Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

 

 

 

This recipe was amazing- I am SO relieved that all the selections from our Meal Plan have been so yummy.  Jenny Collier is wonderful!  It’s a little scary when you commit to a month of recipes that you’ve never made before.  I did take a moment to look through most- in order to plan which would take more time and therefore should be made on the weekend.  While this recipe was easy to make, it did take some prep time, I was wishing we’d planned it for a weekend instead.

I prepped it while watching Knox and Jason play in the living room, it’s rare that he’s home early with us- so I thought I would get dinner started….  but sorta wished I was over there with them instead!  It started innocently by turning the oven on to roast up the squash.  I told myself, after bath/ bed for the baby– then I could easily finish the recipe and we’d eat in no time, it’d be nice to have squash ready.  Then it sucked me in one ingredient at a time- I only needed to chop the onion and garlic and green onions… shred some carrots… mix the sauce in a bowl… then I would go play with them… then I saw the meat- “I could just get the shrimp peeled and deviened too…. then it would be so easy for later to cook everything”… and finally,  ” well I should also chop up the chicken while I’m at it”.  And then it was an hour gone and dinner was completely prepped, I had 20 good minutes before Knox was too tired to keep his head up, but we ate a great dinner.

I used a recipe as a base for this but altered everything for what I know and love about Pad Thai.  We made our own peanut sauce for dipping as well- it was amazing.  Finish with a bit of lime juice, and it’s perfection:

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Makes 4 servings

30-45 minutes of prep for cooking squash and chopping ingredients

10-15 minutes of active cooking

Ingredients

2 medium-sized spaghetti squash

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 red onion, chopped

4 carrots, shredded  ( reserve some for serving)

1 bunch of scallions, chopped ( reserve some for serving)

10 large shrimps, diced

2 chicken breasts, diced

canola oil, for cooking

1 lime,  ( for serving)

Sauce

1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce

3 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground garlic

1 tbsp peanut butter

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cut spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, drizzle each flesh side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place squash cut side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Roast in you preheated over for 45 minutes, until squash is fork tender, then set aside to cool before scooping out the squash “noodles” with a fork.

3. In a small bowl mix together sauce ingredients and set aside

4. In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp canola oil, and saute with your chopped garlic, red onion, carrots, and scallions (and any other veggies you like)

5. Once cooked down, add shrimp and chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes, until protein is cooked

6. Add in spaghetti squash (approx. 3 cups) and sauce mixture, mix well to combine

9. Taste and adjust spices to desired liking*

To serve: Top with extra scallions, shredded carrots and a squeeze of lime.  If you like it saucy add this Peanut Sauce as well:  in a small bowl mix 2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce, 2 tbsp peanut butter and enough rice vinegar, to smooth to desired consistency, using a fork to mix.

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Surf and Turf with refreshing Gin and Tonics

With a whole 5 more days off work, we settled in to our grilling mode in the courtyard at home.  The sunshine and warm weather has been a real treat, but to celebrate our enormous accomplishment of riding our bikes to Fulton Market for fresh fish and meat, we grilled some really amazing surf and turf.  With all this heat, gin and tonics are the way to go.  The shrimp and lobster were purchased from Isaacson’s, best spot for fresh fish in town folks, and our favorite butcher, Olympia Meats, hooked us up with the perfect New York strip steaks.  Getting the freshest meat is the hardest part of this meal, make sure it’s fresh and cook it the same day you buy it.

For the steak:

kosher salt

pepper

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2T Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper the steaks, then in a small sealable container shake to emulsify the Evoo and sauce.  Drizzle over seasoned steaks and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Blot the steak with paper towels to avoid flare ups on the grill.  Cook over direct high heat on you grill for 2 minutes per side and then let cook an additional 4-6 minutes over in direct heat until desired doness is achieved.  Tent with foil and allow steaks to rest before serving.

For the Shrimp:

Peel and devien shrimp leaving the tails on.  In a bowl toss the shrimp with a drizzle of Evoo and salt and pepper.  Skewer the shrimp on metal skewers.  Cook over direct heat for 2-3 minutes per side.  Meanwhile,  In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup chopped capers, 1/8 cup Evoo, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, salt and pepper, and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano.  Toss in the grilled shrimp to coat.  Serve hot.

For the Lobster

With kitchen shears, cut the top back shell of each tail down the middle, then skewer the tail from the under belly between the meat and shell.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a small dish melt 3 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper, 1 T lemon juice, and 1 T parsley- chopped.  Cook the tails cut side down for 7-8 minutes between the direct and indirect heat of the grill.  Then flip them over moving the tails closer to the direct heat.  Using tongs spread the cut sides apart and baste the butter sauce inside the tails liberally, cook an additional 2-3 minutes checking often until the meat is cooked through, opaque.  Serve with additional butter and remove skewer before eating!  Yum 🙂

Gin and Tonic

(makes 5 cocktails)

5 ounces Gin

5 limes, juiced

1 liter Tonic

ice to serve

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher, leaving the lime rinds in the pitcher.  Fill  glasses with ice and pour the mixture in, place a lime half in glass to garnish.  Enjoy cold.

Now we are ready to enjoy some kayaking down the river… and see some fireworks! 

http://www.jasonrobertscott.com