Easy 30 Minute Recipe: Spicy Peanut Noodles

Welcome back everyone!! 

    Christmas is over and we find ourselves with a refrigerator full of "leftovers"!  Thankfully, we have a large freezer and decided to freeze half of our baked ham. mashed potatoes and collard greens.   

    Going through the refrigerator, I found a box of left over Lo Mein from Tuesday night.  I'm sure I'm not the only mother who eats the left overs so they won't spoil while the rest of the family eat something else.  right? right? 

    I love Asian food!  This dish requires peanuts and while "nuts" are really not good for my skin, it does not prevent me from eating, "Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce".  I just make sure that I limit the amount of times I eat it per month.  This sauce is essentially made with peanut butter.  The dish is meant to be spicy and served cold, but I prefer it warm with lots of veggies, so I created my own version of it. 

Ingredients: 

  Lo Mein Noodles (or cooked spaghetti noodles);
  1/2 Cup of Cilantro
  2 Tsp of Garlic
  2 Tsp of Ginger
  1/2 Large Yellow Onion
  2 Tbs Honey
  2 Tbs of Lemon Juice
  3/4 cup of Peter Pan "Honey & Creamy" Peanut Butter
  3 tbs of Soy Sauce
  1 Tbs of Red Pepper Flakes

Directions: 

    Peanut Sauce Mixture:  Combine peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, ginger, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a mixing bowl.  I suggest adding 1/4 cup of warm water to help loosen up the peanut butter.  Whisk until the sauce is smooth and well blended.  Add thinly sliced onion. 

    If your left over noodles are cold, heat them up in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  If you don't have left over noodles, you can use plain spaghetti noodles. Cook your spaghetti noddles as it is instructed in the box.  

   Add your noodles to the mixing bowl containing your peanut sauce mix and carefully mix them together until all the noddles are nicely covered by the sauce.  Add cilantro and your meal is now ready to eat!! 

Substitutions: 

Don't have some the fresh garlic or ginger? No problem, while fresh garlic and ginger is preferred, you can always use dry ingredients.  

4 Cloves of garlic = 2 Teaspoons of minced garlic or 1/2 teaspoons of Powder Garlic;
1 inch of fresh ginger = 2 tsp of Ground Ginger.

If you prefer your onions cooked  like my husband does, simply sautee your onions for about two to three minutes and then add them to your dish. 

Not a fan of spicy food? No problem, ignore the red pepper flakes.  

Extra Additions: 

Please feel free to add any kind of meat, i.e. thinly sliced chicken breast, shrimp, beef, even lightly fried tofu can be fantastically paired with this dish.