Lime Pepper Chicken with Garlic Fried Rice

I typically cook for myself or me and my bf. Because of this, I can't use all of the meat and vegetables I have for one dish. When I buy chicken breast or chicken tenders, I cook half and save the other half for another dish. In this case, I used the first half of the chicken tenders in the Glass Noodles with Chicken & Veggies dish. The second half I placed in a zip lock bag and marinated overnight.

Lime Pepper Chicken

1. Marinate the chicken with 2-3 fresh squeezed lime, salt, black pepper and a few bay leaves. Mix well, seal and leave in the fridge overnight.

2. Next day - Line a glass casserole dish with aluminum foil.

3. Place marinated lime and pepper chicken tenders on the foil. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and more black pepper on each tender. Add places of lime around the casserole dish.

4. Bake in oven on 375F for about 45 minutes. If you have less pieces, you can cook it in under 45 minutes.

5. After it's done baking, place of plate and have a side bowl of soy sauce and garlic to add as needed.

Garlic Fried Rice

* I usually cook this when the rice is a day old and hard from being in the fridge

1. Before you cook the rice in the pan, break it apart as much as you can

2. Heat oil in pan. Add lots of minced garlic and cook until it browns a little

3. Add the rice and season with garlic salt, black pepper and salt.

4. Add in 2 scrambled eggs and cook

5. Cook and mix thoroughly

Glass Noodles with Chicken & Veggies

The great thing with noodles and pastas, is that it doesn't go bad. I had leftover glass noodles that were in its bag in my cupboard for a while. I decided to use it along with chicken and vegetables I already had in the fridge that I didn't want to spoil.

What you need:

- thin glass noodles (you can buy this at Asian markets)

- batchoy

- bell pepper

- tomatoes

- seasoning (black pepper, salt, garlic salt)

- oyster sauce

- minced garlic

* Before you begin prep soak your glass noodles in cold water and let it sit. It needs to soften before you can cook it.

* I made the noodles separately from the chicken and veggies

Glass Noodles with Chicken & Veggies

1. Cut chicken and veggies into small cube-like sizes

2. Heat oil in pan then add minced garlic

3. Add chicken, season with spices and oyster sauce then let it cook thoroughly

4. Add bell pepper and cook for a short while

5. Add the tomatoes and batchoy. Put the lid on then turn off the heat. The heat from the closed pan should be enough to cook those

* You want to keep your veggies crispy, not soggy

6. Transfer to a plate. Use the same pan with the juices from the dish to cook your noodles. Add more oil if necessary

7. Once noodles are soft, add into your pan and season accordingly. If it gets too dry before it cooks, you can add a little water

8. When the noodles are cooked, transfer to a plate then top off with the chicken & veggies

Cooking with Leftovers: Beef Curry Ramen

If you're like me, then you probably have plenty of leftovers. It's hard not to when you cook a dish and have only one person to eat it. Not many people like them. I don't like them very much becauseI want to eat a freshly cooked dish most of the time.

Nevertheless, food should not be wasted. Although I'm guilty of wasting a LOT of food, I need to find creative ways not to. I grocery shop more often now for fewer items. That means more trips to the market but fresher ingredients when I cook. For leftovers, I find ways to, what my mom used to say, "recycle", them. I try to incorporate my leftovers in new dishes that I cook. That's what I did today. I had leftover chicken and vegetables from last night's Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry as well as a few pieces of beef from a dish I cooked the other day. I had a pack of ramen noodles and a cube of Japanese curry in my cupboard (Can be found in all Asian markets for pretty cheap). I also had eggs in my fridge. So, I decided to put it all together. It took 10 minutes to make and was SUPER easy. Tasted good too! =)

Beef Curry Ramen (Made with leftovers)

1. Boil 2-3 cups of water (I normally don't use a lot of water because I don't want too much soup/broth)

2. When water is done boiling, drop in the curry cube and mix thoroughly

3. Add in the ramen packet and seasoning that come with it

4. While that's cooking (takes about 5 min), cut up leftover chicken and beef into small pieces

5. Drop leftover meat and vegetables with the ramen

6. Turn off the stove and drop in the egg then mix. The egg will still cook because it's still very hot.

That's it! It seriously takes around 10 minutes or less to make.