Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce

A friend of mine made this dish for me a few years ago.  The first time I tasted it, I was in love!  The flavor of this dish is bold in just the right ways and subtle in just the right ways.  It is a Thai peanut pasta with pea pods and broccoli.  Once we tried it, we couldn't get enough of it.  Sometimes in this type of recipe, the peanut butter flavor, though adored in my house on a sandwich or in a milkshake, is too much to take.  The sweetness of the peanut butter is balanced nicely with rice vinegar and lime juice.  The heat of the dish can be controlled simply by adding or subtracting red pepper flakes and ginger.  (Note: as the dish sits, the spiciness will increase)

I have made this for the boys, my sister and BIL and my in-laws, all with raging success.  As with every recipe, I alter it slightly with each time I prepare it.  Yesterday, I think I found a solid version that I will make again.

The RECIPE (as published):
12 ounces Spinach Linguine or Whole Wheat Spaghetti
2c. Broccoli Florets
2c. Snow Peas
2c. Sugar Snap Peas
1/2c. Unsalted peanuts
1/2c. Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4c. Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1/4c. Water
2T. Rice Vinegar
2T. Fresh Lime Juice
1 Scallion
One 3/4 inch piece Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
2T. Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1/4 t. Red Pepper Flakes (or more to taste)

Cook the pasta as directed. Drain and rinse with cold water.
While the pasta is cooking, steam broccoli for three minutes.  Add pea pods and steam an additional 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Toast the peanuts in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant.  3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Make the sauce by pureeing the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
RIGHT BEFORE SERVING, toss pasta, vegetables and sauce together.  Sprinkle the peanuts on top and serve.

MY CHANGES:
As much as I love spinach linguine, it was very difficult to get everything mixed up well enough with the longer pastas.  I recommend a shorter noodle, such as a penne or ziti.  I did a mixture (as that was what my pantry dictated) of whole wheat penne and mini fusili.  They worked great.

I also only used sugar snap peas.  I tried it using the snow peas a couple of times and the pods broke apart and it looked messy.  I substituted the snow peas with regular frozen petite peas.  It worked out so much better.

I definitely suggest going with the low sodium soy sauce.  Not only is it healthier, but with all the flavors in this dish, the saltiness of the soy sauce would really mess up the balance, I think.


The best part of this recipe is the sauce.  Not only is it incredibly delicious, but it is pretty versatile.  I made it once as a dipping sauce for chicken strips to take over to fight night at a friend's place.  I have also used it for veggies.  Both were an absolute hit.

If you make any changes, I would love to hear about them.  What would you do differently?

Ten Apples Up on Top Part 2

So, as I said in my last post I got a TON of apples this last weekend and looking for some new recipes to try. Well, I made up a porky chop recipe (I know it's nothing new and exciting but I'm not very creative right now). I am calling my creation UNSTUFFED PORKY CHOPS! Yeah, I know real creative.

WHATCHA NEED:

some pork chops (I used 2 boneless)

1 box of pork flavored Stove Top Stuffing (cook it up as directed)

2 small apples, sliced (I used Gala, but I bet it would be awesome with Granny Smiths)

1/3 cup of applesauce

Preheat over to 425 degrees.

Place the sliced apples on the bottom of a small casserole dish. In the prepared stuffing, mix in the applesauce, then place in casserole dish on top of apples. Afterwards place pork chops on, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the pork chops are finished. Serve and ENJOY!!! I served mine with green beans and my hubby gobbled it right up!!!

Next, I did make that wonderfully delicous apple cake. OMG!!! The smell that went through my home was AHHH-mazing!!!

Whatcha need:

1- 16 oz bottle of ice cream carmel topping

1/2 cup of chopped pecans (I got to use the pecans that came off the tree in my front yard!! YUM!), you can use walnuts too

2 large baking apples, sliced thinly

1 box of yellow cake mix (I prefer Betty Crocker SuperMoist)

1 1/4 cup of water

3 eggs

1/3 cup of veg oil (you can use apple sauce instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the carmel topping in the bottom of a 13x9 casserole, then put nuts in next, then your sliced apples. Mix the cake mix with the eggs, oil, and water. Pour on top of apples carefully. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan for 1 minute then, like a pineapple upside down cake, remove from pan. Can be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

This will be eaten quickly because it is delish!!!

Top Apples Up on Top

So, as I began to think what to share from this way, super-duper busy week, everything from family visiting to the University's Homecoming to going to Meridian Mississippi for grocery shopping. Yep, we took Jasper to his first Homecoming Parade which was quite an adventure in its own rite, but i thought since we are trying to share recipe and meal ideas here, why don't I share what happened in Meridian. Let's begin with nothing too exciting happened, but I discovered apple stands. APPLES EVERYWHERE!!! So of course, I got TONS!!!

Now, I have all these apples that I know we won't eat them all before they go bad, so I have been searching for interesting, easy apple recipes. One thing you need to know about me is that I cannot stand pie crust, I will eat the filling but not the crust, blah. Of course I found applesauce cakes, baked apples, apple pies, apple cobbler, apple-stuffed pork chops, and the list goes on and on. But then all of sudden I found the recipe I just had to try.

This cake is from tablespoon.com website (a nifty little website I have discovered through my searches) and yes it is an apple cake but different. It is called Warm Caramel Apple Cake!! YUM YUM!!!! Now I have not made this cake yet so I do not know how it taste but man it looks delightful!!! Just check out their picture!!! I think this cake will be made within the next week!!! I will post on how delicous this cake will taste. I will also post the recipe then, the orignal and any changes that I made while preparing the cake. Every cook should be able to modify a recipe to make it their own.

Besides, a dessert recipe (which is way easier to find than anything else with apples), I wanted to find a recipe for a dinner entree, but no luck. If you have one that you would like to share with me, I would appericate it. I am going to make apple stuffing stuffed porky chops this week. Okay so when I have made the cake and the porky chops I will share my own pictures and recipes with you.