Thursday, March 15, 2012

A Jazzy Week

So I figured since Jer has been so wonderful to come and support me at all of my dance comps as of late and deal with all the rhinestones and glam, that it would only be fair for us to spend an evening doing something he loves. For FHE on Monday night, Jer and I went to dinner at Santa Monica Pizza in Lehi and then to the Jazz vs. Pistons game at the Energy Solutions Arena.

We started out in kinda nosebleed seats. But at half time Jer showed me the ways scoping out open seats in the lower bowl and quickly and quietly taking them. :o) We were literally 10 rows from the court. It was an awesome 2nd half. I'm kind of a baby about "rebellious" stuff like that so after my heart stopped pounding it was great. :o)

 It was really fun to do something different than the norm and get out for a date. 

Yesterday I tried a new recipe from a good old cookbook and it was delicious! It even used several ingredients from my Bountiful Basket! 



Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Recipe by OurBestBites.com
(I halved this recipe and we still had leftovers. It makes a ton!)

8 oz Linguine Fini (or regular linguine) (I used whole wheat linguine)
4 C shredded greens: any combo of napa cabbage, romaine lettuce or even spinach
2 C thinly sliced purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing (save some time and make this part ahead!)

Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add a spoonful of salt and then add your pasta. While pasta is cooking, start chopping those veggies.

You can really use any mix of veggies you want. I have a thing with rainbows, so whenever I make this type of salad I pick the vegetables purely based on color so I can have something in every shade of the rainbow.

You can play around with the leafy greens. I like to use both napa cabbage and romaine lettuce. If you're eating this right away lettuce works great, and spinach is even good in there. However, if you're taking it to a picnic, or serving it on a buffet or anything like that where it will sit a while, I recommend going heavy on the cabbage because it will stay nice and crunchy for ya.

As soon as your pasta is done drain it and run some cold water over it until it's cool. If you're not going to use it right away, add a drizzle of the salad dressing and stir to coat. This will prevent the noodles from getting all clumpy. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

When you're ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl.

Pour the Thai Peanut Dressing over everything, stirring as you go until you have enough to coat. I use it all!

Dressing:

1/2 C peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt*
2-3 t sriracha chili sauce* (I just used a few drops of hot sauce)
2-4 T water*

*The need for salt may differ depending on the brand of PB you use. Taste first and then add.
*I use 3 t Sriaracha, but you may want more or less depending on your preference of heat levels. Again, taste first and then add.
*Lastly, the addition of the water is purely for consistency which again, depends on the PB brand you use. Add water until you get the consistency you want, or leave it out completely.

Place everything in a blender and mix until smooth. Makes about 2 cups.

Jer and I are off to Mesquite this weekend for a show but I'm going to be making a gluten free dinner for my sister on Sunday so I'll keep you posted! For all you G.F.'ers out there, they have G.F. bread at Great Harvest these days! Check it out!

1 comment:

  1. So I totally keep up on your blog and I enjoy reading what you guys are up to! Plus you have some yummy looking recipes. What you said about moving seats at the Jazz game is totally how I feel too! We went to a Cardinals (baseball) game here and were way in nosebleeds, but moved down after the 4th inning or something. It took a few minutes for me to realize we weren't going to get in trouble, and then it was great! Funny how that happens. I guess it's an honest conscience. :-)

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