Spicy Noodles and ALL MY BOYS!!!

So... Tonight Nick called... and he's comin' over for dinner!! One happy Gremlin Mom here!! So, when I mentioned my hankering for these sriracha spicy noodles I made the other day, he said... Heck Yeah! http://gremlinfoodmom.blogspot.com/2013/11/soy-and-sriracha-shrimp-noodles-with.html. So I took my delicious bone in chicken breasts and cooked them at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Add a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and let the oven do the work (and that bone in there will add a ton of flavor too). For the noodles... check the previous post on sriracha noodles. I attached the link, or you can check the blog! After cooking and resting my chicken for at least 15 minutes... it was all about noodles, Nick, and some super lean protein... roasted chicken! I shredded some of that moist succulent chicken onto my noodles and fancied it all up with some fresh cilantro! And I'm glad I did! Spicy sriracha garlic-ginger noodles and super lean tender chicken... and NICK! Love it when my boys come home for dinner, and I love it when they ask for more! Happy Gremlin Mom!!! Make these for yourself and you might become addicted... like us!

Soy and Sriracha Shrimp Noodles with Garlic and Ginger!!!

Have you ever had a craving... and then an idea... and suddenly you're on to creating the best thing you ever ate??? Or.. maybe not... But your idea is sooooo good your willing to GO FOR IT!!!! That's what happened tonight (and I'm GLAD it did)!! Today's players... Tonight's magic-money sauce!!! 1/4 cup of soy, 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and 2 heaping tablespoons of sriracha! Then, add copious amounts of garlic and ginger (at least a tablespoon of each, though I'm sure I added more...). Next, I chopped half of one sad little leftover red cabbage from the produce bin... and made it SO HAPPY!!! To that I added about a cup of carrots (already sliced)! Then... I thawed and shelled 1 pound of shrimp and poured about half of that super special sesame-sriracha sauce over the shrimp and let it sit for about 30 minutes! (This is known as... the cocktail hour which previews every party worth going to)!!!! While shrimp marinated in the cocktail... I added my veggies to a hot wok pan (in about 1 teaspoon of canola oil), and stir fried for about 3 minutes... no more... While my veg cooked, I also cooked some plain old simple, thin pasta and drained. Then rinsed in cold water (so it wouldn't stick) and let it sit in the sink until I was ready to add to the stir fry! I pulled my veg out after about 3 minutes, so it was time to cook the shrimp! In that same hot wok-ish pan, I added the shrimp with all the marinade. After cooking on medium high heat for about 1 minute, I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water. When you add this to the shrimp, the sauce will suddenly thicken, and become glossy and super delicious! Once the shrimp was cooked (and it won't take long... 3 minutes at most)... I added the pasta, the rest of that super money-sauce, and the veggies I cooked earlier! Keep the heat on high for another couple of minutes while you stir and combine all the flavors! You can thank me later for how GOOD your kitchen smells!!! The last thing I added to this heavenly spicy noodle craving... was a little chopped scallion and fresh cilantro... and my noodles, and my taste buds thanked me... over, and over again!!! Another spicy noodle craving.... totally fulfilled!!! Thanks sriracha... shrimp, and garlic and ginger... my culinary besties!!!!

Meatless Monday... Spicy Tofu Noodles!!

Meatless Monday.... spicy tofu noodles with cabbage, carrots and edemame! Full of lean protein and tons of flavor! Start with tofu... I LOVE tofu's lean protein, but I don't like mushy food... so I always do this to my tofu... park it on paper towels for 10 minutes... And then I weight it down with a big book, to get all the moisture out! Then, I bake it (350 degrees for at least 30 minutes)... but first I gotta give it some flavor! Tonight's flavor... courtesy of these guys! One of my favorite flavor profiles! Start with 1/4 cup of soy, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes, and copious amounts of fresh chopped garlic and ginger (about 2 tablespoons of each)! After chopping my garlic and ginger, I reserved half, and added the other half to the sauce I just made! After mixing my soy sauce mixture, I added about half to the cubed tofu, and let it marinate on the counter for 10 minutes (or up to 30). Next, I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the leftover soy sauce mixture and saved it to flavor and thicken the noodles! Next I cooked my pasta (thin spaghetti tonight) according to the directions, and then IT HIT ME!! Edamame would totally be AWESOME in this, so I added it to the pasta to cook for 5 minutes... and I'm glad I did! For some crispy, crunchy nutrition, I added about 1 cup of carrots, half a shredded cabbage, and 6 scallions! Wok time!!! I got my wok-ish pan good and hot and added a tablespoon of canola oil, and then, I added my veggies with the reserved garlic and ginger. Cook for a couple of minutes while the pasta and edamame finish! Don't forget about the tofu! It's been baking in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes! Now it's firm, meaty, and full of flavor!! After the veggies get started, add the cooked noodles, and the reserved sauce with the corn starch. I also kept some of that pasta liquid (about a cup... just in case)... and added a little to the noodles to help combine all the flavors of the veggies, noodles, and garlic and ginger! Delicious, nutritious spicy tofu noodles with cabbage, carrots, and scallions! If there's not enough heat in those noodles for you, add a bit of sriracha... like I did. Great on their own! Nothing better for meatless Monday... UNLESS... Your beautiful wonderful neighbor pops in for a visit, and shares some delicious noodles with you! Meatless Monday just got better... with Penelly and edamame... and that's just the way we like it!!

