Thai Noodle Bowl

Jalepenos and fall cilantro are the last ones standing in our garden right now, so this Thai-inspired dish couldn't have come at a better time. Once again, this recipe was slightly modified from Bev Cooks, because a lot of her recipes are relatively easy and taste amazing. This was so very different from what we normally eat, in a great way. 

Of course, if you really want a good idea of what you're working with, check out the original recipe here, but this is how we made it. And how we will probably make it next week, too! It was that good.


Thai Noodle Bowl

Ingredients

2 cups rice cellophane noodles

1 pound ground pork or ground beef

2-3 Tbs. Chinese five-spice seasoning

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbs. fresh ginger root, minced

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 cup plain peanuts, roughly chopped

4 scallions, finely sliced

2 cups loosely packed cilantro, chopped

2 jalepenos, minced (optional: more jalepenos, sliced for garnish)

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

juice of 1 lime

2 Tbs. gluten-free soy sauce

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp coarse salt

Sriracha sauce for garnish, as desired

Directions

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a pan over medium-high and start browning the pork. Once almost done, add the five-spice powder. Toss around for a second. Add the garlic, ginger, jalapeno, brown sugar, peanuts, 1 Tbs soy sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and take off heat.

Prepare the noodles according to package directions and drain. Combine the noodles, cilantro, scallions, and red bell pepper. Add the browned meat mixture and toss to combine. Squeeze the lime juice over the mixture and drizzle with 1 Tbs soy sauce and remaining olive oil.

Enjoy!

Crack Slaw

My friend Kim shared this recipe with me, and Ross, Noah, and I inhaled it this week. It's really nice to have a new, easy way to use ground beef because we default to tacos or Bolognese sauce over pasta A LOT.

The first, couldn't-be-simpler version I tried is here, but I may try this fancier version one day, too.


Crack Slaw 

1 lb ground beef
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 bag of coleslaw mix 
2 Tbs coconut aminos OR gluten-free soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp coconut sugar OR brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
optional: sesame seeds or cashew chunks to sprinkle on top

1. Brown the ground beef, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Heat the sesame oil and saute the garlic, onion, and cabbage in sesame oil until the cabbage is soft.

3. Stir in the soy sauce, Sriracha, sugar, ginger, and vinegar.

4. Add the ground beef back to the pain and mix everything well before serving!

Slow Cooker Crispy Chicken Carnitas

This was surprisingly good, and now I have a whole list of Gimme Some Oven recipes I want to make! I was afraid this was going to taste like every other crockpot chicken recipe, but it was nice and spicy, and crisping the chicken right before dinner really changed it up.

I was a little nervous, it would be too spicy for Noah, but he inhaled it! He started eating before we all sat down, and when Ross sat down, Noah chugged some water, noticed Ross didn't have any, and shouted, "Papa get some water it's spicy!" It was the cutest, most earnest warning I've ever heard.

YIELD: 8-10 SERVINGS

SLOW COOKER CRISPY CHICKEN CARNITAS

Serve them in your favorite tacos, burritos, salads, or whatever sounds good!

PREP TIME: 15 MINS

COOK TIME: 4 HOURS 15 MINS

TOTAL TIME: 4 HOURS 30 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts*
• 1 bottle gluten-free beer (or chicken stock, if you do not like to cook with alcohol)
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon chipotle powder 
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2-4 fresh limes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add the chicken, beer, onion, garlic, chipotle, cumin, black pepper, chili powder, and salt to the bowl of a large slow cooker.  Gently toss to combine.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours until the chicken is completely tender and shreds easily with a fork.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, preheat your broiler to high heat and grease one large baking sheet with cooking spray. Use a fork to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the prepared baking sheet, spreading the chicken in an even layer and leaving the juices behind in the slow cooker.  (Don't discard the juices, we're going to use them later!)
4. Place one sheet under the broiler, 2 racks down from the very top, and broil for about 5-6 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken begin browning and crisping up. Remove the sheet from the oven, then ladle about 1/2 cup of the juices from the slow cooker evenly over the chicken, and then give it a good toss with some tongs so that the chicken is evenly coated with the juices.  Broil for an additional 5 minutes to get the meat more crispy. Then remove and ladle an additional 1/2 cup of broth over the crispy pork.  Broil for an additional 5 minutes.  Then remove sheet from the oven, and toss chicken with the remaining broth.  Then drizzle with however much fresh lime juice you'd like (I love a ton of lime flavor!), and toss once more to combine.
5. Serve immediately in tacos, burritos, salads, or whatever sounds good to you!  This chicken can also be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or frozen in a sealed container for up to 3 months.