Cranberry-Chicken Lo Mein

Chicken lo mein is some kind of a comfort food for me.  Sometimes, I just really want a big bowl of it.  But I don't like going to the trouble to order take-out and go pick it up.  Also, when I get lo mein from the Chinese restaurant, I end up dying of thirst for the rest of the night.  So, I got really excited when I found a recipe on Foods of Our Lives.  I have adapted it slightly to fit my tastes and inability to measure things.  My recipe isn't perfect, but it's close enough to satisfy my craving, and, most importantly, it doesn't leave me chugging water for the rest of the night.  Also, it only takes about 30 min to make.  Easy.

Ingredients

a few cloves garlic

a chunk of ginger root

1/2 small onion

olive oil

1 b/s chicken breast

1 c frozen broccoli

1/2 c frozen cranberries

2 stalks celery

2 carrots

angel hair pasta

1 spoonful corn starch

1 spoonful hoisin sauce

1/4 c veggie stock

soy sauce

rice vinegar

Directions

Boil water for the pasta.  Mince the garlic & ginger, chop the onion.  Throw them in a large skillet with some olive oil and cook til browned.  Chop the chicken, celery, and carrots.  Add them to the skillet.  Thaw the broccoli and cranberries under running water, then add them to the skillet.  Combine the corn starch, hoisin, soy, and veggie stock, then pour into the skillet. Add a sprinkle of rice vinegar.  Add the pasta.  Stir well to coat everything.  Eat.  Enjoy.  

Pot Roast Lo Mein

Chicken lo mein happens to be one of my comfort foods.  I don't eat it very often, for various reasons.  Like, I'm too lazy to call in the take-out order and go pick it up.  Also, it has got to be ridiculously unhealthy and loaded with a year's worth of sodium.  This evening, I found myself craving lo mein, but I didn't get home until almost 6:00 and there was no way I was going back out.  At some point in the last year, I came across a recipe for lo mein, which I added to my favorites bar and then more-or-less forgot about.  Granted, at that time I had never made anything remotely Asian and had never bought ginger or soy sauce.  Now my kitchen is stocked with both.

I didn't have any chicken.  But I did have a whole bunch of leftover pot roast.  And pot roast shreds really easily so it's perfect for lo mein.  

1 1/2 c cabbage

1 carrot

2 stalks of celery

1/8 c onion

1+ tsp fresh chopped ginger

1+ tsp fresh chopped garlic

1-2 c shredded pot roast

olive oil

soy sauce

rice vinegar

angel hair pasta

Cook the pasta. Chop the veggies.  Brown the garlic, ginger, and onion in some olive oil, then add the veggies and stir fry them.  When the veggies are done, add the meat.  If the meat was cold like mine was, stir until it is warm.  Add the pasta, sprinkle with rice vinegar, and add enough soy sauce to coat the whole mixture.  

If you're addicted to avocados like I am, you can chop one up and add it to your bowl as well.  

I've cooked so much in the past week, I've had to put quite a few things in the freezer because I just can't eat that much food before it would go bad.  I hope we don't lose power any time soon...I haven't managed to post everything I've made, but the soup I made a few nights ago will make it on here eventually.  Maybe tomorrow...maybe later in the weekend.  By the time I get around to posting it I may or may not remember exactly what I put in it...