Pad Thai

I've had Pad Thai on my mind ever since I ordered a delicious, big bowl of it last week at Noodles & Co. We don't have the chain near us, so I figured I would try and recreate it at home. I dug out a recipe I'd snagged from Family Fun magazine over the winter, made a few adaptations, and went to work. Now, this claims to be "Picky Eater" Pad Thai that kids will love. . . and I have to say, this may not be so. If you're a bit on the picky side like me, I would suggest nixing the fish sauce. But if you're like my husband, and you douse the plate in extra sriracha sauce, you won't really be tasting the fishiness anyway ;)

Ingredients:

For the sauce,
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup brown sugar

Juice of two limes

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 teaspoons sriracha or hot sauce

1  1/2 cups boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips

For the Pad Thai,

12 ounces Pad Thai rice noodles

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 garlic cloves, minced

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup carrots (optional)

For garnish,

Chopped green onion/scallion

Chopped peanuts

Lime wedges

Cilantro (optional)

Directions:

For the sauce, in a medium bowl, pour the 1/2 cup of boiling water over the brown sugar, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add in the lime juice, vinegar, fish sauce, sriracha, and mix together. Put the chicken in the bowl, stir to coat, and set the bowl aside in the fridge to marinate while you prep the noodles and veggies. 

Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions. (I like to let them soak in a bowl of very hot tap water while I start the stir fry.)

Pour the vegetable oil into a wok or large skillet over high heat. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the eggs and let them scramble up. Add the chicken and the sauce and cook the chicken until it's no longer pink (about 8 minutes). Next, drain the noodles and incorporate them into the stir fry until they are warmed up.

Remove the pan from heat. (At this point, I sometimes feel like my stir fry is too watery, and I strain out the extra liquid.) Mix in your sprouts and carrots, if desired. Garnish the plates with green onion, lime wedges, peanuts, and cilantro.

Serve and enjoy!

Asian Ramen Noodle Salad

At our church, potlucks are a very regular occurrence. I always find myself searching last-minute for ideas on what to bring. I mostly gravitate towards making a dessert, but on Sunday, we were having an outdoor potluck, and so I thought of a summery salad. I tweaked and simplified this recipe, which takes the classic crunchy Asian salad and makes it a little fresher and healthier. It is delicious and easy! And I quizzed a few other church friends who agreed that it had an amazing variety of flavors and textures.

Ingredients:

Two (3 ounce) packages Ramen noodles (you won't use the seasoning packets, so they can be any flavor)
14-ounce bag coleslaw mix
10-ounce bag of frozen edamame--cooked and shelled
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (scallions)

For the Asian Honey Vinaigrette Dressing:

2/3 cup vegetable oil (or any cooking oil)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
pinches of salt and pepper

To make the Asian Honey Vinaigrette, simply whisk together the vegetable oil, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a gallon-size Ziploc bag, smash the Ramen noodles until they are crumbled. (I had to enlist the help of one of Nolan's toy hammers.) Spread the crumbled Ramen noodles and the almonds on a baking sheet, and toast them in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until they're golden brown.

When they're cooled, toss them in a bowl with the vinaigrette dressing, green onions, edamame, and coleslaw cabbage.

It's ready to serve! It will be good up to three days (but it will probably only be crunchy the first day).

Your potluck friends will enjoy it!! 

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites :)

spaghetti squash

This is a quick and easy recipe for preparing a spaghetti squash. I planted seeds in mid-June, and since they take 100 days, I am just harvesting my crop now. I was a little skeptical at first, but it turns out the strands of squash taste JUST like spaghetti noodles! Just add some red sauce and you have a healthy vegetable-centered meal :)

By the way, I’m still planning a post on all that I’ve harvested from our first garden—but we’re still getting quite a few veggies, so I’ll wait until everything is done for the grand total.


I heated my oven to 450 (though 400 may be hot enough).


This squash was quite large—I weighed it at over six pounds.

Cut it in half.

 
Scoop out all of the seeds and pulp. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

 
Place the halves face down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for thirty minutes.


Use a fork to scrape out the squash—it will come off like strands of spaghetti.


Serve with your favorite, warm marinara or meat sauce!

Eating winter squash is great way to get extra fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and potassium!
Try it, and let me know what you think!

hot ham & cheese party sandwiches

 
Ham & cheese is my favorite kind of sandwich, so when I was deciding what to serve at Nolan’s donut party, it was an easy choice. I remembered that my mom has a quick and easy way of making them for crowds. She has a theory that potlucks at church are always heavy on the sides, so she likes to bring these sandwiches as a main dish. I assembled 48 of them a couple of hours before Nolan’s party, and I was done in no time. I put them in the fridge and then baked them around the time the party started. We had plenty left over, so I stuck them in the freezer. On work mornings, Steve tosses a couple in his bag for lunch. He says they’re still delicious!

Ingredients to make 16 SANDWICHES:
16 hamburger buns
1 pound ham, sliced as thinly as the deli will slice
16 slices cheese (Swiss or Provolone)
mustard
butter or spread
aluminum foil

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.



Using a decent-sized workspace, open up all the hamburger buns and line them up in rows. On all of the tops of the buns, spread a pat of butter. On all of the bottoms of the buns, spread a bit of mustard.

Put a slice or two of ham on each bottom bun, and a slice of cheese on each top bun.

