Thai Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

We are 12 days in now but as we were prepping to go on our 30 days of a strict Paleo lifestyle we decided to indulge in some of our favorite things before we started.

It seems Thai flavors were really on our minds as we were getting ready to be without them for awhile. Pad Thai was sounding oh so good.

So we made these Thai Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce to meet that craving. 

This was simple and fairly healthy Pad Thai-ish recipe.

RECIPE:

Thai Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce (adapted from Food.com)

Noodles

12 ounces linguine

4 tablespoons sesame oil

Sauce

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

1 cup finely shredded carrot

2 cups frozen stir fry vegetables

3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce

Directions:

1.Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions.

2.Drain and return to pot.

3.Add 2 TBSP sesame oil and toss to coat. Set aside.

4.Heat remaining 2 TBSP sesame oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat.

5.Add green onions, carrots, stir-fry veggies, garlic and ginger.

6. Saute until vegetables soften, about 4 minutes.

7.Add honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and chili-garlic sauce and mix well.

8. Simmer sauce 2 minutes.

9. Pour sauce over pasta and toss well.

10.Transfer to platter and serve warm.

11. Garnish with additional green onions, if desired.

Yields 8 side dish servings or 4 main dish servings.

**Chili-Garlicsauce can be increased or decreased depending on how spicy you like your dish. We like spicy so we used 2 heaping tablespoons.

Lamb Chops with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

We are getting ready to take on the Whole 30 challenge again very shortly. In anticipation of this upcoming food restriction for 30 whole days we wanted to indulge in a few of the things that we know we will miss before it is too late.

One of those things being Thai flavored peanut sauce.  We grilled some lamb chops and made this super tasty recipe for Thai peanut sauce that we found from Food & Wine.

It was super simple and so satisfied our Thai Peanut sauce craving. The sauce was fairly thick but very well flavored.

RECIPE:

Lamb Chops with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce (Adapted from Food & Wine)

2 large garlic cloves

1/3 cup cilantro leaves

1/3 cup unsalted natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Eight 1-inch-thick loin lamb chops (about 2 pounds)

1. In a food processor, pulse the garlic and cilantro until finely chopped. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the lamb; pulse until a paste forms. Spread 1/4 cup of the paste over the lamb chops.
2. In a saucepan, whisk remaining paste with 1/3 cup of water. Warm the sauce over low heat; it should be pourable.
3. Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Grill the chops over a medium-high fire for 4 minutes per side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a chop registers 125° to 130° for medium rare. Transfer the chops to a platter. Spoon some warm peanut sauce over the lamb chops and serve, passing the extra sauce on the side