Honey Ginger Glazed Carrots

I've said this before and I'll say it again: if you don't like vegetables, it's probably because you're making them wrong. And not that it's your fault, you were probably shown wrong. But today is a new day! Vegetables, like any other food, need to be cooked well and seasoned well in order to taste good. Just steaming them and plopping some butter on there just isn't enough (in most cases). Imagine if you just steamed a piece of chicken and then sprinkled a little salt on there and that's it? Yuck...

So how do you add flavor? There are two ways:

1. Cooking method - grilled, braised, roasted, sauteed, etc.
2. Flavorings - compound butter, various herbs and spices, cheese sauce, teriyaki sauce, pesto, etc.

Honey Ginger Carrots

Makes: 4 servings

1 lb baby carrots

1 tbsp butter or butter substitute (I use smart balance)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ground ginger

parsley for garnish

• Saute the carrots in the butter and olive oil over medium high heat for about 10 - 12 minutes until the carrots are soft but still slightly crunchy - not mushy at all.
• Add the soy sauce, honey, and ginger and toss the carrots. Continue to cook for about one more minute. The sauce will thicken into a nice sticky glaze.
• Serve with some fresh parsley. I picked mine fresh from my garden! It added a nice delicate lemony flavor.

That's it! This is a nice quick recipe that you can pull together while you've got some chicken or fish baking in the oven. It will taste way better that those frozen deals with the pre-made sauces

*You could also use fresh grated ginger for this recipe if you want. Just remember to double the amount.

Chicken & Vegetables in Thai Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce is one of the easiest sauces you can make. It's a raw sauce - no cooking required. And it's literally just a combination of peanut butter, water, soy sauce, and a few other goodies. I like to add this to some noodles with stir-fry vegetables and some chicken. I used carrots, celery, and onions because that's what I happened to have on hand. You could also use pea pods, mushrooms, asparagus, water chestnuts, or even a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables! You can also leave out the chicken for Meatless Mondays. This also makes a great make-ahead lunch for the week!

Chicken & Vegetables in Thai Peanut Sauce
Makes: 4 servings

1/2 lb spaghetti, lo mein noodles, or ramen noodles
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 medium onion, cut into 1/2" dice
8 scallions
2 tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp dried, ground ginger)
3/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce

• Cook the spaghetti until al dente, about 9 - 10 minutes. Make sure to salt the water well.
• Strain the pasta.
• While the pasta is cooking, cut the chicken into 1/2" cubes.
• Chop the carrots, celery, and onions. Set aside.
• Slice the scallions, add the white part to the carrots, celery, and onions; set aside the green tops for garnish.
•  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high. Add the carrots, celery, and onion mixture. Cook for about 3 minutes until the vegetables just start to soften.
• Add the chicken to the skillet and continue cooking for 5 - 6 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from the heat.
• Make the sauce by combining the garlic, ginger, water, peanut butter, and soy sauce. It's true that you can use powdered garlic and ginger, but I highly recommend using fresh. There's just nothing like fresh ginger. Whisk the ingredients together - the sauce will have a lumpy texture at first, just keep whisking and it will smooth out.
• Add the sauce to the hot chicken and vegetables. Add the pasta then toss it all together.
• Garnish with the green scallion tops.

If you want to make the sauce a little spicy, you could add some Sriracha sauce.