Jap Chae

As soon as I saw this recipe on My Adventures in Food, I knew I had to try it.  I had to make a couple of changes to the recipe, the biggest issue was the noodles.  I couldn't find any made of sweet potato.  We have a huge selection of Asian noodles at our grocery store, but not a single one of them was made with sweet potato.  I settled on glass noodles made from green beans, which meant I had to change how they were cooked.  They only needed soaking in hot water instead of boiling.  Miss F gobbled this up, I was shocked.  She normally doesn't like the flavors in this dish.  C liked it as well, but I doubt he would go for it without meat.

Jap Chae

12 ounce clear glass noodles

½ lb chicken, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce

1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, shredded
1 zucchini, slivered
½ onion, cut into slivers
6 ounces mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds

Soak noodles in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Combine meat, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ginger, and chili-garlic sauce in a bowl, toss the meat to evenly coat. Let marinate while you prep all the vegetables.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the marinating meat. Cook until meat is done, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan. Add carrots, zucchini, red onion, shitake mushrooms, and green onions. Sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from pan and add to plate with meat.

Place 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, sugar, and chili-garlic sauce to pan. Stir to combine. Add noodles to pan. Stir to coat and heat through. Return meat and vegetables to pan, and toss to combine. Drizzle sesame oil over the contents of the pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve.

Adapted from My Adventures in Food

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Chicken and Shrimp Creole

Since C doesn't eat seafood, I have to make separate plates for he and I whenever I decide to eat it. This was easy to split since the shrimp take so little time to cook. The only irritation was C whining about the shrimp smell, but the man complains when there is fresh bread baking, so his nose is obviously not up to par. The flavors were fantastic, it really hit the spot. It would be lovely with just shrimp and would cook up in no time.

Chicken and Shrimp Creole
serves 4

¼ cup oil
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, with liquid
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 dashes hot sauce
½ pound shrimp, cleaned and peeled

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until mixture is the color of a copper penny. Reduce heat to low and stir in bell pepper, celery, onion and chicken. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in tomatoes with green chile peppers, chicken broth, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Bring heat to medium high and when the mixture comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp for last 3 to 5 minutes of cooking, depending on the size of the shrimp. Serve over rice.

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Chicken, Pineapple and Peppers

My old roommate and friend, Lori first made this recipe and I have been making it ever since. It is a really quick and easy meal to throw together, the longest component is cooking the brown rice, but you can always use white rice if you are short on time. Miss F adored the pineapple!

Chicken, Pineapple and Peppers
printable recipe

1 onion, chopped into bite size pieces
1 lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped into bite size pieces
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can pineapples (in juice, not syrup)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can fat free chicken broth
2 tbsp corn starch/ 3 tbsp water

brown rice

Sauté onion, chicken, bell pepper, garlic and ginger in EVOO over med-high heat until chicken is cooked through. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pineapples, tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and bring back up to a boil, the sauce will thicken up. Serve over brown rice.

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Beef and Chicken Fajitas

One of the greatest things about moving to Texas was discovering I liked more Tex-Mex than I thought. As a kid, the only thing I would eat at a "Mexican" restaurant, and up north the Mexican is not really Mexican, um, cough-Chi-Chis-cough, was cheese nachos. I think the only reason I ordered them was because I liked the dramatic presentation. They were on a big platter that was on top of a warming candle, very fun when you are 8 years old. Now that I have expanded my Tex-Mex eating, I have fallen in love with guacamole. I will eat vats of it and put it on nearly anything.

Fajitas are easy. They are best when made on the grill. There are so many condiments you can serve with them, it really is whatever you want. Some places serve garlic butter, onions, bell peppers, lettuce, cheese, salsa, tomato, green sauce, sour cream, guacamole, I could go on and on. I did simple cheese and guacamole last night since I was trying to get this on the table quick.

You can make your own, sometimes I do, but when I am doing things quick, I use Fabuloso Quick Fajita Marinade. I have always wondered if it is the same company as the Fabuloso floor cleaners...I am guessing yes.

Beef and Chicken Fajitas

3/4 lb beef fajita meat
1 breast of chicken
1 tablespoon fajita marinade, I prefer Fabuloso Quick Fajita Marinade
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 tablespoon oil
8 tortillas

any condiments you like

Slice the chicken, beef and bell peppers into thin slices. Toss the chicken and beef with the marinade. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the chicken, beef and bell peppers. Saute until meat is cooked through and the peppers soften just a little, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel. Warm in the microwave for 45 seconds.

Serve with whatever fixins you enjoy on your fajitas.

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Shrimp Creole

I made C's with chicken, since he hates shrimp, by mine was all shrimp, all the way. I go ahead and get the peeled and deveined shrimp from Central Market. I hate peeling shrimp, unless it is the peel and eat boiled shrimp. This recipe is really easy and can be made in 30 minutes or less, pretty good considering.








Shrimp Creole

1 pound fresh medium shrimp
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons corn startch
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
2 cups hot cooked rice

Peel and devein shrimp, removing tails. Rinse shrimp; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

In a large skillet cook onion, celery, sweet pepper, and garlic in butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Stir shrimp and parsley into tomato mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 4 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque. Stir in the slurry of corn startch and water. Season to taste. Serve over rice.

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Pork with Edamame and Green Peppers

Another easy stir fry. Thank good for Neon giving me the Chinese cooking class as a birthday gift, I use the lessons learned in it all the time!











Pork with Edamame and Green Peppers

3/4 lb thinly sliced pork, cut into bite-size pieces
1 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsps vegetable oil
1/2 inch fresh ginger root, minced
2 small green bell peppers (about 1/4 lb), cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 lb edamame, boiled and shelled
1 1/2 tbsp water
1 1/2 tbsp sherry
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp katakuriko starch/corn starch
2 tsp water

Season pork with 1 tbsp of sherry and soy sauce in a bowl. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large skillet and stir-fry the pork until changes its color. Remove the pork from the skillet. Mix measured water, sake, soy sauce, and sugar in a cup and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable in the skillet and fry minced ginger, then stir-fry green peppers on high heat until softened. Put the pork back in the skillet and add edamame. Stir-fry all the ingredients, and pour the mixed seasonings over. When it boils, add the mixture of katakuriko starch and 2 tsp of water and stir quickly. Stop the heat. Serve over rice.

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