Spicy Peanut Noodles

Summer is the season for get togethers.  If you're in need of a new recipe to share at your next gathering, try this one for Spicy Peanut Noodles.  I first tasted this dish at my parents' house a few summers ago when my whole family gathered for a long weekend.  To ease the stress off my mom in preparing the meals, each family took a turn making things over the course of the weekend.  My sister brought this delicious noodle dish saying it was her new favorite.  After a few bites, it quickly became mine, too! 

I misplaced the recipe in one of my many attempts to get my large collection of recipes in order, but I recently came across it again and decided it was time to make up a batch of this tasty, cool summer side dish.  This dish comes together in less than 20 minutes of prep time, but it does taste better if it is refrigerated at least 4 hours or even overnight.  The flavors just sort of go through it better.  I like this dish for summer because it goes great with just about anything on the grill and is very picnic friendly.  I took this dish to our VBS potluck tonight, and the bowl was scraped clean in about 10 minutes.  I got several rave reviews for those "spicy noodles".  This is one that the kids don't like too much because it is a little spicy, but grown ups seem to really like it.  I used a box of pasta I had in the pantry that I picked up for less than 50 cents using an instore special and a coupon making this dish economical, too.

I have played around with the original recipe just a bit to fit our tastes and also make enough to take to fill the larger bowl that I often take to potlucks.  The only ingredient(s) that you may not have on hand is Sesame Oil and/or sesame seeds.  You can find both in the Asian aisle of the grocery store.  The sesame oil runs about $3.50 a bottle or so.  The toasted sesame seeds are a nice touch on top, but I have also made the dish without them, and it didn't affect the overall taste/texture too much. The fresh cilantro is key to this recipe, however.  I have made it without the fresh cilantro and it just doesn't taste the same.  I usually use spaghetti noodles, but you could also use fettucine or thin spaghetti.  I have not ever used a tube pasta with this recipe, but I imagine if that's all you have, that would work too. 

I did not manage to get a photo of this dish before the potluck.  Here in central Ohio, we were under a severe thunderstorm watch, and a BIG storm passed through here just as I was finishing up the dish.  Winds of up to 80 mph were recorded just a couple miles from our house and we had some pretty bad roof/shingle damage.  Needless to say, I was more concerned about finding the insurance info than setting up the photo shoot.  I'll try to snap a photo when I make them the next time and upload it then.

Here's the recipe:

Spicy Peanut Noodles
12 oz spaghetti (I used a full box of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta)
6 Tbsp canola oil
4 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 1/2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion (3-4 green onions)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts (I used my Pampered Chef chopper)
1-2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1.  Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente (about 10 min)
2.  While spaghetti is cooking, heat the canola oil, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes over medium heat in a small saucepan for about 2 minutes.
3.  Add honey, soy sauce, and salt and stir to combine; remove from heat.
4.  Drain the cooked spaghetti.
5.  Combine the spaghetti with the soy sauce/oil mixture. 
6.  Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
7.  When ready to serve, add chopped cilantro, peanuts, and green onions.  Stir to combine.
Top with toasted sesame seeds.

What's your favorite summer side dish to share?

Corn Casserole

I love Paula Deen, don't you?   I love her sparkling eyes, her sweet voice, and the inspiration from her yummy comfort foods.  I fell even more in love with Paula after reading her autobiography, It Ain't All About the Cookin'.  I think what inspired me most about this book (after the drooling stopped from her descriptions of some of her favorite dishes), was how she decided to make some incredible changes in her life, one small step at a time.  That first step was taken doing what she loves most - fixing yummy things to eat for the people she loves.

As you know, butter is one of Paula's favorite ingredients.  I, too, love butter, but my backside does not.  A few years ago I joined Weight Watchers to help me lose some of the weight I had gained during the pregnancy of our 3rd baby.  One of the best things about Weight Watchers is that there really are no foods that are off limits, you just have to learn how to limit the foods you like to eat and make healthier choices.  Although I am no longer counting points with the vigor I did a few years ago, I do try to still incorporate many of those smarter choices while preparing our favorite dish.

