Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

We added a member to our family. No, not a human this time. A guinea pig! I've always wanted a guinea pig. So when the opportunity came our way, we snatched her up.

Her name is Cookie. I mean, how appropriate.

We all love her. She talks - a lot. I had no idea guinea pigs were so expressive?!? She's a fun little creature. She gets along well with Ari the bunny and she doesn't mind being stalked by Tubby the cat.

Next pet on my list? A mini longhair weiner dog. As in, a dachshund. They're a bit hard to find within reasonable driving distance of central Kentucky. But I'm working on it. Plus, I might as well potty train a puppy while Levi potty trains. Right? Right. So stay tuned.

Okay, enough news about the animals I am collecting and planning to collect. Let's talk about this soup. I was wanting something with Thai flavors - I love cilantro, lime, spice, curry, coconut...Yum. The inspiration for this soup came from Core Life - they have a coconut curry stock that's delicious. Here's what I created and it turned out just like I wanted. I do have to leave the jalapenos only for my bowl because my kids' spice sensitivity isn't quite at my level, but that's fine. This was a hit with everyone!

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

2 T coconut oil
1 onion, diced
10 oz. bag shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 T red curry paste
1 T grated fresh ginger root
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
14 oz. (give or take) Thai rice noodles
3 cups cooked chicken
Juice 1 lime
Chopped Cilantro
1 bunch green onions
Sliced jalapenos

Heat the coconut oil in a large pot and saute the onions, carrot and bell pepper until soft, about 10 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the salt, pepper, curry paste, ginger and garlic and stir well. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the noodles and remove from heat. Cover for 10 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken and lime juice. Serve with cilantro, green onions and jalapenos on top.

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

I just noticed that I last posted in September. That was four months ago. It's now 2016. I'm not even going to ask you where my life is going because I know you don't have an answer either.

So. What's happened in the last 4 months. Matthew and I stayed awake ALL THE WAY TO MIDNIGHT on New Year's Eve!!! This is news, people. We haven't rang in a new year since we had children.

Exciting item #2. We acquired a new family member. It is a baby kitten! Ugh. Kittens one of God's cutest creations. We named him Tubby. He's clearly a smart cat since he chose our house to come howl in front of. And I'm a total sucker for animals. And my dad is a vet! Told you Tubs is smart.

It was a dark and stormy evening (for real), my dad dropped Matthew off from their afternoon of hunting and we heard a kitten crying in the bushes. My dad and I hunted around in the bushes, using our flashlights because it was dark as night and raining and calling "here, kitty" about a thousand times. We caught him and the rest is history. Tubby is adorable and sweet and positively adores our children. Well, he adores the two older girls. The two littles are a bit rough with him. He's sweet and tolerant anyway.

It goes with the territory. I just remind Tubby that he picked us. He loves our dogs, he loves our other cat, Harry, and I'm sure he will love the bunny we're getting this spring when Mary Beth turns 8. (We're on our way to a petting zoo. Just how I planned it. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Christmas break was wonderful...I love all of my kids home with me. I considered not sending them back to school this semester. Learning is overrated, no? (Matthew does not share these thoughts. Hence the reason children need mothers AND fathers. That is not a political statement. It's just a factual statement.)

Christmas break...where was I...oh, yes, these nachos. Um, yum is all I can say about these. My sister-in-law makes these and my brother loves them and she told me all about them and I said yes I'll be making those soon and so I made them in December. Matthew and I LOVED them!!!

Quantities are approximate because it simply doesn't matter. (Plus, I don't have time to measure anymore. I just empty out the refrigerator and dump stuff in. Things turn out okay. Usually, anyway.) A pile of chips, a pile of cheese, chicken, bake. Top with green onions, sour cream, BBQ sauce & pickled jalapeno slices. Devour.

So easy. Please make these. And by all means, use Neely's BBQ sauce recipe (I tweaked it a bit and blogged it here). Bottled BBQ sauce is just too...gloppy. Neely's is perfect. You'll lick your plate, despite your New Year's resolutions!

