Spicy Asian Beef and Noodles

I've never seen an Asian-style recipe call for ground beef before, but in this case it totally works.  I like to have the noodles soaked and the veggies chopped ahead of time so I can throw the dish together quickly on a busy weeknight.  Feel free to dial back the red pepper flakes if you don't like a lot of spice.  Also, don't be afraid of the peanut butter.  I made the recipe 3 times before my peanut butter-hating daughter found out, and that's only because I carelessly left the dirty measuring cup in the sink.  She loves the recipe and admitted that she couldn't taste the peanut butter at all.

Start by chopping the veggies - you need scallions, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, and shredded carrots (you can buy them already shredded).

You'll also need 8 ounces of rice noodles. I found these in the International section of the grocery store.

Soak the noodles in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Stir every now and then to make sure they don't stick together (do yourself a favor and use a larger soaking vessel than I did).

The noodles will be nice and flexible when they're done. You can make these days ahead of time - just toss with a little oil and store in a zip-top bag in the fridge.

Time to cook - saute the garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes in oil. Be careful not to burn.

Add a pound of ground beef and cook thoroughly.

I find this nifty tool to be worth its weight in gold when cooking ground beef. It's called the Papered Chef mix and chop. A big shout out to my neighbor Denise for giving it to me - thanks Denise!!

Perfect!

Add the beef broth and soy sauce.

Then stir in the peanut butter.

Stir, stir, stir.

Add the carrots and bell peppers - they cook fast so we're almost done. In just a few minutes you can stir the noodles in to heat them through. Garnish with the sliced scallions and chopped peanuts if desired.

Yummo!

Enjoy!

This recipe works well with thin rice noodles too (also called rice vermicelli or rice sticks).

Spicy Asian Beef and Noodles

Serves 4

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• 3 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

• 4 scallions, sliced (reserve green tops for garnish)

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 cup beef broth

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper matchsticks

• 1/2 cup carrot matchsticks

• reserved green scallion tops, sliced

• 8 ounce softened rice noodles

• Optional garnish: chopped peanuts and/or toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute oil, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, and sliced scallions (whites) for about a minute.

2. Add the ground beef, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until beef is browned.

4. Add beef broth, soy sauce, and peanut butter; stir until combined.

5. Add bell peppers and carrots and saute until tender; 6-8 minutes.

6. Pour mixture over a bed of noodles.

7. Garnish with green scallion tops and optional chopped peanuts and sesame seeds if desired.

adapted from Laura's Lean Beef

Pistachio Shortbread

We love pistachios so I knew I wanted to give this recipe a try when I found it over at Bon Appetit.  I thought about dipping the finished cookies in melted chocolate, but opted for this variation instead.  The chips are placed right after the cookies come out of the oven - the heat of the warm cookies is enough to melt the chips right in place.

Lets start with some yummy pistachios.

Grind them up until they're sandy.

Don't let them go too long or they'll turn to paste.

Transfer the ground pistachios to a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment (or better, a BeaterBlade), add the flour, salt, almond extract, butter, and water; mix until the dough comes together. Transfer dough onto a piece of wax or parchment paper.

Roll dough into an 8x12-inch rectangle.

I used the flat side of this plastic bowl scraper to help keep the edges straight. A bench scraper would also work.

Slide the paper onto a flat cookie sheet or the back side of a rimmed sheet pan like I did.

Pop the dough into the fridge to chill for about an hour.

After an hour I used a pizza wheel and stainless steel ruler to trim the edges.

Perfect.

Then I cut the dough into 8 strips lengthwise and 4 strips width-wise so I ended up with 32 rectangular cookies that were ready to bake.

Okay, transfer half of the cookies onto a silpat-lined sheet pan and bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

Optional: Add a few chocolate chips to each cookie right after they come out of the oven. Enjoy.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• silpat/sheet pan/cooling rack set https://amzn.to/3ciVCGf

• pastry scraper https://amzn.to/3dxWhnI

• stainless ruler https://amzn.to/3cjDJXQ

• pizza cutter https://amzn.to/3Ulu5K1

• beaterblade https://amzn.to/3KNdIC8

• bowl scraper https://amzn.to/3H7Cg6y

• stainless steel ruler https://amzn.to/3ACZRcY

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Pistachio Shortbread

makes 32 cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 ounces (126g) shelled, unsalted pistachios

• 5 1/4 ounces (150g) granulated sugar

• 6 1/8 ounces (173g) all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon (6g) fine salt

• 1/2 teaspoon (6g) pure almond extract

• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 tablespoons (30g) ice cold water

• optional: 98 chocolate chips (3 per cookies)

Directions

1. Process pistachios and sugar in the bowl of a food processor until finely ground.

2. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater (I love my Beater Blade); add flour, salt, almond extract, butter, and water.

3. Mix just until thoroughly combined.

4. Roll dough into an 8x12-inch rectangle on parchment or wax paper.

5. Using a pizza wheel, cut the dough lengthwise into 8 strips, then cut crosswise into 4 strips.

6. Slide parchment or wax paper onto flat surface (like an upside down sheet pan) and chill dough for about an hour.

7. Preheat the oven to 350F.

8. Place the cookies, leaving about an inch of space between each, on 2 silpat-lined sheet pans and bake one pan at a time for 10-12 minutes.

9. Remove from oven and place 3 chocolate chips on each cookie if desired. Cool completely.

adapted from Bon Appetit