This corn casserole is one that I have "lightened up" from the original Paula Deen version to a point where the family can't tell if it's the original or the light version.  It's one dish I often take to potlucks, and my dish always comes home scraped clean.  It takes about 5 minutes to throw together, and you can keep most of the ingredients on your pantry shelf so you'll have a yummy dish to share in no time for under $3.  (that's less than the cost of a bag of chips these days!)

Here's the recipe:

Corn Casserole
3/4 stick butter, melted                                          
1 can corn, drained
1 can cream style corn corn
1 cup light sour cream
1 pkg Jiffy corn mix.


(I have also experimented using plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream with pretty good success.  It alters the texture slightly, but not horribly so.  I just didn't have any Greek yogurt on hand today.)




1.  Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray.
2.  Melt the butter in a casserole dish in the microwave.
3.  Pour in the remaining ingredients.
4.  Mix until blended.
5.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 until golden brown along the edges and firmed up in the middle.
6.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Here it is all mixed up and ready to go into the oven. . . .

One of the reasons I like this dish is because I can make it earlier in the day and then just throw it in the oven before it's time to eat.  You may have to increase the baking time about 5 minutes if it's cold from the frig.







And here's the finished dish. . . .

This is one of my 11 year old's favorite side dishes.  She likes to add a few shakes of salt and pepper to her portion at the table, but it's fine without adding any at all.

This dish is the perfect accompaniment to a saucy BBQ sandwich or ham.





Try taking this easy dish to your next potluck. You'll come home with an empty dish! And no one will guess it's been "lightened up" from Paula's original recipe!

What's your favorite Paula Deen dish?

Garlic Parmesan fries

I love hand cut fries, especially the ones at the fair! Come to think of it, I don't know if there is a French fry out there that I don't like. I used to buy bags of frozen French fries. They don't taste quite like the ones in restaurants or at the fair, but they do make a quick, easy to prepare, and tasty side dish to our sandwich meals.


As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have been striving to incorporate more healthy choices within our menu. One small change I have made is making my own hand cut fries rather than buying the bags of the frozen ones from Ore Ida. I realized that hand cut fries are not difficult to make, and I have had fun creating seasonings to jazz them up a bit. I have also found that I can make them for much less than the cost of the prepared fries. I can also better control the amount of fat and salt used in making them.


Here's a recipe for the garlic parmesan fries we ate this week with some beef brisket I pulled out from our freezer. Because I paired this fresh made side dish with a freezer main dish that just needed to be reheated, this meal was ready to be on the table with about 15 minutes of prep time. During the 45 minutes of bake time, I was able to help the kids finish up their homework. The smell of garlic from the baking fries had lured the kids from their playtime upstairs down into the kitchen. We completed our meal with a tossed salad and fresh pineapple.


Garlic Paremesan Fries
4 large potatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
2-3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1-2 Tbsp parsley


1. Scrub the potatoes clean removing any bad spots you might find.
2. Slice each potato into 4 slices (the long way) so you have 4 large ovals from each potato.
3. Cut each oval into 4 or 5 strips depending on the size of your potatoes.
4. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl.
5. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and toss to coat.

6. Sprinkle half the garlic powder and seasoned salt over the potatoes and toss. Sprinkle the remaining seasonings and toss again.
7. Place the seasoned fries on a large baking sheet in a single layer.

8. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven. Flip fries over after 30 minutes of cooking time to brown on both sides.
9. When fries are baked, remove pan from oven. Sprinkle fries with parmesan cheese and parsley. (I did not measure the amounts; I just sort of shook them on until they looked like something I would get at a restaurant)
10. Return pan to oven for a few minutes to melt the Parmesan just a bit. Add a few shakes of salt to taste if needed.


I chose to use garlic powder instead of crushed garlic cloves because the kids like the flavor of garlic, but they don't like the texture. You could easily substitute 3 crushed garlic cloves and the recipe would still be very good.

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, slightly salty, robust
with garlic, and topped with parmesan cheese...Yummy, yum, yum!

What is your favorite way to enjoy French fries?