Oodles of Noodles

What is it about little people and pasta? It seems that in my experience, pasta is universally inhaled by babies and toddlers ... and really quick and easy to prepare. 

Mac'n'cheese is a staple dish out here in the States, in fact I had never realised just how HUGE a dish it is, until we moved here. There are loads of variations to flavours and you can find a whole area at the supermarket devoted to all different sizes and brands of instant mac'n'cheese, really!! It did actually make us laugh a lot when we first arrived in the States!

While we do eat mac'n'cheese from time to time, more often we like to have something a little healthier. One family favourite of ours is garlic chicken stir fry with bok choy or spinach. While the original recipe I found was designed to be served with rice, we use a 'secret' ingredient that we can't get here in Coshocton but have visitors bring from the UK, udon noodles. The noodles are delicious and are Japanese wheat flour noodles ... much more delicious than traditional pasta. It does mean we can't eat it as often as we would like as we're often waiting for a new 'shipment' to come!

The amounts in this recipe feed the four of us ... so probably about 3 adult portions! We all LOVE to eat this meal from the youngest to the eldest in the family, Abigail in particular loves to slurp the noodles.

• 1 Large Chicken breast (the ones we buy here are at least twice the size we get in the UK!!!)
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 6 spring onions
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 500g bok choy (chopped coarsely) or baby spinach
• Udon noodles or rice as you prefer/is available

1. Thinly slice the chicken and coat in flour - shake off the excess
2. Heat oil in wok, stir fry chicken in batches til browned all over & cooked through (remove)
3. Add garlic, pepper and spring onions to the wok, cook until pepper is tender
4. Return chicken to wok with stock, soy sauce & peas
5. Stir fry til sauce boils and thickens slightly
6. Stir in noodles and cook for 3-5 mins
7. Just before serving, add bok choy/baby spinach until it wilts

(If serving with rice, don't forget to put it on to cook at the beginning, skip No 6 and then serve the stir fry on a bed of rice!)