 

Close all of the sandwiches and wrap them in foil.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Maybe leave a little sign next to them so that people know what they’re unwrapping :)

BON APPETIT!

Linking up with Andrea for Recipe Club!

baked french toast with praline glaze

In true Paula Deen fashion, this recipe (her recipe) is extremely decadent with its two sticks of butter and generous use of brown sugar. It is amazing. And I have my Aunt Meg to thank for sharing it with us at her house in June. It can be made the night before and quickly popped into the oven in the morning. There is so much flavor, especially with the crispy candied pecans on top! Most importantly this recipe is as easy as can be :) All we need now is some house-guests to enjoy it with!!

Ingredients
1 to 2 loaves French bread
8 eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
a dash of salt

Praline Glaze:
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

In a greased 9x13 glass pan, line 1” slices of French bread into two rows (I used 20 slices).

Whisk eggs with half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and salt until they are well-blended.


Pour over the bread slices, making sure that each slice gets sufficiently wet. Cover the pan with foil, put it into the fridge and let soak for at least four hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the sticks of butter, brown sugar, pecans, corn syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg to make the praline glaze.

Spoon it on top of your bread slices, and then spread it as if you were frosting a cake. Bake for 40 minutes, or until it looks nicely browned on the top.
 

Serve with fresh fruit, maple syrup, or just as is :)

chocolate chip zucchini bread

 
If you’re looking to use up your abundant zucchini crop—this is your recipe! The word “bread” could be argued, as even Nolan calls it “Zucchini Cake.” My in-laws thought I left out the zucchini! It is scary good, especially with a steaming cup of joe :)

The zucchini is the first to be harvested in my garden, they were tiny last week, and in just a matter of days I now have eight large ones on my counter. I think I will be repeating this recipe for the rest of the summer!

Ingredients:
2  3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients until just moistened.
Lastly, mix in the shredded zucchini and the chocolate chips. Transfer the mixture into two greased loaf pans.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Trust me, it’s soft and moist and delicious!!


Linking up with Andrea’s recipe club!

See my other recipes on my Pinterest board.

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oven pancake

I first had the oven pancake (pannenkoek)at my aunt’s house in Minnesota when we visited my family for Thanksgiving. It was the perfect blend of warm hospitality and a filling breakfast. In the years since, Steve and I have enjoyed making it for any meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat butter in a 13 x 9 glass pan in the oven until melted (I cut it into smaller slices so it melts faster). Mix eggs, milk, flour and salt together in a separate bowl and stir with a fork until blended (it will be lumpy). Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25 minutes.

(Makes 8 servings)

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup (or your favorite pancake topping). It also goes great with fruit/pie fillings—apples, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, the sky’s the limit!

what’s on my menu

I’m always curious about what other people eat, so I’m excited to participate in the “What’s on your Menu” linkup with Andrea today!

Starting out with breakfast, we love a big slice of Banana Bread  (or as my son calls it, “Go-nana Cake!”) with a cup of Folger’s Hazelnut Coffee :)


My normal breakfast is a Clif Bar in the wee hours of the morning, followed later by a bowl of Quaker Granola with raisins. Another favorite is Quaker Oatmeal Squares with slices of banana mixed in. I drink a cup of Bolthouse’s strawberry banana smoothie for added vitamin C—it’s amazing! Steve’s breakfast is usually a big bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and black coffee. Nolan is a grazer :)

For any of the following recipes, click on either the photo or the link below it:

Oatmeal Bread
 

On Saturdays, and other low-key mornings, we gravitate towards chocolate chip pancakes or Cake Mix Waffles.

We don’t make a big deal about lunch at our house. Typically it could be a bowl of cereal or a ham and cheese bagel sandwich. But here are some other options:


Kid Lunch 


Penguin Sandwiches


Puzzle Sandwiches


We like this Chef Salad on summer days for a low calorie but filling meal. All it needs is lettuce, a hard-boiled egg, strips of ham, chopped up tomato, some crushed saltine crackers, and Kraft Light Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing (or whatever your favorite dressing is). 

Olive Garden Pasta Salad

This Pistachio Jello Salad is great for picnics and potlucks!

I haven’t been the greatest at getting dinner on the table since Ephraim was born. We do simple meals like spaghetti as well as the following staples:

Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese. This takes only a couple minutes to prepare!


French Onion Soup (Applebee’s recipe).


These Chicken Fingers are easy, extremely delicious, and kids LOVE them!

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into half-inch strips
2/3 cup Bisquick mix
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Mix Bisquick, parmesan cheese, and salt in a 1 gallon plastic bag. Dip the chicken strips the egg, one at a time, then put them in the bag of Bisquick mixture. Seal the bag and shake it. Then put the chicken on the cookie sheet. Repeat with all of the chicken. Drizzle butter over all of the strips on the tray. Bake about twelve minutes, turning them halfway through.

 
Cranberry Chicken


Spinach Parmesan Sliders—the perfect summer burger!

We are HUGE dessert people. Chocolate in the house is a must! Other than ice cream and hot chocolate, here are some of Steve’s and my favorites:

Caramel and Chocolate Chip Cookies


Oreo Cream Cheese Pudding


Candy Bar Brownie Bites
 
Caramel Puffs

 Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars


Oven S’Mores

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge


Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
 
Ritz Cracker Thin Mints

Thank you so much for taking a look at our favorite foods! See more of my recipes by scrolling down my Pinterest page :)

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