Zoodle Stir Fry with Chicken and Vegetables (Using the Veggetti)

• zoodles AKA zucchini noodles

Yesterday I made  Zoodles with Meat Sauce and it was out of this world delicious! I was the only one who ate the zoodles in my house so there were plenty of leftovers. I'm never one to let food go to waste so I made them again tonight. I spiralized a few zucchini, sautéed the amount I needed and put the extra raw zoodles in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. It kept really well until the next day. I'm still on my veggie kick so with my leftover raw zoodles I decided to make Zoodle Stir Fry with Chicken and Vegetables. I'm actually starting to get pretty creative with my Veggetti! Dave asked what my inspiration was for dinner tonight and I told him Wegmans. He looked at me with an odd look. I explained that I was at Wegmens and passed by their stir fry area and it looked and smelled so good. I knew dinner would include the zoodles so I thought that would be a great substitute for the rice or rice noodles. The ironic thing is when I was pursuing the produce isle for the stir fry veggies, I noticed that Wegmans sells zoodles now. It's in their prepared section. So if you are debating whether or not to get a Veggetti, or wondering how they taste or if you'll like them, just buy the prepared zoodles from Wegmans and give it a go. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The Zoodle Stir Fry that I made was delicious. We, I mean I should say I, didn't miss the rice and thought the zucchini was an amazing substitute. Dave thought it was great but I could tell he would have preferred rice. For the veggies I used broccholi, carrots, red pepper, bean sprouts and baby corn. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can really use any vegetables in your stir fry. Use what you have on hand or whatever you are in the mood for. You could also use any protein...steak or shrimp would be an excellent choice. Or keep it vegetarian. Or simply eat the zoodles alone with sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds. That was delicious all by itself. Whatever veggies or protein you decide to use in this stir fry you'll feel good knowing you're eating healthy.

If you are making zoodles for the first time or the 10th time, this is a recipe that will surely please your palate. Salute to zoodle stir fry with chicken and vegetables and eating healthy!

Vegetables

Zoodles

Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium-high heat

Saute chicken strips

Satueeing Veggies

The boys enjoy eating them raw and love the long the strands

Zoodles with soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds

Veggies plated, delicious and colorful!

Healthy and low carb

Zoodle Stir Fry with Chicken and Vegetables (Click to print recipe)

Prep and cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchini - spiraled using the Veggetti
• 2 tb soy sauce
• 1 tb sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1 pound chicken cutlets cut into strips
• 2 crowns of broccoli cut into small pieces
• 1 cup of sliced carrots
• 1 cup of bean spouts
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 1 can baby whole corn (In asian section of supermarket)
• 1 1/2 cups of stir fry sauce (I used Wegmans brand garlic and sesame stir fry sauce)

In a wok of large sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup of sesame oil over medium to high heat. Add chicken strips and cook until lightly browned about 3 minutes per side. Set chicken aside on a plate when done. Using the oil from chicken add vegetables that take longer to cook first, so add the carrots and broccoli and cook until al dente. Add 1/4 cup of water and continue to cook, continually stirring until water is evaporated and vegetables are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Now add pepper, bean sprouts and corn and cook for 5 minutes. Now add chicken and stir fry sauce and reduce to low heat. Meanwhile, sauté the zoodles in a pan over medium heat with a little sesame oil. Add soy sauce and sesame seeds. Cook for 3-5 minutes. There may be some excess water, simply drain. To serve: in a bowl add zoodles and top with chicken and vegetable stir fry.

Food Impressions:

Dave: "This is really good." I think he really liked this meal and although he didn't admit it, I think he would have preferred rice.

Andrea: Awesome, delicious, and so healthy! It was easy to make. And the zoodles were really good with a little sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds…I could have just eaten that!

Zoodles with Meat Sauce

During the holidays I always say to myself I am not going to over indulge on food and drink. I usually start off great and then all it takes is seeing a plate of homemade christmas cookie cutouts! That's my weakness. It's a slippery slope from there and I begin convincing myself that two weeks of binge eating is okay. When the holidays are over the guilt sets in, and hard! I say goodbye to my jeans for a while because nothing feels better than wearing black stretch pants with a long baggy shirt, every single day!

That's when I decide my diet needs to consist of tons of vegetables and lettuce. You may remember me referring to my rabbit food diet when I feel like I need to loose some weight. And nothing makes me feel better than eating lots of fresh veggies. So I'm on a mission to shed some of those extra pounds. My call to action: the Veggetti!!!

