutes. Add in bell pepper, cook another 1 minute. Add sauce and tomatoes, cook until heated through. Serve over Jasmine Rice.

*If you don't want to do chicken - substitute any meat you like - pork, shrimp, beef, whatever you have in the freezer!

Pho - Vietnamese Noodle Soup

First - sorry for the lack of posts again. I vowed I would be better... but then my baby got sick, I was sleep deprived, and we were having a hard time. So... here is to hoping that she and I get feeling more normal this week!
So back to the food! I first tried Pho (pronounced "Fuh") on my birthday at a delicious noodle house in Provo, Utah. Well, Nebraska doesn't have to many asian restaurants other than Americanized chains.
But being in Hawaii there is always an opportunity to try delicious Asian cuisine (probably my favorite genre to eat). but this time my mom and I wanted to stay in. So we decided to try out this recipe from Steamy Kitchen. It was delicious. We didn't have hoisin, which I wish we had (though it is optional). We didn't char our ginger or onion - mostly because we were starving and didn't want to wait. We will try it that way next time to text the difference.
Check out this recipe. Don't be scared. It is delicious! (oh, and if you are wondering by my picture, we did pork not beef).

Chicken Stir Fry with Green Beans

Well, we have moved to Lincoln, Nebraska! The move went ridiculously smooth - and my baby did great for a 16 hour car ride - go Lou! It really was a blessing. Our kitchen is unpacked, and the rest of the house can wait. I finally started making some real food. I love eating out - but two weeks straight can really wear on you (and your waist line - yikes!). I did a couple grocery store trips and feel like our kitchen is almost stocked. The freezer is pretty bare, but it's getting there.
Yesterday was one of our first real meals. I had made dinner before but it was simple things like nachos, spaghetti, things like that. Nothing you don't know already how to make.
This stir fry was inspired by Jamie Oliver (if you haven't signed the petition yet, go sign it!). I love making stir fry it is kind of a clean-out-the-fridge meal. You can put whatever you want in it. And don't stress about having a big variety of vegetables, this only has two. I even love it with just one (remember Broccoli Beef? That's only one vegetable!) The thing with stir fry is you can't cook while you prep. Do all your prep work before hand. I love big cutting boards for this reason - cut and push aside, cut and push aside. No need for lots of bowls. Have everything close to the stove and you will have your stir fry cooked in about 6 minutes!

Chicken Stir Fry with Green Beans

1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 thumb-size peice of fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 to 1 serrano or red chile, seeds and veins removed
2 green onions
2 carrots
2 large handfuls of green beans, cleaned
2 chicken breasts
Peanut or vegetable oil
one lime
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tbsp corn starch
reserved cooking water
1 package chow mein noodles

First - fill a pot with water and set on high to get boiling while you prepare your ingredients.

To prepare the stir fry:

Remove leaves from cilantro, set aside. Chop cilantro, ginger, garlic, and chile into a very small dice. Set aside. Slice the green onions thinly. Cut and discard ends of green beans; cut into bite size pieces. Slice carrots thinly (I like to cut them into a long, thin julienne.) Slice chicken breasts thinly. It's easiest to slice the chicken if it is a little frozen.

To cook the stir fry:

Preheat your wok or large frying pan over high heat. Once it is very hot, add a "glug" of oil to pan, swirl around. Place chicken in and turn once slightly browned, a couple minutes. Add in cilantro stalks, ginger, garlic, and chile, and half the green onions. Stir fry for about 30 more seconds, keeping everything moving. Now add your noodles to your boiling water, cooking 2-3 minutes. Add cornstarch, sugar, and a 1/4 cup cooking water, keep it moving. Add vegetables. Cook for another 2 minutes, keeping everything moving to not to burn (have I said that enough?). Remove from heat. Add soy sauce and juice of half a lime, stir in well. Drain noodles, reserving a little liquid. Add noodles to pan, stir well. Add a little water if needed to loosen it up. Taste, add soy sauce if needed. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with remaining green onions and cilantro leaves. Serves 3-4.

