25 Seafood Recipes

Time for a round-up!

I haven't posted a round-up since September, so it's definitely time. And this has to be one of my favorites because seafood? I would eat it at EVERY meal if I could. Seriously! But there's another reason I'm posting a round-up today-

I've spent the last 2 days in the kitchen, up to my ears in potato parts and banging my head against the counter. What's going on? Gnocchi, that's what. I've been trying my hand at homemade gnocchi. You know, those little Italian potato dumplings that are like little clouds of dreaminess? It has not been going well. It turns out there are lots of mistakes to be made while attempting gnocchi. So far, I've had gnocchi that fell apart in the pot, I've had mushy little balls with a texture that can only be compared to snot, and finally, I had a dough that came apart at the seems. 

Top 16 Recipes of 2016

Ah, long time, no see everyone!

Yes, it's the 2nd to last day of our Oregon trip and I've finally found a few moments to write. It has been Busy with a capitol B! We've been going non-stop, but man, it has been fun. I'll save pictures for when I do my Oregon or December wrap-up but we've basically been on what I like to call a "Food and Drink Tour" of Oregon. Seriously! We've travelled to Southern Oregon to dine at a couple of places in Ashland. We've stopped at a restaurant in Eugene. We've traveled to Portland to visit family and wine-taste with friends. There was a boozy breakfast in Albany. We saw "Holiday Office Party" in Corvallis. Drove the backroads through Independence. Had a wine-and-hor-dourves night with some of my biggest blog fans (Hello Glaeser family!) I can safely say I've seen the entire I-5 corridor of Oregon on this visit 😁

25 Tomato Recipes

Happy Monday! 

Wowsers, did this weekend fly by or what? I just can't even, I don't know where it went. I'll start with my doctor's appointment on Friday morning-

So, that appointment... It was first thing in the morning, 8 am. I was the surgeon's first patient of the day. Now, most of the surgeons I've seen, they start by asking me questions and conclude by giving me an exam. And truth be told, the exams are usually quite gentle. Painless. This surgeon started the appointment by giving me an exam. Somehow he managed to locate the exact evil spots on my back. Not only did he locate it/them, but he pressed insanely hard into them.

Chicken Yakitori

It's that time of year again!

The weather is getting warm. Our days have been in 70's and 80's this whole week. Our forecast shows nary a night under 40º. It's those days when the sun is beating down on your shoulders and you have an ice cold beer in your hand that grilling is just... the best.

I mean, who wants to stand over a hot stove when the weather has just begun to break? I don't. The garden is just starting to grow and flowers are in bloom. If I can sit outside in a lawn chair and flip dinner every once in while, oh yeah, I'm gonna do it. 

25 Rice Recipes

Rice. I love rice. It's a simple, affordable, and versatile grain product that's very familiar to most Americans. You can fry it, and come up with fried rice or even pan-fried rice cakes. You can bake it inside stuffed peppers, or casseroles loaded with veggies. You can serve it with a saucy stir fry with the sole intention of using it to soak up that sauce. One of my favorite ways to eat rice? In a bowl with a little soy sauce drizzled over it. Simple. Yet delicious. I credit rice with helping our budget when we first moved to Kentucky. Due to its low price, I added rice to a ton of dishes and served it often in our first years in the bluegrass state. We still eat a lot of it, even though things are much different these days. I wish I could get the hubby to enjoy brown rice, but you can't win all the battles :-)

Kung Pao Chicken Zoodles

I'm joining the zoodle craze.

Sure, February doesn't seem like the right time of year to start, um, zoodling, but it cannot be helped. I was catching up on reading the blogs I follow last month, in the evening and after a couple of glasses of wine. One of my favorite bloggers, Lindsay from Pinch of Yum, featured a recipe using spiralized veggies and that was all she wrote. I've had a spiralizer on my Amazon wishlist for months, but something clicked.  I had to have it. I wanted spiralized bell peppers, and cabbage, and most importantly, zoodles. The wine clearly muddled my thinking, and before I knew it, I'd already clicked "purchase" on Amazon.

