Thursday, January 31, 2013

Foodie Thursday: Homemade Pad Thai

Ok, so maybe it'll be a Food Day Thursday too :)


A friend and I use to go out to eat on occasion. And I had some delicious Pad Thai at a local pho place here. I saw an "easy pad thai" recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a go. (due to another favorite recipe of mine disappearing off the internet, I decided to post the link, and the recipe here as well)

Here's the recipe. On her blog page, she has photos with a step by step instruction and photos to help.

Easy Pad Thai

(adapted from Everyday Food)
Serves 4
8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts
  1. Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
  3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
  4. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
  5. Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
  6. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.

Notes and variations

  • Per serving: 315 calories, 7g fat (0.9g saturated fat), 3.6g protein, 60.5g carb, 1.4g fiber
  • Per serving: $1.50 or less.
  • As long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce, this is a gluten-free recipe.
  • Vegetarian, even. Skip the eggs for vegan.
  • If you’re a carnivore try this: While the noodles are soaking, cut up 1 small chicken breast (or half of one of the colossal ones) into bite sized pieces. Marinate the chicken in a little bit of soy sauce and garlic (or make a little extra of the sauce for the noodles and marinate the chicken in that). OR: use shrimp (marinate same as chicken)… heck, use both. Cook them before you add the noodles to the pan.
  • Leftovers: heat in the microwave or toss in a hot skillet for a minute to warm the noodles. Not as good as the first day but with a little extra lime juice, it makes a nice leftover-lunch.
My own edit: I couldn't find those thai noodles at my Walmart, so I just used some fettuccine pasta instead and it worked just fine :) I think it might 'degrade' the authenticity of it being pad thai, but I worked with what I had :) Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Fashion: Outfits of the day Summer 2012-Jan 2013

And so the outfits continue!

Still working at the photography studio here. So I'm rocking a black Converse shirt I got from Target, and those lovely leggings my mom got me from Big Lots. Phone case is otterbox.
 

This was just a lazy day outfit. It was chilly at my parents' house, so I put on my Grand Teton National Park sweatshirt and paired it with some Soffee shorts. 

Back to work. Coverup is covered in giant sequins. Rocking a black target tank top and black skirt. Probably with my Kmart boots.

My sister and I did an outfit of the day. There's that see through black top again, I think it's from Kohls. The white tank from Target, Big Lots leggings and Kmart boots. I'm not sure what my sister wore.

Here's a look at that sequined coverup from a picture or two before. White Target tank top (I do have 2 of them). Belt was from my mother. Leggings from Big Lots. I go back and forth about wearing Leggings as pants. Mine are opaque enough that you can't see anything underneath them...so I feel like they're pants...

My sister, our friend Chelsea and I all went down to the Strip in Vegas for a night. Just to have a girl's night out. Her dress is from Kohls. I'm gonna guess her shoes are too. My shirt is from Kohls. I don't remember where the shorts are from, and the shoes are TJ Maxx.

My sister and I went out for a friend's 21st birthday a few weeks after our GNO. I was DD that night. Lace shell is from Kohl's, teal tank is from Aeropostale. Shorts also from Kohls. I'm not sure where she got her dress, but I'm gonna wager Kohls. 

Work again. This was that striped see through shirt I wore on Halloween. This time I've paired it with a white Target tank and black leggings. I wore this outfit A LOT.

Here is another sister outfit of the day :) My top is from Kmart and those unknown white shorts. My sister's get up is from Kohls.

The end of summer happened. I moved back to Reno, and this was my first day in Reno. Sequined pocket shirt in coral is from Kohls.

First day of school for kids. I didn't have school till Tuesday, but I needed to be on campus to get stuff done. Starbucks reusable cup. White lace shirt and the shorts from kohls. Bag is from Barnes and Noble. 

The Macy's dress made an appearance again. Sandals from Target. Earrings from Claires. Necklace from my grandma.

White cardigan and lace racerback tank from Target. Orange denim from Ann Taylor. Sandals from Target. I went to a party some friends were having. Didn't stay long. I'm really not a party girl. 

A work outfit of the day! Navy blazer and orange denim from Ann Taylor. White tank top from Target. Shoes were TJ Maxx.

This dress made it to another practicum. Wore it with a navy tank top from American Eagle. 

My roommate had her birthday dinner. I think she wanted people to wear little black dresses. Some did. A lot didn't. This is the one I got from Styles for Less and also wore for my sister's 21st birthday. I pulled half of my hair into a ponytail. Then the rest into a low pony tail. 
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Another work outfit. Both pieces from Ann Taylor.

Class time! Black cardigan from Target. Teal tanktop from Aeropostale. Dark jeggings from Kohls. Sandals from Target. New cell phone case! From Elle&Blair (link will take you to same case different color. I don't know why the red case isn't up. Maybe they've sold out?)

