Christina's Super Granola

from my mom

9 cups rolled oats--not quick oats or instant
1 cup chopped raw peanuts or almonds
1 cup hulled sunflower seeds or chopped pecans
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sesame seeds (or 1/4 each of chia and sesame)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil or olive oil--NOT extra virgin as you want the flavor to not be strong
1/2 cup honey
2 TBSP vanilla
2 TBSP molasses

Preheat oven to 275.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Whisk liquids together and add to dry ingredients. Mix until dry ingredients are coated, but not lumped together. Spread onto two cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir thoroughly. Bake for another 15 minutes and stir again. Bake another 15 minutes then allow to cool completely before storing.

After cooling, you can add up to 1 cup of All-Bran cereal (I don't do this since my children's digestive tracks don't handle it well) and any dry fruit you like.

Christina's Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

from Our Best Bites

Not gonna lie, this tastes more Chinese than Thai due to the sesame oil in the salad dressing, but it's still yummy!

8 oz Linguine Fini, regular Linguini, Spaghetti or Angel Hair

4 C shredded greens: napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, spinach or whatever you have
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup--optional)

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing (save some time and make this part ahead!)

Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add a spoonful of salt and then add your pasta. Drain when al dente and rinse with cold water. Add some dressing and stir to coat.

When you're ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl.

Pour the Thai Peanut Dressing over everything, stirring as you go until you have enough to coat.

Christina's Vietnamese Chicken

from Better Homes and Gardens

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound total)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce (NOT dark soy sauce)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

1. Combine sesame oil and crushed red pepper; brush over chicken.
2. Grill chicken on the lightly greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once. Not having a grill, I put the chicken in a grill pan on my stove. Still tasted great.
3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan, stir together sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce, oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water. Heat on low until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently.

Christina's Asian Noodle Salad

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 head sliced cabbage
1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small bag bean sprouts
3 sliced scallions
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers
1 cup peanuts, lightly toasted in skillet

DRESSING:

Juice of 2 limes
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped
one bunch chopped cilantro

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter. Dressing keeps up to three days before serving without cilantro.

Christina's Ginger Soy Lettuce Wraps

4 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
6 scallions/green onions, julienned- 2 in.
1 can water chestnuts, drained and minced
1 carrot, minced
8 shiitake mushrooms, prepared and minced (plain mushrooms are fine, just sauté them up and then mince)
¼ c. soy sauce (scant)
1-2 T. honey- depending on how sweet you want it
Lettuce
little crispy rice noodles (opt.), 2 oz. raw peanuts, toasted (opt.), 1 can bamboo shoots, drained and minced (opt.)

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add a little olive oil to start off with, then add water when needed- a tbsp. at a time.
2. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper (lots of pepper for extra spice).
3. Add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes (the latter two according to taste); cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add scallions and cook for another minute.
5. Add soy sauce and honey to form a sauce and glaze the chicken.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Serve wrapped in lettuce, or on top of shredded lettuce.