Thai Peanut

One of my new favorite recipes and regular week night go-to's is a Thai peanut chicken dish. My mom introduced me to this dish when I visited her earlier this year in Seattle. It was one of the best meals of my life....I might die. My mom used one of those Thai Kitchen Noodle kits that comes with the rice noodles, seasonings, and peanut sauce. She added crushed peanuts, sambal oelek (spicey chili paste)  cilantro, lime juice, crunchy bean sprouts, chicken, and white rice. You drooling yet?! 

Well, when I got home I wanted to re-create this masterpiece but I couldn't find the Thai Peanut noodle kit anywhere!! My mom mailed me a kit and I made the dish but forgot the cilantro  and lime juice and Steve said the chicken pieces were too big. Boo! So, I tried again, this time kit-less. I bought some thai peanut sauce, rice noodles, sambal oelek, and sesame oil, remembered the cilantro and lime, and cut the chicken into tiny pieces! Whew!! My home-made version of the Thai Kitchen recipe was just as good, and now I have lots ingredients to make it again!! 

Here's what you will need if you can't find the Thai Kitchen box:

• chicken breast
• white rice
• rice noodles
• crushed up peanuts
• bean sprouts
• cilantro
• lime juice from fresh limes
• sambal oelek chili paste
• sesame oil
• Thai Peanut Sauce
• any other veggies of your choice

Cook the chicken and saute the veggies in the sesame oil and peanut sauce. Add a quarter size dollop of chili paste and mix. (Use less if you don't like spicy food. A little bit of this stuff goes a LONG way!) Cook the rice and rice noodles. Add the bean sprouts just before you're ready to serve so they get only slightly cooked. Add the rice noodles to the chicken, veggie mix. Dish out over the rice. Sprinkle with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. Top with crushed peanuts. 

Mom's Thai Kitchen dish

My home-made Thai Peanut dish

Hawaiian Style

The theme for my Grandpa's 80th birthday was Hawaiian Luau. I thought pineapple fried rice and rainbow fruit skewers would be the perfect addition to bbq'd ribs and veggie kabobs. 

Pineapple Fried Rice

• Cooked white rice
• yellow onion chopped
• chopped roasted red pepper
• small bits of pineapple
• frozen peas
• cashews
• eggs
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• cumin
• S&P

Saute the yellow veggies in olive oil and a tbsp of sesame oil. Add the egg mix up lightly so it scrambles and fries up with the veggies. Add salt, pepper, cumin, to taste. Add the cashews and rice and mix until all cooked and warmed together. SIMPLE and DELICIOUS!

My second dish was rainbow fruit skewers that I found on Pinterest. My mom found the cutest skewers with flowers on the ends and I had help from my little cousins putting these little skewers together. I used blackberries, blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, oranges, and raspberries and they turned out so cute and festive!! They were a big hit!

Butterfinger Cheesecake

This was my very first cheesecake and first time using a springform pan. I wanted to make something extra special for my Bachelorette premiere viewing party for a few girlfriends and this was definitely it! The recipe is a bit complicated with many steps and some unusual ingredients, but overall it was pretty easy and I would definitely make it again. The crust was a bit hard to get out of the pan - and I ended up serving the girls a piece without any crust without noticing!! But, the next day I tried some with the crust and what a difference it makes! YUM! 

Recipe from Back to Her Roots

Crust:

• 15 mini Butterfingers
• 3 ounces of pretzels (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 8 oz cream cheese (I used 4 oz regular cream cheese, 4 oz marscapone cheese)
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup Butterfinger and pretzel mixture

Ganache:

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

In the bowl of a food processor, combine Butterfingers and pretzels. Pulse unti well chopped, but not dust. Remove 1/2 cup of mixture and set aside.

Stir in melted butter to Butterfinger/pretezel mixture until well-combined. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan to form the crust.  Bake 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For the filling, mix the water and gelatin in a small, microwave safe bowl and set aside to bloom.

Meanwhile, beat heavy cream on high in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until medium stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In another mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, salt, and reserved Butterfinger/pretzel mix. Beat on medium until smooth. Set aside.

Place bowl of gelatin in microwave and heat 50% power for 10 seconds. This is to smooth out the gelatin mixture. With the mixer on low, slowly stream the gelatin mix to the cream cheese mixture until well combined. 