Goofing around in the Residential Life Food & Housing Services office one evening before they closed. I was saying hello to old friends. Forever 21 Jacket. Scarf was a gift from my mom. Pink shirt is Ann Taylor. White tank is Target. Black leggings from Big Lots and my brown Kmart boots. 

Work work work. Ann Taylor bracelet, belt and sweater. Black leggings from Big Lots and brown boots from DSW I think. 

Ann Taylor sweater and bracelet. Same Big Lots leggings. Flats from DSW.

 Target cardigan. Shirt and skinny jeans from Kohls. Kmart black boots.

Forever 21 Jacket. Scarf from Kmart. Sweater is Ann Taylor. Big Lots Leggings. Black Kmart boots.

Forever 21 jacket. striped tank from Kohls. Layering tank peeking out is the white target one. Also wearing a black target cardigan. Skinny jeans from Kohls. 

 Target cardigan. Ann Taylor shirt and bracelet. Target tanktop. Ann Taylor pants. Wedges: unknown.

Close up of an outfit. Forever 21 Jacket, Kmart scarf, Ann Taylor shirt. 

Target dress. Shoes from Styles for Less.  Phone case from Ann Taylor too!
 Blazer, lace shirt, blue denim and phone case from Ann Taylor

Lazy day cleaning. Victoria's secret shirt. Black target tank. Those black yoga pants are 2 sizes too big. Don't remember where I got them, but I can't give them up. 

Yard sale coat. White shirt: Ann Taylor. Scarf: Pashmina from my mom. Showcasing my new Revlon glasses too. Earrings from a vendor in Mexico. Phone case: Elle & Blair

Yesterday's outfit of the day: Scarf, pants and shoes: Ann Taylor. Cardigan: Target. Sequined pocket shirt: Kohl's. 

And that's me all caught up. I will do better posting more regular outfit of the day posts. Even if they're just with my iPhone at work. Keep your eyes peeled!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Fashion: outfits of the day January 2012-Summer 2012

Time for another compilation of outfits and such that I wore.

This first one barely shows the outfit, but it was  a day during my practicum that I was teaching the lesson. Really exciting. The sweater was from my grandmother, the white sweater is Aeropostale, I think the grey tank top underneath is also Aero, and the pants are just some grey ones I've had for ages.

This next one has an instagram filter over it. But I wore the grey shirt (Forever 21) and white tank top (Aeropostale) in the previous set of images.  I'm just rocking it with my skinny jeans and Kmart boots. I think these are the brown ones.

Here I've got my purple Aeropostale sweater, white aeropostale tank top, brown Target puffer vest (from a few years ago), a stretchy ribbon hair tie I got in a birchbox, and a bracelet from Pi Day at the middle school. 


I was going country line dancing with some friends. My western shirt I got from a random store in Lone Pine, CA. I'm rocking my JC Penney riding boots and skinny jeans once again. 

Spring break I went to my parents' house in Vegas. This sweater was a yard sale buy. Big Lots leggings and Kmart boots.  

After too short of a week, it was back to finish off the rest of the semester. This hat I absolutely love. Again, I've had it so long I don't remember where I got it. My jacket is Forever 21, the shirt was a free one I got for camp during ResLife RA training. 
 Skinny Jeans and Kmart boots.

This shirt was also a yard sale find. 
 I paired it with a white coverup, skinny jeans and boots.


Again, another yard sale find! I love this red lace tunic top. Paired it with leggings and black Kmart boots.


The weather warmed up one day, so to church I wore my Target Mossimo cardigan, yard sale tank top and I think those shorts were also Target. 

I love this Victoria's secret shirt. I'm going to be so sad the day I have to throw it away. There's the white lace tank from Aero again. 
 I don't remember where these shorts were from. I've had them since middle school...and the flip flops are Target.


Another yard sale tunic top. I've got a black tank top underneath it, and legging capris

Yep, another tunic top from a yard sale. Capri leggings from somewhere and kitten heels I got from DSW in 2006.

 I got this dress at a Christmas white elephant exchange. But the size she grabbed was a medium. I needed a Large so she told me she got it from Macy's and went back and exchanged it. I love the two cut outs on the back.

Hey, there's that Victoria's secret shirt again. Teal tank top from Aeropostale. I made the anklet using materials from Walmart's craft section. Black canvas TOMS.  I've had this skirt for ages too.  This was in Vegas over the summer.

 I got a job working at a photography studio and we had to wear only black and white. This black dress is just like that grey cowl neck bubble one from the previous post. I didn't wear the belt with it, but other days I did.

Yard sale white coverup. Black lace aeropostale tank top. Target skirt. Kmart boots. 


This last outfit (for the post) has a black Target tank top. Shorts I've had for eons, and an Aeropostale green shirt I've also had for ages. 
If you would like more information about these outfits, like where I wore them (if I didn't mention it) or anything else you can think of, please let me know in the comments below! Stay tuned for the next segment!