noodles with peanut sauce

The best compliments come from kids.  Why?  Because they are honest.  When I prepared this recipe, my 5-year-old son proclaimed "Mom!  This is the best meal you ever made!"  Yes, I am a rockstar. 

Here is what you need:

- 1/2 pound egg noodles
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- lime juice from one lime
- 1 oz soy sauce
- 3 tbsp flax seed
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar (not pictured)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (not pictured)

This may look like a lot of ingredients, but I guarantee this meal takes just minutes to prepare.  And you can easily find all these items in your pantry, since they are things you always have on hand.  And yes, I usually have lemons and limes on hand...you never know when you will need them since they add life to a dish.

1. prepare noodles according to the directions on the box.  I used egg noodles from Aldi. Since it was just me and the kids for dinner this evening, I used about 1/2 of the 1 pound bag of noodles.


2. while the water is boiling and the noodles are cooking, start on your peanut sauce.  Add about 1 tsp of minced garlic to a pan. saute that just a bit.

3.  Add 1/3 cup peanut butter to the pan

4.  Add 1 oz of soy sauce to the pan

5. Add flax seed to the pan

6.  Let this all cook down until the peanut butter turns into a liquid.  Once your noodles are done, pile them right on top of the peanut sauce. 

As you combine the noodles and sauce, add the chicken broth to get the right consistency.  I wrote 1/2 cups in the ingredient list, but use your judgement.  You want the final mixture to be liquid-y (is that even a word?) enough to mix, but you still want it firm and not too wet.  Once you get this right, add the juice of a lime to the mix.  The juice adds the perfect finish to it.

Perfection!

While you are doing all this on your stove top, get some broccoli roasting in the oven.

Ingredients:
- broccoli
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper

This really is the best roasted broccoli ever.  The trick?  Cut it into a thickness of about 1/4".  I don't know why this makes it good, but it does!

Lay all the broccoli on a baking sheet, add olive oil and salt and pepper.  Mix around, and place into a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. 

 The tips get brown and crunchy...and delicious!


Your final product is something the kids will love!  Not to mention, it is something that is quick and easy and has good nutrition!

 Smacznego!

rice with pinto beans and broccoli

I picked Ben up from school the other day and was told that he had some g.i. issues.  Great way to start out a recipe blog, right?  So, I immediately thought B.R.A.T. (bananas, rice, apples, toast) diet.  I then thought about what I had in my pantry and what I could prepare for dinner.

Well, this is what I came up with: rice with pinto beans and broccoli

Ingredients:
- 2 cups rice
- 2 broccoli crowns
- frozen bag of pinto beans
     *I freeze my prepared beans in 2 cup portions
- soy sauce

1. Prepare rice as instructed on the box.  For mine, I boiled 1 3/4 cups water and added 2 cups of rice.  10 minutes later it was done.

2. While the rice is cooking, put olive oil in a pan and add chopped broccoli.  

3. In the middle of your pan add your frozen pinto beans.  Put a lid on it to so the beans cook down and the broccoli steams.  Give it a stir every couple minutes.

4. About 10 minutes later, give or take, the beans are thawed.  Add some soy sauce to the pan.  I didn't measure it exactly, but I guess it would be about 1/8 cup.  Let all that incorporate for a couple minutes.

5.  Spoon rice into bowl.  Add the beans and broccoli.  Done!

Ben and CC both ate this up.  The recipe sounds somewhat boring, but it actually has a decent flavor.  This recipe is healthy and nutritious, and super quick and easy to prepare!  

Smacznego!