Another Recipe! Spicy Shrimp Noodle Soup ^_^

Yet another yummy recipe! This time, I got the recipe from an Asian cookbook I have, and then I modified it a bit. Oddly enough, I'm writing this while watching "Julie & Julia"...very inspiring. I'm actually tempted to try that beef stew recipe (actually with a French name for the recipe...but I didn't take French in school...so there! ^_^). Anywho...this recipe really only takes like 30 minutes to make, and about 30 minutes of prep time. So...here's the recipe:







Ingredients:

1 package of pre-cooked shrimp (thawed)
2 cups of fresh spinach
2 garlic cloves minced
1 package of Shanghai noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 tspn ginger powder
1 1/2 tspns crushed rep pepper seeds
6 cups of chicken stock
2 tblspns soft soy sauce
2 tspns soft brown sugar
1 tblspn of sweet chili sauce
1/4 tspn basil
1 cup mushrooms
1 scallion sprout - chopped

Shrimp Marinade:

1. Combine olive oil, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper seeds, sweet chili sauce, salt, whole black pepper and basil. Mix thoroughly.
2. In a leak proof bag, combine the thawed pre-cooked shrimp in the marinade. Let sit (refridgerated) for at least 30 minutes.

Cooking:
1. In a pot, combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, onions and mushrooms. Let come to a boil.
2. In a skillet combine the shrimp, remaining marinade, and spinach. Let simmer.
3. In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and cook noodles until tender (or to taste).
4. **Optional Step!!** I chose to serve this dish with rice as an aside. So, you can cook the rice in a rice cooker. ^_^

Place noodles in a soup bowl. Add the soup base and veggies followed by the spinach and shrimp. Garnish with the chopped scallions. Serve with a side of rice.

More Cooking Goodness - Chicken Satay w/Peanut Sauce & a Green Bean & Cucumber Sweet Chili Sauce Salad

So, as most people know I'm a foodie...I love food especially when I can replicate dishes that are some of my faves. Today is one of those recipes. I LOVE Chicken Satay...and until today, I never realized how easy it was to make. So...I'm putting two recipes up today:

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Green Bean & Cucumber Salad with Sweet Chili Sauce




Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

8 chicken breasts
1 onion roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/4 tspn crushed red pepper seeds
1 tspn ground cumin
1/4 tspn salt
1 tblspn soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 tbspn soft brown sugar
cucumber slices

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup water
2 tbspns sweet chili sauce
1 tbspn soy sauce
2 tspns lemon juice

Chicken:
1. Combine onions, garlic, red pepper seeds, cumin, salt, soy sauce, oil & brown sugar in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. In a bowl or plastic bag combine the marinade and chicken and let sit for 2 hours.
3. On a skillet or in a pan, heat the chicken thoroughly.
4. After the chicken is browned on both sides, remove from heat and cut into strips.
5. Any chicken that is still undercooked (inspect each strip for pink areas) should be returned to the skillet or pan to finish cooking.

Peanut Sauce:
1. Combine peanut butter, coconut milk, water, chili sauce, soy sauce and lemon juice in a pan.
2. Mix thoroughly and place over a low to medium heat.
3. Once the mixture begins to bubble, remove from heat and stir.
4. The sauce should begin to thicken as it cools.

Serve chicken with drizzles of the peanut sauce over it and with sauce on the side.

Green Bean & Cucumber Salad with Sweet Chili Sauce

Ingredients:
1 package of fresh green beans with the ends cut off
1 cucumber peeled and chopped
1/2 tspn of black pepper
1/4 tspn of salt
1/2 tspn of garlic
1 tbspn olive oil
1 tbspn sweet chili sauce

1. In a bowl combine the green beans, black pepper, salt, garlic and olive oil in a bowl and toss.
2. In a pan, heat the green beans until they become a bright green color and tender.
3. Remove from the stove and let cool in the fridge.
4. After chilling the green beans, add the cucumbers and sweet chili sauce. Add additional olive oil if needed. Toss & serve.

My Yummy Spicy Shrimp Salad

Yes, I love to cook - but only if there's people to cook for, otherwise it's just no fun. So, today I didn't feel like cooking anything that would require a lot of time at the stove/oven considering that it's still really warm out and I haven't entirely acclamated myself to the weather change. So, I decided to make a shrimp salad - it turned out a bit spicier than I had intended but it was awesome. The recipe is below and should make about 4 - 6 servings depending on how generous you are with your portions:

 **See my little Yorkie in the bottom left corner wishing he could have some! But this is too spicy for him!!!***


Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 5 - 10 minutes

Ingredients:
30 - 40 Shrimp (either fresh raw or pre-cooked frozen)
1 avacado
1 can mandarin oranges
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup thawed frozen/drained canned loose kernel corn
1 cup fresh mozzarella balls
1 1/2 heads of romaine lettuce
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1/4 tspn Jamaican curry powder
1/4 tspn oregano
1/4 tspn basil
1/4 tspn black pepper
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 tspn garlic
olive oil (I didn't measure the amount of olive oil I used, but put enough to liberally marinate the shrimp - which will later be used as the dressing)

Shrimp Marinade:
After thawing and peeling shrimp (as necessary) combine cayenne pepper, black pepper, oregano, basil, salt, garlic, curry and olive oil in a plastic bag with the shrimp. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least 20 - 30 minutes.

Salad:
Chop the lettuce and place into a large bowl. Drain the mandarin oranges and add to the lettuce. Combine dried cranberries, corn and mozzarella to the lettuce and toss. After 20 - 30 minutes has passed place shrimp and marinade in heated skillet. If using pre-cooked shrimp cook for 5 minutes, no more than 10 if using raw shrimp (until it turns pinkish). Add shrimp and marinade to the salad and toss. Plate the salad and garnish with wedges of avacado.

Enjoy!

International Chocolate Mint Day?!

Okay,

So somehow I missed the official Chocolate Mint Day?! I don't know how it happened, as I am a self described choc-o-holic, but it did - for inquiring minds, it was Friday February 19th! So, in honor of that, I'm making chocolate chip cookies today. And if I can find some mint flavoring, you bet I'm tossing a dash of it in there to make them extra special.

In honor of the awesome day that was chocolate mint day, you can check out Pie Bird's blog which has tons of recipes commemorating this amazingly sweet confectionery invention!