Super Easy Pad Thai

I had never attempted to make pad thai until just recently. It always seemed way too hard to me - I'm not sure why, it just did! Since I have been craving Thai food recently, I thought I'd try to make it since going out for Thai every week has started to get expensive. A friend of mine had said she pinned a recipe to her Pinterest board for vegetarian pad thai, and she told me she had made it and it was ready in less than 15 minutes. I checked out her Pinterest board, read the recipe, and thought - hey, I can make this! It is super easy to make and it is delicious. Greg and I have had pad thai three times in the past three weeks. Since there is no meat in this pad thai recipe, it is very simple. It is also a fairly cheap meal, which is always a good thing. If you love pad thai, you should try this recipe. Enjoy!

Recipe for Super Easy Pad Thai

INGREDIENTS:
One 8-ounce package of pad thai noodles or wide flat rice noodles

3 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lime juice
3 Tbsp. of soy sauce
2 - 3 Tbsp. of dark brown sugar
Sriracha sauce
1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil or canola oil

3 chives, chopped (white and green parts)

2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Honey-roasted peanuts
Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS:
Soak the pad thai noodles according to package directions. While noodles are soaking, make the sauce. Put the soy sauce, lime juice, a dash or two of the sriracha sauce and brown sugar into a bowl and mix well. Then chop the chives and the garlic, and crack and beat the eggs. Put the oil into a large skillet. Once the noodles are finished soaking, drain well in a colander. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add in the white part of the chives and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, Pour in the eggs and cook, stirring gently until they are almost set - about 45 seconds. Transfer the eggs to a plate. Add in the rest of the chives, sauce, and the noodles to the skillet. Stir and toss the noodles with the sauce. After about a minute, add the eggs to the skillet. Cook for another minute, breaking up the egg gently and evenly throughout the noodles. Plate up the noodles. Top each serving with honey roasted peanuts. Add a wedge of lime, if desired.

Recipe Adapted from: Brownies for Dinner

Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Sweet & Salty Pumpkin Seeds

I've been wanting to post this recipe for a few weeks now. I absolutely love Thai foods and flavors, and I'm always trying to make Thai-inspired foods in my kitchen. However, I don't find myself having much success with it. If I were to say I am having any pregnancy cravings, it would definitely be for Thai foods! When I saw the recipe for this soup, I knew I wanted to try it. It has a good spice and kick to it and it has a nice Thai flavor. This soup is really healthy - you probably get your Vitamin A intake for several days in just one serving! The sweet & salty (and a little spicy) pumpkin seeds add a nice crunch and they are totally worth the extra 5 minutes or so of time and effort. Enjoy!

Recipe for Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Sweet & Salty Pumpkin Seeds

INGREDIENTS:

For the sweet & salty pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. of coarse sea salt

A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (optional)

1 Tbsp. of canola oil

1 cup of pumpkin seeds

For the soup
48 ounces of precut butternut squash pieces
1 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. of butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled & diced
1 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
3 cups of water
1 13.5 ounce can of full-fat coconut milk
1 - 2 Tbsp. of red curry paste
1/2 tsp. of salt
Cream, for drizzling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

For the pumpkin seeds:

Use the cayenne pepper only if you want a little kick to the seeds - if you just want sweet and salty, leave it out!

Put the sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper (if using) into a medium sized bowl. Put canola oil into a skillet and set over high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until the seeds begin to brown and they pop quickly, about three minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully transfer the cooked seeds to the bowl with the sugar. Use a spoon to coat the seeds in the sugar mixture. Place the coated seeds on a foil lined baking sheet and allow to cool. Use about a tablespoon of seeds per serving of soup. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container - and they are great for snacking!

For the soup:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the butternut squash pieces on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until you can insert a fork all the way into the squash. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Melt the butter in a large pot set over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add in the chopped onions and the ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until onions are softened. Add in the garlic powder, stir, and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour in the water and coconut milk. Stir in the curry paste and salt. Let the mixture come to a boil, then add in the cooked butternut squash pieces. Return to a boil, then lower heat to medium low and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then remove pot from heat. Allow it to cool just slightly. Then use an immersion blender or regular blender (an immersion blender is much easier, if you don't have one, I suggest buying one) to puree the soup until it is smooth. Return the soup to the heat and cook on low for a couple minutes until heated through. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a drizzle of cream and about a tablespoon of sweet and salty pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

Soup Recipe Adapted from: Alexandra's Kitchen 
Pumpkin Seed Recipe Source: Alexandra's Kitchen 

*Does the sweet and salty pumpkin seed recipe look familiar? That's because I topped the pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with them! These cupcakes are the BEST.*

Cilantro-Peanut Pasta Salad & A Contest/Giveaway

Please read on for contest details!

A good friend of mine recently bought the cookbook Our Best Bites, written by the authors of one of my favorite cooking blogs. She was very excited about the cookbook and she called me up to tell me about all the yummy recipes she had found and tried. My friend invited me over to go through the cookbook with her and to chat. As I was sitting on the couch flipping through the book, she brought over a beautiful-looking pasta salad. She asked if I'd like to try some, but since I had just eaten dinner, I turned it down. She told me that the pasta was tossed in a cilantro-peanut sauce, and then she brought over a bowl of the sauce. I dipped my finger in it - I ate some - and I loved it. The very next day I made the sauce and the pasta salad, and I think I've made it at least 5 times since then. It is so delicious.
Feel free to use your choice of vegetables in the salad. I like using cucumbers, carrots, red and yellow bell peppers, and a little bit of kale. Don't forget to add the honey roasted peanuts on top - their sweetness and crunchiness really adds a nice touch. Enjoy!

Cilantro-Peanut Pasta Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
For the pasta salad:
1 pound of spaghetti noodles or linguine noodles
1 Tbsp. of kosher salt
Your choice of chopped vegetables (I like using cucumber, red and yellow bell peppers, a little bit of kale, and carrots - crunchy veggies probably will work best)
Honey roasted peanuts
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
For the cilantro peanut sauce -
1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter
1 lime, zested and juiced

3 tsp. of sesame oil
1 Tbsp. of rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. of soy sauce
4 Tbsp. of honey
2 cloves of garlic, chopped in half
1 Tbsp. of minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup of cilantro
1/3 cup of canola oil or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. of kosher salt
3 tsp. of sriracha chili sauce or other Thai chili sauce
2 Tbsp. of water (use less or more to get your desired consistency)
DIRECTIONS:
Place all of the ingredients for the peanut sauce in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it is smooth. Place in a bowl, cover, and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using.
Boil a pot of water. Add the salt and pasta noodles to the pot and follow box directions to cook pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse it with cold water until the noodles are cooled. Drain again and then put pasta in a large bowl.
Mix in peanut sauce in to the pasta (sometimes I use all of it, sometimes I use half of it - it really depends on how much you want). Dish up the pasta on plates and top each plate with veggies, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
This pasta salad makes a lot of servings, and it saves well for leftovers.

Recipe Adapted from: Our Best Bites

CONTEST DETAILS
I want to thank my readers and friends for checking out the blog. I always get really excited about contests on the web, and I thought it would be fun to run a blog contest to show my appreciation.
Official Rules:
The contest will start at 04:00 PM EST on Saturday, June 16th and it will end at 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, June 23rd. Contest participants must first like Bake It & Make It with Beth on FACEBOOK. To enter the contest, you can either share any of the blog's recipes to your FACEBOOK page with a short description (make sure to tag Bake It & Make It with Beth in your posting, so I know that you shared) OR you can enter by leaving a comment (nice comments only) on any of the blog postings. A winner will be selected by random and they will be notified via Facebook message or email during the week of June 25th.
PRIZES: One grand prize will be awarded to one winner. The grand prize is a $25 Amazon.com E-gift card, which will be delivered to the winner's email inbox (to be spent in any way, although I hope the winner would use it for kitchen-related items)!

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE & thank you for participating!
 If you have any questions about the contest, please comment on this post. 

Contest sponsored by Bake It and Make It with Beth & 

is not affiliated in any way with Amazon.com