By hand, fold the whipped cream in with the cream cheese mixture. 

Spread filling evenly into the springform pan.

To prepare ganache, combine chocolate and heavy cream in a double boiler over low heat. Once chocolate is melted and combined with the cream, remove from heat and drizzle over cheesecake. 

Place cheesecake in fridge and let chill for at least 3-4 hours until set up. Before serving, remove ring on springform pan.

Organic

Black Bean Taquitos

Another Pinterest favorite! Recipe adapted from Naturally Ella Baked Black Bean Taquitos

Ingredients

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1 small jalapeno

1/2 tbls sunflower - i used vegetable oil

1/2 tsp paprike

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp seasalt

1/2 cup black beans

1/4 cup cilantro

6-8 corn tortillas - I used flour tortillas

1/2 cup colby jack cheese

sunflower oil for brushing tortillas - I used vegetable oil

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Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bring a medium pot of water to simmer.

In a pan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and pepper until onion becomes translucent. Stir in garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in black beans and cilantro, cooking until beans are heated through, 2-3 minutes.

Turn off water. Taking one tortilla at a time, dip in hot water for 3-4 seconds. Place on a cutting board and scoop a spoonful of black bean filling and a pinch of cheese on top. Roll tight and place seam side down on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Repeat until all the filling is used. Brush each piece with oil.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tortilla is a light brown color. Dip in salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.

Crock Pot Pork Chops

So, apparently I have been into pork and using my crock pot. Both of which are good things and a nice change from chicken and having to cook everything after work. The crock pot saves me SO much time and energy! And of course I found this recipe on Pinterest.

Recipe adapted from Real Mom Kitchen Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops.

Ingredients:
1/2 inch bone-in pork chops
1 packet of Italian Seasoning
10 oz can of cream of mushroom soup
Russet potatoes
S & P
garlic cloves

Place pork chops and soup mix with italian seasonings into crock pot. Add chopped up potatoes. Mix all together. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove potatoes and mash them using a mixer. Add milk and butter.

Service pork over potatoes and drizzle with the soup/sauce from crock pot.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I came across this recipe on Pinterest, which is where I find lots of my recipes nowadays. I bought two pork tenderloins from Albertsons and cooked them both. The meat turned out so incredibly tender and juicy and the glaze was delicious. I made my favorite side dish rice, curried cauliflower and rice and a salad topped with strawberries and mandarin oranges. I highly recommend this recipe for an easy crock pot dinner. 

Recipe from C + C Marriage Factory.

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Thumbprint Holiday Cookies

Made from a box, but super cute, festive and yummy!!

Happy Holidays!

These owl cupcakes will make you swoon!

We had a Halloween bake contest at work and I got plenty of inspiration from Pinterest, and landed on making these precious little owl cupcakes. I think they turned out great, and they were a huge hit at the party!! They were super easy to make. I used Double Stufd Oreos for the eyes and Reeses Pieces for the iris and beak. And I used a butter knife to create the owl-like tufts with the frosting!

The best rice dish ever

If there is one recipe you MUST try from this blog, this is it!! I adapted my recipe from  Martha Stewart's, One-pot Curried Cauliflower Rice. Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies, but I hardly eat it because the hubs despises it. One of his favorite foods is rice. Any type of rice, and he'll be happy. The beauty of this recipe is that I get cauliflower and he gets a yummy rice side - all in the same dish! It's easy, fun, and goes with any dinner.

via MarthaStewart.com

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

As much cauliflower as you want

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced small

1 cup basmati rice (uncooked)

2 teaspoons cumin powder*

1 tsp garlic pepper

1/2 can of chickpeas (or more if you want), rinsed and drained

About 1 1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a pot** heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring frequently, until browned in spots. Transfer to a plate and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tsp oil and onion back to  pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 5 min. Add uncooked rice, cumin, garlic pepper, and chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 2 min. Add broth and cream and bring to a boil. Scatter cauliflower over top (do not stir to combine). Cover and bake until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. 

*The original recipe calls for curry powder, but I didn't have any. If you'd rather use curry seasonings, use instead of the cumin and garlic pepper.

**I used a large oven-safe saute pan, but in the future, I will probably try this recipe in my new Le Creuset dutch oven.

Makes 3-4 servings depending on the amount of cauliflower and chickpeas you use.