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

Tortilla Chips
Shredded Cheese (I used a combo of Pepper Jack & Cheddar)
Cooked chicken, chopped (I used grilled but sauteed or even rotisserie would work!)
Black beans (I just used canned, drained & rinsed)
BBQ Sauce

Toppings:
Sliced green onions
Sour Cream
Pickled jalapeno peppers

On a large baking sheet, spread a layer of tortilla chips and top with cheese & chicken. Spread another layer of chips on top with cheese & chicken. Bake in a 375 degree oven until cheese is melty & bubbly. Remove from oven and generously top with BBQ sauce. (If you put the BBQ sauce on the chips before you put it in the oven, the chips get soggy. Just FYI.) Sprinkle green onions on top. Top each serving with sour cream and jalapenos.

My mouth is watering. Can't wait to make these again.

Spinach Italian Chicken Pasta

Well it's only been 2 months since my last post!  It's been about that long since I made something good for dinner.

You think I'm joking.  I have, however, done other things.  I'm not sure exactly what, but surely I've done something in the last two months.

Anyway.  This pasta.  For dinner.  Like, tonight.

It was awesome.  My husband said it should be on the menu at an Italian restaurant.  My kids scarfed it down. (This is actually news because my kids do not love food mixed together.  As in, they want food to stay with its own kind.  As in, they love spinach, tomatoes, chicken, pasta and cheese, but don't let it touch.  Sometimes I go with this.  Sometimes I tell them to get over it and eat dinner and say thank you mama for dinner.)

I got the idea from a recipe on Pinterest, naturally.  But I deviated from the original a bit.  I thought it might be a bit dry if I baked it, so I just served it as a "skillet."  As Sunny Anderson would say, it's a "one pan plan, man."

There's only one picture of this meal.  If I described what was going on under my feet while I made this skillet and snapped this one lone picture, you'd be impressed that I cooked anything.

At least, I was impressed that I cooked anything last night.  It's WILD here!

Spinach Italian Chicken Pasta
Adapted from Key Ingredient

8 oz. penne pasta, cooked and drained (this is about 2 cups uncooked)
1 onion, chopped
1 T butter
2 cloves garlic
10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach
8 oz. chive & onion cream cheese
15 oz. Italian-style diced tomatoes
2-3 cups cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 cup milk
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups shredded)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Cook the penne in salted boiling water (always heavily salt your pasta water!).  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet.  Saute the onion over medium-high heat for several minutes until tender.  Add the garlic and spinach.  Stir until the spinach is thawed.  Add the cream cheese and stir until creamy and melty. Add the tomatoes, chicken and milk.  Turn the heat to low.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in half of the cheese and the cooked pasta.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and cover.  When the cheese is melted, it's ready!

*If using raw chicken, just saute it with the onion and proceed.

Stuffing Chicken

This is a great go-to recipe.  If you have chicken breasts on hand (I always do!), then you can whip this up with a few other ingredients.  Easy and GOOD!

All you have to do is lay the chicken in a casserole dish and cover it with cheese,

cover it with a sauce (made of cream of chicken soup mixed with sour cream and milk)

sprinkle dry boxed stuffing mix on top,

and pour melted butter on top!

I mean, whoever came up with this should win an award.

It's delicious.  A great fall meal.

I like to serve it with rice.  Oh, and I put a little bit of sauce on my rice.

That's just how we roll in Pithy's Kitchen.

Stuffing Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup stuffing mix, dry (I used Stovetop cornbread stuffing)
1/2 stick (4 T) butter, melted

Lay the chicken breasts in a single layer in a 9x13 dish.  Layer the cheese on top.  Mix together the soup, sour cream and milk and pour on top.  Sprinkle on the dry stuffing mix.  Pour the melted butter on top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and sauce is bubbly.  Serve with rice and something green.

Crockpot Cilantro-Lime Chicken

I made this chicken weeks ago to eat on taco night.  It was so good and so easy.

I have very few pictures and I can't even come up with an excuse why I have so few pictures.

