Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

Haven't posted in a while but I am still cooking. I made this without the chicken and added green peppers instead of the colored (colored peppers are blasted expensive!) last night and had it as a side. I love food...

8 oz Linguine
4 C shredded greens: any combo of napa cabbage, romaine lettuce or even spinach
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing
1/2 C peanut butter1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt*
2-3 t sriracha chili sauce*
2-4 T water*

Avocado and Orange Salad

I made this last night it was sooooo delish!!  I also added grilled chicken, I just brushed it with the dressing and threw it on the grill, chopped it up and added it to the salad. This is a keeper!


Avocado and Orange Salad
adapted from Joy the Baker
serves 4-6 people as side salad


1 large head or Romain lettuce, chopped
2 Navel oranges, segmented
1-2 ripe avocados, sliced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp honey
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt (you can also use 1 egg yolk)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:  


Place rinsed and chopped Romain lettuce in large serving bowl.  To segment the oranges, cut about 1/2" off the top and bottom of the orange, then slice down the sides of the orange to cut off the orange peel.  Slice in between the natural orange segments, at an angle and clean orange slices should pop out.  Add orange slices to salad.  Slice up the avocado, and add to salad.  


To make the dressing, combine all ingredients except the olive oil, salt and pepper in jar, tightly sealed tupperware container, or salad dressing jar and give it a good shake.  Remove lid and slowly add in the olive oil, whisking as you add it.  Finally, add salt and pepper, then give dressing another good whisk or shake (with the lid on!).  Drizzle over salad, and enjoy!  Extra dressing will last in the refrigerator up to a week.

Fruit Nachos

These are the heavenly fruit nachos we made for our girls night. Super yummy. This does make a lot, so unless your making for a big crowd you can half the recipe. Or you can just have leftovers!

Lemon Raspberry Fruit Nachos

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces fresh or frozen thawed raspberries (about 2 cups)


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 tablespoon lemon juice


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 10 medium sized (8 to 10 inch diameter) flour tortillas


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 teaspoon cinnamon


• 8 ounces Neufchatel or light cream cheese, softened


• 1/4 cup lemon curd


• 6 cups diced fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries,


• Strawberries, peaches, kiwi fruit, etc.


• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Method:

Serves 4 to 6; Total time 60 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan, bring raspberries, water and sugar to a boil. Stir and boil until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing firmly with a rubber spatula so as to leave only seeds in strainer. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Taste and add a little additional sugar if desired for sweetness. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, cut each tortilla into eight triangles with a pizza cutter. Hold each triangle under running water, wetting each side. Place wet tortilla triangles on a sheet of wax paper. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle tortilla triangles generously with sugar mixture. Turn tortilla triangles over and sprinkle other side generously. Place coated tortilla triangles in a single layer on a wire rack that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and placed on a baking sheet. (You will need to bake in two batches.) Bake 5 minutes, then turn triangles over. Cook another 5 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy, watching closely the last few minutes so as not to burn. Remove from oven and cool.

4. Remove raspberry syrup from refrigerator and stir, adding a little water if necessary to make a medium syrup. In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese and lemon curd, adding a little water if necessary to make the consistency of sour cream.

5. Spread tortilla crisps on a large serving platter. Drizzle first with cream cheese mixture and then with raspberry syrup. Sprinkle diced fruit over top. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar as a garnish. Serve immediately.

Cowboy Quesadillas

I got this receipe from Our Best Bites this week and we tried it out. And they were wonderful and wonderfully simple. Even my picky eater Michael asked for these a second time this week.

1/2 C white Rice

1/3 C black beans

1 cup diced cooked chicken ( I was out of fresh/frozen chicken so I used canned)

1/3 C fresh frozen corn kernels ( I used canned corn)

2/3 diced tomato ( I left this out because of my picky eater)

3 Tbs sliced green onion

1 1/2 C shredded cheese

1/4 C bbq sauce

6 small tortillas (fajita size, about 6'')

Dipping Sauce

Equal parts bbq sauce and ranch dressing

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese. Add bbq sauce adn stir to combine. Place about 1/3 C of mixture on half of each tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat skillet to medium heat on the stove top. When hot spray lightly with cooking spray. Place quesadillas in pan and cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp. Flip and repeat on opposite side. Let cool for a minute then get dipping! :)