Asian Night! Noodles and Chicken, YUM!

I've made the executive decision that I MUST must MUST start saving some money...and that means the eating out thing, must GO. Gone. Which means meal planning is IN. This is the first week I've really tried it, and so far so good. Tonight was Asian, mmmm! I made two separate dishes: a noodle dish and a chicken dish. In retrospect, had I realized how much rice was involved with the chicken dish I would have just made the noodles and added a little chicken. Needless to say, I got my share of carbs tonight. But, still delicious! Just A LOT of food! Recipes are below for everyone, enjoy!

Veggie Noodle Side Dish

1 small sweet red pepper, julienned

3/4 cup cut fresh green beans

3/4 cup thinly sliced fresh carrots

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 package (3 oz) ramen noodles (noodles only, no seasoning)

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon fajita seasoning mix

In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the pepper, green beans, carrots and onion in oil for 4 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. 

(discard seasoning packet or save for another use).

Add the remaining ingredients to the vegetable mixture; 

cook and stir until vegetable are crisp-tender. Drain noodles.

Add noodles to vegetables and stir until blended. Enjoy!!

Notes:

I changed a couple of the vegetables in this recipe for convenience's sake. I used a red pepper and sliced carrots, but used broccoli instead of beans and zucchini and omitted the squash. I also used a yellow onion instead of a red. I had some left over from the other recipe; it was easier. :) It turned out delicious, so experiment with veggies if you want...still tastes awesome!

The next dish is a chicken and rice bowl. As I said earlier, each dish is enough on their own. They would both work well as separate entrees.

Chicken Rice Bowl

1 cup uncooked instant rice

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped frozen green peppers, thawed

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 package (9 oz) ready-to-use grilled chicken breast strips

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cook rice in broth according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the green pepper and onion in oil for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in the chicken, basil, and sage. Cook, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until heated through. 

Stir in the rice, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!!

Notes:

I also changed a couple things on this one. I didn't thaw any of the ingredients (lack of planning on my part, oops!), and I also didn't use ready to eat grilled chicken strips. I bought frozen chicken tenders and those worked just fine. I just cooked the chicken with the onion and pepper for about 5 minutes before adding any veggies. Done and done! De-LISH!