Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles w/ Ginger Lime Chicken

Hi friends. (if you don't know me, but like butter, we should be friends.)

Newlywed life is full of adventures, big and small. Suddenly, I'm the homemaker. The chef. The wife. It's blissful. And challenging. But it feels great to create a space for the twos of us. And weekly menus!

That's the latest challenge: plan menus for the week that appeal to both of us (we can't eat cream-cheese-based foods all the time, unfortunately) and concoct menus that use the groceries we buy to best advantage and somehow trick MJ into eating his vegetables. I've even been doing price checking and coupon cutting. Yeah. Really. Clearly, I it's time to get back to blogging about these culinary newlywed adventures. Plus, Barbi said she was bored with cooking and requested a chicken recipe and I like her, so here it goes.

I wish I would have tripled this recipe. I could have eaten these leftovers—
hot or cold—for a week. Blissfully.

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles w/ Citrus & Ginger Chicken
After lots of rich soups and hearty winter meals, my body was begging for something a bit...fresher. This was a perfect solution, full of crisp veggies and bold flavors—and still filling! I pulled much inspiration from these noodles a small snippet and a marinade by Bobby Flay, but both have been altered quite a bit. I tried to gear it to feed two hungry people and leave plenty of leftovers leftovers. It would serve 4 to 6, depending on how hungry you are. You could easily add another chicken breast with this amount of marinade and up the portions a bit. In fact, I would recommend that you do.


The marinade would make a fantastic salad dressing as well. I may have snitched a spoonful. Or two. 


Marinade
4 green onions, chopped
one-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled & chopped
~ 1/2 cup lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)
4 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 heaping tblsp. sugar
2 generous tblsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

zen

2 chicken breasts, sliced into one-inch pieces

In a blender, combine lime juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, pepper. Blend on high until smooth, then add onions and sesame oil. Blend again until smooth. (I used  my brand new Cuisinart mini-prep. pure. joy.) It should be a tan color and smell like amazing. Reserve 1/4 cup marinade for noodles.

Feel the power! Love this new Cuisinart!

Pour over chicken and let marinate for at least 20 minutes, but no more than 40. The lime will start to break down the chicken too much and it will get mushy instead of tender and juicy.

For Noodles
3 tblsp. sesame oil
3 tblsp. canola oil
1/2 to 1 tblsp. cracked red pepper (depending on your fire tolerance)
3 tblsp. honey
3 tblsp. brown sugar
3 tblsp. soy sauce
4 tblsp. reserved marinade
2 1/2 tblsp. chunky peanut butter
10 oz. whole wheat pasta (spaghetti or linguine)

1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

In a medium frying pan, combine sesame and canola oil. Add cracked red pepper and cook on medium for 3 to 4 minutes. Strain out red pepper flakes and set oil aside to cool slightly. In a bowl, whisk together honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, and reserved marinade. Add peanut butter and oil.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to taste, and begin cooking pasta. In the same medium frying pan, heat two tsp. canola oil. CAREFULLY add chicken (the marinade will sizzle and splatter when it touches the hot oil). Cook on medium high, adding a bit of the remaining marinade after about 5 minutes.
When the marinade begins to carmelize on the chicken and turn a dark golden brown, be sure the it is cooked thoroughly, then remove from heat.

When they are cooked to your liking, drain noodles. In a large bowl, combine noodles, chicken, veggies, and most of the chopped cilantro. Pour sauce over noodle mixture and stir to coat evenly. Serve with a pinch of cilantro on top. Enjoy!

Our meal was even better with the addition of a great smoothie MJ whipped up of various things we had on hand. soooo good. I really love him.

MJ's Piña Colada Smoothie
3/4 cup fresh or canned pineapple
3 fresh (or frozen) strawberries
1/2 a can of coconut milk
~ 1 cup orange-pineapple juice
1 very ripe banana
about 15 ice cubes
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

Blend on high until creamy, dreamy, and delicious. YUM.

December 29th, 2011

This is my best friend and his cute mama. 

He married me.

(How lucky am I?!) 

On December 29th, 2011.

It was pretty awesome.

The most handsome groom I ever did see.

The night before, we had a party with lots of friends and loved ones.

There was a bit of cake smashing

And some dancing.

But the sealing that took place at the Newport Beach temple, just inside that window behind us, was by far the most spectacular experience.

Now I know that I'll have this wonderful man 

at my side 

for the rest of my life.

And if we faithfully keep the covenants

that we've made to the Lord

and to each other

death won't part us.

We will spend eternity as husband and wife.

We were so grateful to be surrounded by friends and family.

And loved the addition of some little cousins.

             

 

Had a great line-up of wonderful friends (many of whom traveled far to be there).

