Honey-Garlic Shrimp/Chicken Stir Fry

4 - 6 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 TBSP honey
1 garlic clove, minced OR 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP oil
4 cups veggies (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, squash, cauliflower, pea pods...etc)
1 lb shrimp (51 - 60) or chicken (diced and cooked)

Mix soy sauce, honey and garlic in a small bowl. Heat in microwave for 10 seconds to mix honey easier. Heat oil in fry pan; when hot, add veggies. Cook approximately 2 - 5 minutes until tender-crisp. If cooked too long they will be mushy after next steps are done. Add shrimp/chicken and sauce and cook until warmed through. Note: if you like sauce, you may want to double the sauce next time. Very good flavor!

*D: I use chicken because it's cheaper, frozen veggies because it's winter (for now) and they are already chopped. When I use frozen veggies I usually use a mix and then just add regular carrots or whatever else I have. You just have to make sure your veggies don't turn mushy from being heated too long. This is an easy delicious recipe! Pin It

Pad Thai with Shrimp

4 cups water
1 package (6 - 8oz) linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles (rice stick noodles*)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
3 TBSP packed brown sugar
3 TBSP fish sauce or soy sauce
3TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP rice vinegar or white vinegar
3/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
3 TBSP vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped or 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
12 oz frozen cooked peeled deveined medium shrimp, thawed
1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
4 medium green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves


*Thin or thick rice stick noodles can be substituted for the linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles.



Tyler and I couldn't decide which one we wanted to try...so we got both. Pictured above, the ones on the right are the noodles the recipe is talking about. But on the left are also rice noodles that are delicious! Below you can see close ups to see the difference between the two.




Neither one is very expensive. They run just a few dollars a package at your local grocery store. I know that seems like a lot (especially since it'll only make one meal, maybe two), but this dish is relatively cheap if you mostly use what you have at home.


1. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat 4 cups water to boiling. Remove from heat; add noodles (push noodles into water with back of spoon to cover them with water if necessary). Soak noodles 3 to 5 minutes or until noodles are soft but firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir lime juice, 1/3 cup water, the brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil until well mixed. Set aside.

3. In a nonstick wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat.

Cook garlic and shallot in oil about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until starting to brown. Add eggs. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring gently and constantly, until scrambled but still moist.

4. Stir in noodles and lime juice mixture. Increase heat to high. Cook about 1 minute, tossing constantly with 2 wooden spoons, until sauce begins to thicken. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro (note from D: that includes shrimp, peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions). Cook 2 to 3 minutes, tossing with 2 wooden spoons, until noodles are tender. Place on serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro. Garnish with additional chopped dry-roasted peanuts and green onions if desired.

PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN: Substitute 2 cups chopped cooked chicken for the shrimp.

I'll just give you a second to let your mouth water.

Doesn't that look amazing? It was. My friend, Melanie, made this the other night and we invited ourselves over for dinner. Literally. It was so good we left with full bellies and the recipe.


Melanie used the thin noodles, and it was divine. The thicker noodles soaked up the flavor more, but the thin noodles had a lighter flavor and feel. So they're both delicious and wonderful.


I used fish sauce, only because I had it in my fridge. Melanie did not use fish sauce, and her Pad Thai was less sweet than mine. In the future I'll use soy instead. We also used rice vinegar, but I think Mel used white. Use whatever you have. Don't go out and buy rice vinegar unless you use it on a regular basis. I use rice vinegar for sushi, so I usually have it on hand. But like I said, don't go out ant buy it. Just use white vinegar.


Tyler put in the red pepper and even asked me before he did it, "Are you sure you want this much red pepper?" I told him yes because I think Mel is a recipe-follower and hers wasn't too hot. Well, I don't know if she cut back or if our red pepper is more potent or if Tyler used 3/4 of a tablespoon rather than a teaspoon...but ours was burning hot! In the future I will cut back to probably half a teaspoon of red pepper.


You are always welcome to use jarred garlic rather than fresh. The flavor will be different (some say maybe not as good), but use what you have in your fridge. We always have both, so it doesn't matter to us.


We usually have shrimp in our freezer too (I love Shrimp Scampi!), but if you don't have shrimp, don't go buy it just for this dish. It's expensive! Use chicken. Melanie made hers with chicken and it was delicious! I don't know which one I prefer more, but the chicken will probably be what we make in the future because it's less expensive. If you use chicken, though, a little more preparation will have to go into making it because you'll have to do that before you even start on the noodles.


