Chinese Slapped Cucumber

I am back from China! We had an amazing time, but traveling is so exhausting and over the course of our 2 week trip, we were in 4 different cities and on 6 different planes. Whew! Believe it or not, this was one of our very favorite dishes our tour guide searched out for us. I definitely cannot pronounce nor write the name in Mandarin, but it literally translates to slapped cucumber.

Miso Shrimp with Sautéed Vegetables (Clean and potentially Paleo)

Y'all, it has been a whirlwind of a past few weeks! Not really anything different has happened, other than I feel like I have been going non-stop from the moment I wake up at 5 am to the second I pass out from exhaustion at 10:30 pm with barely even a chance to check my email. It's pretty much a miracle my teeth get brushed and the dog gets fed and I haven't yet left my keys in the freezer. In the meantime, fast but fresh dinners like this one have been absolutely imperative during this recent craziness. 

Back to Basics : Chicken Fried Rice

Happy Chinese New Year! Are you a snake? I don't mean that as an insult, I mean that as your birth year- 2013 is the year of the snake. I wasn't trying to imply that you're manipulative or sly... I assume that since you're here sharing in my kitchen adventures you're nothing less than marvelous!

Chicken Lettuce Cups

It's been so long since I've actually been to a P.F. Changs I can't really remember what their famous appetizer tastes like. But if my faint memory serves me right, this is pretty darn close. Even if my mind is playing tricks on me and I am completely off my rocker, which- let's be honest here- is completely possible probable, they're still so good that I don't even care how close they are to the real thing and might even write to the president of P.F. Changs and ask him/her to change their recipe. 'Cause these are rockin'.

Japanese Gyoza with Spicy Dipping Sauce

I have about 5 other recipes I've been needing to write about on here, but I just can't wait another day before posting this one. Y'all, this is by far the BEST gyoza I have ever tasted.... and I've lived in Japan for 2 years. Crazy, right? Isn't it supposed to be that the local foods are better than what I make in my kitchen for the first time?

Cashew Chicken

Well people I am back to the land of the living zombies.... aka night shift. Some of my co-workers actually enjoy and prefer night shift, and I say- more power to you, you crazy people. I don't know how they function long term on nights, because I feel awful, exhausted and blah the entire 6 weeks we rotate through vampire land.