Thai inspired spicy peanut meal

This is a spicy and exotic meal I've made with chicken or shrimp and it came out quite well both ways. You can serve it over rice or as is.

1 lb. chicken OR shrimp
1 C carrots, julienned
1 C zucchini, julienned
1 onion, chopped
1/4 C peanut butter (chunky or smooth, your preference)
2 Tbs Sriracha hot chili sauce (available in the Asian section of the grocery store)
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 C chicken broth (or 1 C water and 1 tsp chicken bullion)
4 Tbs olive oil

1. Pour 2 Tbs olive oil into pan, allow it to heat. Add chicken and let it cook without touching it for 3 minutes. Flip chicken and let it cook another 2 or 3 minutes (keeps it tender). Remove chicken to a plate.

2. Pour remaining 2 Tbs olive oil into pan, add onions and carrots and cook them on medium high for about 5 minutes, until onions begin to caramelize - carrots might look a little dark but don't worry.

3. Add chicken stock, peanut butter, Sriracha chili sauce, and soy sauce. Add chicken and zucchini. Allow sauce to simmer for 5-10 minutes so zucchini can soften and flavors can meld while some of the liquid boils off. Taste it to see if you want some more sriracha or soy sauce, everyone likes different levels of spicy heat.

4. Serve and enjoy!

"Sneaky healthy" baked pasta

Penne pasta with sausage, peas, and fresh mozzarella

I call this "sneaky healthy" because it includes whole grains in the pasta and green vegetables along with tomatoes, but it looks and tastes like rich Italian comfort food so I can convince my husband to eat it.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound whole wheat penne pasta
1 can garlic herb marinara sauce
2 links Italian sausage
2 ounces fresh mozzarella
1 C frozen peas

Heat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Slice mozzarella thinly.
Boil noodles for about ten minutes, then add peas to the boiling water for two or three minutes just until they are no longer frozen. Drain pasta and peas.
Meanwhile, slice the sausage and brown it, ensure it's cooked through.

Place half of the pasta and pea mixture in the 8x8 glass dish, layer sausage, ozzarella, and marinara. Repeat, ensuring that there is plenty of marinara sauce and cheese on top so it looks pretty when everything is baked.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until everything is hot and cheese is melted.

Chocoflan - Marcela Valladolid

Here is a wonderful Chocoflan recipe from Marcela Valladolid. Her cookbook Fresh Mexico is excellent, I highly recommend it.

Chocoflan
From Marcela Valladolid’s cookbook Fresh Mexico
Caramel
1 C granulated sugar
Chocolate cake
½ C boiling water
½ C unsweetened coco powder
1/3 C whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 C all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus some for the pan
1 C dark brown sugar
½ C granulated sugar
3 large eggs
Flan
½ C evaporated milk
½ C sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter 10 inch nonstick Bundt pan (12 C capacity).
To make caramel, stir together the granulated sugar and ¼ C water in a large heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook, brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming, until the sugar melts and mixture becomes a dark amber color. Working quickly and carefully, immediately pour the hot caramel into the prepared Bundt pan, tilting it to cover the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Let the caramel cool completely 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Place caramel-coated Bundt pan in the roasting pan, and fill the roasting pan halfway with water.
To make the chocolate cake, whisk the boiling water and the coco powder in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk in the milk and the vanilla extract. In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Using the electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the flour and coco mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with the flour (the batter may separate; do not worry). Pour the batter into the Bundt pan.
To make the flan, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds on high speed, until smooth. Pour the mixture gently over the chocolate batter in the Bundt pan. Cover the pan with foil, and carefully transfer it, in the water filled roasting pan, to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F, and continue baking until the tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully run a small knife around the edge of the cake, invert the cake onto a platter. Cool for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled.

Mushroom brown rice pilaf

Easy, healthy brown rice pilaf made in the Crock Pot. This dish creates the creamiest brown rice I've ever had, the texture is similar to a risotto but it doesn't contain any cream or cheese so it's lower fat and safe for the lactose intolerant. If you're not a fan of mushrooms you could just omit them or add another veggie you enjoy. I think it would be good with shredded carrots or asparagus and feel free to brainstorm.

Ingredients:
5 cups boiling water
2 cups brown rice
3 ounces shiitake mushrooms
2 ounces button mushrooms
5 teaspoons low-sodium chicken or beef bouillon
1 package onion soup mix
2 tablespoons butter
non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
Spray Crock Pot with non-stick cooking spray. Put water on to boil while you assemble other ingredients. Add everything to the Crock Pot, pour boiling water over, mix to combine and cook on high for 2-3 hours.

Cabled hat

I made the pattern myself but I am still refining it, when the kinks are more or less worked out I plan to post it here and probably on ravelry.com