Does this happen to anyone else late in the evening when they have a nice wine haze going on? I swear. Luckily, the contraption was only $30. It could have been worse :-)

Plus, the zoodles! Ohhhhhh, the zoodles...

Spicy Sesame Beef Rice Bowls

What, what? It's January, and I've already posted as many Asian-style recipes this month as I did all of last year? (That would be 2!)

I told you guys I was going to get more Asian dishes on the table, and what do you know? Another for the books! You are going to love these rice bowls. There is soooooo much delicious flavor, and guess what? A ton of veggies! I have to ask myself, what's not to like about these bowls? Crisp red and yellow peppers, tender spinach, flavorful marinated sirloin, plus crunchy wanton strips, sesame seeds, and plenty of dressing? 

Sign me up! 

Shrimp Pad Thai

It's the first recipe post of 2016! Yahoo!

You guys. Do you know how many Asian recipes I posted last year? 

This is embarrassing...

It was 2. Yep, you read that right. A Ginger-Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi in January of last year and a Shrimp and Broccoli Lo Mein in March. This is just crazy to me. When I was first learning to cook, Asian was my mainstay. But last year was a bonafide melee of Mexican and Italian. That just has to change. 

25 Pasta Recipes

Hey-o!

Happy Day-After Christmas folks! Did everyone have a great holiday with lots of friends and family? We sure did! Due to the holiday festivities yesterday, there was little time for blogging. The hubby and I have been go, go, GO! for the last couple of days. I'm definitely feeling it, and am ready for life to slow down just a bit. We've got our niece and nephew staying the night with us tonight, but come Monday, I should have some alone time. We aren't even planning anything for New Year's Eve, thank goodness. At the top of the list of my least favorite holidays you would have New Year's Eve. I'm always so-done with the holidays and usually 5 lbs overweight by the time it rolls around. This year, we are staying in. The more you progress into your 30's, the less you care about going out. Missing out on something. Not being in the pictures the next day. All the things that mattered so much in your 20's? Eh. I take em' or leave em' now.

Broccoli and Red Pepper Chicken Stir-fry

Happy Tuesday! 

I usually try to post on Mondays, however, yesterday was a tad cray-cray. I felt like I was going from the moment I woke up. I basically woke up, shotgunned 3 coffees, watered the garden, fed the birds, gathered all the house laundry to start, cleaned out the fridge, ran the dishwasher, headed out to the grocery store, and then the feed store. Came home, mowed the lawn, finished the laundry, took a shower, and...

Collapsed.

Shrimp and Broccoli Lo Mein

Oh, hello Monday. 

I can't believe we are at the start of another week. I can't believe it's the end of March already. 2015 is, in my opinion, flying by. I'm behind on my reading, my running, you name it, I'm behind on it. Between the avalanches of snow we've received in our area, the inexplicable customer service nightmare that was getting a new transmission for my car, and this unpleasant tweak to my back, I've never gotten back to my routine post-holidays. And by routine, I mean normal, consistent exercise. For the mind, as well as the body. Now that I know the vacuum is at least a trigger for my back injury, I'll be avoiding that this month. I'm hoping April will be all about getting back to normal. 

Ginger-Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi

Ah, mahi mahi.

Mahi mahi makes me think of Hawaii. I remember one trip with the hubby's company (ex-company, many moons ago) when one of his coworker's wives turned to me in a restaurant and told me to never order mahi mahi. She said they were as intelligent as dolphins and should not be eaten. She was very serious and told me to go read some studies.

General Tso's Chicken

Happy Day-After Thanksgiving!

Did you all have a great holiday? Eat lots of turkey? Watch lots of football? Spend a lot of time with family? Our family accomplished all of the above. There was a ton of food. No one went away from our dinner hungry, I'm 100% certain of that. 

The hubby and I have more family time on tap today, and in fact, another dinner tonight. Thanksgiving food is some of my favorite, so no complaints here! It's one of the only times every year I get to eat stuffing. I almost could be satisfied on Thanksgiving just having a giant bowl of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. Almost. Because there's always turkey, rolls, spaghetti salad, and pies galore to eat. Not to mention deviled eggs, stuffed mushrooms, and chips with dip. Yes, Thanksgiving is grand. 

