Thai Peanut Noodles with Seared Scallops

Wow! These noodles are unbelieveably good! I am sad that they are already gone. It was a really nice change to have pasta paired with a flavor other than the usual marinara sauce. The dressing is so flavorful and the addition of eddamame, carrots, bell peppers, and scallions added an extra punch of flavor and texture. I am pretty sure that I could easily polish off a whole recipe of this simple salad. The scallops were the perfect protein to pair with the noodles. Scallops have such a light and delicate flavor. They are pretty expensive, so we have scallops only every now and then. We both loved this meal and will be making it again soon!

Thai Peanut Noodles

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 lime juiced and zested

2 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. honey

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 Tbsp. ginger, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup oil (I used chicken broth)

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili sauce

2-4 Tbsp. water

Toss everything in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. If too thick, blend in more water or oil (I used broth).

1 red bell pepper siced

1-2 carrots cut into matchsticks

1 cup shelled edemmame

2 scallions, sliced

Saute bell pepper, carrots and edemmame briefly just to soften. When softened, throw them in a mixing bowl and add the scallions.

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions, drain and toss with vegetables. Pour some of the dressing over the pasta and veggies, toss together. Serve with seared scallops on top or your choice of meat.

Don't pour all of the dressing on at one time. As the noodles sit, they absorb the dressing. You will need some reserved to freshen the salad up. I served this meal with a green salad and toasted English muffins. YUMMY!!!

Pesto Chicken Pizza

This past week was my husband's birthday. He told me that he really wanted pizza for his birthday dinner. Since we had some pesto in the freezer, I thought a pesto and grilled chicken pizza would be just the thing to make. I started out with a homemade pizza crust and topped it with homemade cilantro lime pest, grilled chicken, organic Italian chicken sausage, sliced red onion, Kalamata olives, red bell pepper and mozzerella cheese. I also had some pine nuts in the freezer that needed to be used so I threw those on top. The pizza turned out great! I rolled the crust out pretty thin and baked it on a pizza stone. It was perfect! Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. In my opinion, that is just how pizza crust should be. The combination of the grilled chicken and the chicken sausage was wonderful. I only used one link so that the sausage flavor would be present, but not overwhelming. We have really been enjoyed the great chicken sausages that are sold at our local farmers market. They are made fresh everyday, and add a really nice flavor. We will be making this pizza again.

Sweet Potato Fries

Have you tried sweet potato fries? If you haven't, you are really missing out. These things are so good and go so well with a variety of different dishes. Our favorite pairing is to eat them with turkey burgers or any kind of sandwich. Tonight we had them with BBQ chicken sandwiches. Sweet potatoes, or yams, are a staples in our house. They are a great item to have on hand for a quick dinner. They are simple to prepare, quick and take very few ingredients. I don't ever use an exact recipe. I simply peel the potato, slice it into fries, toss them with some olive oil and spices (steak seasoning, chili powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper) and toss them in the oven at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are slightly golden and crispy. You really can't go wrong with a combination of spices, just use whatever you have. They are wonderful dipped in hummus, katsup, or fry sauce. Give them a try!

The Best Sloppy Joes Ever!

These are hands down the BEST sloppy joes we have ever had! I can not believe how much flavor is packed into this simple recipe. Plus, they are very healthy! The original recipe calls for ground beef, but I used 97% lean ground white turkey breast. These were hearty, filling, healthy, flavorful and so easy! I served the sloppy joe filling on some wonderful homemade french bread that I made last week which I had in the freezer. I also served some spaghetti squash and potato fries on the side. What a delicious meal! Thanks to Ellie Kreiger from the Food Network, this is a recipe that we will be making over and over. This can even be made in a large batch and frozen for a quick meal during the week.

Sloppy Joes
1 pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, minced finely
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small can red beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. molases
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper

Brown the meat and the onion in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard. Add the garlic, jalapeno and red bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for minutes more. Serve on hamburger buns or french bread.

Spiced Carrot Muffins

I have been on the hunt for the past while to find a good carrot cake recipe. I LOVE carrot cake and so does the husband. I had a good recipe but it used way too much maple syrup (a.k.a. GOLD at our house). That stuff is way too expensive to use massive amounts of in one recipe. After a couple of not so good recipes, I finally found one that we will be keeping around for a while! The best thing about this recipe is that it doesn't use any maple syrup, yet is still very healthy. I found the recipe in Ellie Kreiger's cook book The Food You Crave (which has several great recipes!). This batch of muffins is a bit different than the last. I didn't have any canola oil, so I used additional applesauce and some fat free lemon yogurt. They turned out wonderful! I also added raisins and walnuts because carrot cake is not carrot cake without them to me. These are also wonderful with cream cheese frosting or a scoop of frozen yogurt. I hope you enjoy!!!


Carrot Cake Muffins
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
walnuts (optional)
raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first 6 ingredients (dry ingredients). In a seperate bowl, combine oil, sugar, applesauce and eggs. Mix until well combined. Add shredded carrots to wet mixture and then add the vanilla. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until almost all combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and fold in until combined. Add raisins and nuts. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spoon batter in 2/3 full. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes.

*I usually double the recipe and freeze them for a great snack!

Superbowl Nachos

My husband hasn't always been a big Superbowl guy. This year, however, was different. He is a BIG Colts fan. So this year, we made a bigger deal out of Superbowl Sunday and actually made a food associated with the Superbowl....NACHOS! He was SO excited to eat these. I made them with homemade corn tortilla chips. They are much easier to make than they sound. Plus they are baked and not fried like regular chips. You can top these with anything that sounds good to you. I used taco seasoned beef (you could easily use turkey), cheese, olives, diced roma tomatoes, guacomole, and salsa.

To make the chips, get a stack of corn tortillas. Cut them in half, then cut each half into thirds so that out of each tortilla you get six chips. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spread the tortilla triangles out on a cookie sheet and squeeze a lime swiftly over them. Next, spray them lightly with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake the chips until they get crispy and very light brown. About 8 minutes. Pull them out and flip them over. bake them again for an additional 4 minutes or so or until desired crispiness is achieved. Let them cool before serving.

After the chips are done, you can continue to top them with whatever you would like. These are always a big hit at our house.

Enjoy!

Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup

There is no question that this soup has an unusual, somewhat concerning color. There isn't much that can be done about that. However, this is one of the best soups I have ever had. If you have ever had California Pizza Kitchen's Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley soup, then you know what this soup tastes like. This soup is every bit as good and just may possibly be better! The best part is that it is so easy and inexpensive! I have been on a serious budget kick lately. I have been trying to see just how many meals I can make on few ingredients. For whatever reason, I have not been wanting to spend money on anything...including groceries. That is unusual for me. Food is one thing that I usually don't hesitate spending money on...I justify it because it is a necessity. Anyway, I served this soup with a salad with grilled chicken and a whole wheat roll. DELICIOUS!!!

Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup

2 cups split peas

4-5 cups water

4 cups chicken broth

1 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2-1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 cup barley (dried)-I used quick cooking

2 medium-large carrots diced

2 ribs celery, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the split peas. Add the peas, 4-5 cups water, 4 cups broth, onion, garlic, parsley, sugar, salt, pepper and thyme to a soup pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the peas are soft. Cook the 1/2 cup barley according to package instructions. When the split pea mixture has become thick and the peas are soft, use a hand held immersion blender to blend the mixture to a smooth consistency. Add the barley, carrots and celery and simmer for another 20 minutes. Top with fresh diced green onions.

This soup thickens A LOT when it sits.