MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - THAI CHICKEN SALAD WITH SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

One of those weeks of no fixing new recipes so I am relying on my archives. I found this one which I remember liking very much. Not the prettiest presentation but if you care to look at the food blog where I got it from, the link is below and it will give you a better idea of what it should look like. Everything else on here is from June 2014.

I felt it was time for a main dish salad and found this delicious recipe at My Kitchen Escapades, recipe index at this link.  You can click here to go to see the original recipe.  If you enjoy food sites there are other wonderful dishes for you browse through.

Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Serves 8

Chicken Marinade:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup sugar or 2 tablespoons Truvia or sweetener you prefer in equivalent measure

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

Dash of salt and pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 2-1/2 pounds total

Salad:

2 hearts of romaine, chopped

1/2 large head of Napa cabbage, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 carrots, shredded

1 red bell pepper, chopped

5 green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 cup salted peanuts

Dressing:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup Thai sweet red chili sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar or Truvia

Pinch of salt and pepper

Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Thai sweet red chili sauce

2 tablespoon water

In a Ziploc bag combine all the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Squeeze the bag a few times to blend together really well. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  

Cook the chicken either on a hot grill, 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Allow it to cool a bit, then chop up all the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl, except for the peanuts, then add the chicken.  

Combine all the dressing ingredients then pour over the salad. Toss until the salad is evenly coated with the dressing. Put into individual salad bowls to serve.

Stir together the ingredients for the peanut sauce in a small bowl. If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, add a little more water.  Generously drizzle peanut sauce over each serving of salad, then top with the peanuts.  

What did we think of this dish?  Very much enjoyed. The flavors in this recipe are subtle and delicious.

I always use a hot-house cucumber, the kind you don't have to seed.  I prefer it to regular cucumbers.  

There was quite a bit of preparation but I started early. It helps to get all the ingredients chopped up and everything measured out before you start putting the recipe together. I learned this late in life!  

Lots of leftovers.  We will be eating this again tomorrow, and probably the next day.  

I thought of halving all the ingredients next time as there is just the two of us, unless we are having people over.  But my dear other half feels confident that he can eat this for the next three days.  I guess we have a winner.

I wish you all a great week and

thanks for stopping by.

Bon Appetit!

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - THAI COCONUT SOUP

I found this recipe at Crockpot365 hosted by Stephanie O'Dea. It's an old one from my archives as I didn't make anything new this past week. You can find the original here. I checked and the link is still open. It was a good opportunity to use the crockpot, and I like preparing earlier in the day. Stephanie used a 6-quart crockpot. 

Apparently, I didn't take an actual photograph of our finished soup but did take one of the ingredients. There is a photo at the website, link above, so that you can see what it looks like.

Thai Coconut Soup

4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

1 can coconut milk (if you opt for the light version, you may want to add a drop of coconut extract to boost the flavor - I did not do this as used regular coconut milk)

4 limes (3 juiced and 1 for garnish)

1 sweet red bell pepper, sliced into strips

4 ounces sliced shitake mushrooms, cut into quarters

1 large vine-ripened tomato, or 4 small medium, coarsley chopped 

1/2 pound extra firm tofu, cubed

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons red chili paste, to taste (you can use red chili flakes)

1 teaspoon sugar

1-inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Although there are several ingredients listed, this soup comes together quickly. 

Pour the broth into the crockpot. Add the juice of three of the limes and zest one lime until you get 1/2 teaspoon to add to the mixture. 

Stir in the sugar and fish sauce. Grate the ginger and add to the mixture.

Stir in the coconut milk. You now have your soup base. 

Add the red chili paste, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until you have reached the desired heat. I ended up using 1-1/2 teaspoons. You can always add more after cooking, so it's best to add a little at a time to get it to your own taste. You don't have to add anything if you don't like things too spicy. 

Add to the pot the cubed tofu, sliced sweet bell pepper and minced garlic. 

Next, stir in the shitake mushrooms and tomatoes.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 4 hours.

This soup is finished when it is fully hot and the flavors have combined nicely. 

Garnish with fresh lime slices.

Thai basil leaves would also be a nice addition, or cilantro. 

That's all. As always if you have any questions or your own suggestions, let me know in the comment section.