With all that said, you might be tired of the "extravaganza" that food bloggers turn Thanksgiving into. If so, this recipe is for you!

When I saw this recipe over at Rasa Malaysia, I knew I had to try it. It'd been awhile since I'd made Chinese food, I was needing a fix. Plus, that picture she took! It makes the dish look drool-worthy. I had to have it. 

And have it, we did. This recipe is a winner, times a million! The chicken is perfectly crunchy and delicious when coated with such a savory, glazed sauce. I had to make a couple of substitutions due to availability of ingredients (I really did run all over town looking for dried chiles!), but everything worked out really well. Because I couldn't find dried chiles, I substituted red chile paste, and I don't think the dish was lacking in any heat from doing that. My rice wine is a combination of rice vinegar and dry white wine. You would think sake wouldn't be such a speciality item. 

I take that back. Here's what happened with the sake, and pretty much anytime I need to buy alcohol. The hubby and I live in a dry county. Say what?? It's not 1920! I bet a lot of you thought those didn't even exist anymore, I know I didn't before I came back here to visit for the first time. Luckily, Portsmouth, OH is wet and we are a 15 minute drive from there. But what if I don't feel like going into Portsmouth and I need some sort of alcohol? All of the other shopping centers near me don't sell any kind of alcohol. I'm serious! You can't even find red wine vinegar (yes, apparently an alcohol item!) at some of these stores. Another rule you have to deal with? You can't buy any hard alcohol or wine on Sundays, and I'm not just talking about the liquor store. I almost threw a hissy fit one Sunday three years ago when a cashier wouldn't let me buy cooking sherry. So, with conditions like these, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that no around here carries sake and that I was unable to find any after a complete tour of my surrounding counties. 

Have no fear, a combination of rice vinegar and white wine worked fabulously!

Well, I've talked to you all too much today already. I have to get off my duff, and go have breakfast with family. I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving, and has relaxing weekend. Most of you probably will, unless you're out Black Friday shopping right now. If so, good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor :)

Happy Friday!

Ingredients (serves 4):

Chicken-

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp dry white wine

1 tbsp rice vinegar

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup canola oil

Sauce-

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tbsp dry white wine

1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp hoisin sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp canola oil

1-2 tbsp red chile paste

3 slices of fresh ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves

1 bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

hot cooked rice

Directions:

1. Make the chicken- In a small bowl, combine soy sauce through rice vinegar. Whisk to mix. Add chicken to bowl. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, and completely coat with cornstarch. Fry chicken in hot oil until browned and crispy. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towel covered plate to drain. Set aside. 

2. Make the sauce- Combine soy sauce through cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk to throughly combine. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. When hot, add chile paste. Sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add ginger, garlic, and scallions, and sauté for another minute. Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet, and cook until thick (about 2-3 minutes). Add chicken to pan, and toss to coat.

3. Place hot rice in a bowl, and top with chicken mixture. Serve immediately!

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia.

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Grilled Chicken Chow Mein

Spicy Szechuan Chicken

Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Milk, Tomatoes, and Cilantro

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Treasure Box Tuesday, Snickerdoodle Sunday

Udon with Thai Pickled Cabbage and Grilled Chicken

Ohhhhhhh. 

This cold pasta salad is gooooood. So good. I'm a big, big fan of pasta salad. I have a friend that can't stand the taste and texture of cold pasta, and I'm afraid I can't relate. I can't even relate a little bit. I could eat cold pasta salad for breakfast, lunch, dinner, 4th meal, and beyond. The taste? Yum. The texture? Hits the spot. I can sympathize with my friend though, because there are plenty of yummy foodie things that I can't stand. Rosemary, for one. Beets. Liver. The hubby's green juice he makes in the morning. It's funny how one person's filet mignon can be another person's, well, liver and onions. 