We felt the love of friends who have become family through years of laughter, tears, & love.

We showed off our classy sides.

We also kissed a bit.

The Murdoch Men looked particularly dashing.

There was more kissing. With some extra help this time.

I even caught some air.

I have new family members to love.

And a husband to share my adventures, trials, and triumphs.

              

 

Running through the fog to the beach that has always felt like home was exhilarating.

And then the sky caught fire.

My cousins, Tiff and Alan Hancock, of Hancock Photography, captured our day beautifully.

Standing in my groom's arms, 

toes in the sand, 

on the beach where I grew up was 

the perfect way to end 

our truly perfect day.

While planning a wedding in 56 days 

and keeping my budget under $5,000 for two receptions, 

life got a little crazy a few times.

But I like crazy. 

And I had a great guy to love me through the insanity.

And the support of so many who pitched in to make our wedding possible.

Our parents were incredible, our friends were kind, and we felt so loved.

 I love my newly expanded family.

With my Mr. by my side, life as a Mrs. is pretty fantastic.

An Announcement

one boy

+

one girl 

+ 
one perfect proposal
+

eleven diamonds

= 

one very happy engaged couple

one very happy engaged couple

+ 

56 days of engagement

+

a temple in Newport Beach

+

one mother's dress

+

a $5,000 budget

+

a whole lotta love

=

one very happy married couple

Michael & I are sealing the deal and getting hitched on 

December 29th, 2011. 

Until then, I'm a bit preoccupied with cookin' up wedding plans to do too much recipe cookin'. 

I'll be back once I have MY OWN KITCHEN. 

Where I shall be cooking meals. For my husband. 

talk about bliss

Happy Halloween!

All of the 50% off sales on candy give me little reason to bake up any treats this week (although America's Test Kitchen has been beguiling me with this killer brownie recipe... it will be posted soon), but this was too sweet not to share with you all.

I know, I know. Kissing pictures. ew. And if we're facebook friends, you've already seen this. Sorry for the redundancy. But I was really proud of this Halloween inspiration, and when you only get to wear something once, you have to post pictures everywhere.

We're supposed to be these two, if you didn't recognize the iconic pose: 

Sweet Potato Pie

It's one of those fantastic autumn afternoons where the trees a bursts of color but the sunshine still feels like summer, there's just the slightest chill in the air. And I came home early from campus to add my beloved green apron to my outfit, which already would have fit in well on the set of Julie & Julia. My church ward is having a pumpkin carving activity next week, and since we have an excess of graham crackers from our last s'more activity, I've been called upon to concoct a recipe for a marshmallow-topped sweet potato pie with a graham cracker crust. I'm not sure that I've ever been so happy about a church assignment.


I've never even tasted sweet potato pie until today—much less attempted to make one before—but I'm happy to report that my Tasting Committee (roommmates and boyfriend) all approved of this latest incarnation of my favorite starchy superfood. The flavors were warm without being overwhelming, the consistency was decadent, but not overly rich, and the addition of the toasted marshmallows added a bit of whimsy. Yes, pies can be whimsical. Since I lacked any experience with this particular pie, I turned to Smitten Kitchen; the filling recipe belongs to her, with a few minor tweaks. For a sweet way to celebrate autumn's goodness, try this pie!

Sweet Potato Pie

Graham Cracker Crust
12 Graham Crackers
5 tblsp. butter, melted, plus some softened for buttering pie dish
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
(1/4 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Put your graham crackers in a plastic bag (layer two bags if yours are a bit flimsy). Find a sturdy object (I used a rolling pin) & bash them to bits. This is great fun, but may startle your neighbors. In a large bowl, melt 5 tblsp. of the butter. Also coat the inside of your pie dish in butter (I used the remnants that stuck to the wrapper). Add brown sugar and vanilla to melted butter and stir until smooth. Add crushed graham crackers and mix until butter mixture is thoroughly blended throughout. Spread crumbly crust mixture into pan and press it down firmly, pushing crumbs up the sides of the pan. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until crust is golden and crisp, but not dark brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Sweet Potato Filling
This recipe is taken directly from Smitten Kitchen; my only additions were a dash of ground ginger and the marshmallows on top.

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes), peeled and chopped into a 1/2-inch dice (I used two fairly large potatoes and had twice what I needed. One large sweetie would do the trick.)
4 tblsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter, 1/4 tsp. if using salted butter
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
2 tblsp. all-purpose flour
3/4 cup full- or lowfat buttermilk (or, you can make your own, see below)
About 20 large marshmallows, cut in half, or as many mini marshmallows as it takes to cover the pie

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Pour 1 1/2 inches of water into a 3-quart stock part with a strainer basket suspended over it and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, cover and steam until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Place the steamed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Mash them into a smooth puree with a fork or potato masher. You should have 1 1/4 cups puree; discard any excess (by topping with a pat of butter, sprinkling with salt and cinnamon and making yourself a most-excellent snack). Add the butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and salt; mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula after each addition.

2. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a whisk, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until they’re a creamy lemon-yellow color, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the egg mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir until the eggs are thoroughly incorporated and the filling is a consistent bright orange color. Add the flour a little at a time, stirring after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Add the buttermilk and again stir until smooth and even.

3. With a cleaned whisk (or electric hand mixer), whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a clean, dry bowl. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the sweet potato-buttermilk mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake on the middle rack of the oven until the center is fairly firm, only jiggling ever-so-slightly if you give it a light shake, about 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and turn your oven to broil. Top with marshmallows and return the pie to the oven. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN THE MARSHMALLOWS! Leave your oven door open a crack or even try simply baking them (at about 400°F). They will go from white to charcoal super fast under a broiler; this step of the baking process shouldn't take more than three minutes.


4. I suggest allowing the pie to cool slightly before serving, but it's good both warm and cold. Happy Baking!

Monday

I wrote this little ditty during my first semester at BYU, now 4 years ago. I was still figuring out college life (still am, really), new to Facebook, and loved tying ribbons in my hair. I'd forgotten about this poem until my darling friend Carrie asked me about it a few days ago. She and I met each other in that writing class so long ago. After 2 years of living in the same room, planning her wedding, lots of late nights, crying on each others' shoulders as our Daddies battled the same cancer monster, and sharing life in general, I am still so grateful for that crazy beautiful blonde girl (who I later found out changed her hair color monthly) who shared a mutual stalker with me and a propensity to procrastinate on the housing hunt. Here's to you, Currface. luhju.

PS - Cerusa is a character from Greek drama —I was writing an essay about her & ran out of story so... like any good writer with a stagnant character, I killed her. I'm not really a morbid person.

Monday

Today I am a ribbon,
Just floating on the breeze.
Not quite sure where I’m going,
but just doing what I please.

I write a silly sonnet,
wait for a boy to call.
Decide to kill Cerusa,
leave a message on a wall.

I try to make decisions,
give my life a place to go,
but today I am a ribbon,
softly drifting, falling slow.

A Coconut Curry Soup to Cure Your Ills

I've been holding on to this recipe until 1) I had time to write it, and 2) it felt like soup weather. There is snow covering the mountains yonder. It is time.

Besides being delicious, this warm, creamy curried concoction is an anti-sickness soup. It quite literally gave me superpowers of illness resistance. Last month, my boyfriend was stricken with a nasty case of strep throat. My typically strong go-getter of a guy was reduced to slumping on my couch and writing me messages on a whiteboard as he could hardly speak. After he dropped over five pounds in two days, I decided we needed a nutrient-packed, carb-packed, protein-packed soup that would be soothing to his throat and give both of our immune systems a bit of a turbo charge. And I, my friends, never did succumb to that virulent bout of sickness. And he didn't fade away into nothingness. Success!

We all know that nothing feels more healing than Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup... at least, nothing until I brewed this soup. It's warm, slightly creamy, and full of filling things with just enough spice and coconut flavor to keep it interesting (I used a fairly mild curry powder). I know I've lauded the awesomeness of sweet potatoes before, but those babies are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and all sorts of goodness.

So if you're feeling under the weather or feeling the need to celebrate the chill in the air, this should be on your menu this weekend.

Coconut Curry Soup with Sweet Potatoes & Chicken
Serves 8 to 10, but also stores well and can be frozen.
For a spicier soup, up the amount of curry to 5 tblsp. and add 1 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes and 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper.


2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
3 tblsp. curry powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
3 tblsp. olive oil
1 potato, peeled & diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled & diced
2 cans chicken broth
1 can full of water
1 can coconut milk
3 tblsp. cornstarch
diced green onions for garnish
brown rice (optional)

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high. Add onion, garlic, curry, paprika, nutmeg, and other peppers (if using). Heat until onions become slightly transparent, then add chicken. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until nearly fully cooked. (Begin cooking rice if you'd like to serve the soup over rice.)

2. Add both cans of chicken broth and half a can full of water. Bring to a gentle simmer and add both types of potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes. If you'd like your broth to be thicker, mix 3 tblsp. cornstarch with remaining water, and gently stir in. Simmer on high for an additional 5 minutes.

3. Turn off heat and slowly stir in coconut milk (and go for the good stuff, not the light version). Serve over rice if you like, topped with sliced green onions. Enjoy!