Beef Lo Mein with Thai Peanut Sauce

I took a shortcut tonight and used a bottled sauce. One I could have made from scratch, but I had bought it before I started making sauces from scratch and I decided I wanted to try and use it up. It was pretty tasty and it was fast to throw this dinner together.
-Amanda

Beef Lo Mein with Thai Peanut Sauce

8-10 oz sirlion beef
1 red bell pepper
2 handfuls of sugar snap peas
1/2 pint of button mushrooms
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup peanuts
1/2 cup bottled Thai Peanut Sauce
Whole wheat spaghetti noodles

Prepare noodles according to package directions.
Slice beef into very thin strips going against the grain of the meat. Cut the bell pepper into thin strips too. Slice the mushrooms. In a large pan, add some of the vegetable oil and get it very hot. Add beef but do not try to stir it right away. Let it start to sear. Then after a minute or two, stir it and cook until almost cooked through, only about 4 minutes total. Remove meat from skillet. Drain any fat. Add a bit more vegetable oil and saute vegetables until cooked through. Add beef back in and peanut sauce. Cook until meat is done. Pour over noodles and top with some raw peanuts.

Orange Chicken

This is my ultimate comfort food.   It is one of my favorite dishes that my mother cooks.  She does it a little differently with chicken thighs and legs on the bone, but my version tastes very similar and is a little quicker to make.  It is saucy and juicy and sweet and tangy.  My fiancé it loves it too—but is not a fan of sauce.  Which works out perfectly, I serve him the orange flavored chicken and veggies and reserve the sauce for my serving.  I want enough to be left in the bowl afterwards I can sip it with a spoon.  Yum!

Orange Chicken

1 liter of orange juice simmered and reduced by 1/3 (Or you could use orange juice concentrate and only add half the water recommended.)
2 tablespoons of hoisen sauce
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken
3 large onions
1 package of mushrooms

Cut up chicken into smaller pieces (bite size makes it easier to eat)  Season with salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic powder.  Sear chicken in Dutch oven until browned. 

Roughly slice onions and mushrooms—sauté and add to chicken.  Add the orange juice, hoisen and ketchup to Dutch oven mix well.  Place pan in oven and cook on low heat (200 ish) until chicken is done and sauce has thickened. 

Serve over egg noodles.