Favorite Friday Recipe: Simple Sesame Noodles

Another great Pioneer Woman recipe!  B loves sesame oil so he definitely gave it a thumbs up!  I was planning on using soba noodles but had thin spaghetti on hand and surprisingly they worked well.  I added shrimp, mushrooms and edamame to make it a full meal.  Next time I'll try chicken and broccoli, and maybe pork and another vegetable too!

Simple Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
• ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar (I may have added more here)
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil (I think I used 2 tbsp)
• ½ teaspoons Hot Chili Oil (didn't have so I left it out)
• 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil (left this out too)
• 2 Tablespoons Hot Water
• 4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Directions:

• Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
• Stir fry  meat and vegetables of your choosing along with some garlic
• Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat
• Add your meat/vegetables
• Sprinkle with green onions and toss
• Serve and prepare to eat your weight in pasta!

Favorite Friday Recipe: Crispy Peanut Butter Cup Bars

If you're a fan of peanut butter, this is the recipe for you!  From Tasty Kitchen:

Ingredients:

• 3-½ cups Powdered Sugar
• 1-½ stick Butter, Melted
• 2 cups Natural Peanut Butter
• 3 cups Rice Krispies
• 16 ounces, weight Semi-sweet Chocolate

Directions:

Mix the powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter, and Rice Krispies together in a large bowl. Lightly butter a 9×13 baking dish, then spoon in the peanut butter mixture. Use a spatula to spread evenly. Melt the chocolate, then layer evenly on top. Refrigerate for an hour or two, then cut into bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Note: If using processed peanut butter (Jif, Peter Pan, etc.), decrease sugar by at least 1/2 cup. Also, use whatever chocolate you like best—anything from milk to bittersweet to something in between! 

My personal favorite chocolate to use when baking is Guittard milk chocolate.  Here's the finished product served up on my new (to me) Riviera plate!

Favorite Friday Recipe: Bacon wrapped pineapple bites

You know my love for the Pioneer Woman.  Well she has launched Tasty Kitchen where readers share their recipes and this is one of my favorites!

I especially love the hint on placing these wrapped goodies on a cooling rack with a foil lined pan underneath which will catch all the drippings while it bakes.  In my case, after the first almost smoke alarm fiasco, I put down two layers of foil and took the first layer off after half of the cooking time so the juices didn't burn and smoke and create havoc everywhere.  These are well worth the lingering smoke smell in my kitchen though.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bacon
• 1 can large chunk pineapple
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

• Set oven to 375F
• Cut bacon in half (I did thirds) and dredge through a shallow bowl full of brown sugar
• Place a chunk of pineapple on one end of the bacon, roll and secure with a toothpick
• Double line a pan with foil, place cooling rack on top and place the rolled pineapple chunks on the rack
• Bake 10 min then take out the first layer of foil with the dripped juices on it
• Bake another 10-15 min, you can set it on broil for the last 2 minutes or so (unless there is an alarming amount of smoke coming out from your oven.  Then you should just open all the windows, hustle your puppies into their crates and turn on the oven vents and all fans in the house)
• Let cool for a few minutes and then serve!