Sunday, February 16, 2014

Double Duty Dinner Success

Shift work can be tough, especially a 12 hr one! So in getting ready for a round of shifts as a nurse, I always like to make sure that there are enough lunches & dinners to go around for a few days. I decided to make two dinners side by side because the ingredients were similar and it would cut down on the prep time. I was also going to try out Kraft Catalina Dressing. I often times do not like Kraft Recipes because of the processed foods they use, and or that they like to promote their own products, which don't always have the highest nutritional value. But I had a craving for pad thai and wanted a quick recipe, so I was optimistic and bought the dressing, and my beef stir fry recipe called for it as well. So why not?

So the two recipes I made in about an hour:

Creamy Peanut Pad Thai 

http://stg.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/creamy-peanut-pad-thai-129882.aspx


Asparagus & Beef Stir-Fry
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/asparagus-beef-stir-fry-123780.aspx


I did not take any of my own pictures, because I actually did not think about doing a blog post about it; until after I was done and saw how efficient the process was. Thank you Kraft for the nice pictures! So I am just going to go over the steps I did simultaneously to get both meals done at the same time.

My variations on the Pad Thai: I used chicken breast,  added mushrooms & bell peppers from the stir-fry.
                                                                       (I like lots of veggies in my dishes!)

   on the Asparagus & Beef Stir-Fry: I boiled the asparagus for 5 minutes, so that I could have the mushroom & bell peppers separate, since I was not adding the asparagus to the Pad Thai. I also used top sirloin steak, not sure if that makes a difference.

1. I washed & cut all the veggies, putting everything into separate bowls.
2. I thinly sliced the chicken, and then prepped the steak the same.
3. Put a pot of water to boil for the rice. Put a pot of water to boil for the asparagus.
4. Started to heat up the wok (frying pan) for the veggies -->started with mushrooms first because they take longer then added the bell peppers.
5. Mixed the dressing/sauces for the 2 different recipes and set them aside.
6. Your asparagus should be done. Use that pot to boil your rice noodles in.
7. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, add some olive oil and the steak. Then add the sauce called for in the stir-fry recipe. When meat is done (~5min) add the desired amount of mushrooms, bell pepper and all of the asparagus, set aside. Your rice should be done. Meal #1 complete.
8. Put another frying pan on medium heat to cook the chicken. Add some olive oil, garlic, ground black pepper & salt for some seasoning. Cook until not longer pink.
9. Wipe the pan and fry the eggs. Return the chicken, bell peppers & mushrooms to the frying pan with the eggs, add the sauce called for in the Pad Thai recipe. Add the cooked rice noddle: toss to coat, be gentle. Meal #2 complete.
10. Top the Pad Thai with bean sprouts  & green onion, and the Stir-Fry with green onions.

There you go...in 10 STEPS!!
Phew...now who is going to clean the kitchen??



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