Ramen Noodle Bowls

These have become a family favorite! I highly recommend the Cook's Country magazine - it's amazing. The best food magazine I've ever read, hands down. Here's a link to their recipe: www.cookscountry.com/recipes/10051-one-pan-noodle-bowls

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 (12-ounce) pork tenderloin, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets reserved for another use
12 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 scallions, sliced thin on bias

DIRECTIONS
Whisk 1 tbsp hoisin, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and cornstarch together in a bowl. Add sliced pork and toss to coat. Set aside.

Whisk broth, remaining 3 tbsp hoisin, and remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce together in another bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large, nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add broth mixture and bring to a boil. Arrange the noodles in skillet in a single layer; cover, reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 3 minutes. Noodles will be soft on bottom, but still dry on top.

Uncover first skillet and use tongs to flip noodles and stir to separate. Spread noodles in an even layer and scatter broccoli over the top of them. Cover and cook until noodles and broccoli are tender, about 3 more minutes, tossing halfway through.

At the same time, in another skillet, add 1 tbsp oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the pork in a single layer and cook until browned on one side (1-2 minutes). Flip each slice and brown the other side, then stir to make sure pork is cooked through.

Divide among 4 bowls and top with the scallions.

Yucatan turkey chile verde

I saw this recipe on one of those meal-prep mail service websites and decided to recreate it on my own. I have made some tweaks, but it turned out really well. Not too spicy, but a lot of flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves peeled fresh garlic
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 lb ground turkey
• Yucatan spice blend 1/8 tsp each (paprika, coriander, powdered garlic, cumin, allspice and cinnamon)
• 1/4 pound crushed tomatillos (1 used 2 fresh, diced)
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 lime
• fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1 Prep the chile verde ingredients

• Peel and coarsely chop onion
• Finely chop, press, or grate garlic
• Remove the stem, ribs, and seeds from the poblano; thinly slice the poblano lengthwise, then finely chop. Wash your hands after handling.
• Chop green peppers
• In a medium bowl, gradually whisk together the almond butter and 1.5 cups hot tap water until smooth.

2 Brown the turkey

• In a large sauce pot over medium-high heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned but not yet cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the turkey to a plate. Do not clean the pot.

3 Make the chile verde

• In the same pot used for the turkey, if dry, add 1 to 2 teaspoons oil. Warm over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, garlic, and peppers, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the vegetables start to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. 
• Stir in the Yucatan spice blend and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
• Stir in the tomatillos then add the peanut butter/water mixture and the turkey. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the turkey is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
• When the chile verde is almost done, prepare the garnishes.

4 Prep the garnishes

• Cut the lime into wedges.
• Coarsely chop the cilantro

5 Serve

• Transfer the chile verde to individual bowls. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with the lime wedges.

Serves: 4