Let's talk Thai Pickled Cabbage. I saw the recipe on one of the blogs I follow, Sidewalk Shoes, and I knew I just had to try it. Pam made it sound right up my alley. And it twas'. We've got lots of access to cabbage right now, with it being proliferous at the farmer's markets. Plus, the hubby's uncle grew some. I thinly sliced a whole head, and got it into that delicious pickling liquid as soon as I could. I ended up letting it pickle for 2 weeks, mainly because that's how long it took me to get to it! That 2 weeks did that cabbage good. Upon opening that jar, I was hit with sweet, salty, and earthy scents wafting up at me. And wow, does this cabbage ever have flavor. It adds so much to the salad. If you decide to make this dish, do not (under any circumstances) skip the pickled cabbage. 

When I first made the cabbage, I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for. I finally decided on a pasta dish, and since the pickled cabbage is cold, I deduced that the dish should be cold as well. I picked up a package of udon at the grocery store, a thick Japanese buckwheat noodle. All that was left to do was add a chopped, grilled chicken breast and some shredded carrot. Oh yeah, and make some sauce. I ended up making a saltier sauce to balance out the sweet and spicy of the pickled cabbage. It worked perfectly, the taste ended up an exercise in balanced Asian fusion. I sat down with a plate for lunch one day, and after a few slurps, it seemed the pasta had disappeared. Almost embarrassingly fast.

Oh, how I heart Asian food!

Happy Friday of a long holiday weekend! What does everyone have on tap? The hubby and I are nutty coocoo, and we are running another race tomorrow. I'll be running my first 10K. Funny how I ran a 7-miler before I ever ran a 10K. I'm excited, and a little nervous. The course is a little hillier than I'm used to, but hills are good for you. I really need to run more of them, I just get so comfortable at my little training spot. I haven't made a goal, because I'm not sure of what it should be.  The hubby and I ran hard last weekend, resulting in a little fatigue this week. We ran twice, and both felt hard. We did some cross-training at the gym yesterday, and today is just yoga. I'm going into the race with fresh legs, but I'm still unsure. Especially with a hilly course. I'd like to come in at 1 hour, but again, I'm not sure if that's realistic with the hills. I guess we'll see, won't we? We've also got a family cookout later after the race. I'll be preparing cupcakes today, yay for baking! I'm going with classic chocolate cupcakes, with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. Perfect for the kids.  After the cookout? The hubby and I will be parked on our couch, either asleep or awake cheering on the Ducks. I can't believe the Ducks are playing at 10:30 Eastern time. It'll be a miracle if we are able to stay awake for that. Then, there's Sunday...

Sunday is draft day! 

Yep, it's that time of year again for fantasy football! I can't wait to pick my team, because as of this very moment, I have not one clue of the direction I'm going. And I love that. One of our couple friends participates in the league with us, so they'll be here with us and we are making a tail-gate worthy spread. My girlfriend is making a taco dip and salsa, and I'm planning on whipping up bacon and cream cheese-filled jalapeños. And of course, there will be beer. No draft is complete with a cold brew!

Happy Labor Day Weekend friends!

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

Thai Pickled Cabbage-

1/2 cup lime juice

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 head cabbage, thinly sliced

1 small jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced

Salad-

10 oz udon noodles, prepared according to package directions

1 cup carrot, shredded

1 chicken breast, grilled and chopped

Sauce-

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp honey

sesame seeds, thinly sliced scallions (optional-garnish)

Directions:

1. Prepare pickled cabbage- in a large mason jar, combine lime juice through garlic. Put lid on jar, and shake thoroughly. Open jar, and shove cabbage and jalapeños in. Cover, and shake. Place in fridge for 2 weeks, shaking every once in a while. 

2. In a large bowl, combine noodles, carrot, and chicken. Drain cabbage, and add to bowl. 

3. Prepare dressing- in a small bowl combine soy sauce through honey. Whisk to combine. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss to combine. Top with sesame seeds and scallions, if using. Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Thai Pickled Cabbage recipe adapted from Sidewalk Shoes.

Love this recipe? Try these!

Grilled Chicken Chow Mein

Hoisin Chicken with Spicy Cucumber Salad

Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Pork

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Treasure Box Tuesday

Grilled Chicken Chow Mein

It appears I'm having one of those days. Scratch that, I'm having one of those weeks. The ones where absolutely everything goes wrong. This month has already felt weird, mainly because the hubby worked almost the entire month. He only had 2 days off in June! Crazy. 