The full address is below in case you would prefer to copy and paste instead of using the link at the beginning of the recipe.

https://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2008/09/thai-coconut-soup-crockpot-recipe.html

Thanks for visiting and 

I hope your week is a great one.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY POTSTICKER SOUP - 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

On Friday (2/6/26) it was a bitterly cold day and it just called for soup. I found this one at allrecipes a while ago and the original recipe by Natalie Gravois can be found here. There are lots of other great recipes, and I highly recommend a look. We both gave this a thumb’s up, and it is another we will be making again. Gregg said he would like to try it with noodles next time. I am all for that though I am a big fan of potstickers. It isn’t mentioned but this to me is a Thai-inspired dish and all the ingredients used is what we have made in other Thai dishes, with most ingredients already in our supplies. 

Creamy Potsticker Soup - serves 6 to 8

1 tablespoon avocado oil

1 bunch green onions, sliced (white and green parts separated)

1 quart of chicken broth

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk

1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms 

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 (18.2 ounce) bag frozen potstickers, such as P. F. Chang’s Chicken dumplings

Garnish:

Sliced green onions

Chili Crisp

Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the white parts from the onions and sauté until softened.

Add chicken broth, garlic, ginger, curry paste and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic and ginger. Add coconut milk, shiitake mushrooms and carrots. Bring to a boil.

Add frozen potstickers and cook until heated through! 6 to 8 minutes. 

Serve with green parts of green onions and chili crisp. We also added a few splashes of sriracha hot sauce. If you are not keen on anything hot, then leave the chili crisp and the hot sauce off. On the other hand, a little goes a long way.

 

I read the comments from people.  Someone added snow peas and collard greens. Maybe you could add your favorite vegetable. As Gregg would like to try noodles next time, he suggested using the meat off a rotisserie chicken. Another suggestion of his was to add rice.

I didn’t have fresh garlic or ginger so used the frozen cubes that we keep in the freezer. It has several different ones which you can see at this link. You can also scroll down and they have recipes.

We buy ours from Trader Joe's but checking online I saw Harris Teeters, Safeway, Whole Foods and Kroger also sold them. They are very convenient when we run out of fresh. That cut out our step for removing both of these fresh ingredients in the third paragraph of the instructions. We put them into the liquid straight out of the freezer, and they dissolve as we stir them in, adding to all that goodness.

We had leftovers for the next day and as always happens, it tasted even better. Those flavors had a chance to work their magic.

One addition we added to our next day meal, was a cooked Jasmine rice. We don’t usually add two starches but this was requested by my dear other half. It was a great choice and took it up a notch.

I am a big fan of chili crisp and below is the kind I enjoy best. I have tried others but always come back to this one.

Here is the full address where you can find the recipe. This is for those of you who prefer to copy and paste rather than use the link at the beginning. 

https://www.allrecipes.com/creamy-potsticker-soup-11873308

If you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave them in the comment section, and I'll do my best to answer them.

That's all for now. 

Always appreciate you dropping by. 

Thanks so much and have 

a wonderful day!

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - THAI PEANUT CHICKEN RAMEN NOODLES

 This week's choice is from Greens and Chocolate hosted by Taylor. The original recipe can be found here. We gave this a 10 out of 10, it was delicious! It had been a while before we made Thai. It's one of our favorite foods and fast to prepare. Thank you Taylor!

Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen Noodles 

Servings: 6

Calories per serving: approximately 513 calories 

From prep to table: 30 minutes (always takes me longer but it is still a fast meal.

½ cup peanut butter

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup sweet chili sauce

Juice from 1 lime plus another lime cut into sections so that you can squeeze the juice over your finished plate at the table if you like that idea - I personally enjoy that little zap of lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red bell pepper, seed and stem removed and diced

½ white onion diced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 15 ounce can full-fat coconut milk

4 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded

2 cups diced/shredded cooked chicken approximately 2 medium chicken breasts (for an easier way to go, it is suggested using an already cooked rotisserie chicken, which is what we did)

Chopped cilantro, sliced green onion, and chopped peanuts, for garnish 

In a small food processor combine peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, lime juice, garlic, and ginger. Pulse to combine until smooth (I don’t have a processor and just mixed with a whisk until thoroughly blended).

Bring a pot of water to boiling and cook ramen noodles according to package instructions. They will likely only take a few minutes to cook, so while the water is coming to a boil, continue on making the rest of the sauce.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add red bell pepper and onion, and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.

Add the sauce from the food processor along with the coconut milk, stirring to combine.

Add the cooked ramen noodles and chicken, stirring well to combine.

Serve topped with cilantro, green onion, and chopped peanuts.

Taylors Notes:

Use rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked diced chicken to make this recipe even easier.

Store any leftover fresh ginger in the freezer.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

(I recommend looking at Taylor’s recipe not only for her suggestions, but she also has the full nutritional information, plus all the other great recipes.) 

Can be prepped ahead - If you want to save some time when it comes to cooking dinner, you can make the peanut sauce in advance.

