Piri Piri Chicken / Carrot Tabbouleh

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2013/08/2-golden-rules-for-substituting-meat-fish/#

I made both piri piri chicken and carrot tabbouleh and liked them both.  The chicken was great charred in the pan. I added the reserve sauce to the pan to cook it for a few seconds and it was great. Ila liked it too.

Chicken and Peanut Sauce Noodles with Broccoli

I bought some rice noodles from TJ's and wanted to make a peanut base for them. It is loosely based on this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-noodles-with-spicy-peanut-sauce-99918

12 oz fresh rice noodles (Trader Joes)
1 head broccoli, stem + florets, chopped
green onion, chopped
1/2 can or whole (small) can water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 lb raw chicken, chopped
sesame oil for sauteing

Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 T rice vinegar
1 T honey
3 T water
3 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

The noodles take only 2 minutes to cook so I did them last. The chicken and broccoli I started at the same time as the sauce, steaming until soft so that Ila can eat it easily. Without toddler, I would leave them a little bit crisp if possible.

Start water boiling for noodles in a pot. Put a little oil in a skillet and saute chicken. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a separate pot and heat up around medium. When broccoli is done, add to sauce. When the chicken has browned, add to sauce. Use chicken saute pan to saute the green onion after chicken has been added to sauce. Put noodles into boiling water when water is ready and other items are either done or nearly done. Cook for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Then add noodles to sauce and toss.

Anyway, all three of us liked it a lot. There was a small serving left over.

Notes: David prefers this over pasta. I've made it over rice pasta and it was good.

Next time try over ramen noodles.

Primal Breakfast Casserole

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-breakfast-casserole/

I used 2 lbs of rutabagas in this recipe. I couldn't find turnips. I used hot pork sausage. It was overflowing in a 2 quart 8x8 dish, and turned out to be too wet for my liking. I would make this again if I spread it thin in a 9x13 dish instead. I added red bell pepper and a green hatch pepper too. Ila did not like this. I'm not sure if it was the spice or the rutabaga, but she wouldn't eat any of it. David liked this a lot more than I did.

Notes: David said not to use hot sausage next time though, since it was overpowering. Especially for the leftovers.

Blueberry Pancakes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/todds-famous-blueberry-pancakes/

I double this recipe even for our tiny family (of me, dh, and a 1 year old) since it is so yummy and I want leftovers. I used fresh blueberries and it was so good. You don't need to wait an hour either, just cook as soon as it is mixed.

Rhubarb Crisp

I made rhubarb crisp tonight with some rhubarb I bought at the farmers market here. It was only a dollar for a bunch and was enough for this recipe. http://www.food.com/recipe/rhubarb-crisp-93946

I did put in only 1/2 cup white sugar, and increased the oats to 1 cup. David and I both really liked it. I would add in more rhubarb next time. I had a bit over 4 cups this time, but it could have done with 6 or 8 cups.

Update: It works best with something between 4-6 cups. Also the topping is great with just the 1/2 cup oats as called for in the recipe.  So in future, just have between 4-6 cups rhubarb and 1/2 c white sugar, with everything else as written.

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gf and sugar free variant:
filling:
1/2 cup honey
8 cups rhubarb
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup gf flour (bob's red mill)

topping:
1/2 c sucanat
1 cup oats
1/2 cup gf flour (bob's red mill)
1/2 cup butter

This was not very good. I used bob's red mill gf all purpose flour and it did not perform well with the wetness of the dish. It rose to the top to make a strange spongy texture on top. It has done this with a corn casserole too, which was a custard. So if I make this again I will use a different flour, maybe oat flour.
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gf variant #2

3/4 c sucanat
6-8 c rhubarb
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c oat flour (finely ground)

topping:
1/2 c sucanat
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup butter

This turned out great.