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?

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

My kids love meatballs!  Do yours?  Through the years, I have purchased pre-made meatballs simply because of the ease.  Just pop them into a pan, pour over some sauce, heat, and eat. 

As I have aimed to try to eat a bit more health consciously, however, I have looked for a recipe that was easy to make, budget friendly, and a favorite of the eaters around my table.   While I like the ease of a pre-made meatball, I don't like the long list of ingredients/additives on the package or the heartburn that pre-made meatballs sometimes leave behind.  After experimenting a bit, I came up with this recipe that seems to be a winner.  I have taken this dish to a potluck and had several people ask me why my meatballs were so good compared to the ones they'd had before.  When I told them they were made from turkey, they couldn't believe it!

The trick to this recipe is getting the lean ground turkey seasoned well enough to have a lot of flavor.  The deglazing process (just pouring a little liquid into the pan that you brown the meatballs in) also adds a robustness to the sauce.  I have never tried to brown these meatballs in the oven; I have only browned them on the stove in a skillet, so I'm not sure if you'd get the same depth of flavor doing them in the oven without that deglazing process.  I also love the flavor that the Fire Roasted tomatoes (rather than just regular diced tomatoes or Italian seasoned diced tomatoes) bring to the sauce.  I also like to use kosher salt and fresh ground pepper in this recipe over regular table salt and pepper just because it seems to season the meat a little better.  Toss in a little parmesan cheese into the sauce as it cooks, and you're left with a meal that is up for a restaurant challenge anyday.

I will admit that this is a meal that I will make when I have a little bit more time to prep dinner.  It does take some time to mix and roll the meatballs, but they cook quickly.  Sometimes I'll roll and brown the meatballs, deglaze the pan, add the sauce, and then throw it all into the slow cooker to either continue heating or to keep warm until dinner time.  These also freeze and reheat beautifully if you're looking for a freezer meal or a recipe to add to your ministry meal file.

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground turkey
½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp onion powder (or 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh)
1 tsp garlic powder (or 2 minced cloves)
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Tomato Sauce:

¼ cup wine (to deglaze pan after browning meatballs; can also use beef broth)
1 jar favorite pasta sauce
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 bay leaf
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1.        Thoroughly combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
2.       Form into golf ball sized meatballs.
3.       Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet.
4.       Brown the meatballs, about 5-7 minutes on each side.
5.       Remove cooked meatballs from the pan and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
6.       Add the wine or broth to the skillet to deglaze the skillet.  You want all those little browned pieces to come loose; this gives the sauce a rich flavor.
7.       Add the pasta sauce, tomatoes, and bay leaf. 
8.       Bring to a simmer.
9.       Return meatballs to skillet and cook an additional 15 minutes.
10.   Add parmesan cheese to skillet and stir gently.

Serve over favorite pasta.  We like whole grain rigatoni or rotini with this particular dish.

Sorry there's not picture for this dish!  Our doorbell rang just as I was putting dinner on the table, and I got sidetracked and forgot to take the photo!  I'll try to add one next time we have these on our menu!

What's your favorite ground turkey recipe?