So anyway.

I just put some chicken breasts (frozen!) in my crockpot, I squeezed in some lime juice, sprinkled in chopped garlic, cumin, salt and chili powder and cooked it on high for about 4 hours (until it was super tender and shred-able).

At the end, I shredded it and tossed in some chopped cilantro.

And we made tacos with it!  Topped with the usual taco toppings, but you could do a million other things with it.  (Enchiladas, taco salad, nachos, quesadillas, etc.)

Delicious.  Easy.  Really good leftover.

It's late.  Goodnight.

Crockpot Cilantro-Lime Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)
Juice of 3 limes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Place the chicken in the crockpot.  Add the lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours, until the chicken is very tender and shreds easily.  Shred the chicken and return it to the crockpot.  Stir in the cilantro.  Keep on warm until ready to serve.  Great on taco salad, in tacos, nachos, in enchiladas, quesadillas, etc.

Bang Bang Chicken

Wow.  This dinner is packed with flavor.  Yum, yum, yum!

My dinner presentation is usually lacking, but this bowl looked awesome.

And it tasted as great as it looked.

I'm not sure how to even describe these flavors.  Asian-fusion?  Maybe.  It's a knock-off of Cheesecake Factory's Bang-Bang Chicken & Shrimp.  I think it's actually a pretty good copycat, but regardless, it's amazing.

Julienne the carrots and zucchini - this is the only part of the recipe that takes a bit of time.  It's worth it though.  The veggies will cook quickly and more evenly this way.  You could definitely substitute some pre-packaged shredded carrots for the julienned carrots to save some time.

As with everything in my life, it's all about the sauce.  The sauce, people.  Mmmm.... It's fabulous.  It's worth making this dish just for the sauce.

For the coconut milk, I used lite from Trader Joe's.  It's the cheapest price I've found anywhere and I don't think the flavor is compromised by lite...probably because there's still plenty of fat even in the lite coconut milk.

To serve, ladle the chicken/sauce/veggie mixture into a wide-bottom bowl and then scoop the rice on top.

Garnish it and dig in.

Bang Bang Chicken
Adapted from Lauren's Latest

2 T olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium zucchini, julienned
1 1/2 cups julienned carrots
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T grated fresh ginger
3 T flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can coconut milk (I used lite)
2 T creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 T curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup cream
3/4 cup frozen petite peas
shredded coconut, peanuts, green onions, red pepper flakes and black sesame seeds, for garnish
hot cooked rice, for serving

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken chunks and saute on one side for about 2 minutes, until they easily release from the pan when you turn them.

Add the zucchini, carrots, onion, garlic and ginger.  Saute for about 5 minutes, until the veggies begin to soften.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir well.

Add the chicken stock, salt, pepper, coconut milk, peanut butter, sugar, curry and turmeric.  Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft.

Remove from the heat, stir in the cream and peas, and serve over hot cooked rice.  Garnish with coconut, peanuts, green onions, red pepper flakes and black sesame seeds.

Enchilada Stuffed Peppers

I made these peppers last week...

and I'm pushing them to the front of my "post queue" because I'm making them again.  ASAP.

I absolutely loved these.  Partly because peppers are plentiful right now, and I'm trying to come up with new ways to use them.

Enchilada stuffed peppers?  Perfect.  Not my original idea, but I took it and ran with it.

So good, people.  So good.

I whipped up a little pico de gallo to put on top, but it's not necessary.  They were awesome on their own.

Next time I might try tomatillo salsa...my dad just brought me some fresh tomatillos from his garden.  I think that would be perfect on top.

And my kids?  Loved them too.

My kids don't love everything I make.  But I do make them try everything I make.  And sometimes they surprise me.

Like kale chips?  Baby Bear loved them.  Big Sis loved them.  Little Sis?  Wouldn't touch them.

You win some, you lose some.  These stuffed peppers are a definite win.

