Sweet Soy Glazed Chicken Breast on Chow Mein Stir Fry Noodles

I'm always on the look out for new products to try. Sometime ago I found this Sweet Soy Glaze from Kikkoman and I use it a lot, love it. In this dish I'm trying these chow mein stir fry noodles from Wel-Pac. The noodles very tasty with a nice bite and was a really good pairing with the Sweet Soy Glazed chicken breasts. 

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken breasts with skin
1 package Chow Mein stir fry noodles
Soy glaze
Sliced green onions

Preparation:

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the chicken breasts and rinse in cold water and dry with paper towels. Make 3 slits about 1/4 inch deep through the skin on a diagonal. Place the chicken breasts on a baking pan and brush on some Sweet Soy Glaze. Bake for about 20 minutes brushing on some additional Sweet Soy Glaze half way through. 

Once the chicken breasts are cooked, turn on the broiler and cook until the skin turns a dark brown and starts to burn. When done, let the chicken breasts rest 5 minutes before serving.

To cook the chow mein noodles, place the noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the noodles and place in a bowl with some canola oil. The oil will keep the noodles from sticking together. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, place a portion of chow mein noodles on a serving plate. Place a chicken breast on the noodles and garnish with slice green onions.

Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes

Garlic and red pepper flakes are one of my favorite spice combinations. Here I'm using rough chopped garlic that I cooked in the microwave for just 30 seconds with a tablespoon of butter. By briefly cooking the garlic this way, I'm softening the garlic and taking out the raw spicy taste. 

Ingredients:

1 pound green beans

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

6 - 8 garlic cloves very rough chop

Pinch red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Take the green beans and trim off the ends and cut on an angle into 1" to 1-1/2" long. Use the stove top steamer to cook the green beans about 10 minutes. When done rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.

Take the garlic and rough chop into pretty big pieces. Place the garlic in a small microwave proof bowl with 1 tablespoon of butter and cook in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Heat a 10" saute pan to medium high. Add the olive oil and green beans and toss. Add the garlic, butter and red pepper flakes and toss until well incorporated. Heat to serving temperature. Season with salt and pepper and you're done.

Spaghetti & Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes

This pasta dish is simple delicious. The classic combination of pasta with garlic and red pepper flakes, but with the sweet nutty flavor of the spaghetti squash. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

1/2 pound Barilla spaghetti

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 crushed garlic cloves

Pinch red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the spaghetti squash and carefully slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and place face down on a baking pan. Cook the spaghetti squash for about 30 minutes or until you can easily pass a knife through the squash. Once cooked remove to a plate and let cool. When cool, take a fork and pull out the strands squash. 

Take a large stock pot and fill with water. Add 2 tablespoons salt and bring to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to directions, which is usually 9 - 10 minutes to al dente, firm to the bite. When done, drain the spaghetti reserving 1 cup pasta water.

Take a 12" saute pan and heat to medium high. Add the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook the garlic and red pepper flakes for 1 minute. Turn up the heat to high and add the spaghetti squash and spaghetti and toss. Add the cup of reserved pasta water, salt and pepper to taste and toss for 1 minute until piping hot and you're done.

To serve, place a portion of pasta on a serving plate. Add a drizzle of olive oil, some grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

Spicey Ramen

I love Ramen, but can you actually buy a packaged product that's any good? Today I'm testing a a product that I bought at Safeway from Nongshim which is their spicy black label premium noodle soup. First, when you make this, only add 1/4 the pepper spice mix, it will be plenty spicy. Overall, I liked the quality of the noodles and the soup was tasty. If you've got a craving for Ramen, this will get the job done.

Ingredients:

1 package Nongshim Ramen

Preparation:

Even thought he product comes in it's own serving container, cook the Ramen in a medium saute pan. Place the dried noodles in a medium saute pan. Fill the container the product came in with water and pour into the saute pan and bring to a boil. Add the flavor packets and about a quarter of the spice mix. You can always add more if you like. Boil until the noodle are soft and you're ready to serve. 

To serve, place the Ramen in a serving bowl and garnish with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

   

Sauteed Bok Choy with Chopped Garlic

Here's a quick and tasty vegetable dish that pairs well with sauteed tofu and rice or grilled chicken and noodles.

Ingredients:
1 bunch Bok Choy
4  - 5 rough chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil.
1 tablespoon butter
Garlic salt
Pepper

Preparation:

Take Bok Choy and cut off the bottom part of the stalk and wash in cold water. Slice the stems into 1/2 inch pieces and the leafy parts into bite size pieces.

Heat a 12" saute pan to medium high. Add the olive oil and Bok Choy and saute tossing frequently. Season the Bok Choy with garlic salt and pepper to taste and cook about 5 minutes. Take the garlic and rough chop so it's still in pretty big pieces. Add the garlic to a microwave proof bowl, a tablespoon of butter and cook in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the garlic to the Bok Choy, toss and you're done.

Pesto Chicken and Couscous

My wife and I were at our friends Jennifer and Bob's for dinner and Jennifer made this wonderful pesto chicken dish. She said it was very easy to make and I thought that it was so good I was going to make it and that she'd find her recipe on my blog very soon. Thanks for the recipe Jennifer!

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breast

Pesto Sauce. Kirkland makes a nice pesto sauce or make your own.

Fresh pesto sauce; basil, garlic, walnuts, salt and olive oil

1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous

2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt

Preparation:

If you're making your own pesto sauce Trader Joe's has the best basil going. Place 2 big handfuls of basil in the food processor. Add 3 or 4 garlic cloves, a couple tablespoons of chopped walnuts, 1/8 cup olive oil  and some salt. Blend until you have a nice smooth pesto sauce.  

Rinse and dry the chicken breasts. Place into an baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Spoon on some pesto sauce, cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

To make the couscous, take a medium sauce pan and heat to medium high. Add the olive oil and couscous and toast the couscous to a golden brown. Carefully add 2 cups water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes and then turn off the heat and let rest while your waiting for the chicken to finish cooking 

To serve, place some couscous on a serving plate and add the sliced pesto chicken breast. Garnish with some chopped basil and grated Parmesan cheese.