Tips: 

For fresh ginger, peel by scratching with a spoon then reserve the remainder in the freezer.
Careful with your chile pepper - the oils can stick on your skin for a while, wear gloves if needed. (My fingers were burning until I went to bed!... I wasn't being careful...

Tom Yum Soup

My family has always been adventurous eaters. We love trying new places, new foods, and are always willing to push the limits. I remember ordering a pizza with anchovies on it because none of us had ever tried it. I think the pizza parlor was so excited to get rid of it they covered every inch of that pizza in those little canned fishies. We do stuff like that. We love it.

About 15 years ago my mom told us some of her fellow employees introduced her to a restaurant that served delicious Thai food. At that time I don't know if I could have told you where Thailand was on a map. This was long before Thai restaurants became big and when people thought asian food consisted of Panda Express and egg rolls at TGI Fridays. I don't really remember what we ate, but I do remember my dad eating a soup that had octupus in it and he was sweating because it was so hot (oh, that's another thing with our family, we like it spicy!) Since then, we were hooked. When we were in the area we had to stop for a bite. We still try something new each time we go, but we almost always order Tom Yum Soup.

This is what Hannah and I request when we are sick, this is our comfort food, our Chicken Noodle Soup.  And now, we know how to make it. It is delicious. It is simples, but does have some odd ingredients - but Asian markets are easier to find then they were 10 years ago. If you live in the Provo area, email me and I can tell you where I found my stuff.

Tom Yum Soup
8 cups chicken broth
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, sliced on a bias in 2-inch pieces
4 kaffir lime leaves
1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
2-3 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 (8-ounce) can straw mushrooms, rinse
1 pound shrimp, peeled with tails on
2 limes, juiced
3 green onions, sliced
1 large handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Bring the broth to the boil over medium heat in a stock pot. Add the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Uncover and add the fish sauce (yes, it stinks bad, but it will make such a difference for good in the soup), sugar, and mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes. Toss in the shrimp and cook for about 8 minutes until they turn pink. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, green onions, cilantro. Taste to make sure there is an even balance of salty, sweet, savory, and sour - the beauty of thai dishes.  Serve with a lime wedge. There is a lot of flavor items in this that you shouldn't eat - the kaffir leaves and lemongrass especially. I don't eat the ginger and the shrimp tails either.
Serves about 6-8. 

Tips:

Lemon grass, kaffir leaves, and ginger freeze very well - if you can only find more than you need, just save it for later. Trust me - you're going to want more!
To cut your lemon grass - cut off the drier tips and the root. Throw those away then slice the remaining.
If you have a question about how to use the products - most Asian market owners are so happy to answer questions (if they speak English).

Fried Rice

I love fried rice - not only is it a one-pot meal, but it is a clean-out-the-fridge meal. This recipe is more of a method. So adjust the ingredients to what you want.

Fried Rice

Vegetable oil
4 c cooked rice
3 c chopped vegetables 
1 inch grated ginger
1 garlic clove
2 eggs
Soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled, devined, tails off

Saute vegetables, garlic, and ginger in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil until slightly softened over medium high heat. (I used carrots, celery, onion, and edamame. Use whatever you have, but onions are a must!)

 This was rice from our dinner a few days ago.

Add in rice and a few teaspoons of soy sauce and oyster sauce, stir for a minute.

In a small bowl combine eggs and about 1 Tbsp of soy sauce (this replaces your salt to season), whisk together.

Add to rice mixture and stir until eggs are cooked through.

Add raw shrimp.

You never want to overcook shrimp so I added it raw at the end and cooked until it was just pink. See?

Season with soy sauce and pepper if needed. Serve nice and hot. Garnish with green onions and cilantro if desired.

Now you don't have to use shrimp - use any protein. The protein may need to be handeled differently depending on what it is (use ham, chicken, beef, pork...). If it is cooked meat (ie leftovers - cleaning out fridge see?), add at the end, after the eggs. If it is raw meat, cook first, set aside then add in after the eggs.

Other veggies that are great in this:

zucchini
peas
broccoli (may want to steam a little bit first)
bell peppers
mushrooms
cauliflower
bean sprouts (probably would add in at the end, don't cook them)

What do you put in your stir fry?