Saturday Night!! Boys and Meat and Potatoes!

Super simple and super delicious! Plain ol' meat and potatoes! The boys and I decided to treat ourselves to some steak on the grill! And, since all these athletes are card-members in the "no carbs" club... I decided to go super simple with mashed sweet potatoes (though I'm not sure sweet potatoes are free from carbs... but we're going with it)! First things first... channeling my inner Fred Flinstone, I seasoned up these skirt steaks (that were on sale today, woohoo!)... with some olive oil and Montreal Steak Seasoning (my fav!). Then, I let them sit for about 30 minutes (or more) to come to room temp while I got my potatoes ready! Then, I peeled and quartered 5 sweet potatoes and cooked in boiling salted water until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Then I drained the water, added 2 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper, and enough milk to make smooth and creamy! Sweet potatoes are so flipping good, you don't need to mess with them... let them be the super food that they ARE!! SO GOOD... thank you sweet potatoes! Then, I added those steaks to the grill on high heat. For medium rare, I cook about 4 minutes on each side. I liked mine rare, so I pulled it off after 3-ish minutes on each side. Now, the hard part... you have to let that meat rest! In ten minutes you will have juicy, tender, delicious steak... but if you slice it now, it will be dry... WAIT! You can DO IT! Dinner Stevie's way... medium rare grilled strip steak and creamy mashed sweet potatoes! So simple and sooooo amazing! Dinner Joe's way... same delicious grilled medium rare steak (manly portions), and those amazing sweet potatoes! So simple, tasty, and will totally satisfy your carnivore cravings!

Meatless Tuesday!!! (Sorry... Monday...)

So, after a "not so meatless Monday" we enjoyed a red sauce infused meatless Tuesday with one of our favorite meal starters... simple tomato sauce!!! You might change the way you think about tomato sauce if you try this super simple tasty red sauce. Start with 2 medium-small, or 1 large onion chopped. Drop that onion into a big pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and saute on medium heat for about 7 minutes (or until soft). Next, add about 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper and 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped to the onion. Saute for another minute. Next, I added 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and 1 super small can of tomato paste. Mix in the tomato paste first to combine with the onion mixture, then add crushed tomatoes. Last, I added a teaspoon of salt, some fresh pepper, and 1 scant teaspoon of sugar (to off set the acid in the tomato). Mix, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes... though the longer the better... Cook your favorite pasta according to the directions... and add that delicious sauce... and a little fresh grated parmesean cheese too! Meatless Tuesday, making up for "not so meatless" Monday! I'll take it!!

Meatless Monday... Do Clams Count?

So, tonight, on meatless Monday, we are having some warm creamy delicious clam chowder! And then it occurs to us... clams... do they count? As meat? Do they have a "face"? A heartbeat? DANG! I guess it's "NOT SO MEATLESS" MONDAY... and we'll take it! So, for delicious clam chowder, we start by prepping our veggies... peel and chop 6 carrots, 6 stalks of celery, chop 2 onions and wash and dice 6 potatoes (I used yukon gold). Now, I'm not usually a "butter" girl... so much fat, no nutrition... but tonight, I was like Paula Deene at a butter convention! YIKES! I added half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons) to a pan and added the chopped veggies (onion, carrots and celery) and sauteed for about 10 minutes. After the veggies saute, add the chopped potatoes, salt and pepper, and half a teaspoon of thyme and mix together on medium heat. Let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes with the veggies. Next, I added the clam juice from 4 cans of clams (but not the clams.... yet). There wasn't enough liquid to cover the veggies, so I added about 2 cups of chicken stock to the liquid so it would cover the veggies. Let that simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes until the potatoes and veggies are tender! Now to thicken up this chowder, I added ANOTHER HALF STICK OF BUTTER and 1/4 cup of flour to a small pan to cook for a bit. I'm officially disgusted with myself (my bad butter-self), but my longing for tasty chowder is clearly prevailing.... cook the butter and flour for about 2 minutes. Then... After the flour and butter gets bubbly... add about a cup of the liquid (stock) from the soup TO the flour mixture and whisk together.... then, add the flour mixture to the soup! You've basically made a roux with flour and butter, and it will make your chowder thick and rich and super delicious! (Thank you butter) Next I added the 4 cans of clams and mixed in with the chowder! And this is what I got! NOW THAT IS MONEY CHOWDER! I could stop there... but my alter ego, butter loving chowder loving sista went OVER THE TOP!!! That's right... after all that butter, I added... One cup of light cream. That's right, cream... and I'm not apologizing! Now, the way I look at it, I have a lot of butter and cream in that soup, but I also have a lot of veggies and clams in that pot too! Not to mention liquid (stock)... so... I'm eating clam chowder tonight, and I'm OK WITH THAT!!! If you make this chowder, you will understand!! And you might thank me, the clams, the butter, and the cream... just sayin'! Now, how to garnish this delicious creamy piping hot chowder? Fresh baked bread???? Or the ever popular chowder crackers... so crispy, salty, crunchy... and killer good... hmmm... And the winner is.... crackers! YES!!! Have some warm creamy chowder and crispy crunchy crackers too! That's Stevie's way! Maybe not "meatless" Monday... but delicious Monday, for sure!!!