It all started on Monday. I think I already shared that it was HOT. And that the mower died and I couldn't get it going again? Well, I got it going again on Tuesday. For some reason, I had a crazy allergy attack after finishing the lawn on Tuesday and walked around the remainder of the day with itchy, red, tearing eyes. Not fun. Luckily, my eyes seemed fine when I woke up yesterday. Plus my aunt, who works for an optometrist, brought me special allergy eye drops :) Little did I know what the rest of the day awaited when I woke up with clear eyes though...

I knew it was going to be one of those days as soon as I opened the windows in the morning. 2 of my bird feeders had been knocked down. It seems we have some opossums or raccoons getting into the feeders at night. I zip-tied one of them to the tree, and as for the other, I think I'm going to have to zip tie that one too. It was knocked down again this morning. Anyhoo, as I was walking back to the house yesterday morning, I walked by the compost tumbler. It smelled like sewage. One of the worst smells in the world. One of those smells that is so bad, it seems to burn your nose hairs and you walk around smelling it all day. I opened it up, and sure enough, super wet. Which means it went anaerobic, and I'd have to spend some time shredding newspaper to put in there. One more thing to do, I thought as I looked to my garden. 

To my dismay, 2 of my tomato plants looked like they were dying. Turns out this first time gardener might not have a natural green thumb. So I did some research, and took the only steps that I could see fit. Bigger pots and better potting soil were purchased. I transplanted the tomatoes into the new bigger pots, cut off the stems that looked like they were dying, and sprayed the plants down with a homemade anti-fungal spray made out of baking soda, vegetable oil, water, and castile soap. This is my last ditch effort to save these maters', so I hope it takes. It could be my imagination, but I think they looked better this morning. Time will tell. 

I'd been planning on making cookies yesterday afternoon, but after running around all day looking for pots, transplanting plants, and working on the compost, the day was lost. I'm really going to try to bake cookies today, but it might not be in the cards. I've got a mid-day doctors appointment in Ashland, plus I need to pick up a couple of things while I'm in town. Cookies might have to wait till tomorrow.

Now that I've lamented my yard problems, lets talk about this pasta dish! Holy moly, was it good! I'm a big fan of Asian food, chow mein/lo mein being at the top of my list. I make it a lot. I rarely make it the same twice, too. That might have to change. One of my girlfriends and I had picked up some beautiful bounties while at the farmer's market last weekend. A whole head of cabbage, a bundle of carrots, and a bundle of green onions, all from the farmer's market, went into the chow mein. Vegetables, it did not lack. And it was all soooooo good. I normally would sear my chicken on the stove before chopping it up for a stir fry but hey, it's summer. Why not grill it? I love the flavor the grill gives meat. Plus, the chicken rested the entire time I cooked. I chopped it up, and threw it in at the last second, ensuring it didn't cook one more second. Easy peasy. I love summer grilling :)

Chow mein does not last long in my house. Not only did both the hubby and I eat fairly large portions, but I ate a pretty serious helping the next day for lunch. Annnnnd- it was gone. Just like that. And I was sad. Seriously, I could eat this everyday. Every. Day.

Oh, by the way, as I was picking up my bird feeder again this morning, I walked by the compost again. 4 buckets of newspaper shred must have done the trick, because the smell was reduced by at least 90%. Much, much better.

Here's to a better day! :)

Happy Thursday everyone!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 chicken breast

olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti

1 tbsp peanut oil

1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced

2-3 medium sized carrots, shredded or julienned

1 bunch green onions (thinly slice the green parts, and then slice the rest of the onion into 1-inch long sections)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1/4- 1/2 tsp chile oil

3 tsp cornstarch

garnish: sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat gas grill to high.

2. Prepare chicken: Brush a little olive oil all over the chicken. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

3. Turn upper and lower burners to low, turn middle burner to medium. Put chicken breast on the grill, and cook for 4 minutes. Turn the chicken, then grill for another 4 minutes. Flip the chicken, grill for 2 minutes, and then flip the chicken one last time. Cook for 2 minutes, and then remove from heat. Allow to rest while preparing the rest of the recipe.

