Chicken Chow Mein

I am always on the prowl for a good chinese recipe. I really like chow mein and this one is full of yummy veggies! We also doubled the amount of shrimp because we are shrimp fans! This recipe also called for homemade fried noodles which I opted to leave out. They seemed like more work than what I had time for. We ended up eating this over brown rice and with egg rolls. Super easy to put together and everyone liked it! This is part of the September 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is mersaydees from Southern Maine.

Chicken Chow Mein
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 oz boneless lean pork, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tsp cornstarch, divided
2 1/2 TBSP apple juice, divided
2 TBSP soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup water
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp powdered ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 lb shrimp, deveined and shelled
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 green onions, chopped - with tops
4 oz cabbage, shredded (I bought a small napa cabbage and used 1/2 of that)

In a large bowl combine 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 1/2 tsp apple juice and 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce. Add chicken and pork. Coat well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Combine remaining 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 TBSP apple juice, 1 1/2 TBSP soy sauce, water and bouillon in small bowl, set aside.
Heat oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Toss in powdered ginger and garlic. Stir fry 1 minute. Add chicken and pork. Stir fry until cooked through and no longer pink. Add shrimp. Stir fry until shrimp turns pink. Toss veggies into wok. Stir fry until crisp tender. Add sauce mixture. Cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens.
Serve chow mein over fried noodles (either homemade or store-bought) or white or brown rice.

Roasted Asparagus and Garlic Pasta

Both of these recipes minus the shrimp come from my teammate mersaydees in the November 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. I am a huge fan of asparagus - I wasn't always though. Thanks to my mother-in-law it's now one of my favorite veggies. The garlic pasta was a huge hit as we like this kind of thing anyway.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan
(This recipe amount calls for 4 servings - I made just enough for me as I am the only one here that likes it - I am posting the 4 servings amount.)

1 1/2 lbs asparagus
1 TBSP vegetable oil
course salt
fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Trim asparagus. On a rimmed cookie sheet mix asparagus with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure there is a single layer and sprinkle with cheese. Roast in the oven about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Serve immediately.

Garlic Pasta (with Shrimp - my addition)

8 garlic cloves
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup whipping cream
salt
pepper
1 lb angel hair pasta (measured dry)
parmesan cheese or romano to taste
2 TBSP fresh parsley for garnish OR throw in some dried parsley to add a bit of color

Mince the garlic and saute in the oil for a few minutes. Add cream, a little salt and ample fresh ground black pepper. Simmer for a bit to reduce the cream. Toss cream with hot pasta. Add lots of cheese to taste and parsley for garnish.
**I made this a main dish by sauting shrimp and adding it over the pasta.

Shrimp in Lemon Cream Sauce

This recipe was probably hands down the most favorite out of all the recipes I chose this month for the Aussie/NZ recipe swap on recipezaar. My teammate was I'mPat from Perth West Coast of Australia. Her original recipe she posted calls this Seafood in Lemon Cream Sauce. We don't like scallops so left those out and probably tripled the shrimp as we love those. She found the recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly After Work Fast. It is fast going to together. The kids all thought it was definite restaurant quality. Which is a HUGE compliment coming from them.

Shrimp in Lemon Cream Sauce
2 1/2 lbs large shrimp or prawns (I buy mine already cooked and if the tails are still on - just pull the shells off)
2 tsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp lemon juice
4 TBSP apple juice
1 1/2 cups cream
Parsley for garnish if desired
hot pasta
In a bowl - combine shrimp, oil and garlic. Let marinate for a couple hours.
Simmer lemon juice and apple juice in a pan, uncovered until reduced by half. Add cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for a couple of minutes. Since my shrimp was already cooked - I added the whole bowl at this point and simmered until hot.

Cook up some asparagus and or sugar snap peas. Set aside.

When the shrimp is heated through - you will probably have to eat a couple just to make sure - Drain the sauce into the hot pasta. Mix well. It makes a fettuccine kind of dish. Serve shrimp over pasta and add vegetables.

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Mushrooms

This is another recipe I made for the December Aussie/NZ recipe swap 2008. The chef is NurseJaney from Maryland, USA. The ingredients are simple, the flavors are simple as well. I took the liberty of adding additional veggies as I was already making another stir-fry for the boys! They hate mushrooms - which was perfect for Russell and I! A stir-fry all to ourselves? Amazing!

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used thawed frozen shrimp - as I have never actually deveined them - I wouldn't know what to do....)
3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup green onion, sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
cooked rice

Saute garlic in oil. Add any hardy veggies like carrots, green bell pepper and zucchini. (This is what I added.) Saute for a little bit then add mushrooms and green onion. Add chicken broth and let the veggies kind of steam. I added the shrimp just before serving since it was already cooked. We served this with wild rice. So tasty!