Ants in Trees (Chicken Version)

Ok, so I really like the flavor of the Ants in Trees dish I made a few weeks ago, so I decided to play around with the recipe. I used chicken instead of pork, and chow mein rice noodles instead of cellophane bean noodles. And it turned out delicious! 

To make it you will need:

• 4 & 1/2 oz. RICE NOODLES (CHOW MEIN NOODLES)
• 2 oz. SOY SAUCE
• 1 Tbs RICE WINE VINEGAR
• 1 Tbs SAMBAL CHILI GARLIC PASTE
• 1 tsp CORNSTARCH
• 1 large CHICKEN BREAST, cut into thin strips
• 1 Tbs CANOLA OIL
• 4 GREEN ONIONS, chopped
• 1/2 cup CHICKEN BROTH
• 1/2 cup WATER

Start by soaking the noodles in hot water for 20 minutes in order to soften them.

While the noodles are soaking, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine, and chili garlic paste. Then whisk in the cornstarch. Once all of the ingredients are well combined mix the chicken into the sauce and allow it to sit for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.

After the noodles have soaked for 20 minutes, strain the water out and let them sit in the colander for about 10 minutes. 

Heat the oil in a skillet until it is hot and then add the chicken and marinade. Stir it continuously so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.

If you have them, add 2/3 of the green onions into the pan and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through. Then turn the heat down to medium-high and add the chicken stock and water. Cook for about 3 minutes more.

Next, start adding handfuls of the noodles into the skillet. Toss the noodles in the sauce before adding the next handful. Continue tossing the noddles and chicken in the sauce until a thick sauce forms. Top with the remaining green onions and serve!

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Ants in Trees (Chicken Version)

Ingredients:

• 4 & 1/2 oz. RICE NOODLES (CHOW MEIN NOODLES)
• 2 oz. SOY SAUCE
• 1 Tbs RICE WINE VINEGAR
• 1 Tbs SAMBAL CHILI GARLIC PASTE
• 1 tsp CORNSTARCH
• 1 large CHICKEN BREAST, cut into thin strips
• 1 Tbs CANOLA OIL
• 4 GREEN ONIONS, chopped
• 1/2 cup CHICKEN BROTH
• 1/2 cup WATER

Directions:

1. Soaking the noodles in hot water for 20 minutes in order to soften them.
2. While the noodles are soaking, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine, and chili garlic paste. Then whisk in the cornstarch. Once all of the ingredients are well combined mix the chicken into the sauce and allow it to sit for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
3. After the noodles have soaked for 20 minutes, strain the water out and let them sit in the colander for about 10 minutes. 
4. Heat the oil in a skillet until it is hot and then add the chicken and marinade. Stir it continuously so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add 2/3 of the green onions into the pan and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through. 
6. Turn the heat down to medium-high and add the chicken stock and water. Cook for about 3 minutes more.
7. Start adding handfuls of the noodles into the skillet. Toss the noodles in the sauce before adding the next handful. Continue tossing the noddles and chicken in the sauce until a thick sauce forms. 
8. Top with the remaining green onions and serve!

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Chicken & Noodles

Last weekend my husband and I caught an episode of The Pioneer Woman on Food Network and she made a chicken and noodle soup that we both though look wonderful! So naturally, it made it on our list of meals to make for this week! And it did in fact taste wonderful! We did make a few changes though.

The ingredients you will need are:

• 1 ROTISSERIE CHICKEN (we prepared an extra chicken breast to make sure there was plenty of chicken, but I don’t think it was needed.)
• 4 CARROTS, diced
• 3 CELERY STALKS, diced
• 1 ONION, diced
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp BLACK PEPPER
• 1/2 tsp THYME
• 16 oz. FROZEN HOME-STYLE EGG NOODLES (we used Reame’s)
• 3 Tbs FLOUR

Start by cleaning the meat off of the rotisserie chicken and putting it aside in abowl. Put the skin and bones aside in another bowl. Do not throw away the bones! 

Once you have taken all of the meat off of the bones, put the bones and skin into a large pot that has been filled just over halfway with water and bring the contents to a boil. Allow this to simmer for about 30 minutes. This will create the base of the soup. After 30 minutes, remove the bones and skin and discard them. Take out 1/2 cup of the stock and set aside.

Put the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and thyme into the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.

Next, add the frozen noodles (about half the bag) and simmer for another 15 minutes or until they are cooked through. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the flour and 1/2 cup of stock that was set aside and then add them into the pot to thicken the soup.

Once the noodles are cooked through, the soup is done! You may want to add more spices, but this combination worked for us!

After each having a bowl, my husband and I let the soup cool, and divided it up into 8 sandwich baggies (we put about 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups in each baggie). We then put the baggies of soup into the freezer! Just ignore the leftover margarita ;)

We realized that we have been eating a lot of canned soup lately and in turn, we have been consuming a lot of sodium. So this is our attempt to try to substitute a healthier option when we are too lazy to cook, or need a snack in the middle of the day.

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Chicken & Noodles

Ingredients:

• 1 ROTISSERIE CHICKEN (we prepared an extra chicken breast to make sure there was plenty of chicken, but I don’t think it was needed.)
• 4 CARROTS, diced
• 3 CELERY STALKS, diced
• 1 ONION, diced
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/4 tsp BLACK PEPPER
• 1/2 tsp THYME
• 16 oz. FROZEN HOME-STYLE EGG NOODLES (we used Reame’s)
• 3 Tbs FLOUR

Directions:

1. Start by cleaning the meat off of the rotisserie chicken and putting it aside in a bowl. Put the skin and bones aside in another bowl. Do not throw away the bones! 
2. Once you have taken all of the meat off of the bones, put the bones and skin into a large pot that has been filled just over halfway with water and bring the contents to a boil. Allow this to simmer for about 30 minutes. This will create the base of the soup. After 30 minutes, remove the bones and skin and discard them. Take out 1/2 cup of the stock and set aside.
3. Put the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and thyme into the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the frozen noodles (about half the bag) and simmer for another 15 minutes or until they are cooked through. 
5. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the flour and 1/2 cup of stock that was set aside and then add them into the pot to thicken the soup.
6. Once the noodles are cooked through, the soup is done! You may want to add more spices, but this combination worked for us!

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Here is a link to the Pioneer Woman’s chicken and noodles recipe that we based our soup on: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chicken-and-noodles-recipe/index.html