Daily Dish - A little faux Cordon Bleu

Sometimes I'm trying to think of what to cook for dinner and I'm completely uninspired.  That's when Food Network comes in handy.  Today, while perusing chicken dishes, I came across this Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe from Tyler Florence.  No prosciutto, but we have deli sliced ham.  No gruyere, but we have a 5 Italian cheese blend.  Done!

I decided to make a little grilled veggie (asparagus, carrot, green onion) pasta on the side, tossed in a simple sauce of my own.  These are approximations because, as you know, I never really measure anything!

- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper
- Grated parmesan

Daily Dish - Thai Chicken Pasta

From the very first time I tried the Thai Linguini at California Pizza Kitchen, I was in love.  Thai food is one of my favorites and this was a pretty cool fusion that one day, a couple of years back, I decided to try and replicate at home.  The beauty of this particular dish is that you can have fun with the veggies being used and, as someone that tends to not measure anything, the sauce is really made to suit your own taste.  You can make it more nutty or spicy according to your own preference.  What I'm providing here really is nothing more than a guideline!

Ingredients (estimated):
1 large chicken breast
4 tbsp Peanut butter
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tsp Chili Oil (or other similar spice to suit your own taste)
2 Carrots
1 Bell pepper (I also added zucchini when cooking it for these photos)
3 cloves Garlic
Linguini, spaghetti, noodles, or whatever you'd like to throw it on top of!
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Cooking instructions:
Chop the chicken into chunks and chop up the veggies.  Brown the chicken until cooked through and set water to boil in a separate pan to cook the pasta or noodles.

While the chicken is cooking, in a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter with soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and chili oil.  Add approximately a 1/4 cup of water to create a smooth paste.  (This is my favorite part because you get to taste test the sauce to your liking.  Keep adding any of the ingredients as necessary and add more water if the sauce gets too thick).  Set the sauce aside.

Once the chicken is cooked, add the garlic, and veggies to the pan and sauté everything together.  At this point, your water should be about boiling so add the pasta or noodles according to the appropriate cooking time.  Add the peanut/chili sauce to the chicken and veggies, let simmer on low for about 5 minutes.

Pour over the pasta or noodles and garnish with some fresh cilantro.  Enjoy!