Ramen noodles

These ramen noodles are simple to make, I use a Philips Pasta Maker. I just dump the ingredients in and press some buttons. You can make this by hand also, but I don't have a pasta roller or cutter so I don't.

Serve these noodles with your favorite broth or as a cold noodle dish.

Japchae

Japchae is an easy noodle dish to make and it travels well. This is vegetarian, if you don't garnish with the egg it can be served as a vegan dish. The ingredients are fairly simple and can be found at major grocery stores or the Asian market. If you can't find the noodles however you can still make this, use a thicker rice noodle or soba. The sauce is the perfect marinade for the tofu recipe at the bottom of this post also. It's also great for chicken, beef, or pork.

Sous Vide Garlic Confit

This is so very simple but a jar of this in your refrigerator is great to have. Both the garlic cloves and the infused oil can be spread on bread, used in stir fry, fried rice, in dressings and marinades, on steaks, grilled vegetables, in mashed potatoes, and so much more.

Chile de Arbol Salsa

This spicy salsa was posted on Facebook in a group I belong to, well the ingredient list and basic method. It's really yummy. I wanted a more smokey flavor so broiling the veggies for some char gives it that flavor. I also added dried Thai chiles. Very spicy. 

I'm going to write the recipes both ways, the original method and my way, you can try whichever you'd like.

Nam Vahn Sakoo- Tapioca Pudding with Taro Root

Nam Vahn Sakoo- Tapioca pudding with Taro root.

Nam Vahn Sakoo is a tapioca pudding in coconut milk with tender pieces of taro in it. I've seen it in Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. Nam Vahn Sakoo or Nam Van Sakoo is the Lao pronunciation. Generally this dessert is served warm with toppings like sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, or coconut flakes. I prefer it with no toppings, and will even eat it out of the fridge cold. This isn't an overly sweet dessert but you can add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter.

Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry

This is a very simple way to prepare baby bok choy. I don't always add sesame seeds or coconut amnios- fish sauce or soy sauce (not for Whole30 though) can be substituted. Often times other than the garlic and chilies I don't add anything. It seems like it would be bland but the bok choy has great flavor and we like it. This can be served as a side dish. We've had it with Curry Pork Chops, with broiled or baked fish, with steak, over rice or quinoa.

Click to find more recipes here on Give Peas A Chance, or use the search function.
 Whole 30

Paleo

Primal 

Vegetarian Red Curry

I love red curry, it's probably my favorite Thai curry. This is a Whole30 compliant dish, it could be used as a side with fat built in from the coconut milk. If not on a Whole30 round I like to add medium firm tofu to this. I usually pan fry the tofu first to get it crispy, then make the curry and stir it in after. This is an easy dish to make. If you're going to be pressed for time you can even prepare all the vegetables the day before. This can be made Vegan if you use a vegan curry paste and leave out the fish sauce, subbing for salt.

I have two store bought red curry paste brands that I have used. Both are Whole30 compliant, only one is vegan. That brand is Thai Kitchen brand. The other brand of paste I use is Mae Ploy brand. Which is very yummy but it has shrimp in it. I like both brands, the Mae Ploy does have more umami flavor to it.

Isalean Shake Recipes (Isagenix)

Isagenix Isalean Blueberry Cake Shake.

Hello everyone! It's been a while. School is back in session and I'm already behind on posting school lunches. I have a bunch uploaded and I'll get that post up soon. I hope you all are doing well. Is anyone else sending packed lunches to school? I'd love to see them. Today I'm sharing some shake recipes so keep scrolling...

Creamy Swiss Chard

You should stop whatever you are doing and make this. Or at the very least put Swiss Chard on your grocery list and read on. I love this, the coconut makes the chard a bit sweet, and so creamy with a spice from the pepper flakes. I usually use ground dried Thai chili powder but red pepper flakes are great and I have used them also. I've had this for dinner, for breakfast. It's so yummy. You won't even miss the cream!

Dinner En Papillote

Fish En Papillote and Rambutan

This is still one of my favorite ways to serve fish. I think because it's an "all in one" meal and we all love it. It's a great way to get the kid to eat vegetables. There's also very minimal clean up, which is a huge plus for me. You can find the method here in this post for Tilapia En Palillote. But you can use any fish you like, just remember that some fish, like salmon take less time and can overcook pretty quickly. You can even use chicken!

Fantastic Five Grain Porridge

Instant Pot Five Grain Porridge

I'm on a porridge, congee, steel cut oats kick. I think it's the cool weather. Someone mentioned Pret a Manger the other day and how they had the best porridge. So I looked it up on their site and they have a five grain porridge, the site lists the grains, but not the recipe, though they have recipes for other things on there. The grains are what I had on hand so I set off to find a recipe or at least some clue on what to do. My search lead me to Bon Appetite. They have a recipe for this 5-Grain Porridge Bee Pollen with Apples and Coconuts on their web page. It has brown rice, quinoa, millet, wheat bran, and amaranth. Well I didn't want rice. I love steel cut oats. I didn't have millet. I don't really like bee pollen, I used to take it as a kid for allergies, so it's just not my thing now. I still wanted to pull grains from my pantry and see if I could make a mix of my own up. So you should use any grains you have also, just like the Bon Appetite recipe says, "Use what you have". Just pay attention to cooking times and water ratio.

