Sausage and Brussel Sprouts Pasta

Quick, easy and healthy!

What You Need
Makes 4 servings

4 servings of Pasta (whichever kind you prefer)
3 chicken sausage
1/2 lb Brussels Sprouts
1/4 cup Pesto

What To Do

Step 1: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook until al dente.

Step 2: Cut up sausage into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Cut Brussels sprouts in half.

Step 3: Cook sausage and Brussels sprouts until golden brown.

Step 4: Mix pasta, sausage, Brussels spouts and pesto together. Enjoy!

Crazy Thai Goodness

I decided to try making this at home after having it at a Thai restaurant. It is really easy and quick to make.

What You Need
Makes 4 servings

4 Chicken Breasts
8 oz Fresh Spinach
2 cups rice

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 tbsp Water

What To Do

Step 1: Cook rice in rice cooker or on the stove top according to the instructions.

Step 2: Cook chicken on medium heat until fully cooked. Cut chicken into bite size pieces.

Step 3: Cook spinach on low heat with the lid on. Once the spinach has wilted but still looks fresh and green remove from the stove. Strain the spinach to get as much liquid out as possible.

Step 4: In a small bowl add the peanut butter, rice vinegar, Thai sweet chili sauce and water. Mix with a fork or whisk for about 5 minutes. It will start to look stringy (see below) but after a few minutes it should become smooth and creamy. If it appears too liquidy, even after several minutes of mixing, add a little more peanut butter. If it is too thick add water, a little at a time, until it reaches a good consistency. Stir until creamy and uniform.

Before

After

Step 5: Mix the chicken, spinach and peanut sauce together in a pan. Make sure to break up the spinach so it is evenly distributed. Serve over rice and Enjoy!

Best Thai Salad Ever

This is the best salad ever! It is so tasty, healthy and delicious. It takes a while to get all the veggies ready but it is a very simple recipe.  Try changing out the chicken for shrimp, pork or beef!

What You Need
Makes 4 servings

Salad
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or 4 Chicken Tenderloins
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
3 Small Lettuce Heads , Chopped
1/2 Head of Cabbage, Chopped
2 Carrots, Peeled and Shredded
2 Green Onions, Chopped
1 cup Bean Sprouts
1/2 Cucumber, Peeled and Chopped
1/2 Bunch of Cilantro, Chopped
1/2 cup Peanuts, Chopped
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 Serving Ramen Noodles, Dry

Salad Dressing
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce
1/2 tsp Sugar

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 tbsp Water

What To Do

Step 1: Prepare all of your vegetables (wash, peel, chop, etc). Place in a large bowl.

Step 2: Season chicken with Chinese Five Spice. Cook on medium heat until fully cooked. Chop up chicken. Set aside.

Step 3: Heat up the olive oil in a pan on medium-low heat. Once hot add the ramen and sesame seeds. Stir continuously until golden brown (about 5-10 mins).

Before

After

Step 4: Make the salad dressing. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup add the rice vinegar, Thai sweet red chili sauce and sugar. Mix well with a fork.

Step 5: Make the peanut sauce. In a small bowl add the peanut butter, rice vinegar, Thai sweet chili sauce and water. Mix with a fork or whisk for about 5 minutes. It will start to look stringy (see below) but after a few minutes it should become smooth and creamy. If it appears too liquidy, even after several minutes of mixing, add a little more peanut butter. Stir until creamy and uniform.

Before

After

Step 6: Toss the salad, chicken and salad dressing together.

Step 7: Plate out each serving. Drizzle peanut sauce, chopped peanuts, ramen and sesame seeds over each serving. Enjoy!

Prosciutto, Brie, Fig and Arugula Sandwhich

I had this sandwich at a restaurant recently. Since the restaurant isn't very close to my house I figured I'd try recreating it at home.

What You Need

Soft Baguette

Brie

Fig Jam

Prosciutto

Arugula

What To Do

Step 1: Cut the baguette to the length desired for you sandwich. Then cut that piece in half.

Step 2: Spread fig jam on the inside of half of the baguette piece.

Step 3: Cut enough slices of brie to cover the other half of the baguette piece. If you are using a softer brie you can just spread it on.

Step 4: Add prosciutto and arugula.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Vermicelli Noodle Bowl

This is a quick and healthy dinner! The list of ingredients is a little overwhelming but you can always substitute, replace or even add ingredients. If I don't have lettuce on hand I will replace it with cabbage or sometimes I add other vegetables I have lying around.

I get my Vermicelli noodles at the local Asian market. They are much cheaper and they have a much better selection then the big name grocery store. I like to buy ones that are already portioned into servings. They are much easier to deal with then vermicelli noodles that come in a big chunk.

What You Need

Makes 2 servings

2 servings of Vermicelli Noodles

2 dozen Small Shrimp

1 1/2 Small Lettuce Heads

2 handfuls of Bean Sprouts

1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

1/4 cup Cilantro

1/4 cup Mint

1 dozen Basil Leaves

2 tbsp Lightly Salted or None Salted Peanuts

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Green of 2 Green Onions

For The Sauce

1/3 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Hot Water

1/3 cup Fish Sauce

1 tsp Crushed Garlic

1 tsp Dried Red Pepper Flakes

What You Need To Do

Step 1: Start boiling a pot of water for the Vermicelli noodles. Heat up olive oil in a pan on Medium. When the olive oil is warm add the shrimp. Stir the shrimp occasional until they are fully cooked. 

Step 2: Once the water is boiling add the Vermicelli noodles. After 1-2 minutes drain the noodles and set them aside.

Step 3: Wash all the vegetables. Cut up the lettuce, mint, cilantro and green onion. Chop up the peanuts into small pieces.

Step 4: Heat up the water in the microwave, in a microwave safe container, for 1 minute. Add the sugar to the hot water. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. If the sugar doesn't dissolve put the water and sugar mixture back into the microwave for 45 seconds. Once dissolved, stir in the fish sauce, crushed garlic and dried red pepper flakes. 

Step 5: Assemble all ingredients. Start with the noodles on the bottom, then add the veggies and shrimp, top it off with the green onion and chopped peanuts. Pour 1/2 the sauce on top of each serving. Enjoy!

Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese

This is a quick and tasty dinner. It only took me about 15 minutes to make.

I never measure when I cook but this is about the amount of each ingredient I used. Feel free to use more or less of an ingredient or use a different cheese. Whatever suits your tastes. 

What You Will Need

Makes 2 sandwiches

3 cups Fresh Spinach 

2 tsp Crushed Garlic (or substitute with 1 clove of garlic)

3 tbsp Artichoke Anitpaste (or substitute with 3 artichoke hearts)

1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese 

4 Slices of Bread

1 tsp Olive Oil

What To Do

Step 1: Wash and chop the spinach. If you are using garlic cloves and/or artichoke hearts chop them as well.

Step 2: Heat the olive oil and garlic in a pan on Medium-Low to Medium heat. Add the chopped spinach. Once the spinach has started to wilt add the artichoke.

Step 3*: Lay 2 slices of bread in a pan. Add 1/4 of the cheese to each slice of bread. Then add half the artichoke/spinach mixture to each. Add the rest of the cheese. Grill on Medium heat until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown.

Step 4: Enjoy!!!

*Optional addition: Prosciutto! I added it at the last minute. The sandwich is great without it but if you need/want meat I suggest prosciutto.