Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Sweet and Sour Chicken Noodle Bowl

 Sweet and Sour Chicken Noodle Bowl

Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Garlic or Garlic Salt
Butter
Chicken breasts
2 Eggs
Hakka Egg Noodles
Frozen Vegetable Stir Fry Mix
Kikkoman Rice Vinegar
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Kikkoman Sweet and Sour Sauce
Red Pepper Flakes






Begin to cook chicken pieces in wok or large pan drizzled with heated olive oil.  Add about a tablespoon of butter to chicken and season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Add 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar and two tablespoons of soy sauce to start.  As I cook, I always end up adding more!


When chicken looks cooked, but not browned, begin to add the eggs.  Add one egg and stir in until it cooks in with the chicken.


Add the other egg and mix in again.
If you loove eggs like I do, you will probably want to add a few more...(I think I used four total.)




After chicken is fully cooked and eggs are also cooked in, add frozen bag of stir-fry veggies.  
Cover and cook on medium.


After a few minutes, add 1/4 cup of water to the mixture.  While chicken and veggies are cooking, add garlic salt or Garlic Garlic, as well as more soy sauce.  Mix frequently and monitor the amount of water, adding a tiny bit at a time until veggies are fully cooked.

In the meantime, begin to cook the noodles.
Instructions on the package are very specific, but if you follow them you will have perfectly cooked "al dente" asian noodles and it only takes a few minutes! 
(of course you can use any type of noodles you want, but I looved this kind!)

Boil 10 cups of water in a large pan.
Drop noodles in and boil for only 2 mins.
Remove using tongs.
Drain the noodles and spread on a flat surface, tossing in 1tsp. of oil.


Add noodles to the chicken and vegetable mixture when chicken and veggies are fully cooked and toss.  Cover with as much sweet and sour sauce as desired and toss until spread throughout.






I always need to spice it up, so top with red pepper flakes or peanuts...

mmmmm<3LML.

Garlic Pesto Chicken Quesadilla with Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach

Another delicious, quick, weeknight meal made possible by using left over crock-pot chicken!
I made this one night for the kiddos, only because I had made the crock-pot chicken on a previous day and had some left over...so I decided to shred it up and make some quick quesadillas!  I am also on the ongoing mission to "sneak" some of the veggies in to their diet that they don't take to so easily, like spinach- didn't even notice it was in there!

I am a quesadilla/panini LOVER!  This recipe can be made using the chicken recipe below (a packet of ranch, garlic pesto, and chicken broth in the crock-pot), or any other way you want to make the chicken, I just know that this chicken was super delish- make it for a meal in itself, and then shred leftovers for the quesadillas!



Garlic Pesto Chicken Quesadilla

Chicken (cooked and shredded)
olive oil
spinach leaves
cherry tomatoes
onion
shredded cheese
burrito size flour tortillas
garlic salt, pepper

Drizzle hot pan with olive oil and add fresh spinach leaves, halved cherry tomatoes, and onion slices.  Sauté veggie mixture in oil until onions are almost clear and toms and spinach are wilted.  Put aside. 


Butter one side of tortilla and put that side down on the pan.  Cover half of the tortilla with shredded chicken and cheese.


Add cooked veggies and any seasonings desired:  I always season everything with Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic and Seasoned Salt seasonings.  Add MORE cheese!

Fold the empty side of the tortilla over and cook, flipping quesadilla, until sides are brown and cheese is melted.






Cut and serve!