Five Grain Porridge.

One Minute Quinoa (Pressure Cooker)

Looking to make Quinoa in your pressure cooker? This method has worked so well for me, I won't make it any other way now. I used to make my Quinoa in the rice cooker which also came out perfect, but my rice cooker has a non stick coating on the insert so I am not using it as much.
This method is simple and easy. As long as you keep the water to liquid ratio you can change out the liquid to suit your needs. Stock, water, broth, juice, tea. This does require soaking the Quinoa, but it's for only 5-10 minutes. I put the Quinoa in water then gather remaining ingredients. There's really no wait. Season it up and serve it how you like! Try my Southwest Quinoa Pilaf, or serve it with these Easy Peasy Curry Chickpeas, I'll be adapting this to Instant Pot cooking also, but believe me it's so easy.

Freezer Tip: Stock Bag, Schmaltz Bag

Chicken stock bag and schmaltz bags for the freezer..

Hello! Quick Freezer Tip post today on two things. Stock bags and Schmaltz. I make several types of stock: seafood, beef, chicken, pork, vegetables. Often times I'll combine a couple or more. There's always vegetables in the beef, chicken, or pork. Often times I'll make beef stock and add pork. I don't mind adding chicken bones to a beef stock. But because chicken has a more delicate flavor I don't use beef or pork bones in that stock. For seafood I don't add any other bones or meats. 

So what's a stock bag, and what do I put in them? A stock bag is a I keep in the freezer, labeled with whatever the end result should be. The bag above is obvious as those are all chicken bones, but normally I would label the bag "chicken stock". Any bones from chickens, I throw in there. If I roast a chicken I'll break down the carcass and toss the bones in the bag. Kidneys and hearts we actually eat, but if we didn't they would go into the stock bag. Liver I wouldn't put in stock because it gets cloudy and tends to give off a metallic flavor I don't like. 

Apple Cider Steel Cut Oats

Apple Cider Steel Cut Oats

It's just the right weather for hot breakfast isn't it? I like to send the kids off with a hot bowl in their tummies before school. Although I like oats for a snack or even lunch too. But that's me and the fact that I don't always sit down until about lunch time after I get the kids off to school.

Curry Chickpeas (Pressure Cooker)

Hello everyone! I know I've been posting a lot of Instant Pot/ Pressure cooker recipes lately but bear with me. Not only is this little pot quick and easy to use, there are some jobs it just shines at. Braising, stews, soups, pot roast, anything that cooks with a wet environment. "Boiled" eggs come out perfectly tender and not dry. They also slip right out of their shells. There are so many recipes I want to try and convert to Pressure cooking. Not all can be done, but it's always fun to to develop new recipes and tweak old favorites like this one to see if it can be done better. I put this in the better column for sure!

Pressure Cooker Hatch Green Chile Sauce

It's Chile Season y'all! The girls and I went and picked up our annual stash of Hatch Green Chile this year. We have been so blessed to have a couple of local grocery stores that stock them.Two of which will roast them in big roasters like they do back in the 505. That's New Mexico. This year my oldest chose "hot", we ended up with 40 pounds. The girls helped me peel and deseed them all. 

Greek Inspired Chickpea Salad

This Greek Inspired Chickpea Salad can be served as a side dish, over salad, or as a main dish with some pita bread. It's so easy to make kids who are good with a knife can prepare it on their own. If I use Feta cheese I usually add that a little before serving. I just prefer it that way.

Garlic Chile Edamame

Garlic Chile Edamame, perfect for an appetizer or snack.

The girls and I first had these at a sushi bar in Houston. So good, usually when I'm eating sushi I might eat a few salted edamame and call it good, because let's face it I'm there for sushi. But these garlicky, spicy, sweet, salty Garlic Chile Edamame were so yummy I think we even ordered seconds. I'm sure of it actually.

These are the perfect appetizer, but they are also great for after school snacks and movie nights. The ingredients are simple and things I always have on hand. I keep a peeled piece of ginger in my freezer. Whenever I need grated ginger I just pull it out and grate it with my microplane while frozen. Works like a charm!

Greek Salad Dressing

This Greek salad dressing can be made vegan or paleo.

This Greek Salad dressing. I can drink this dressing up. It's very simple to make, the kids can do this one on their own, just some supervision with the blender! It's tangy, flavorful, and easy to make with ingredients you have on hand. To make this a vegan dressing use sugar instead of honey.
I serve this drizzled on a salad with Greek Chicken. I forgot the goat cheese in this picture! Feta would be awesome also.
You can also use it to marinate chicken.

Easy Peasy Curry Chickpeas

Some nights I like to plan for something easy on the menu that takes very little time and doesn't require a trip to the grocery store. These chickpeas are quick, easy, and healthy. Diced chicken is pictured but I've made them without also. If you want to use chicken, just dice up a chicken breast and saute it to brown before adding the chickpeas and tomatoes. Leave it out for a wonderful vegan dish! This dish is very easy children can chop vegetables, saute them. They can rinse the chickpeas, or pick them over if you are using dry ones . Very easy family friendly dish! I hope you'll try it.

If you are looking for the Instant Pot version of this dish, please follow the link here.