Vegetable Udon Stir-fry

A great quick & easy meal prepared with any veggies you have!

Ingredients:
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
1 small can bamboo shoots
(I also included leftover broccoli slaw)

1 package refrigerated Udon noodles (in vegetable section in my grocery)
1 tbsp House of Tsang, Hunan Smokehut Spicy Grill Sauce (This stuff is great and pretty spicy!!)

Heat sesame oil and veg oil over high heat.

Add the veggs that take longer to cook first (gr pepper, carrots, celery, onion, broccoli) and saute for about 2 minutes.  Then add peas, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots.

Warm noodles according to package and then mix in to the pan.  Add seasoning packet and water (I use less than they say, not to make it too watery).  Mix in and finally, add the Spicy Grill Sauce.  Mix thoroughly and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken Thighs

This is a recipe we make fairly often.  We love the Asian flavors as well as easy slow cooker meals.  My version has been adapted from this version on allrecipes.

Ingredients:
1 large package chicken thighs (boneless or bone-in, skinless)
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup lite soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon powdered ginger

crushed red pepper to taste
1 -20 ounce can pineapple slices, juice for the sauce and slices reserved.

Combine the soy sauce, honey, ketchup, pineapple juice, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper.  Whisk well until the ingredients (especially honey!) are completely blended:

Add chicken to crock pot and cover with mixture.  Add some chicken broth if you need more liquid to cover the chicken (at least 3/4 covered).  Save pineapple slices in the refrigerator.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

When you get home from work (or 8 hours have otherwise elapsed), mix the chicken up and add pineapple slices to the top.  Cook white rice and serve!

Asian Chicken Stir Fry

We love asian foods & flavors.  This is going to be hard for me to blog because we just add sauces to taste, but I will do my best!

Ingredients:

1 package of asian stir-fry noodles
1 package of chicken breast, approximately 1 lb.
1/2 head chopped broccoli
2 peeled, chopped carrots
1/2 yellow onion
1 bag of frozen asian veggie mix (or more fresh if you have it!)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
~2 tbsp of asian Five-Spice Seasoning
Sesame oil for stir-frying
Kikkoman Thai Style Chili Sauce (this is so good)
Hoisin Sauce
Low Sodium Soy Sauce
House of Tsang "Hunan Smokehut Spicy Grill Sauce (this is also great stuff)

Cut up chicken breast into small (bite size or 2-bite size) pieces.

Heat up some sesame oil and vegatable oil (1/2 and 1/2) in a large skillet or wok.
Add garlic & chicken, stirring frequently to cook.  Sprinkle with the 5-Spice Seasoning.
When chicken is about 1/2 way cooked, add the onion.
Once onion has cooked for a couple minutes, add the fresh chopped vegatables.  Add a bit of soy sauce (about 5 shakes).
Cook noodles according to package instructions.  I prefer boiling to soaking since it's quicker.
Once the chicken is cooked through and the fresh veggies are softened a bit, add the frozen vegatables to the mix.
::This is the part that is at your discretion.  The Smokehut sauce and Thai Chili Sauce are the spicier ones, so if you want it to be more mild, add more of the regular Hoisin than these::
I add about 2 large tablespoons of each of the Smokehut sauce and Thai Chili Sauce, and about 1 tbsp of the Hoisin.  Add the noodles into the mix, and serve!  The noodles will soak up the sauces so serve quickly after mixing or you will just have to keep adding sauce as it will dry out!

Enjoy!  I like to serve this with a big salad; use a rice wine vinegar & oil to make it a bit asian as well :)

Wasabi and Panko-Crusted Pork with Gingered Soy Sauce

We get our pork chops & eggs from a farmer right down the road from us. Bone-in pork chops are one of Chris' favorite foods, so I'm always searching for a new way to make them to break away from the ol' shake n bake! We also love asian foods, and I found this recipe on Cooking Light that looked like an interesting one to try!

You will need:

Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 bone-in pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Peanut oil
Salt (I always use Kosher salt)
Ground fresh or dried ginger -The recipe called for fresh but I used dried and it was fine.
1 cup chicken broth - The recipe called for 1/3 cup but we always like extra sauce!
~1/3 c tablespoons dry sherry (I don't measure, just pour!)
~2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons wasabi paste - I would use more next time; it wasn't that spicy.
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Place panko in a shallow dish. Whip egg white in a small bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper on pork, then dip pork in egg white and cover in panko. Start your rice if you are serving rice w/this.

Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with over medium heat; add pork. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan. Start your vegetable.

Whisk the broth, sherry, soy sauce, and wasabi in a small bowl, stirring well. (I used 2 tbsp of wasabi this time, it was not very spicy at all. I would use 3 next time...so be generous w/the wasabi if you like!) Add broth mixture to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add ginger to the mixture; simmer a few minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in green onions. Spoon sauce over pork.

I suggest serving with sugar snap peas and white rice-