Pad Thai

Tonight I made pad thai for my friend Alex & I. It was her first time to eat pad thai, but she really liked it!  It tasted just like Pei Wei  & it was easy to make! (**It also was much more affordable than going out to eat.) It was great getting to catch up & hangout because I have not been able to see her in a long time! 

(Recipe adapted from Everyday Food)

Serves 4. Per serving: $1.50,  315 calories, 7g fat (0.9g saturated fat), 3.6g protein, 60.5g carb, 1.4g fiber

• 8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
• 
2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional)
 (Next time I will probably add more than 1/8 of a teaspoon for more of a kick)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

• 1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.

In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.

Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.

Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.

Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.

Listening to: "Dice" by Finley Quaye (from the OC mixes)

Roommate's awesome loaded sweet potatoes

Carissa cooked this for dinner this week & it was da bomb! Read more about it here... http://carissacooks.wordpress.com/

Zucchini Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I wanted to make something sweet, but I also did not want to indulge in the extra calories. This recipe is great because the cookies are delicious, & I was able to hide an entire zucchini in the dough. 

Ingredients

            FOR THE COOKIES:

            3 whole Eggs

            1 cup Vegetable Oil

            1 cup Sugar

            1 cup Brown Sugar

            2 cups Grated Zucchini

            3 teaspoons Vanilla

            4 cups Flour

            ½ teaspoons Baking Powder

            1 teaspoon Baking Soda

            1 teaspoon Cinnamon

            1 teaspoon Salt

            1 cup Raisins

            FOR THE FROSTING:

            4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened

            4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese

            1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

            2 cups Powdered Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add oil, sugars, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add raisins. (I nixed the raisins) 

3. Drop the dough onto a greased baking sheet. ( Just to warn you, the cookies rise a LOT) Baked 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn golden brown. Cool completely and then frost.

4. For the frosting cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency. Add more sugar if needed. Frost cookies.

Interesting Quotes

"I won't give up what I enjoy to look perfect. I want to find a happy medium between feeling good about myself, and still be able to have a beer and some barbecue."- Miranda Lambert

Chicken & Lime Tortilla Soup

I'm off work today, YAY! I cooked a Chicken, Lime, Chipotle Tortilla Soup for dinner tonight, and I decided to add a can of corn and a can of beans to make it a little more it hearty. I LOVED the flavor. It definitely had a kick (due to the chipotle chiles) and i love lime & cilantro. I served it with chips and guacamole. 
Watching: Bridesmaids 
Listening to: Kings of Leon

Ingredients 

•                2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

•                1 onion, finely chopped

•                6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

•                3 chicken breast, cooked & shredded

•                2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (NOT 2 cans, two chiles)

•                1 can of yellow corn

•                1 can of black beans

•                6 cups chicken broth

•                1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

•                Juice of 2 limes

•                Salt and pepper

•                1 hass avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces

Crushed tortilla chips

Directions 

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 7 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chipotles/adobo sauce, corn, and beans. Then stir in the chicken broth.

Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Place 2 avocado slices in each of 6 soup bowls and pour in the soup. Top with the tortilla chips.

Lemon Bars

adapted from Pillsbury, Easy Meals, Picnics & Potlucks, August 2005 
makes 36 bars
per bar: 150 calories, 6g fat, 22g carbs, 0g fiber, 2g protein

ingredients:

Crust 
2 cups all-purpose flour,
1/2 cup powdered sugar,
1 cup butter softened,
1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Filling
4 eggs,
 2 cups granulated sugar,
1/4 cup all-purpose flour,
1 tsp. baking powder,
1/4 cup lemon juice,
1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar,
 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat flour, sugar, butter, and peel on low speed until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, in large bowl with wire whisk, lightly beat eggs. Beat in remaining filling ingredients except lemon juice and lemon peel until well blended. Beat in 1/4 cup lemon juice and peel.

3. Remove partially baked base from oven. Pour filling evenly over warm base.

4. Return to oven; bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until top is light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

5. In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and enough lemon juice for desired spreading consistency until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled bars. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator, but allow bars to come to almost room temperature before serving.

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken

So many great things have happened since my last blog post: starting a new 'real-life' job, moving into a big girl apartment & celebrating my first payday (today). My room-mate and I LOVE our apartment & have had a great time in our new space. We have decided to trade off kitchen duty, by each cooking a few nights a week. 

Tonight, I decided to bake a recipe I have been eyeing on Pintrest for a long time & it definitely lived up to my expectations. It was rather easy, affordable, and delicious. The only thing that I would have done differently was to make it a tad more crispy. I tried it with and without the honey mustard, and I think that the honey mustard on the side definitely added to the dish. 

Listening to: Grizzly Bear (new album comes out Sept 18th) 

Watching: Downton Abbey Season 1 (for the second time) 

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken

The recipe is from Weight Watchers: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=57621

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken, fresh salad & sweet potato 

Ingredients

• 2/3 cups light honey mustard 
• 1/8 tsp table salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp dill (chopped)
• 1-2 cups crushed cornflakes
• 1 lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (four 4oz pieces)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a shallow pan with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine honey mustard dressing, salt, pepper, and dill; remove 1/3 cup and set aside.
• Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into dressing mixture and then cornflake crumbs; place in prepared pan.
• Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink in center, about 15 minutes.
• Drizzle remaining dressing mixture (the 1/3 cup that was set aside) over chicken breasts and serve. Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1 1/3 tablespoons of dressing per serving.