Pad Thai

 

Ingredients:

12 oz Rice Noodles

4 chicken breast or the equivalent in chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces

1 can bean sprouts, drained

4 eggs

oil for wok, toasted sesame oil is preferred but any oil will work

2 c broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

2 c cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces

1 basket of mushrooms, sliced

 * you could also add other veggies, chop into bite size pieces (carrots, snow peas, bok choy)

    Garnish:

    4 green onions, sliced

    1 c peanuts, chopped 

    1 bunch of cilantro, stems removed and chopped

    1 large lime, cut into wedges

    additional soy sauce, siracha and/or oyster sauce or fish sauce

    Sauce Ingredients:

    1/2 c soy sauce

    2 Tbsp sriracha, more if you want it spicier

    1/4 c fresh lime juice

    1/4 c oil

    1/4 c packed brown sugar, more if you put too much sriracha in (ha!)

You could make this a vegetarian dish, a seafood dish, a chicken dish, a beef dish, or any sort of combination.  I like to do veggies, chicken and shrimp.

Start by prepping all of my ingredients, washing, chopping/slicing, and mixing up the sauce. 

Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until brown sugar has dissolved. Keep the whisk handy as you will want to whisk again before adding it in, towards the very end of the recipe.

Prep lime wedges, cilantro and green onions, and peanuts.  Save these for garnishing your individual plate.

Add a small amount of oil to a wok.  Add mushrooms.  Stir fry the mushrooms for 2-3 minuets, then set aside in a bowl or plate.  

Add a bit more of oil and add in broccoli and cauliflower.  Stir fry until cauliflower get a little browned, about 3-5 minuets.  Then set aside with the mushrooms.

Prepare noodles as directed on package in a medium size pot. Once they have reached the desired tenderness, drain and rinse in cold water.

While noodles are cooking, add a small amount of oil to wok, adding chicken.  Stir fry the chicken, cut a piece in half to confirm the center is no longer pink.  Once there is no pink, add the chicken to the veggie mixture. 

Add a small amount of oil to the wok and scramble the eggs.

Once eggs are scrambled, add bean sprouts, chicken, veggies back into the wok and give a good toss to combine.  Add in noodles and sauce, tossing again to combine.  Once everything is added, let cook for about 5 minuets to heat everything together, tossing now and then to make sure things do not stick to the wok bottom.

Once everything has been heated, serve!

Don't forget to add your garnishes to your individual plate, adding more sauces if you want it more spicier or more salty!

Shrimp Po' Boy

Ingredients:
60-70 Peeled Shrimp (if you're smart you get the deveined and tail off kind... not me... LOL)
Zatarain's Fish Fri
Oil
Bread - usually a hard hoagie type of bread
Mayo
Tomato, sliced
Shredded Lettuce


First off... if you use the shrimp you have in your freezer and it happens to have the tails still on it, thaw them in some cool water and pull the tails off. If you are smart enough to have the non tailed kind in your freezer just thaw those bad boys out!


Slap a plate full of Fish Fri. Add a few shrimp.


Toss them around with your fingers till they are nicely coated. Shake off any extra.

Set shrimp aside until it's all battered because the next step goes pretty fast!

Get that oil nice and hot. Toss in enough shrimp for one nice bubbling layer.

Yeah baby... pull those bad boys out once they are nice and golden brown.

Pull that bread out, slice it. Add the mayo, tomato, lettuce and a big pile of shrimp.

Shish Kabobs

Ingredients:
Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons oil
Kabobs:
10 large mushrooms
1 purple onion - cut into bite size chunks
1 whole pepper (yellow, orange, red, or green or combo) - cut into bite size chunks
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite size chunks
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained

Other items:
You could use shrimp, sirloin, pork, cherry tomatoes, canned potatoes, pea pods, Mandarin oranges and much much more!

In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, cider vinegar, honey, canola oil, and green onions. Place the mushrooms and chicken that is chopped into bite size pieces into the mixture, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. If you don't have an hour make sure you do this step first and then cut all your veggies and fruits so that there is at least some time for it to soak in.

Preheat grill for high heat or 400 degrees.

Thread chicken onto skewers with a small space between each piece. On another skewer alternate with peppers and onions. On another skewer mushroom halves and another with pineapple chunks. You will see many recipes that say to alternate the pieces on the same skewer, I do not do this because all of the items cook at different speeds.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Arrange skewers on the prepared grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with remaining soy sauce mixture, until chicken juices run clear and there are char marks on the vegetables.

Crab Salad

Ingredients: 4 Heaping Tablespoons of Real Mayo (Do not substitute!) One Package of Imitation Crab All to your taste buds of chopped onion - prefer green onion but use what you have on hand All to your taste buds of Shredded Cheese Separate crab into bit size chunks or flakes. Add all other ingredients and mix. Put in fridge for at least a 1/2 hour to chill. Eat it plain, eat it with crackers, or Doritos!

New Orleans Crab Dip

Ingredients:
4oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 package (8oz) imitation crab meat, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 1/2 tbsp Cajun Herb Seasoning Mix

In a bowl, microwave cream cheese on high for 30 seconds until softened; whisk in mayonnaise.

Chop crab meat. Chop celery & pepper.

Add crab meat, celery, bell pepper, garlic & seasoning mix to cream cheese mixture; mix well.



Spoon crab mixture into chilled bowl.

Serve with Canapé Bread Slices.

Yield: 12 servings

Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:
1 can (6 oz) pink salmon (boneless, skinless, in water)
2 tbs cornmeal
2 egg whites
1 tbs EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)

Heat EVOO in a small frying pan.

Drain canned salmon. In a small bowl mix salmon, egg whites, and cornmeal together.




Split salmon mixture and make patties. Place patties in hot pan.


Cook on both sides until golden brown.