Enchilada Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from How Sweet It Is

4 large bell peppers (I used a combo of red/yellow/orange) or 6 medium peppers
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 cup water
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup black beans (from can, drained and rinsed)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped fine
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
4 oz. can green chiles
1/4 cup sour cream
2 10 oz. cans red enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (Monterey Jack or cheddar would be good too)

Use a knife to cut around the stem of the pepper.  Remove as little of the top of pepper as possible.  Remove the ribs and seeds from inside.  Place the peppers in an 8x8 baking dish.

Cook the rice and onion in the water for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is tender.  Mix the rice and onions with the cilantro, black beans, chicken, cumin, salt, garlic powder, green chiles and sour cream.  Fill the peppers with the mixture.  Pour one can of enchilada sauce over the top of the peppers, dividing the can as equally as possible between the peppers.  Pour the other can of sauce into the dish for the peppers to cook in.  Top each pepper with cheese.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.  The peppers will soften on top first, but cook the peppers until they are soft on the bottom as well.  Serve hot.

Coconut Chicken with Sticky Sauce

I made this coconut chicken a few weeks ago, and it was awesome.  Totally.

It's easy.  Just marinate the chicken, grill it, and pour some sticky sauce on top.

Yum, y'all.

There's very few ingredients, and you use ginger in both the marinade and the sticky sauce.

I love ginger and I love using the same ingredients in two things.

So!  Here's what you need to know.  Let the chicken marinate for plenty of time.  Like overnight.  Yeah, that's good.

And the sauce?  Don't burn it.  Been there.  Done that.  Warned you.  So don't burn it.  (And you burn it by turning it on high, walking away from the stove to feed the dog, pick up the baby, put down the baby to break up a fight between the girls, clean up the dog water that the baby dumped out and threw all over the kitchen, pick the baby up again, and put the dog outside.  That sounds about right.)  I threw away my pan (okay, not really, but I would have rather thrown it away than soak it, scrub it, soak it...) and made a second batch of sauce.

The second batch was perfect.

And this chicken was perfect.  I'm making it again this week.  And that's sayin' somethin' since I don't repeat meals as often as my husband wishes I did.

Coconut Chicken with Sticky Sauce
Adapted from Simply So Good

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
1 can coconut milk (lite is fine)
2 T grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes (I left these out because my kids don't like too much heat)

Sticky Sauce:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce

Sliced green onions, black sesame seeds and red pepper flakes, for garnish
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Place the chicken in a gallon food storage bag.  Add the coconut milk, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and red pepper flakes and squish everything around so that it combines and completely coats the chicken.  Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator overnight.  Grill the chicken until just cooked through.

While the chicken grills, make the sauce.  Place the rice vinegar, sugar and soy sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium, continuing to boil, for about 8-10 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to about 3/4 cup.  Watch the sauce as it cooks since it will burn.

Pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with green onions and black sesame seeds and serve with rice.

Jerk Chicken

I was in Grand Cayman the first time I ate Jerk Chicken.

It was the Christmas of my junior year of college, and my family spent the week after Christmas in Grand Cayman.

It was awesome.  We went to Stingray City and I'm pretty sure a stingray climbed all the way up my body and sat on my head.  While I screamed.

And we went to some great local restaurant one night, where I ordered the jerk chicken.  I had never eaten jerk chicken, and I loved it!

So I've been making this recipe from The Bunny cookbook for years...and we love it.  My husband.  My kids. Me.

It's just delicious - sweet, spicy (but not hot), and wonderfully warm from the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.

You've got to try it.  I served it with green rice and pineapple salsa.

It's as close as I can get to Grand Cayman from Kentucky.

Jerk Chicken
Adapted from Creating a Stir

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I cut them into strips)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 onion, diced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 T fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped (or about 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp cinnamon

Puree ingredients except for chicken in a food processor.  Place the chicken in a gallon-size food storage bag and pour the marinade over the top. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (overnight is good too!), turning occasionally so that the marinade reaches all of the chicken.

Grill the chicken, discarding the marinade, for 4-6 minutes per side, until cooked through.