In our host’s own words, “Let's just be clear - these are not traditional ramen noodles in any sense.  They're not classic ramen noodle bowls with clear broth and all the fixin's and they're not the college kind, either. While I actually did use the noodles that come in your typical college ramen noodle soup packet, I tossed the seasoning and made my own Thai peanut sauce.”

Shredded Chicken - this is a great use for leftover shredded chicken. I also love buying the shredded rotisserie chicken from Costco or Target to use in this (we get ours from Costco).

Variations:

Different protein - use ground beef, ground pork ground chicken, shrimp, or tofu instead of shredded chicken.

Add more vegetables - you can really beef up these noodles with more vegetables, if you'd like! Anything like broccoli, mushrooms, shredded carrots, edamame, snow peas, and spinach would work. Just add them with the onions and bell pepper to cook.

Substitute almond butter for peanut butter.

Use spaghetti noodles instead of ramen noodles.

Add some spice with 1-2 tablespoons of Sriracha. We add ours at the end after we've served the kids.

Denise’s Notes: What did we think? It will be put into our favorite folder. We loved it and if you enjoy Thai Food with peanut butter sauces, I hope you will too. 

As mentioned, instead of the food processor which I don't have, I used a whisk. I have a blender but it seemed too big for what we needed. I thought an immersion blender would be ok but the whisk was fine. Just as long as everything is well blended.

There was no green onion in our supplies as I had thought, but it was great with the cilantro and chopped peanuts. We used the no-salt added peanuts.

A few dashes of Sriracha was a nice addition, amount to your own taste, or leave off entirely if you don’t like the extra heat. 

The following is what we used (link to company here) instead of fresh garlic and ginger. These little cubes are very handy. We freeze and thaw out a couple when needed. One garlic cube is equivalent to one medium clove. One ginger cube is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of fresh. If you don’t have these, there is probably an equivalent in your area. It is nice to be able to take a couple of shortcuts at times.

That’s all I can think of right now. If you need any more info, or if you think I left anything out, you can leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer.

The full address follows for you to copy and paste if you prefer, rather than use the link at the beginning of today's post.

https://greensnchocolate.com/thai-peanut-chicken-ramen-noodles/

Thanks for looking, have a great day and

Bon Appetit!

MONDAY RECIPE POST - RED CURRY TOFU WITH COCONUT CHILE, CARROTS AND BOK CHOY

Another blog, another delicious recipe found here at "Eats Well with Others", hosted by Joanne.  I haven't used Tofu in a while. I haven't cooked anything new this week, so this recipe was transferred from my old blog.

Red Curry Tofu with Coconut Chile Carrots and Bok Choy

Servings: 4 to 6

Serving size: 1/4 of the recipe

For the carrots:

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1-1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch lengths

1/2 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

For the tofu:

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon Canola oil

12 ozs. super firm sprouted tofu, cut into 1-inch slices

1 head of bok choy, coarsley chopped

(I also had snow peas left over from another recipe, which I sliced and added to this mixture)

You will need enough rice depending on how many people.  I usually use Jasmine rice but also have used brown rice.  Quinoa was also suggested in the original recipe.

(Because there is just the two of us, I put 2 cups of water in a small saucepan, waited for water to boil before adding 1 cup of uncooked white rice.  Lower the heat and cook the rice according to package directions.  For us this took 20-25 minutes.)

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

For the carrots: in a large bowl combine the oil, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce and coconut milk.  Toss together with the carrots, onion and chile.  Add salt to taste, or if watching sodium levels, leave salt out. 

Pour into a large baking pan and roast for 45 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.  Stir every 15 minutes.

While they are roasting prepare the tofu.  In a small bowl whisk together sugar, soy sauce, red curry paste and minced ginger.  Set aside.

In a large wok heat the oil over medium heat and add the tofu slices.

Sauté until lightly brown on each side, about 5 minutes per side.  Add in the bok choy, along with the snow peas if using them.  Sauté until bok choy is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the sauce and coat all the vegetables thoroughly.  Cook for a few more minutes.

Serve tofu and carrots on top of a bed of rice, or Quinoa.

What did we think of this recipe?  Very much enjoyed and is in the make-again folder.  Tofu may seem bland, but it is one of those foods that takes on the flavors of the sauces and other ingredients it is being cooked with.  We are still trying to add meatless meals into the week, and this fits in perfectly.  You can, however, use any other protein, like chicken or shrimp for instance.  Any favorite will do.

That's about all I can think of but if you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them.

Thanks for looking,

have a great week and good appetite!