Hi all,
I've been away for awhile...a long while. First, I quit my job. Then I got another job (which I adore) and then I went to Greece and then it was Christmas and...arg! I won't let it happen again, I promise. Or at least I promise to try really hard not to let it.
So, the great news is that I made out like the luckiest girl alive on Christmas. I got the Ninja Chopper from The CEO's dad, the Ninja 1200 Blender System from The CEO's mom, and the Ninja 3 in 1 Cooking System from my mom. Where is MY dad, you ask? Probably not out buying anything Ninja as I think I have all of it that I need now :).
All of those things, along with the adorable 11 inch Macbook Air The CEO got me plus tons of other kitchen stuff from both families, I am all set to bring a 2013 of amazing cooking adventures here and I also have tons of fun soaps to try out for the Soap Blog. So I am excited. I hope you are too.
Oh wait! We also got a Sodastream. Squee!
So, what do you suppose I used first? The Ninja 3 in 1. It came with a cookbook and I wanted to use some recipes of out it while getting the feel of the system. If you don't know, the system can work as an oven (yes, even for baking), stovetop, AND slow cooker. I kid you not. I may start using my oven to store things. So I asked The CEO to flip through the book and pick a recipe. He came through BIG TIME and scanned me the recipe for Cashew Chicken with Black Bean Sauce and Snow Peas. I made a quick shopping list and we were ready to go!
Of course, I get to the store and they don't have black bean sauce (major eye roll) so I did some googling and made my own.
I used:
1 can black beans (rinsed thoroughly)
1 tablespoon olive oil
a splash of sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
a dash of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 garlic glove
Note: I halfed the online recipes. I also used olive oil with sesame instead of peanut oil as I didn't have peanut oil. I also left out the sugar and orange peel...I don't think it needed it. I also kept the full amount of vinegar instead of halving as I thought it needed it. So this is really my own kind of sauce. If you don't like spice, you should tone it down.
Directions:
Heat the oil in a skillet until hot. Throw in the beans and garlic. Sautee until integrated (10-20 seconds). Then, add in everything else and cook until it is a pastey sauce like consistency.
Donzo.
After this was done. I called in The CEO to let him know I was firing up the Ninja for the first time. He came in and documented. The reason the pictures look so good today is he took them. Thanks, baby!
I'm going to tell this story in pictures and then link to the recipe at the end. This is me, trying new things. Here we go:
First, you add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pot and set the Ninja to stove top (you could make this entire recipe in a skillet if you don't have a Ninja).
When it is a little brown on both sides, remove the chicken to a plate. Here are those bad boys:
While those are chilling out doing their thing, I salted and peppered them. Then, I moved on to the next step with the Ninja.
Dump one small chopped up onion (I used several pearl onions as I liked the way they taste more) and three minced garlic gloves (I may have added more and I used pre-minced) into the Ninja.
Sautee for 2 minutes. It will get bubbly and smell yummy...just like a pan on the stove. But the high sides keep the oil from popping. It's quite nice.
Here it is bubbling and getting all nice and aromatic:
Next, throw in a can of tomato sauce and two heaping tablespoons of black bean sauce. Mix it up all nicely. The original recipe calls for diced tomatoes in juice...but yuck.
Then, add the chicken back in. I flipped it a couple of time to make sure it got coated in the sauce. I think this is a good plan.
Next, throw in a heaping half cup of cashews. The CEO and I cracked them up a little with our hands to make sure that each bite had some tastiness.
Cover the pot and cook for 7 minutes, then open it up and flip the chicken. Cook another 7 minutes.
Finally, add in a cup of fresh snow peas, ends removed, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Make sure to stir in the snow peas a little.
Take off the lid, turn off the Ninja and serve when cool enough to eat. Here is what it looks like:
Guys, this is delicious! The sauce is thick and yummy, the boneless chicken thighs were new to me as I usually use chicken with bones (I know, I know...welcome to the modern age, Erin). But they were awesome. The steam from the Ninja makes these moist and perfectly cooked. The black bean sauce adds flavor but isn't terribly spicy. And the snow peas were still crisp. This turned out better than I had hoped. And the Ninja is a dream to clean. I am in love with it. Seriously.
Whether or not you have a Ninja, you should make this recipe for your family as it is easy, quick and super yummy!
NoM!
Up Next: Christmas eats, a recap!
Where did you learn about/find this Ninja device? If the hubby and I are going to be in an RV for an extended period of time, an all-purpose machine like this would come in HANDY!
ReplyDeleteOMG. You need one of these. I first heard about it from reading Stephanie O'Dea's blog. But then I have been seeing reviews pop up all over the crockpotting community. Last night I roasted a 6 lb chicken in the thing. It took a little over an hour and was fall off the bone tender. You can bake in it, pan sear in it, you need it for the RV. Here is the link:
Deletehttp://ninjacooking.ninjakitchen.com/?utm_source=www.ninjakitchen.com&utm_medium=Microsite&utm_campaign=MC700Microsite
But you can also get one at Target, Walmart, BB&B for a little less. But it doesn't come with all of the extras. And I like the extras.