Peanut Chicken with Sesame Asian Veggies

Happy New Year! 2014 here we come! Did you stay up till midnight? For the first time ever I went to bed my normal time (well I made it till 10) and then I just set my alarm for 11:45, got up, celebrated with my mom, and then went back to bed. Party animal right here 😉 But I did spend the last night of 2013 with a great yoga session. It felt so good and was exactly what I needed. Yoga is the best workout for the body, mind, and spirit; it just always leaves me feeling so good!

Well I am finally getting to sharing the recipes I made for Christmas over the next few posts. First up is the main dish I devoured enjoyed 🙂 I was going to make it vegan when I was still in development mode, but then I kept floundering back and forth and decided I would give the beans a break in this dish and used chicken instead. (P.S. you can make it vegan with tofu actually. I think that would act as a perfect sub!). But I have been eating less and less chicken lately. Really only once a week and some weeks not at all. I have been eating fish still (Sardines 4 Life!) and beans, lentils, other crazy things, etc. I am feeling pretty good about it to. A lot better ethically as well 🙂 But I am not stopping chicken fully (just yet) so bam, that is why it shows up right here. In a totally not traditional Christmas dish what-so-ever, but who ever said I follow the crowd?

Peanut Chicken with Sesame Asian Veggies

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)

For the Chicken and Coating:

+ 1lb of Chicken Tenders

+ 2 TB Peanut Flour

+ ¼ Tsp Pepper

+ ½ Tsp Onion Powder

+ ½ Tsp Garlic Powder

+ ½ Tsp Basil

For the Veggies:

+ 1 Large Spaghetti Squash (will make about 4-5 cups)

+ 1 Large Baby Bok Choy (chopped)

+ 2 Cups of Rainbow Broccoli Slaw

+ 8oz (2 ½ cups) of Baby Portobella Mushrooms (chopped)

+ 1 Cup Snow Peas (chopped)

+ ¾ Cup Scallions (chopped)

+ 1 Cup Water Chestnuts (diced)

For the Sesame Mix:

+ ¼ Tsp Ground Ginger

+ ¼ Tsp Pepper

+ ½ Tsp Garlic Powder

+ 1 TB of Toasted Sesame Seeds

+ 1 Tsp of Brown Rice Vinager

+ 1 Tsp of Sesame Oil

+ 1 Tsp Coconut Aminos

Directions:

+ For the Chicken: (Preheat oven to 350°F) Cut the tenders into about 1 inch pieces (I did this after they were cooked because I don't like playing around with raw chicken, but either way si fine.)

+ On a plate pour all the dry coating ingredients and stir with a fork. Then take each chicken piece and lightly coat all sides with the mixture. Place the pieces in an oiled baking dish and bake at 350°F for 34-35 minutes.

+ For the Veggies: Can we just take a moment as celebrate the fact that I was able to cut a raw spaghetti squash with out softening it before hand!

+ So cut you squash in half and then microwave each half for about 6 minutes on high. Then fork out the strands and place in the bottom of the serving dish you will use for presentation.

+ Next, add all of your other veggies together in a very large saute pan and dry saute on medium heat until the veggies become wilted. In the meantime stir together your sesame mixture and once that is down pour it over the veggies.

+ Now add the chicken to the veggies, stir, and let cook for about 5 more minutes.

+ Then all you have to do is layer the chicken and veggie mixture over the spaghetti squash and presto! Done and smells of so delicious 😉 (P.S. this tastes absolutely fabulous the next day after the flavors had time to meld!)

My food photography still is lacking in creativity I know. But I took these photos before I got my new book! I am really liking my cashew butter photos through from Monday's post. (Although Foodgawker said they didn't...fail).

So tell me:

How are you celebrating the first day of 2014? Well I am at home wallowing in the fact that reality hits tomorrow and school comes back full force for the next few months until...Spring Break!

Are you going to make a lucky dish to eat today? I will be eating leftover butternut squash soup I made yesterday in my Ninja 😉 I will share the recipe of course, but that may take awhile since I have so many others that need to get shared first! Like the cookies I made for Christmas that I will be sharing tomorrow!

*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, and #RecipeFridays!*