I did not use peanuts because I didn't have any. I always have cashews on hand because of we love Cashew Chicken. So I used those instead. I'm not sure it made a huge difference. We had peanuts at Melanie's house, but both were good.


I didn't know what bean sprouts were as apposed to alfalfa sprouts. Bean sprouts are bigger. Before you use them, be sure to was them carefully. Who knows where they've been?! I rinse them in cool water until they're no longer slimy. I did not measure them (what a nightmare!). I just took too handfuls and called it good.

And lastly, I thought the dish looked a little bland until I put on the cilantro. I did not sprinkle it on top before I served it because Tyler doesn't love cilantro, so I knew he'd ask me to leave it off if it wasn't mixed it. And I think it added to the flavor of the dish because I let it cook for another minute or so after adding the cilantro.


This is a great and EASY dish. I know all my instructions make it look hard, but it really isn't. It just takes a little effort because you have to chop cilantro and onions and garlic. But once you get all the ingredients together, it literally takes 5 minutes to cook.

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Red Lobster Shrimp Scampi

**Warning, this recipe is not cheap, and you must be 21 or older to make it...or at least buy the ingredients.**

1 cup white cooking wine
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled, de-veined
3 tsp minced garlic.

Melt butter and mix with other ingredients. Cover shrimp with butter sauce and bake at 350* for 6-7 minutes. Be careful not to over cook the shrimp (or they will get rubbery). Shrimp is done when it has turned pink.

The last few times we have made this recipe, we have been disappointed that we can feel a burning in our throat as we eat the shrimp...aka not all the alcohol burned off. So we had to keep cooking it until it did burn off, and then the shrimp was over-cooked and it all went to pot.


So. Tonight I made this recipe again and I swore not to get my husband or myself drunk off our shrimp scampi. We value our temple recommends. What I did tonight was melt the butter, we used salted butter (I think it flavors better), and wine in a sauce pan. I cooked it to about boiling, and then I simmered for a few minutes. We also added the garlic while simmering to get the flavor in the sauce. Pour the butter sauce over the shrip and put it in the oven un-covered.


We've used the pre-cooked shrim a few times, so you just have to watch it to know when it's done (because it's already pink). We put the shrimp in the oven for about 8 minutes. We knew it was done when we could open the oven door and not feel like we were walking into a bar. Seriously, if all the alcohol isn't cooked off it smells like a drunk. A very garlicy drunk.


Enjoy! Pin It

SUSHI!!

Look me in the eye and tell me you've never wanted to try/make sushi. We are a big sushi family, but it is SO expensive. Well, here is a "relatively" cheap way to make sushi. I say relatively because the ingredients are pricey, but you can make many rolls of sushi with the ingredients.

This is a basic recipe.

You will need:
sea weed paper (I am not a huge fan of the sea weed. It's fine, but I prefer a soy paper. It has less flavor and it's not as chewy.)
Rice
shrimp (precooked, de-veined, shelled)
imitation crab
avocado
cream cheese
other possible ingredients: cucumber, tuna, carrots, etc.

This is a cool little tool that has a name that I don't know. It's a sushi roller. It helps me keep my sushi together as I roll it. You could probably survive without it, but it sure is handy.

First step is to cook the rice. You can use regular rice. Tyler and I found sushi rice on sale for a dollar at the local grocery store. So we use that. When your rice is cooked, you can season it a little with rice vinegar or just leave it plain.

Rinse and thaw your shrimp and crab.

Lay a piece of nori (the seaweed paper or soy paper) on the sushi roller. Now you need a row of rice. Make sure it's evenly distributed including at the ends.

Now you just have fun with the other stuffings. We love shrimp and cream cheese,

crab and avocado.
We really pile it on. I promise it won't be too big. You'll see once you roll it up. Which is the next step.

Turn the sushi roller so the filling is closest to you. This part can be kind of tricky. You need to hold in the filling while rolling the sushi. Make sure you roll tightly or else everything will fall out when you cut it.

Now you get to slice and enjoy. Use a very sharp knife to slice so that you're not tearing. I didn't measure, but these slices are, I dunno, half an inch to an inch thick.

Voila. Yummy, "healthy" sushi.
Try it out and let me know what you think! Feel free to add or subtract to make your sushi delicious. Tyler and I ate four rolls between the four of us. But we were really hungry:) Pin It