4. Prepare spaghetti according to package directions. Set aside. 

5. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add cabbage, carrot, and thicker parts of green onion (reserve the thinly sliced green parts). Saute 5-7 minutes or until all vegetables have softened. 

6. In a small bowl, thoroughly whisk the soy sauce through the cornstarch. When combined, add sauce and noodles to the skillet. Toss to combine.

7. Roughly chop the chicken breast, and add chicken to the skillet. Add the thinly sliced onion tops. Toss to combine, and remove from heat. Divide chow mein among plates, and top with sesame seeds. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Spicy Thai Peanut Salad with Chicken

Beef with Broccoli Stir Fry

Spicy Szechuan Chicken

Helpful Links:

Why Does My Compost Smell Bad?

Common Mistakes Growing Tomatoes in Containers

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

Saucy Asian Grilled Wings

I just love cooking on the grill. There's just something so summery about heating up that grill and roasting food to that perfect, crispy texture. The smells that waft through the backyard, the sun beating down on the ice cold brew that's inevitably been set within arms reach, the flames reaching up to lick the grub of choice...  Life doesn't get much better!

The hubby and I look forward to summer grilling every year. We pretty much grill year round, but it's infinitely more enjoyable in the warm summer months. During the summer we can drag lawn chairs and Corona's outside, and gather round the barbecue whilst it does its thang'. One of our favorite items to throw on the grill is marinated meat. Marinated meat really holds its moisture during the cooking process. It's as if the marinade invades all those little tiny crevices that make up a piece of meat, and it stays there. The result is a super moist and flavorful piece of meat. So yummy!

When it comes to marinating, there is a time limit on how long you are supposed to leave the item marinating. I've read with chicken you can marinate it for as little as 2 hours to as long as 24 hours. There is a point where the meat texture gets weird if you leave it marinating for too long. It can also result in unwanted toughness, which is the completely opposite effect of why we marinate in the first place. Why am I bringing all this up? Well, I threw these wings in this marinade and then forgot about them for 2 days. Definitely way longer than anticipated. Or recommended.

Luckily, the meat didn't turn out tough! Whew.

I reserved the additional marinade, and ended up boiling it on the stove for 5 minutes before adding a pinch of cornstarch to it to thicken it up. We then used it to baste the wings, keeping them moist while grilling.

Holy moly, did these turn out amazing! The marinade was spot-on perfect. Perfectly savory, a touch spicy, and totally lip-smackin' good! I ended up searing some baby bok choy on the stove to serve with the wings, and those deliciously exotic vegetables were the perfect pairing. The cashiers at the grocery store always (seriously, every time!) ask me what the heck baby bok choy are when I buy them, but people- don't let this scare you at the store! I highly recommend bagging some up and taking them home. They are deliciously crunchy, and full of antioxidants and vitamins. Bok choy is also an excellent source of calcium. It's the perfect side dish for an Asian themed meal.

So, funny story. Those of you who follow the blog know I usually like to wrap up my posts with some anecdote about what's going in my life outside the kitchen before I share my recipes. So here's today's- the story of how Jessica got her car stuck in a ditch out in the country. We've got a family friend that lives not far from us. Far enough we drive, but seriously the friend is almost within seeing distance of our house. I've been checking on her dog at lunchtime this week, as my friend usually comes home at lunch to let the dog out, but can't this week. It's a long story. Anyhoo, the road she lives on is uber narrow. I was almost to the end of it when the UPS guy turns on to it. I inched my car over, trying to make room. Before I knew it, my tire slid off the road and must have sunk about a foot. I tried reverse. No luck. I tried drive. No luck. I was officially stuck. Unbelievably, I was about a  quarter of a mile from a body shop. The UPS guy felt so bad he gave me a ride up there. The body shop guys felt so bad they pulled my poor wedged-in car out for free. No damage to the car.  All turned out well. However, I've definitely learned not to get too close to the side of that road!

