Dragon Noodles

Holy mother, it is HOT outside. As in 'too hot to cook' hot. As dinner approached today, I was in search of a quick and delicious meal that would allow me to quickly return to my spot on the couch, where I could eat in the air conditioning and watch bad TV. I found this recipe, and it was exactly the type of dish I was looking for! Although I will warn you - as the name implies, this dish is super spicy. Maybe not the best thing for a hot day like today, but we all know how I feel about spicy food.

This dish is ready in less than 10 minutes. I kid you not. And it's SO delicious. It's also SERIOUSLY spicy. I feel like I should stress that so you don't hate me for not warning you.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. lo mein noodles
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha (rooster sauce)
• fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, sliced

How to:

• Boil water in a medium size sauce pan, and cook noodles according to package.
• While noodles are cooking, prepare the sauce: combine brown sugar, soy sauce, and Sriracha in a small bowl.
• In a large skillet, heat butter over low-medium heat. Add red pepper flakes as butter is melting.
• Whisk the egg in a small bowl, and add to butter in skillet. Stir gently until egg is cooked through. Then, turn off heat.
• When the noodles are tender, drain and add cooked noodles to the skillet. Add sauce and turn noodles until they are evenly coated with the sauce.
• Heat the skillet over low heat to reduce some of the sauce. 
• Sprinkle with cilantro and onion, and serve.

If the spice is too much for you to handle, try adding less crushed red pepper, or omit it altogether. You can also try this dish with any type of noodle - linguine or udon noodles work well too. 

The original recipe can be found here.

Spicy Thai Noodles

I have slowly been trying to convince Jake he likes ethnic foods. If he had his way, he'd eat pizza all day, every single day. I'm sorry, but just because pizza was technically 'invented' in Naples, Italy, I don't consider it an 'ethnic' food. It's one of the most commonly consumed foods in the US, and I'm sure the type of pizza that Jake and I eat is nothing like it is in Italy. I've never tested this theory, but I imagine Italian pizza has far less grease. And I'm sure it's not topped with random (but delicious) things like pineapple. But I digress. Anyway, every month or so, I'll throw some random recipe into the mix - usually an Indian or Greek dish - and pray to God that Jake loves it so I can permanently add it to our dinner menu rotation. Usually those recipes fail Jake's taste test, or don't taste the way I hope they will, which explains why there are a lack of ethnic recipes featured here at Potions & Poppy Seeds.

Well, times have changed, my friends. I made this dish two nights ago, and Jake LOVED it. This recipe for Spicy Thai Noodles is reminiscent of a dish I used to order at the Cheesecake Factory, although I'm not sure they serve it any more (it's been years since I've been). 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 box of whole wheat thin spaghetti
• 1 can condensed cream of broccoli soup + 1 can water
• 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 Tbs lime juice
• 2 Tbs packed brown sugar + more to taste
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 cups coleslaw mix
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro (if desired)
• Extra peanuts, crushed (if desired)

How to:

• Cook and drain pasta as according to package.
• In a large skillet, heat the soup plus water, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and pepper flakes over medium-high heat to a boil.
• Add additional brown sugar, if necessary, to taste.
• Remove from heat and stir in pasta and coleslaw until evenly coated.
• Top with peanuts and cilantro, if desired.

If you think the sauce is too thick, you can add more water to thin it out a little bit. After reading some of the comments about the recipe I worked from, I opted to "prepare" the condensed soup as indicated on its label, as the original doesn't add any water.

I also suggest that, when reheating leftovers, add in extra coleslaw AFTER you've warmed it up. This will bring back that extra crunch that works so well in this dish.

Enjoy!

Easy Fried Rice

I swear, these past few weeks have been so busy, I can't even keep up with my blog. I suppose it's because Jake and I's wedding is only a mere 9 weeks away, and the amount of things we have piling up is starting to get a little overwhelming. Oy, is it May yet?

One day last week, between trips to the gym and addressing wedding invitations, I threw this meal together. Super easy, super fast, super delicious. Like most of my meals, chances are you already have all these ingredients in your pantry and fridge. So, you should be able to whip this up in no time.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen vegetables, thawed*
• 2 slightly beaten eggs
• 3 cups cooked rice**
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

How to:

• Warm oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring occasionally.
• Add in frozen (thawed) veggies and egg, stirring until egg is cooked through.
• Add in rice and soy sauce, mixing thoroughly, until veggies are cooked through and dish is heated throughout.

*You can really use any type of frozen veggies you want. I used a mix of peas, carrots, and corn, but anything will work.

**Day-old leftover rice works best. I also found that cooking the rice with 1/4 cup water less than what is recommended gives the rice a good texture as well.

This is one of those meals that you can pretty much add anything to, and it'll still taste good. If you have leftover chicken or beef, I say toss it in. As you can see in the picture, I've also diced up some raw chicken and cooked it in the sesame oil before adding in the onion & garlic. It turned out pretty good!

Enjoy!