Easy Sukhothai Pad Thai

Source: Modified from Sukhothai Pad Thai, allrecipes.com

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serving: 6 people

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tbsp tamarind pulp (optional, but recommended for authentic taste)
1 package dried rice noodles (12 ounces)
3 tbsp peanut oil (can substitute with canola oil)
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
4 eggs
6 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or shrimp, or totu)
1 1/2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups ground peanuts
1/2 cup pick;ed oriental radish
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
1 tsp chili powder
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions:
1. Soak rice noodles in cold water until soft (about 20 minutes), drained.
2. Marinate chicken with salt and pepper, with a dash of fish sauce.
3. To prepare Pad Thai sauce: In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, blend sugar, chicken stock, vinegar, fish sauce, and tamarind pulp.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and stir fry chicken until cook. Add noodles and stir until cooked.
4. In a small sauce pan, scramble eggs until partially cooked, transfer to the skillet.
5. Stir in Pad Thai sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Close the lid for about 5 minutes until the noodle soaked up almost all of the sauce. Stir in peanuts and radish and bean sprouts. Mix well. Add chives and chili powder.
6.Serve with lime on the side.

Note: If desire, can serve bean sprouts as a side for crunchy texture. When cooking tofu, add soy sauce for color and taste. The dish should be quite sweet, a bit tangy, and salty. Make sure the peanuts are unsalted, dry roasted.

Arroz Con Pollo (Spanish Chicken and Rice)

Source: simplyrecipes.com

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yield: Serve 8 people

Ingredients:

Chicken

8 pieces of chicken thighs

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of flour for dredging

Salt

Pepper

Paprika (or red chile powder, or chipotle chile powder)

Rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups of white rice

6 cups of chicken stock

1 cup of diced fresh tomatoes (or 1 cup of salsa)

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp salt

1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables

Instructions:

1. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. In another bowl, whip two eggs well. Dredge the chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (This part can be skipped, you can just marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika for at least 1/2 an hour). Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned, Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let the rice brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown (about 1-2 minutes). Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic, and rice mixture, stirring frequently until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3. Place the chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of the rice.

4. In a separate bowl, mixed together the chicken stock, tomatoes, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done.

5. Remove the chicken, fluff the rice with a fork. Mix in the frozen bag of vegetables and close the lid for about 5 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. 

Note: Add in crushed red chili pepper for additional spice, Put the chicken back and sprinkle with diced fresh red bell pepper for beautiful presentation. 

Meatball Nirvana

Source: allrecipes.com

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 lbs ground beef
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic or 1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
3/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 dash hot pepper sauce (~1-2 tbsp) or sriracha sauce
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Instructions:
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the beef into a mixing bowl and season with salt, onion, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 25-30 minutes.