Kung Pao Chicken

I have never made any Chinese food aside from ramen noodles and I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.  So I was nervous, I don't even know what some of the ingredients are.  However one of my all time favorite meals is Kung Pao Chicken from Pei Wei.

I had this recipe sitting in my "need to make" file for years.  I don't even remember where I got it from.  I was ready for this meal to fail, and told my kids we would have Eggo Waffles if this went bad.  That being said, I LOVED THIS!  My kids LOVED this and didn't even want to save any for my husband (who wasn't home yet) and wanted to know when I would be making it again!  It was easy (once I got over my nervousness) and super fast!

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken breasts (cut into 1in chunks)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup green onions (chopped)
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
10 red dried chili peppers
2/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

Directions:

Coat chicken with cornstarch in small bowl.  Heat sesame oil in a walk over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 min or until no longer pink inside.  Remove chicken from wok.

Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, dried chili's and powdered ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.

Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl.  Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.

Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce.  Stir in roasted peanuts.  Heat thoroughly.  Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice.

*the only other thing I would do different is to add snow peas and thinly sliced carrots 

Asian Chicken Salad

I LOVE this salad!  The dressing is so sweet and the almonds and Ramen noodles give it a great crunch.  I made a huge batch of cooked chicken one day to use in different recipes, so it really only took me like 5 minutes to throw this all together.

I have actually made this a few times, but had never posted it before.  My son came home from football practice and said "Oh great.  Mom's taking pictures of our dinner, that means it's something new."  (And he didn't say it in a good way. Punk.) haha :) 

However, we all had like 3 helpings, so it really is an excellent salad.

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
1-2 pkg oriental-flavor Ramen noodle soup
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 bag (16 oz) broccoli slaw
1 bag romaine lettuce
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1-2 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup red wine vinaigrette (or make the recipe below)

Red Wine Vinaigrette
Whisk together:
3/4 cup canola or olive oil
6 TBS red wine vinegar
4 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
Ramen noodle seasoning packet

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F - break up Ramen noodles and place them on a rimmed baking sheet along with the sliced almonds.  Bake until noodles and almonds turn light brown.  (About 6-7 minutes.)

Make the vinaigrette, and set aside.

Place broccoli slaw, romaine lettuce, chicken and onions in a large serving bowl.  Toss to combine.

When ready to serve, pour dressing over salad, add toasted almonds and noodles and toss together.

Serves 4 to 6

Sesame Beef Stir-Fry

This is another recipe from Eating For Life by Bill Phillips - LOVE that book! 
I have to say, this is probably my family's number one requested meal of all time. (Well, that and Pepperoni Rolls)  It is sooo good!  It's also pretty spicy, too.  And, of course, it's healthy - what more can you ask for? 

I have to double this recipe and then some, because it's completely gone every time.  I also make it in a HUGE stir fry pan. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 - 1 lb. lean ground beef
2 TBS toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
2 cups broccoli slaw
2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
2 TBS soy sauce
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (I just sprinkle a bunch in until it looks good)

Directions:
While rice is cooking, brown beef in skillet, drain and set aside.

Heat sesame oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and green onions.  Saute for 2 minutes.

Add broccoli slaw and cabbage, stir-fry for 2 minutes.  (It seems massive at first, but the cabbage will shrink down quite a bit.)

Add rice and soy sauce, stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add in beef and season with red pepper flakes, stir well and let heat through.

Serve immediately.

That's it! Hope you love it like we do!

$2 CHINESE NOODLES

These were soooo good & you could literally have anything with them! A super great use for those Ramen noodles if you ask me. :)

Ingredients:
3 packs Ramen, chicken flavor
3 packs Ramen, beef flavor
2 TBS sesame oil
2 TBS olive oil
1 pkg frozen stir-fry veggies or chow mein medley
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, freshly grated (I didn't use this & it still tasted good)

Remove flavor packs from Ramen. Fill very large pot with water & bring to boil. Add noodles & cook until just softened. Drain.
Return pot to hot stove, add oils, garlic & ginger. Allow to cook for about 1 minute.
Add veggies & flavor packets.
Once veggies have fully thawed, add noodles back in & stir carefully until well coated.
Serve immediately.