I love making zoodles with my Veggetti spiral cutter. Zoodles are basically cut zucchini strands that emulate spaghetti. The Veggetti cuts certain vegetables into long curly strands. I really enjoy using the Veggetti because it's easy to use and the clean up is a cinch. Plus, the results are outstanding. If you are looking to lower carbs and add more veggies to your diet, the Veggetti is a fun, creative way to prepare them.

Tonight I made Zoodles with Meat Sauce. It was superb. Oh and guilt free…total bonus! The boys were much more interested in making the zoodles than they were eating them. So I made the zoodles for myself and made spaghetti for them.

It takes minutes to spiral the zucchini and then minutes to cook them…it's really quicker than making pasta. Given that this was a weeknight meal I also made my simple meat sauce. I basically sautéd ground beef or you could use ground turkey and added it to my 5-Minute Marinara Sauce. The meat sauce gives the zoodles more substance and a punch of protein. You could also just add my 5-Minute Marinara Sauce without the ground beef and it would be just as delicious. As far as serving size, I usually go with 1 large zucchini per person. If you sauté the zucchini there will be excess water so simply drain the water before serving. Some advise prior to sautéing to lay the zoodles on a paper towel for 30 minutes to sweat out the excess water. Zoodles are very versatile and you can serve it with almost anything. The most basic recipe is sautéing it with garlic and olive oil…click to see my Garlic and Olive Oil Zoodles recipe. If you haven't tried zoodles yet, do your self a favor and buy this inexpensive gadget. You will love it and so will your waistline!

Salute to Zoodles with Meat Sauce and eating it guilt free!

Takes minutes to spiral the zucchini

So easy to do…Zachary having fun!

Zucchini strands come out long 

Zoodles sauteing

Simple Meat Sauce

Zoodles with Meat Sauce

Delicious, low carb, guilt free eating!

Zoodles with Meat Sauce (Click to print recipe)

Prep and cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 whole zucchini

For Meat Sauce:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
• 2 cans large whole tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 white onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t dried parsley
• 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper

In a large skillet sauté the ground beef or turkey until cooked through and drain oil. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients in a food processor on high until smooth. Add marinara sauce to the ground beef and heat over medium heat until it comes to a light bubble. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes. 

While the meat sauce it cooking, spiral the zucchini with the Veggetti. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large pan and saute the zoodles on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until its' tender. Add salt n pepper. 

Add zucchini to a plate and serve a large spoonful of meat sauce over the top. Add parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

Crockpot Tuna Casserole - An Oldie but Goodie!

So onto one of my New Years Resolutions for 2015…continuing to blog about our family recipes, experiences and food impressions.

The ski season has officially started for each of us. Dave's goal this ski season was to ski "first tracks" on opening day at Holiday Valley. Unfortunately he did not make it for first tracks due to the epic "Snowvember" storm, but he did get to ski that day. However, he was very proud that at least he made "first tracks" on the opening of the 219 when the driving ban was lifted! The boys are participating in Holiday Valley's Screaming Eagles Ski Program and are loving it. Zachary already took 3rd place for speed at the Eagles Nastar Ski Race. I got an awesome pair of new skis, but for me the ski season officially begins when I get to cook our first ski lodge meal. Saturday, January 3rd was the official day and the meal: Tuna Casserole. Yum!

There is something so exciting about waking up on a snowy morning and preparing our ski lodge meal. My inspiration for making Tuna Casserole is it's simplicity. When heading to the slopes I don't want to prepare a meal that requires a lot of fuss. I want to make something that's easy, delicious and keeps us warm on a cold winter day. Tuna Casserole is a meal I've been eating since I was a little girl and to this day I still make my mom's original recipe. Tuna Casserole is also a recipe that is near and dear to my heart because it's the first meal Dave made me when we started dating. His recipe, which is his mom's, is identical to my mom's. This is truly an oldie but goodie recipe. It's no wonder our boys always devour tuna casserole and always ask for seconds and thirds!

Since I made this in the crockpot I did make a few adjustments to our classic recipe. Nonetheless, it was still out of this world and maintained it's comfort food taste. What's so easy about the crockpot version is that you cook your noodles according to the package, add the ingredients and cook for 2 hours. That's it! I served it with pillsbury crescent rolls…another classic. It was a perfect meal for our first ski lodge meal. Everyone had seconds and there wasn't a noodle leftover. It warmed everyone's stomachs for hours. I am confident this is a meal my boys will be making for their children one day!

Salute to the ski season officially beginning, cooking ski lodge meals and eating Tuna Casserole- an oldie but goodie!

Add ingredients to the crockpot

Two hours later…comfort food goodness!

Perfect ski lodge meal

Look behind you Nate!

