Yummy in my tummy

One of our favorite things to do together is cook. Alex is amazing at it, and he has a crazy strong pallet when it comes to tastes and flavor combination. Every single meal I've ever tried out on him, he enjoys. And inevitably, we find ways to make those meals better.

Since all my cooking is the straight-by-the-recipe kind, Alex has been working on broadening my horizons. He forces me to smell what I'm making instead of doing exactly what the recipe says. Then if I taste something, he won't let me move on to something else until I tell him what flavor stands out to my taste buds. I always act impatient with all this, but secretly I really like that Alex is helping me become more confident in my cooking skills. But shhh...don't tell him I said that! ;-)

Anyway, a few days ago I was browsing through good ole Pinterest, and I found this delicious looking Thai recipe. Alex helped out with cooking some mushrooms (awesome addition, by the way!) and cooking the pasta. But the rest of the recipe he made me do myself. I've figured out his strategy for doing this, by the way: you see, whenever he cooks something, I tell him it tastes so much better when he makes it. I've always been convinced that he's just better with flavor ratios and whatnot. And in the past when I've cooked something for him, I'm always convinced that it tastes awful. ... Entirely because I made it. Haha, oh the self-criticism I give himself!

Anyway, Alex has been helping out with dinners by having me make the decisions about if something needs more of this or less of that. That way, I can never tell him, "Oh, it only tastes good because of what you did with it." This way, I'm forced to recognize when something tastes yummy because of me. Let me tell you, it is oddly difficult to admit to myself when I make something that tastes good.

So I guess a big part of why I love cooking with Alex is because he's helping me learn to love myself more,  and trust in my abilities/talents more. Alex is, without a doubt, exactly the husband I need. He helps me be the best I can be, all while making me the happiest girl alive. Granted, we go through our share of challenges, but just knowing I will always have him by my side through anything makes everything feel more possible.

Oh, and we sure make some fantastic food together... (and the changes we made to the recipe were awesome!)

I was just going to take a picture of the food all mixed up, but Alex insisted on plating it all fancy-like! I told him, "I can't eat that much!" but he said he had to make the food look pretty. 

I ended up using honey roasted peanuts (duh, they're better) and half the amount of coleslaw mix. I added a can of coconut milk to thin the sauce out, and I used the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar to taste. That's right, I ended up not measuring. Go me. :)

Thai Noodles & Chicken

At a glance

Prep

20 min.

Total

30 min.

Serves

6

Servings: about 1 3/4 cups each

Cook: 10 min.

The combination of peanut butter, soy sauce, red pepper and brown sugar 

makes this dish Thai.  The grilled chicken, coleslaw mix and chopped peanuts 

makes it absolutely delicious...and it's ready in just 30 minutes. 

What You'll Need

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic Soup
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 package (6 ounces) refrigerated fully-cooked grilled chicken strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 package (16 ounces) vermicelli pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups coleslaw mix
1/3 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
How to Make It

• 1. Heat the soup, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar and red pepper in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Add the chicken and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.  Remove the skillet from the heat..
• 2. Add the pasta and coleslaw mix to the skillet and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with the peanuts and cilantro, if desired.