Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Magic Noodles (Spicy Thai Peanut Curry Noodles)


A spicy thai-inspired dish with rice noodles and a sweet peanut curry sauce! Loaded with veggies and chicken. It is named "Magic Noodles" because use it fuels workouts.


SERVES 6 -8 , 6 portions
Ingredients
Noodles
1 (14 ounce) package of linguine style rice noodles
Sauce
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (chunky is good!)
2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce (1 tablespoon if you don't enjoy a little kick!)
1 tablespoon brown sugar, level
1 tablespoons yellow curry paste (red works too!)
1/2 tablespoon turmeric
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 (10 ounce) cans coconut milk (shake well before opening)
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
Vegetables
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cup broccoli floret
1/2 cup asian style pea pods
Chicken
8 ounces chicken breasts or firm tofu
Directions

Begin by poaching the chicken breast. (If you are using tofu, bake, fry, or steam your tofu. That is up to you!). Wrap chicken in a tin-foil wrapper and place in a baking dish. Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes or until cooked completely through. While the chicken is baking, begin the sauce.
Pour the coconut milk into a large skillet with high sides and gently warm on medium heat for a couple minutes. Add the peanut butter and melt. As the peanut butter melts, add in the rest of the sauce (save 1/2 cup chopped peanuts) ingredients and stir fully. Let gently simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Start a large pot of water to boil for the noodles.
Rinse and slice the peppers into thin strips.
Rinse the rest of the veggies and add all of the veggies to the sauce.
Cover and let continue to simmer on lowest heat.
When the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the oven and the foil & let it rest for a few minutes or until cool enough to slice. Slice the chicken into slices or chunks and add to the sauce and toss.
Rice noodles cook fairly quickly, so keep your eye on them. Add rice noodles to boiling water and let cook according to the package directions (about 6-8 minutes). Test by eating one of the noodles for doneness. Noodle should be al dente -- cooked but not overcooked.
Drain noodles.
Turn off heat.
Add a small amount of the coconut peanut butter sauce to the large pasta pot.
Return the noodles to the pot.
Pour the rest of the sauce with veggies on top of the noodles.
Toss thoroughly.
Serve with a garnish of chopped peanuts on top.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Chicken Marsala




4 chicken breasts
2 T flour
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sweet marsala wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
Variety of mushrooms, sliced
1 can chicken stock

Chopped parsley (optional)

Lightly brown chicken breasts in a skillet and set aside. *Chicken does not need to be fully cooked, only nicely browned.
In the same pan, add olive oil and mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until the mushrooms and onions become tender.
Add in butter and let melt.
Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoon of flour and cook for another minute or two, stirring.
Once the flour has had a chance to cook for a minute, turn up the heat to med-high.
Pour in the wine and stir fully.
Replace the chicken breasts into the pan of wine sauce.
Cover the chicken with the sauce and let simmer for about 2-3 mins.
The sauce will thicken.
Add in 1 can chicken stock and stir to combine.
Let simmer about 10-15 minutes on low heat.
At the very end, add in the heavy cream and stir well.
Sprinkle with generous amounts of parmesan cheese.

Serve over pasta and top with chopped flat leaf parsley.

*Note: using a fat free heavy cream or light cream can sometimes curdle in dishes using acidic components (wine, tomatoes, lemon).

If you use a full heavy cream, the dish will be rich and will not curdle.