Asking for seconds

Need I say more!

Crockpot Tuna Casserole (Click to print recipe)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pasta or egg noodles cooked according to package (for this recipe I used rotini)
• 2 cans (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cans of albacore or chunk tuna in water, drained
• 1 can (10 -12 oz) sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup frozen peas

Cook noodles according to package depending on what type of noodle you use. Mix in mushroom soup and milk. Stir until well mixed. Gently stir in tuna, mushrooms and peas. Add salt n pepper to taste. Place tuna noodle mixture into a crockpot and cook 2-3 hours on low. 

Food Impressions:

Nate: "This is the perfect ski meal." He devoured his bowl in literally 5 minutes and he immediately reached his hand out and asked for seconds. My bowl hadn't been plated yet!

Tyler: "Can we have our ski lunches with you every time? This is really warming me up mom!" Tyler had seconds.

Zachary: "Make sure and give me lots of extra mushrooms." He has seconds.

Dave: "Delicious, great lunch, perfect for the lodge." He had thirds!

Andrea: An oldie but goodie. This is a classic comfort food recipe that is so easy to make. Will continue making this recipe for generations! My typical recipe cooked in the oven has a buttered bread crumb topping. I had seconds too!

Zachary placing 3rd!

2015 New Years Resolutions!

The boys and I worked on Native Offerings Farm during the summer. We made some amazing meals with the shares of fresh vegetables they gave us.

The ski season is back and so am I…I mean back to blogging that is! Looking back, it seems that most of my posts were done during last years' ski season. I think the winter months allow for more down time which in turn allows for more blog time. Even though I haven't blogged in a while certainly doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. Trust me, I've been cooking, a lot! The boys have also been cooking a lot as well, they even started their own cooking videos! Despite my incredibly busy family life, I continue to cook and try new recipes almost everyday. I try not to let anything get in the way of my passion for cooking. I don't think Dave and the boys would ever allow anything to get in my way, they love my homemade food too much!

I've taken so many pictures of the meals that I've cooked over the months but sadly I just haven't had the time to blog about them. If you go back to my very first post, you will see that my New Years Resolution for 2014 was to blog about my family recipes and their "food impressions", hence the name. My primary motivation for blogging has been to document and journal our family meals. The boys love it when I blog, and have missed it when I don't. After I cook a meal I often hear them say "Mom, are you going to blog about this meal cause it's so awesome!" Even many of my dear friends and family have missed reading my blog posts…in particular my biggest fans my husband Dave, Christa, Stephanie and my father-in-law! Thanks for the blogger love guys!

So as the new year begins here are my 2015 New Years Resolutions: 1) to continue to blog about our family meals and food impressions..when I have time that is! 2)To donate, purge and de-clutter the hundreds (thousands) of out-of-site, out-of-mind items in our basement storage rooms and 3) To do 100 leg lunges and squats per day…well, lets make that 50.

Salute to new years resolutions and salute to cooking many many delicious meals and creating memorable food impressions for my family and friends! Here's to a happy, healthy new year to all!

Carrots the boys dug out of the ground

We picked loads of tomatillos  

My chopped salad recipe with freshly picked vegetables

Just a sample of our share 

Roasted tomatoes and zucchini, bursting with flavor

One of the boys' jobs on the farm was to feed the pigs..the absolute highlight of the day!

Coq au Vin - (in other words, French Chicken Stew)

Coq au Vin

From the moment I woke up this morning I knew it would be one of those fall days where my mind, body and soul would yearn for comfort food and a glass of bold red wine. The sun was bright, the air was crisp and the wind blew briskly enough where I could hear the leaves falling from the trees. As soon as I got out of bed I poured myself a hot cup of coffee, sat at the kitchen table and started looking through some of my cookbooks. I have hundreds of them and the first one I pulled off the shelf was "Saveur Cooks - Authentic French." I quickly looked to see if they had a Coq au Vin recipe and sure enough they did. I don't think I've made Coq au Vin since last fall and for whatever reason the recipe on page 185 was begging me to make it. Maybe it was the bottle of rich red wine it called for, maybe it was the crisp bacon, maybe it was the earthy mushrooms, carrots and onions, or maybe it was the plump browned bone-in chicken it called for. Whatever the reason or ingredient that moved me to make this recipe, it was hands down the right choice for me and my family.

