Spicy Peanut and Pork Noodles

Right after Thanksgiving this year a funny thing happened.

Okay, so maybe not funny like HAHAHA gut bust funny, more like weird and unexplained funny.

Shortly after Thanksgiving I lost all and any desire to cook. To be honest, I also lost most desire to eat.

Nothing sounded good...EVER. The thought of cooking had similar effects to doing a downward dog position in yoga when you just want to curse your hamstrings for not being flexible enough. AND then you remember that this is yoga and you are supposed to be zen instead of cursing.

Basically food wasn't so much enjoyable. Then I started getting stomach aches every time I ate. Ack.

Don't worry, I still ate. I just didn't enjoy it. Good news is that I didn't pack on any holiday pounds.

I have no clue what was going on. I was sick off and on. I was experiencing higher than normal stress. AND just to clarify, I am absolutely NOT pregnant. Who knows. All I do know, is it really effected how I fed my family.

Since I never wanted food or to cook, there was a serious lack of meal planning. There was a lot of breakfast for dinner, plain pasta, quesadillas, sandwiches, and take out. Basically if it was easy, that is what I made.

It was really sad. My Little Men didn't seem to mind, but I felt really bad.

About a week ago, I was making a basic list for the grocery store. You know things like milk, eggs, bread, etc. Out of nowhere I suddenly had the desire to make something. I gathered my to try recipe pile. I picked a recipe. I bought the needed ingredients.

I went home, and I made dinner. I actually made dinner and I enjoyed making it.

What I made was this delicious Spicy Peanut and Pork Noodles.

These noodles were SO good. For the first time in a long time I actually enjoyed dinner. I even ate them for leftovers the next day. The whole family loved these noodles. They are a little less peanut buttery than THESE NOODLES that we also love. They also have the lovely addition of ground pork. While the title of the recipe says spicy, they are just spicy enough. None of my boys had any problem eating them.

The recipe comes together really quickly. It is also really filling, which really helps me out with a houseful of boys.

I can guarantee this is going into our normal rotation. A normal rotation which I am trying to get back into effect.

Fingers crossed for the return of my appetite, normal meals, and LOTS more of these Spicy Peanut and Pork Noodles.

Spicy Peanut and Pork Noodles
peanut blossom

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 Tablespoon vegetable/canola oil
1 lb ground pork
1/4-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
4 green onions, green and white parts, sliced and divided
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste (or ground ginger)
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 lb linguine noodles

Start water boiling too cook the pasta in. Cook pasta while preparing the rest.

Whisk the chicken stock, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook the ground pork until no longer pink. Add in the pepper flakes, half of the green onions, garlic, and ginger. Stir to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add in the sauce made earlier and the peanut butter. Combine completely. Once the sauce bubbles and starts to thicken turn the heat down.

Drain the noodles. Add the meat and sauce to the drained noodles. Toss to coat.

Serve topped with the extra green onions.

SO GOOD!
Enjoy!

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

Instagram        Facebook        Pinterest        Twitter

Take-Out Style Chicken Lo Mein

Noodles, noodles, noodles.

I love noodles. Not necessarily pasta...but noodles.

Lo Mein. Chow Mein. Love.

Good Chinese take-out makes me happy.

Sometimes it is hard to find good noodles.

So when you can't find good take-out, well you just need to do a fake-out at home.

Can't find the good noodles well then we shall make them.

Thank heavens for Yaki Soba noodles. They are refrigerated prepackaged noodles found in the same area as the wonton wrappers.

They make homemade take-out noodles divine.

Thanks to the prepackaged noodles, a rotisserie chicken, and a handful of other easy to find ingredients, this meal comes together super fast.

A super fast AND super yummy meal.

Yes, please. I will have seconds.

On a side note, I had to do a little research to determine if what I was making was Chow Mein or Lo Mein.

I discovered that Lo Mein is tossed noodles, while Chow Mein is fried noodles.

Now I know. Now you know, if you didn't already of course.

Now I don't have to be disgruntled that I haven't found a good Chinese restaurant yet.

I can have a Chinese restaurant right in my own home. Woohoo!

Chicken Lo Mein
adapted from Favorite Family Recipes 

Printable Recipes

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4-5 small packages of Yaki Soba noodles (there are 3 in each 17oz  regular sized package)
2/3  cup chopped celery (cut diagonally)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups chopped cabbage
1-2 cups shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken

In a small boy combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Set aside.

Remove the noodles from the packages and throw away the flavor packets. Rinse the noodles and drain.

Heat oil in a large wok. Add the celery and the onion. Saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to become soft and translucent. Add cabbage and saute the mixture for another minute.

Toss the noodles, chicken, and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium high heat for another 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are heated through.

Serve. Enjoy.