Americanized Thai Pasta, Edamame

I have been dying to try this Thai Pasta recipe from CreativeStirrings for months now, but somehow I hadn't ever gotten around to it. I have almost all of the ingredients in my fridge at the moment, so I thought I better get with it and make it!

You can find the original post for this recipe here at the Creative Stirrings blog, along with another creative and delicious-looking recipe for burritos if you want to try this sauce two different ways.

I am opting to only make the pasta, so I have modified the recipe by cutting out the extra sauce ingredients for the burritos. But man, check out the presentation on the burritos!


Americanized Thai Pasta
from Creative Stirrings

1/4 (1.0 oz.) dry package of Ranch® Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 bunch of cilantro
3.75 oz (a little less than 1/2 cup) jarred red peppers, drained and patted dry with a paper towel
1 tablespoon regular salsa
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce or more!

Combine the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Add the following in the blender:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon black pepper or more!
Additional hot sauce would also be good

Blend until smooth. Then, pour into a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl and set aside while you prepare the following:
16 oz. linguine pasta, cooked and drained

1 1/2 cups chopped and cooked chicken
1 red pepper, sliced

Stir the chicken into the sauce and heat through. Place noodles on individual serving plates and top with the sauce and red pepper slices. Serve immediately.

Cinna-Peach Pancakes, Hash Browns

I love love love these pancakes! I think the combination of flavors is amazing! I have been dying to post this all summer. You can find the full recipe here at the Creative Stirrings blog.

I usually make a big batch of toasted pecans and then keep them in the freezer for any old time the craving strikes. I also keep cinnamon chips in my food storage and freezer for this very recipe.

If you already have pancake mix on hand, then here are some slightly simplified directions.

Simplified Cinna-Peach Pancakes
from Creative Stirrings

Toppings
¼ cup HERSHEY®’S Cinnamon Chips
¼ cup maple syrup
½ cup pecans, chopped
1 large peach, sliced

Pancakes
about 1 1/2 cups pancake mix
¼ cup HERSHEY®’S Cinnamon Chips

In large griddle, toast pecans over medium heat (350˚ F) 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Remove from skillet; set aside. Keep skillet hot for pancakes.

Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, melt cinnamon chips in microwave stirring every 20 seconds. Stir in maple syrup; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix pancake mix according to package directions. Add 1/4 cup cinnamon chips. Cook 10 small pancakes according to package directions.

To serve, stack two pancakes, slightly overlapping, on each of 5 serving plates. Divide peach slices among the 5 plates placing them on top of the pancakes. Evenly sprinkle pancakes with pecans and drizzle with syrup mixture; serve immediately.

Pesto Chicken and Cheese Toasts, Cabbage Salad, Carrot Sticks

These little toasts come from the creative minds at My Creative Stirrings. You can find the original post here. I'll be serving these toasts with carrot sticks and a cabbage salad loosely based on this recipe (without the chicken, of course).

Here is the recipe, copied from the Creative Stirrings blog:

15- 1" slices of bread (from 1 pound loaf)

2 cups chopped and cooked chicken

1 cup shredded Colby Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup pesto basil

1 teaspoon mashed jalapenos

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to broil. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the slices of bread on top of the foil lined pan; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the chicken, cheese, pesto, jalapenos, and garlic salt*. Spread in equal portions on top of each slice of bread. Broil 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread is lightly toasted.

*Optional topping:

3/4 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained (*for additional flavor drain the juice into the chicken mixture)

Combine the sour cream and chilies and serve on top of the cooked toasts.

*I never intended to post this recipe. I was simply trying to get rid of ingredients I have been storing. However, after making it a couple times I have had a few recipe requests. Here it is, Enjoy! Some prefer the toasts without the topping and some liked it with. I think it is good both ways.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, Green Beans, Carrots

This Roasted Red Pepper Pasta is from Creative Stirrings. You can find the original post here. I have scaled down the recipe to feed 4.

1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 (12 oz) jars Fire Roasted Red Peppers, chopped and reserve juice
1 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes, reserve juice
1 T dried basil
1 1/2 t garlic minced
1/2 t salt
dash cayenne pepper and black pepper
3/4 c fresh basil leaves, chopped (I may skip this depending on the price)
1/2 pkg cream cheese (4 oz), softened and cubed
12 oz rotini pasta, cooked

1 can green beans

1/2 lb carrots


In a large frying pan, cook and crumble Italian sausage. Stir in red peppers (including juice), tomatoes (including juice), dried basil, garlic, salt, pepper. Add basil leaves and cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is melted. Serve over hot pasta.

Microwave green beans.

Place carrots in a microwave safe bowl. Cover halfway with water. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes more. Test for doneness with a fork. Continue microwaving at 1 minute intervals until tender. Drain water. Toss carrots with salt, pepper, 1 t butter, and a pinch of sugar.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, Broccoli, Cauliflower

This Roasted Red Pepper pasta recipe was created by Creative Stirrings. It has become one of our family favorites! While you're checking out this lovely blog, may I suggest the Easter Table Setting Post? It is absolutely fantastic!


Here is the original recipe post. I have scaled the recipe down to 4 servings.

1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 (12 oz) jars Fire Roasted Red Peppers, chopped and reserve juice
1 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes, reserve juice
1 T dried basil
1 1/2 t garlic minced
1/2 t salt
dash cayenne pepper and black pepper
3/4 c fresh basil leaves, chopped (I may skip this depending on the price)
1/2 pkg cream cheese (4 oz), softened and cubed
12 oz rotini pasta, cooked

In a large frying pan, cook and crumble Italian sausage. Stir in red peppers (including juice), tomatoes (including juice), dried basil, garlic, salt, pepper. Add basil leaves and cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is melted. Serve over hot pasta.

Steam broccoli and cauliflower (broccoli on top) until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

*I usually buy Italian sausage that has been packaged by the store's meat department. I've found it's always very affordable at Macey's. This week, however, there was a great sale on commercially-packaged sausage; the only problem was that the particular brand did not come in Italian flavor. I did not try it, but I realized that you could easily substitute regular sausage and add Italian seasoning to taste if regular sausage is what you have on hand.