Top Chef

Hubby and I love Bravo's show Top Chef. The contestants are creative and amazingly quick on their feet when it comes to whipping up tasty and elegant dishes. Unfortunately, while the show posts all the contestants' recipes online, you can rarely find a dish that is easy to duplicate at home. Until this past season, that is.

This spring, one of the challenges included making an easy, healthy, affordable dish that a family of four could recreate at home. The dish had to include a lean meat, whole grain, and vegetables, and the ingredients should cost less than $10 total. I'd been dying to make the winning dish for some time. finally got around to looking up the recipe, and making it at home.

All I can say is YUM, YUM, YUM! Even though this recipe involves quite a bit of chopping, the dish made a large quantity of delicious food and will definitely be a repeat in our home!

STIR FRY IN A TERIYAKI PEANUT SAUCE

1 lb of boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 head of bok choy (leafy Asian veggie), chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, chopped or sliced
1 cup edamame, cooked and removed from pods
1/2 box of whole wheat noodles, cooked
Teriyaki peanut sauce (recipe below)

In a large skillet, saute chicken in 2 tablespoons olive oil until fully cooked. Add all veggies and cover, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened to your preference. Add noodles and mix thoroughly. Drizzle teriyaki peanut sauce over dish, stirring until stir fry is well coated. Serve hot.

Teriyaki Peanut Sauce

2 heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter
2 tsp honey
2 tsp orange juice concentrate
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
1/4 cup bottled teriyaki sauce

Heat all ingredients on LOW heat until well blended. Add water if necessary for thinning sauce.
**If you do not like peanut sauce, you can use 3/4 to 1 cup of plain teriyaki sauce instead.