Making Coq au Vin requires several steps, so you need a chunk of 2 plus hours to make this recipe. I knew I had time the time so I really looked forward to "playing" with food today. Yes, playing with food is what I said. Come on, those of you who love to cook or bake know what I mean…cooking for the mere act of self pleasure and entertainment! I had so much fun making this meal and the end result was OMG delicious. My favorite part of making this recipe was pouring an entire bottle a bold red wine into my Le Creuset dutch oven. No, it didn't call for a measly one cup of wine, it called for one flipp'n bottle…how awesome is that!  My second favorite part was browning the chicken and bacon because it created the most flavorful aroma throughout the house. The boys were playing football outside and as soon as they stepped in the house they were like "Wow, it smells soooo good. What are you making?" I explained I was making Coq au Vin and of course they got a chuckle out of pronouncing the name but also said "What is that?" So I told them Coq au Vin is, in other words, a french chicken stew. Honestly, as long as it smells good, looks good, and tastes good they don't care what their food is called…nor does Dave for that matter!

Let me talk about taste for a minute…when I mentioned as soon as I woke up this morning I knew I wanted to make a recipe that would satisfy my mind, body and soul…this dish's taste and flavor over satisfied if that's even possible. The chicken was so tender and juicy it fell off the bone, the red wine sauce was rich tasting with layers of flavor you didn't want to put your fork down, and the vegetables soaked up the medley of herbs and spices which made it take on a whole new taste. I served the stew over egg noodles because they are light and airy but you could serve them over mashed potatoes or any pasta or serve them over nothing.  I also served a crusty french bread on the side so we could soak up all of the juices from our bowls. And I made sure to buy an extra bottle of french wine that the recipe called for so we could have a glass (or two) with dinner. This meal created quite a positive food impression on all of us. It was simply divine!

If you are looking to make a quintessential fall meal; one that will truly satisfy your mind, body and soul like it did ours, then look no further.  Salute to Coq au Vin, or in other words French Chicken Stew!

Medley of ingredients

Sauteing Vegetables in the bacon and chicken oil

Browned chicken and bacon

Adding one bottle of good, rich red french wine!

Zachary chopping the fresh herbs 

Love when my boys help me cook and create a delicious family meal!

Just out of the oven

Coq au Vin over egg noodles

Coq au Vin (Click to print recipe)

Preparation and Cook Time: 2 hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 roasting chicken cut into pieces
• 2 large yellow onions peeled and chopped
• 3 shallots peeled and chopped
• 5 carrots peeled and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves peeled
• 1 tb chopped parsley
• 2 tb chopped thyme
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bottle of good rich red wine like bordeaux or burgundy 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tb flour
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 3 thick cut pieces of bacon, diced
• 1 lb of small white button mushrooms
• 3 tb tomato paste
• 1 cup beef stock

Using a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium to high heat. Salt and pepper chicken pieces and brown on both sides until crisp. Add garlic gloves. When chicken is browned set aside on a platter. In same pan add bacon pieces and brown for about 10 minutes. Remove bacon bits from pan and set aside along with chicken. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms and shallots and cook until al dente about 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Add flour to vegetables and mix well. Add beef stock to scrape pan of the chicken and bacon bits. Add parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper and stir. Add chicken and bacon back to the pan and add cognac. Then add bottle of wine. Heat over medium to high heat for 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until well blended in wine sauce. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. bake in oven for 30 to 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, cook 1 package of egg noodles according to package. When done, add a spoonful of egg noodles to a bowl and add a large spoonful of chicken and it's red wine sauce over top. Serve with crusty french bread. 

Food Impressions:

Nate: "I love the sauce over the noodles and the chicken is so tender and juicy." 

Tyler: "Every time I take a forkful I get something different. Once it's bacon, then it's chicken then it's a piece of carrot. I think the combination of all of the ingredients are super delicious." 

Zachary: "This Coq au Vin or however you pronounce it is really yummy. I love the sauce and it tastes so good dipping the bread in it. Oh, and the mushrooms are so meaty tasting."

Dave: "This is the best Coq au Vin you've made. The sauce has depth and there are just layers of flavor every time you take a bite. The chicken is perfectly cooked, the vegetables aren't overly tender or mushy, and the egg noodles pair well. The wine is also a perfect pair with this dish."

Andrea: "I must admit, this dish was outstanding. The reaction of Dave and the boys regarding this recipe was priceless. This dish is quintessential fall comfort. It is great for a Sunday family dinner or it's great to serve for a fancy dinner party. I'm glad there were some leftovers so I can have it for lunch the next day. It takes a few hours to make but if you are in the mood to play with food, as I said in this post, you will truly enjoy yourself in the process. Absolutely delicious meal. Make sure to have plenty of crusty bread to soak up the juices, oh and don't forget to buy and extra bottle of wine to serve with it!"

Nate enjoying his meal

Zachary soaking up the juices with his french bread!