Trying to Cook Away a Cold

Most people spend their after Christmas days shopping - I am so jealous of Tina's new planner and all of the other fab things she got at the after Christmas sales -I however, spend my after Christmas time trying to get over a cold almost every year.  I Purell, Zicam, and Airborne it up, but it doesn't seem to help - the only reason I can think of is that my husband wants to keep me from filling up our house with discounted holiday goods and secretly has every sick little kid lick my toothbrush in an effort to keep me away from the after holiday sales.  But I digress..

To start to kick this silly cold, I first whipped up a variation of my mom's lemon and honey remedy.  whenever I got sick as a kid, my mom would take honey and lemon and microwave it until it was warm and let me tell you what - its so yummy it was almost worth getting sick!  As an adult I have doctored it up a bit and I won't claim that its a "cure" but it sure does make your throat feel better and you stop coughing for awhile. 

Adult Lemon Honey Cold Remedy - make it as big or as small of a cup as you'd like
1 part brewed green tea
1 part lemon juice
4 parts honey
put in the microwave for ~30 seconds, then stir in 1 part Jack Daniels

I will say this did make me feel better for a little while, but then I started to feel congested so it was time to get out the big guns...SPICY FOOD!!  I had seen a recipe in Redbook a month or so ago that made spicy peanut noodles with good ole peanut butter - so using that as a base, I made a few variations to come up with my version of Spicy Peanut Noodles (click here to see the original Redbook recipe)

To make Spicy Peanut Noodles you'll need:

• 1 lb cooked spaghetti noodles (I used whole grain ones, but any would do)
• 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, plus a splash for cooking the mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Siracha (you may want to use less - I was trying to kill a cold)
• 1T garlic (I used the squeeze out of a tube kind - but minced cloves would work great too)
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup cubed cooked chicken (I used the already cooked chicken breasts from Trader Joe's)
• 1 pkg of sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas, but any would do)
• Sesame Seeds (optional)
• Sesame oil (optional)

In a wok or a large skillet, spray a little non-stick spray into the bottom of your pan and pour in the package of sliced mushrooms and a splash of soy sauce and let the mushrooms cook for 5 min and then add in the shredded carrots and chicken.  Then, in a small bowl, stir together peanut butter, soy sauce, siracha, garlic, and 1/3 cup warm water until smooth and pour into the wok along with the spaghetti and toss until combined.  Sprinkle sesame seeds and oil over each serving.

Here's why I love Spicy Peanut Noodles - It was a large enough to feed the hubby and I for two very generous meals and a snack for me inbetween, you can vary the heat by adding or subtracting a little Siracha, it took longer to boil the water for the noodles than it did to stir everything together, and I could breathe through BOTH nostrils after I finished a bowl! 

Next time you sniffle or you just need an easy throw together meal - give spicy noodles a try!

-Meg