Singapore Noodles... Yummmm

I've had this dish at a local Asian Fusion restaurant a few times and just loved it so when my hubby said Asian for dinner I had a spark of bravery and decided to give this a try. As dinner time grew near, I got nervous for what I had gotten myself into, but trusted my culinary skills and went for it. We were both glad that I did, it was delicious. Not quite as good at the restaurant but close. And with a few tweaks next time I think it will be even better.

First, I will say that like most Asian dishes, this dish moves FAST!!! My arm was tired by the time I was finished. You have to prep everything in advance, and even with that I forgot two ingredients. Hence, part of the modifications for next time, include everything on the recipe, LOL!!!

The other thing I will change next time is the addition at the end of tossing the pasta with a little oil to add a little moisture. This is a "dry" noodle dish but even still, I would like just a little more moisture.

So here it is... recipe courtesy of the Food Network.

1 pound thin rice noodles, soaked in cold water for 2 hours, and drained2 skinless chicken breast, 1/4-inch strips
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Canola oil, to cook
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 cup scallions batons, 1-inch lengths
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 pound bean sprout, picked
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 onion, julienned
2 eggs, lightly scrambled
2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
Salt and white pepper to taste


Marinate shrimp and sliced chicken together in soy sauce, wine, cornstarch and white pepper for 20 minutes. In a hot wok coated well with oil, stir fry ginger, scallions and garlic. Add marinated shrimp and chicken to oil and stir fry quickly for 30 seconds to one minute. Remove shrimp and chicken and set aside. Use same oil to stir fry bean sprouts, peppers and onions. Season and cook for 1 minute and set aside. Wipe out wok and coat well with oil. When oil is smoking hot, add 2 beaten eggs and rotate the pan so as to quickly spread the eggs into a pancake shape. While the egg is still partially fluid, add rice noodles to the wok. Stir and fold noodles and the eggs should be broken up into small pieces and dispersed uniformly. Continue to stir to avoid noodles from sticking to the pan. Add curry powder and check for seasoning. When noodles are steaming hot, add back shrimp, chicken and vegetables to the noodles and continue to mix and stir until everything is steaming hot.

Gifts for the Modern Baby

I don't do much promotion in this space but I thought tonight I would share with you some of the wonderful work from my sister in law. She is so talented and makes beautiful baby bibs, burp cloths, lovies, and quilts. She shops for the most unique designer fabric and has a real eye for the modern baby.

If you're in the market you can check her out at Sew Quilt Mom on Etsy

Here are some of my favorites...

24 Books of Christmas

I have seen a few blog posts with this idea to do a 24 books of Christmas instead of an advent calendar. I fell in love with the idea because I've got a budding reader on my hands. My son Nathan is in first grade and has always loved to read. Now he can do a lot of the reading and practice makes perfect!

I knew I could not afford to buy 24 new books so when the Denver Porch sale event came up I knew I had a mission. Find used books!!! I had no problem finding early reader books as I went from house to house. And when the morning was complete, I had 21 books for $8!!! I was so pleased. I picked up a few new books to complete the pile.

Every night Nathan loves to pick out a new present. It took a few days until he figured out that they were all books :)

Crafty Plans for Christmas

I am so fortunate to have a son who shares in my crafty ways. With this comes the allowance to indulge in as many Christmas crafts we can squeeze in before this glorious holiday is upon us.

This week I was able to steal a precious day alone with my bestie who is expecting her third child. Our  aim was to fill our bags with as many Christmas crafty supplies to indulge ourselves and our children in one of the many things that are precious about this holiday.

Here is my plan...



Christmas village from All for the Boys



Pine cone Trees from Givers Log



Tree Stump ornaments from Pinterest (sorry, but I wish I knew who you were)



Glass Bead Ornaments from Kaboose



Painted Ball Ornaments from A Yellow Bicycle



Giant Snow Flakes made from Popsicle sticks (I wish I knew where this was from but the link says it's not safe :(



Wall Felt Tree from Sol and Rachel



Thumb Print Ornament from Fabuluster

Now here's hoping I can get some of these finished by Christmas!!!

Custom Pirate Brothers

Meet Joe and Sam.

Little brothers who's Mommy was thoughtful enough to have special little pirates made just for them for Christmas.

Thanks Katie for supporting my humble shop!

The dolls were made with specific hair and eye color and cost $40 each.

You can order custom made dolls from me at my Etsy shop

Pickled Hot Peppers

This weekend I just couldn't resist the lovely basket of peppers at the farmers stand. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do but I new they were too nice and too cheap to pass up. Just one of the many benefits of country living, local seasonal produce from May to October.

I've been going to Evergreen Acres for many years. When we moved into our house this farmers stand was a little shed along the side of the road with two little tables and an always friendly Mennonite girl behind the register.

It has since grown into a large barn with a beautiful display of produce all season long. Often when I'm there I see the man of the house gathering produce from the garden beside the barn to bring inside for sale. I've seen the horse drawn wagon bring corn freshly picked from the field. It's a lovely place. Fall is no different at Evergreen Acres. But with fall comes the slight sadness that the season will soon come to an end.

 So back to the peppers. I saw this bucket and knew I could do something with them. They were going home with me!!!

So I pickled them. This was very easy and my only wish is that I could have found the lids for my medium sized canning jars but I made do with what I had.

What you will need:

3 c. white vinegar

2 c. water

3 cloves garlic

1 lb. hot peppers

Canning Jars and a big pot

*** I don't have the fancy canning equipment but it works just fine for this small amount of canning to use your stock pot.

Wash canning jars.

Bring water to a boil in large pot.

Add canning jars and lids all separate in the large pot to get nice and hot.

Bring water and vinegar to a boil. Add garlic (skins removed)

Slice peppers about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. You can keep the seeds or not, just watch out, they make your fingers hot for a long time. I hold the peppers by the stem and chop from the bottom up. This avoids touching the seeds. Or if you're more cautious you can use rubber gloves.

Remove your canning jars from the hot water (dump water out) and stuff full of peppers.

Pour the vinegar/garlic water into the jars to cover.

Add lids and screw tight.

Add jars back into large pot so that they are covered with water.

Boil for 10 minutes and then remove.

Set them onto a dish towel on the counter so they don't make a watery mess.

I use tongs to remove them from the pot.

Let sit until you hear the lids pop. This tells you they are sealed.

Let cool completely.

They are safe in the pantry for 1 year.

Some ideas to use your peppers...

Chili, Nachos, Quesadillias, really any recipe that calls for hot peppers

I have an awesome recipe for Jerk Pork Nachos and these work perfect.

Pulled Jerk Pork

Diced Pineapple

Diced Pickled Hot Peppers

Cheddar Cheese

Tortillia Chips

Put under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese and serve with sour cream. 

Yummo!!!

Freeze Cookie Dough

Who likes fresh baked cookies? I do, I do!!!

Who needs the four dozen cookies that a batch typically makes? I don't, I don't!!!

This weekend I made a super yummy cookie from Six Sisters Stuff,
Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip

But I decided to bake half the batch and freeze the rest. This is super easy and nice for the weekend when you want a little treat but don't have the time.

Scoop cookie dough onto a lined cookie sheet. This time I used wax paper but you can really use anything, saran wrap and parchment paper work fine too.

Put the cookie sheet into the freezer and let the balls freeze completely.
I typically let them in overnight.

Then dump into a freezer bag.

And write the cookie name and baking directions on the outside of the bag.

Done. Cookies anytime!