My Favorite Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce (or to taste)
2 tablespoons Splenda (or sugar or brown sugar)
1 heaping teaspoon fresh chopped garlic (a couple cloves)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 drops tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1/3 cup hot water

Mix everything together and pour over soba noodles or spaghetti noodles. Makes a couple cups (2-3 servings).

Also try:
Add chicken or tofu
Add fresh broccoli
Use brown rice instead of noodles
Add 6 drops of sesame seed oil
Substitute a third of the peanut butter with sesame tahini
Top with fresh scallions and edamame

Chili Stew

3 14 oz. cans spicy chili beans
3 14 oz. cans crushed or diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
3 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 bundle of broccoli, cut into heads
1 tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
hot sauce or tabasco sauce to taste

Put everything except for the broccoli into a crock pot and cook on high for 1 hour. Turn heat to low and cook for 3 hours. Add broccoli and cook for another hour on low.

Makes a ton! About 10 servings or more. (To make less leave out one can of beans and one can of crushed tomatoes.)

Key Lime Bars

Crust:
1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (about 2-3 Key limes total)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs (for garnish)

Just before serving top with:
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. (Leave oven on.)

2. Make filling: Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

3. Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Sprinkle the 2 ½ tablespoons cracker crumbs over top. Bake, rotating dish halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).

4. Cut into 2-by-2-inch bars. Put cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime. Ungarnished bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

makes about 16

Cherry Vanilla Ice Milk

3/4 C sugar
2 C Heavy Cream
1 C milk
1 tsp Vanilla
2 C fresh or frozen cherries, chopped in food processor

Combine sugar, cream, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into ice cream maker and churn. When just starting to thicken, add cherries. When soft-set, pour into freezer safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Serves about 6

Oatmeal Pancakes

2 eggs
2.25 C buttermilk
1/4 C oil
1 C old fashioned oats
1 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon (I usually use 1 tsp)
1 Tbs honey

Beat together first 3 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and stir until just well blended. Fry on a hot griddle.

Convert recipe for waffles by using 1/2 cup of oil (as opposed to the 1/4 C)

Makes 20 four inch pancakes (1/4 C batter per pancake), generally serves 3-4 people if it's there isn't much additional food.

note: I find that the batter makes better pancakes if it's allowed to sit for a few min. before cooking- that gives the oats some time to absorb some of the liquid. Otherwise, the batter is too thin. If you're in a rush, you can get away with adding a little more flour.



Nutrition Facts (per pancake)
Serving Size 56 g

Amount Per Serving
Calories 81
Calories from Fat 34

Total Fat 3.8g-6%
Saturated Fat 0.7g-4%
Cholesterol 20mg-7%
Sodium 162mg-7%
Total Carbohydrates 9.1g-3%
Dietary Fiber 0.6g-3%
Sugars 2.4g
Protein 2.8g

Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 5% • Iron 7%

Nutrition Grade B+

Peanut Noodle Salad

1 8 oz. package soba noodles (or you can use whole wheat spaghetti noodles)
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segements

3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
6-10 drops tabasco sauce
splash of soy sauce
cayenne pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/4-1/2 cup hot water

1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup peanuts

Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the soba noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.

Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, tabasco sauce and a huge pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.

Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions and peanuts with a big splash of the dressing. I reserve a bit of each ingredient to sprinkle on top of the serving platter to make it look nice. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed, and enjoy!

Bruschetta

25 french bread slices, preferably baguette size
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups diced tomatoes
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place bread slices on large cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until bread is crisp and slightly golden brown.

In a large mixing bowl combine tomatoes, cheese, garlic, basil, vinegar, thyme, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Blend well, cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours. This makes a ton! Spoon on top of bread slices.