Happy Thursday friends! One more day till the weekend! :)

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1 cup Coca Cola

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp chili garlic sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 1/2 lbs chicken wings

3 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Combine Coca Cola through black pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Shake to combine. Add chicken wings. Seal and place in the fridge for 24 hours, turning occasionally. 

2. Remove wings from fridge. Remove from marinade, reserving marinade. Pat wings dry, set aside.

3. Place marinade in large skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat, allow to boil for 3-5 minutes. Mix cornstarch in a small bowl with 3 tsp of water. Whisk cornstarch mix into marinade. Continue whisking over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

3. Preheat (gas) grill to high heat.

4. When grill is hot, put wings on grill. Grill for 2 minutes, then turn wings. Grill for another 2 minutes. 

5. Turn top and bottom burners off. Turn middle burner to low.  Continue to grill wings over indirect heat for another 20 minutes, basting with prepared sauce and turning occasionally. 

6. Remove from heat. Allow wings to rest for 5-8 minutes before serving.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from The Cozy Apron.

Helpful links:

Marinating Meat Safely

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Spicy Thai Peanut Salad with Chicken

I love this salad.

That's an understatement. I gobble this salad up. I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe yet, because I've been making it for a couple of years. I make it every couple of months or so, because I start to think about it and crave it. It's a combination of the pasta and the spicy, creamy dressing that's the draw for me.

As I mentioned, I've been making this for years. The first time I made it was so long ago that I don't even remember when it was. All I remember is that I made it for the first time in my apartment in Beaverton, OR. I believe the hubby and I (pre-marriage) had been living together for about a year. Maybe a little longer. Side note- I'm going to add that the hubby and I moved in together after dating for all of 2 months. Yeah, we were those crazy kids. My point is, even though we'd been living together for awhile, we still didn't know each other that well. It's taken 8 years for us to know each other like we do, you can imagine at Year 1 there was still a lot to learn. So, I make my salad for dinner and I'm all excited to share it with my (at the time) live-in boyfriend. He comes home, presumably from a long day, and was incensed by green onion, raw carrot, and a cold pasta salad with peanut butter dressing. I was horrified. How was I to know I'd combined all the things he hates most in one salad? LOL. I laugh now, because it's a pretty funny memory. Needless to say, he calmed down, tried some salad, realized it was pretty good, and fell in love. The rest is history.

This is a great salad to keep in the fridge for quick meals. The recipe makes a lot, which means I have lunches made for the week. It keeps well, so you really can eat on it for a week. Unless you have a big family, which in that case you better increase the recipe :)

It's Monday! Did everyone have a great weekend? We sure did! It was beautiful and sunny, and I soaked up every second of it. The hubby borrowed a tractor from a friend, and tilled up our entire backyard. I'm still not sure how I feel about this, because the backyard is mud again. We're heading into 2 days of rain, so we probably won't be laying grass seed till after this system passes. Stupid mud.

Oh, we did have some excitement around here yesterday. Our neighbor about a half mile to a mile down the road set his whole hillside on fire. Yep, the hillside. We knew something was up when smoke started to envelop the yard and the fire department went screaming by. I'm left shaking my head, as we've been on a Red Flag warning for days. A Red Flag warning not to burn between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm. Honestly, if people aren't going to follow simple rules, I believe they should be required to either make a donation to the fire department or pay the fireman to come out and deal with their ignorance. I'm very irritated with this incident, if you couldn't tell.

Hey, I had to close all my windows because of the smoke! That's a lot of fresh air I missed out on. It'd be enough to make you cranky too. Ok, I kid, I kid :)

Have a great day folks!

Ingredients (serves 6):

10 ounces spaghetti, cooked to package directions (you could sub any long noodle, such as soba or rice)

1 lb cooked chicken, shredded (I used leftover rotisserie chicken)

1 cup carrot, shredded

1/2 cup green onion, sliced

1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1 heaping tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta with chicken, carrot, onion, and peanuts.

2. In a small bowl, combine chicken broth through crush red pepper. Whisk to combine.

3. Drizzle dressing over salad. Toss to combine. Serve at room temp, or cold from the fridge. 

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday