Friday, March 23, 2012

Organic DIY Chow Mein


Can you say yummy? This is super yummy and super easy to make.

What you will need:

Your favorite veggies-I used chard, carrots, onion, celery, parsley(optional). Anything that needs to be used up.

Spaghetti Noodles-I used organic but is optional. $1.29 at Trader Joe's.j

Meat-I used a half pound of pork $1.25. Use what you have or just leave out.

Eggs-I used vegetarian fed but you can use any eggs or even leave out. Totally optional

Oil-I used sesame oil but use what you have. Olive oil would work great.

Liquid Amino's-taste just like soy sauce but 1/2 the sodium.  Or again use what you have.

Peanuts-Optional but oh does this make it taste super yummy.  Use what you have and have fun with it.

Chop up your veggies. I separate stalks from leaves.  Chard stalks take longer to cook (note white chard stalks on right) You want to cook these in order of how thick they are.  Carrots are first, then celery, then onion and so on. Each veggie cooks at different times so remember this when adding your favorite veggies.

I like to marinate my meat in liquid amino's and onion ahead of time but its optional.  Simply toss in your meat and onions with some liquid amino's.  Cook till not pink no more.



Get a large pot and start getting your water ready to boil.  I didn't have any chow mein noodles so these spaghetti noodles will work fine.  Do not add noodles yet.


Now get your other items ready to go.  Once the process starts you need to be ready.
I have a tiny cast iron pan so I toss my peanuts in it with some olive oil.  I simply turn it on low and it will toast the peanuts while I cook dinner.  Just make sure its on low and it will be just fine until dinner is ready.  Seriously how cute are those tiny cast iron pots??


Crack all your eggs (make sure to compost them!) and have them ready in a bowl.  Mix them well.  You can add soy sauce but I leave them plain so I get lots of different flavors when I eat later.

Okay your meat is cooked so add in your carrots or veggie of choice that takes longer to cook.  Cook till about half way done. 
Next I added celery and chard stalks.  These cook pretty quickly so I added them in together.  I like to cook my veggies on medium high and stir frequently. 

Your water should be nice and boiling by now so toss in your spaghetti noodles.  These only take a few minutes to cook.  Stir well and do not add any oil or your flavorful food will not absorb into your noodles once done.  Trust me on this.  Cook noodles as instructed on package.
While I was cooking dinner I had the girls go put the chickens in the coop.  I heard some funny noises and this is what I found when I went to check on them.  I love my girls.

Anyways back to dinner.....Last but not least add in your thin vegetables.  In my case it was the leaves of chard.  These literally only take a few minutes so I will toss them in, mix them up and turn off the burner.  My cast iron stays warm for a long time and will cook these to perfection.  I cover it with a lid and let it cool on its own. 

Here is where you want to cook your eggs.  Nothing worst than cold eggs that are dry! So cook your eggs until scrambled. Takes only a few minutes so once done you are ready to assemble your food. Turn off the burner your peanuts are on! Don't ask me how this is important. I don't wanna talk about it! lol

Okay now drain your noodles and toss into a very large bowl.  Toss in your veggie meat mixture and then your scrambled eggs.  I squirt some liquid amino's and mix very well.  Plate your food and toss on some toasted peanuts.  This is where I added my parsley for some extra pretty.   DONE!!!!

Total cost for my dinner for 6

Celery-25 cents used only 2 stalks

Carrots-25 cents used only 2 carrots

Onion-10 cents used only half a small onion

Chard-Free from my friend Theresa (thanks!!!)

Organic noodles-$1.29

6 Eggs-$1.32  (18 pack means they cost me 22 cents each)

1/2 lb Pork-$1.25 (was $2.49 per lb on sale)

1 oz of peanuts- 13 cents (long story...$55 for 25lbs of peanuts.  $2.20 per lb or .13 cents per oz) man I need help lol

Parsley-25 cents. Totally guessing on this one. It was $1.99 for a bunch of them and I used a small amount. Tried to calculate but my brain started hurting.


Total Cost-$4.84
I didn't factor in oil or liquid amino's cost because I always have those on hand and I'm not going to measure and weigh how much I used.  My brain just cannot handle that much calculations lol.  You get the idea. This is a pretty cheap dinner.  Try it out and enjoy!

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