Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

I got this off of my bloggin friend Summer's recipe sharing site. Yumm-o.
Peanut butter, lime, cilantro, garlic-be still my heart!
Here is the yummy yummy recipe, I served it with rice a green salad with sesame ginger dressing. Very very tasty.

• 1/3 c. soy sauce
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 t. lime zest
• 1/4 c. lime juice (I found that my lime that I 'zested' produced just a little more than a 1/4 c., so really you just need one lime).
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed (I added about 5-more is better is what I always say)
• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used chicken tenders, it's easier to cut them into bite size pieces I find, and less cutting off all the white stringy stuff)
• 1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1 T. snipped fresh cilantro (I might have added an extra tablespoon of this too, sue me)

In bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, lime zest and lime juice. Press garlic into soy sauce mixture.

Reserve 1/3 c. soy sauce mixture for peanut dipping sauce and set aside.

Add chicken to remaining soy sauce mixture, (I cut the chicken into bite size pieces for easier eating for my kids, and who I am I kidding I feel like I am eating more if they are all cut up into bite size pieces, so really it's all for my selfish piggy wants)

Cover. Refridgerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Bake chicken 18-20 minutes.(I put mine on foil on a cookie sheet for easy clean up)

Add peanut butter and cilantro to reserved soy sauce mixture.

Whisk until smooth. Serve with chicken. (And your fingers)

Recipe by Summer Andrus

Yellow Curry with Rice

It might not be pretty to look at, but it is scrumptious to eat! (Unless of course you are a man in my family-for some reason they are not fond of this yummy spice that lights up my life.)

The recipe:
Start some white cal-rose rice in your rice cooker or on the stove.

• 2 regular size potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 c sliced carrots

PRE COOK THESE IN A CUP OF BOILING WATER UNTIL THEY ARE AT THE SOFTNESS YOU LIKE

• 1 lb of chicken tenders cut into cubes (you could also use thigh meat, I just prefer the white meat)

COOK YOUR CHICKEN IN SKILLET WITH 2 TSP SESAME OIL (OR ANY OIL-I JUST LOVE SESAME OIL)

• 3 T oil (again I prefer sesame, but any cooking oil will work)
• 2 T yellow curry paste (my Albertsons does not carry this, so I use a T of curry powder and another T of sesame oil to make my own paste, and have not been disappointed in the flavor)

HEAT OIL IN PAN UNTIL HOT, ADD PASTE AND STIR WELL, THEN ADD EACH OF THE FOLLOWING INGREDIENTS AND STIR WELL IN BETWEEN EACH ONE

• 2 c coconut milk
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp tumeric powder (this is what gives it the heat, add more if you like it hot, less if you want it super mild-this makes a pretty mild curry though)
• Pre-cooked chicken
• Pre-cooked veggies
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 1/2 T sugar
• 1/2 c water

WHEN IT ALL BOILS TOGETHER, THEN TURN DOWN HEAT TO A SIMMER, COVER AND LET FLAVORS ALL MELD TOGETHER

I added my rice at this point and made it into a more thick meal-but you can also just pour your curry soup over rice or just eat it sans rice.

You could also add 1 cup of onion to the soup if you like that sort of thing, as I mentioned before-we are not an onion eating family.

Lettuce Wraps

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 shredded carrot
• 1 shredded zucchini
• 1 sm. can of chopped water chestnuts
• 1/4 cup of chopped cashews
• teaspoon of Chinese 5-spice
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• optional: (well it's all kind of optional-I have done it without the cashews and water chestnuts and added coconut, or pineapple or a sechzuan seasoning to give it a kick, or chopped scallions-my mom puts in a broccoli slaw mix instead of the shredded carrot and zucchini-be creative)

1. Brown turkey in large skillet
2. Add other ingredients and cook through
3. Spoon mixture into lettuce leaves, and serve with rice

Recipe adapted from April Appah