African Peanut Soup

Modified from modernproper.com with a few additions from Fitmencook.com

Eric didn't think was great.  He said there was "something missing." He thinks it was salt.

I didn't think it was spicy enough.  I added red pepper flakes afterwards. 

I didn't add sweet potatoes because too much work.

I didn't add kale because...Eric

I also seasoned the chicken/marinated chicken from Fitmencook's recipe.

Ingredients:

-chicken tenders

-1 medium onion, chopped

-1 Tbsp ginger, minced - I used 2 Tbsp or more and good

-1 jalapeno, diced --> use 2 serranos instead??

-4 garlic cloves, minced - used more

-1/2 tsp pepper

-2 tsp cumin

-2 Tbsp tomato paste

-1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes

-4 cups of chicken stock 

-1 cup of creamy natural peanut butter

-1 (14 oz) can of chickpeas, drained

-Veggies used: bell pepper trio (consider sliced jalapenos here, too)

-1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

Fitmencook's spices for sauce - I used for chicken marinade and didn't measure out just sprinkled, but he added to the sauce

-2 tsp smoked paprika (wouldn't use next time, too strong flavor, try regular paprika?)

-2 tsp ground coriander

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper - need more for spice

-2 bay leaves

Garnish (used the cilantro, but nothing else)

-cilantro

-lemon juice

-sea salt

-pepper

-chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. Cut and marinate chicken with salt, pepper, ground coriander (vs. cumin?), paprika? (not smoked?), and cayenne (use more). 

2. Cut veggies

3. Saute a little of the garlic + serrano --> add chicken. Set aside.

4. Saute garlic + onions + serrano until softened

5. Add ginger

6. Add pepper, cumin, tomato paste --> stir until paste darkens

*. Add sweet potatoes --> cook for another 3 min

7. Add crushed tomatoes, stock, peanut butter, bay leaves

*. Add sweet potatoes if you got them --> simmer for 15 min until potatoes tender

8. If no sweet potatoes, add in veggies + chickpeas and "simmer"

9. Add salt?

10. Garnish

I may try again with the sweet potatoes. Try adding after step 6 per Fitmencook's recipe vs. modern proper after step 7.

I changed recipe to use serranos instead of jalapenos or consider adding jalapenos as part of the veggies added

Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Recipe taken from Kevin Curry from Fit Men Cook app.

I didn't follow it correctly when I should have, and it ended up being too acidic (add lime juice, didn't add the sugar). Also, need to add less fish sauce because Eric doesn't like a lot.  I ended up adding Hoisin to his meal and he liked it better.  I also doubled the recipe because I was adding a ton of veggies.

Also the brown rice noodles instructions were to cook for 4-5 min, and I did 3 min, but still think it could have been less.  Just looked up a different way to cook them from KitchenSkip.com

1. Boil water

2. Turn off heat

3. Add noodles

4. Soak for 6-10 min

5. Drain

6. Rinse in cold water - rinsing makes it less sticky

Ingredients:

-Garlic, minced

-Chicken, diced

-Roma tomatoes, small diced - I used 3, but would do 4 like it said

-4 Tbsp fish sauce (do 3)

-4 Tbsp soy sauce

-4 tsp coconut sugar (didn't add, but need to next time)

-3 tsp lime zest (don't add the juice!)

-2 Tbsp thai chili sauce 

-32 oz tofu shirataki noodles - I just used 1 box of brown rice noodles and was perfect for 6 servings

-Thai basil, chopped

-Veggies used: 1 yellow onion, 2 bell peppers, 1 large zucchini - for 6 servings

Directions:

1. Cook garlic + serrano in pan.  Add chicken. Set aside.

2. Combine tomatoes, fish sauce, soy, coconut sugar, lime zest, and chili sauce into pan.  Cook for about 5 min, until tomatoes have created their own paste and sauce

3. Add veggies and cook

4. Add uncooked noodles????

5. Combine with chicken

6. Garnish with thai basil