Shrimp and Noodles

There are some days when it seems as if nothing goes right.  Or at the very least things that should be relatively simple become oh so complicated.  This week has been just that. 

I try to get as much as possible done on the weekends so I don't have to worry about much at least for the first few days of the week.  I thought I did pretty well last weekend but come Monday I already had a to-do list.  I wasn't upset though because they were just little things here and there that were easy to fit in...or so I thought.  Let me tell you that not one of my to-dos got done without a massive complication.  Some things can be just a pain! 

Thus, I was some completely happy to realize that one of the dinners for the week was stir-fry.  This is one area that Mr. J knows how to get things done.  On stir-fry nights dinner will be good and I will have to do very little.  Well, let me take that back I will do the dishes and that is never a little task when Mr. J is in the kitchen but all of the same it is one good dinner and well worth the dish mess.


Mid-Week Stir-Fry Sauce
2 -3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flake
1 Tablespoon sriracha sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

My first thought was wow that is a ton of liquid.  We used about 1/2 of this container for dinner.  The rest will stay in the fridge for about two weeks.  

This sauce is fairly mild in taste.  We added more sriracha sauce as a final topping. 

Nutella No Bake Cookies

My mom is allergic to nuts. Her allergy is pretty bad meaning growing up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was a very, very special treat.  It was also quite the hassle.  The sandwich would be carefully made - all dishes immediately washed, I would have to sit in one spot eat very neatly, and then be washed from head to toe immediately.  The head to toe part might be a little exaggeration but not much. 

Needless to say, if a sandwich was this much work I could never have puppy chow, no bake cookies, or peanut butter anything other than a simple sandwich.  If someone happened to bring in one of these treats at school I would get super crazy excited. 

Since I was never around the No Bake process growing up I am kind of at a loss as to how things are suppose to go.  After seeing so many recipes online I thought I would give it a shot.  After all if you are not baking anything how hard could it be? I guess I got a bit ahead of myself as I made a huge mistake thinking I could tweak the recipe a bit to make it have a little less sugar.

Note to self: Do not change a new recipe of something you know nothing about!

They didn't end up a complete disaster.  The taste is actually really good, and they are plenty sweet.  I just think the texture and softness is a bit off.  At least I didn't have a huge gooey mess!

No Bake Nutella Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cups sugar (The original had 2 cups.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup whole milk (The original had 1/2C milk)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions:
Measure out 3/4 cup of Nutella in a small bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, measure out 3 cups of quick cooking oats. Set aside.

Line a couple of baking sheets with waxed paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, unsalted butter, milk and unsweetened cocoa powder.

Bring to a boil and stir frequently. Boil for a full 2 minutes and not less.

Then add in the Nutella, vanilla extract and quick cooking oats. Stir everything together.

Using a cookie scooper, scoop the cookie mixture onto the cookie sheets.

Seasoned chicken tenders

While I was away last week a package arrived in the mail for me from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.  Inside was quite the variety of Tostitos and Lay's Dip Creations seasoning mixes: Fresh Made Guacamole, Garden Onion and Country Ranch.  Why does all the fun mail come when I am away?  Its always bills when I am around to collect it.

Anyway it was perfect timing because I was planning on making chicken tenders for dinner. We opted for the Garden Onion package.

I used a simple egg wash as the first dip.

And I mixed about 3/4 whole wheat bread crumbs with the seasoning packet.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place chicken on greased cookie sheet. 

There was lots of chicken tenders.

Bake for 25-30 minutes till done, the crumbs will be slightly toasted.

Serve immediately.

Yum! I was a bit leery about if I would like this or not.  I am pretty sensitive to salty foods and packages like this are loaded with sodium.  These actually added a nice flavor to the bread crumbs. Overall the chicken tenders were pretty healthy as they were baked.

Also good as a salad topper which I had the following day for lunch.

I am looking forward to trying the other varieties of seasonings.  I am thinking the Country Ranch would be really good with the same recipe.