Lo Mein and Mexican Bow-Tie Chicken

Hamburger Lo Mein

So, I had forgotten to put the correct noodles on the grocery list for Brian and I actually had intended to make the Mexican Bow-Tie Chicken pasta dish below on this night but ... Brian came home from the store with 15 lbs of ground beef!!! And the chicken I needed for the other dish was still slightly frozen, so I decided to do something with beef instead.

Back to the not having the right noodles part ... so, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to craft this dish that night, but I was browsing the book to see what else I could make with the ingredients we had in stock. Instead I found a tip somewhere in the book where Mary said that she had substituted top ramen noodles in place of a variety of other noodles when she didn't have them on hand ... and specifically thin egg noodles sounded about right to me!

This has in it 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 onion, and 2 carrots. I buy the 6 pack of peppers at Costco and the bag of onions and then I chop up two peppers and one onion and place them together in a gallon size freezer bag and they work great for any type of stir fry dish at the last minute. I run them under the hot tap for about 5 minutes and they break apart very easily in the skillet. Pre-prep worked save me quite a bit of time and also fresh ingredients I otherwise would have lacked. I also used the carrot peeler to make the thin slices of carrots this recipe called for.

RATING: 5.9

And up tonight ... Mexican Bow-Tie Chicken

This one was a big hit with the kids and Dad! Dennis ate like 3rds (Dad gave him 2nds that was twice the size of the first serving he received)! Simple enough ... chicken in the skillet, bow-tie pasta in the pot, sauce of flour, milk, salsa, and cream cheese. Cook everything and toss together. Side of spinach salad (my choice) and valla ... dinner is served in under an hour!

Now ... I do not normally cut chicken into cubes or bite size pieces, generally because I don't think I have time. But, tonight since time wasn't an issue, I figured I would do it ... then I remember why I don't do this any more! Cutting boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite size pieces frustrates me to no end!!! The pieces come out too big or too small and I HATE touching raw chicken! The feel, the slime ... I won't go on so you can keep down your dinner! :) Sufice it to say that while I understand, Mary, I will be buying the chicken cuttlets that come pre-sliced and cost the same per lb and using those ONLY in my future recipes (unless it calls for a complete piece that I don't need to touch prior to cooking it)!

RATING: 9