A couple of weeks ago, me, Jewell and my mother drove over to Opelika for a Taste of Home Cooking School. This was Jewell's second time, and my third. Now that Mama is retired, we were able to convince her to go with us.
These cooking schools are a lot of fun! Tickets are only $10 and you get a bag full of goodies, including two Taste of Home magazines, plus a free digital subscription! The program lasts about two hours. The guest cook demos 10 recipes and they give away scads of door prizes throughout the evening. At the end of the evening, they draw names to take home the food that was cooked that night. They are done until fall, but if you ever have a chance to attend one, I highly recommend it.
The recipe that really made my mouth water was called Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles. I took the recipe and made a few changes. It was super easy, pretty to look at and it tasted incredible! My adapted recipe is below.
Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 chicken broth
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 brown sugar
1 tsp Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
16 oz pkg A Taste of Thai wide cut rice noodles
1 lb ground chicken
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 small crown of broccoli, cut into small pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, sliced on the bias
chopped peanuts for garnish
Whisk together first seven ingredients and set aside. Cook noodles according to directions. In a large skillet, cook the chicken and carrots over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink, breaking chicken up into crumbles. Drain if needed. Add broccoli and garlic and stir-fry until you smell the garlic. Add peanut butter mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3-5 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. Toss in the drained noodles. Thin with a little water if sauce is too sticky or thick. Garnish with green onions and chopped peanuts.
Notes - the recipe called for carrots and red bell pepper. Gerald prefers broccoli. It also just calls for multigrain spaghetti noodles, but I had the rice noodles in my pantry. It called for lemon juice but I had limes. I tripled the garlic. (One clove is never enough for me.) I also added the brown sugar. (I like a little bit of sweetness.) If you don't have ground chicken, you could chop up a couple of leftover chicken breasts or you could probably use a rotisserie chicken.
The local Chinese restaurant in Tallassee is owned by a family in our taekwondo studio. They make the best egg drop soup! I always get Gerald to drop by for some on the way home from work whenever I'm making Asian food. Get it? "Drop" by? I got these fun soup bowls and spoons off ebay a long time ago. They add a little authenticity to the meal.
Remember this plate? It was only 99 cents at Big Lots. I last used these during the Orient Express birthday dinner I hosted for my mother. Although they usually drop a couple of fortune cookies in the bag with the soup, I always keep some handy. You can get them at any grocery store on the Asian food aisle. I'm not sure if it's true or not - but I was once told that the proper way to receive a fortune cookie is by passing them around and letting everyone choose their own. Never allow someone to "choose" your fortune for you. While the last person to get a cookie doesn't get to choose their fortune, "fate" makes sure you get what you deserve!
I love the sweet and spicy mix in this dish. I will definitely be making this again soon.
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I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!
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