Pad Thai

I have been on the hunt for the last five years to find the best Pad Thai recipe. I want the real stuff from my favorite restaurants. Well, this is it! You need to go to an Asian store if you want to do this right.

1/2 pkg. medium size rice noodles, soak 20 minutes in warm water then drain

1 bunch green onions

1/2 of a red onion, chopped

7 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 pound fresh shrimp

1/2-1 pound of chicken cut in strips

3 eggs

1/2 lb. mung bean sprouts

shredded carrots

chopped peanuts

Pad Thai sauce

In a wok or skillet add 1/4 c. vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute red onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add three eggs and scramble them. Stir in shrimp and chicken and cook until done. Add rice noodles and cook for about two minutes, until soft. Add bean sprouts and stir in Pad Thai sauce. Garnish with green onions, carrots, and peanuts.

Pad Thai Sauce:

4-5 T. palm sugar (get it at the Asian store in a jar)

1 c. tamarind sauce (get it at the Asian store in a jar)

5 T. fish sauce

You can add 2 T. of peanut butter if you like.

Cook over the stove on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

You can also garnish your Pad Thai with additional peanut sauce.

2 jars of Satay peanut sauce

2 or more T. peanut butter

2 T. broth if too thick

1/2 lemon, juiced

Warm the above ingredients over stove.

I'm telling you, this is the BEST we've had--we got this recipe straight from our friend in Thailand.

Sausage and Spinach Penne Dinner Skillet

Another great recipe from here. You will love this and wow your family. My kids ate it up. If you are in a rut, try this dinner tonight.

1 pound Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed (I couldn’t find turkey sausage so I substituted mild pork sausage)

3 medium garlic cloves, minced finely
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces (about 3 1/2 cups) penne pasta
1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot and add in the sausage. Cook until lightly browned and no longer pink about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the water, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add in the pasta. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook at a strong simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 15-18 minutes (if you find the liquid is absorbing too quickly and the pasta is still undercooked, add a bit more water in small amounts until the pasta is cooked thoroughly).

Stir in the spinach, a handful at at ime, and cook until wilted. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste adn serve immediately.

Fish Taco Salads

I kind of made this up when my taco shell crumbled and I thought why not make it a salad. You could easily just get soft taco shells to have fish tacos. We love them.

About 4-5 Tilapia filets

garlic salt

lemon juice

Fry the tilapia filets in a skillet over the stove in a tablespoon of olive oil. I sprinkle them with garlic salt and lemon or lime juice (has to be fresh).

Dressing: (from Liz Edmunds, the Food Nanny)

3/4 c. mayonaise ( I use Greek yogurt for a no fat better tasting variation)

1/2 c. buttermilk (1 Tbsp. vinegar and enough skim milk to make one cup is good too, but only use 1/2 cup of that)

1 T. lime juice

1-2 T. fresh cilantro

1 tsp garlic

3/4 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. dried onion

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Avacado-Mango Salso

2 Mangos skinned and diced

2 Avacados cubed

1 red pepper

3/4 of a red onion

fresh cilantro

2 T. sugar

2 T. olive oil

4 T. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. salt or garlic salt

Mix it altogether and let sit about 30 minutes before serving.

I used cabbage, crumbled tortilla shells, tomatoes, fish, dressing, and salsa. Yummmmy!

Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes take me back to my childhood days when I could eat as many as I wanted since my dad worked for Hostess. They are the real deal, with cream filling and everything.

The Cupcake:

You can use any chocolate cake recipe you like. This is the one I used:

-2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be really thin). Fill cups about 3/4 full with batter to get bigger cupcakes.

3. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. (Makes 24 cupcakes.)

The Cream Filling:

- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

While waiting for cupcakes to cool, combine filling ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Reserve 1/2 cup of the filling to use for piping the swirls on top of the cupcakes at the end. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare a piping bag with a 1/4" tip, and fill bag with the vanilla filling. Squeeze filling into middle of cupcakes.

The Chocolate Ganache:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (you could even use milk chocolate if you like it sweeter.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid. Use a spoon to put some on top of the cupcake, then smooth with a knife.

Prepare another piping bag with a small tip. Fill with the reserved 1/2 cup of cream filling. Pipe swirls across the top of the cupcakes. Allow chocolate ganache to set before storing.I stored them in the fridge. Enjoy!

McDonald's Sugar Cookies

OK, I have a confession. My kids eat at McDonald's a lot. It is down the street and we sure take advantage of how close it is. Spencer loves the sugar cookies there and we found a recipe that is pretty close. If you'd like them a little sweeter, roll them in sugar before you bake them. We love these because you don't have to go through all the work of rolling them out. Enjoy!

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup Crisco

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift dry ingredients, all except sugar, together. Cream margarine, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients until smooth. Blend in milk. Drop by tablespoon about 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Don't kid yourself, just double it. This doesn't make nearly enough.

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Super Easy Yummy Chicken

We just made this for dinner, and it was DELICIOUS and super easy. I'm always looking for an easy dinner and this is it. The recipe is simple. #1 Get a Chicken. I think this was about a five pounder, and you'll want to get a good size bird. #2. Get the stuff out of the cavity of the chicken and put garlic inside the cavity and under the skin. #3. Take a stalk of celery and cut it so it fits inside the cavity of the chicken. Slice two lemons, putting one lemon in the cavity of the bird and one on top. #4.Sprinkle salt and pepper and garlic powder all over the inside of the cavity, under the skin and on top. #5. I used 1/4 c. butter in slices all over the top and inside the skin, and then put another 1/4 c. butter inside the cavity. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2-2 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Cover in foil and let stand 30 minutes before serving. The gravy is sooooo good. Take the drippings and heat in a saucepan. When the gravy starts to boil, pour in cornstarch in water. Enjoy!

Delishcuits

My mom made this for us, and when I served it to my kids recently they loved it.

Ingredients:

Pillsbury biscuits or make your biscuits from scratch

1 pound of browned hamburger

2 cans of tomato and rice soup

shredded cheese

With the biscuit dough, line muffin tin with the dough.

Mix browned hamburger and soup over the stove until warm. Put spoonfuls of meat mixture into the dough.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. The last five minutes sprinkle cheese over them and return to oven until it is melted.

Enjoy!

If you'd like to make your own biscuits, this is the recipe I use.

2 cups flour

1 T. baking powder

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. milk

In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the softened butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center; add milk all at once. Stir just till dough clings together.