Copy Cat Tokyo Alley Noodle Salad

Almost nine years ago, one of the first dates Brandon and I went on was to Tokyo Alley in downtown Macon.  I was immediately addicted to the cold noodle salad that is served with each of the dishes.  For the past seven years, Brandon and I have occasionally tried to re-create the recipe but have not had much success until recently.  Last week, Brandon finally perfected it and oh man was it delicious!  We made one tweak that I think made it even better: we used whole wheat pasta. Throw in our sweet and spicy chicken to go with it (which is pretty similar to Tokyo Alley's sweet and hot chicken) and our scrumptious meal was complete.

If you would like to copy cat Tokyo Alley's noodle salad and sweet and hot chicken, here is what you will need:

Noodle Salad

1 box whole wheat pasta
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp finely ground celery seed
2 Tbsp milk
6 Tbsp miracle whip
salt and pepper

Boil water. Salt heavily. Cook pasta to al dente texture.  When pasta is finished cooking, drain and rinse with cold water.  Set to the side.

Whisk together miracle whip, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, ground celery seed, and salt and pepper.

Refrigerate sauce for approximately 15 minutes before mixing with pasta.  Mix pasta and sauce and refrigerate an additional 30 minutes.

Serve with slices of tomato and salt and pepper to taste.

Hot and spicy chicken

Chicken:
1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Slice each chicken thigh into four equal parts.  Season with salt and pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.  Set to the side.

Sauce:
2 cups cold water
2 1/2 tsp arrow root or corn starch
2 Tbsp sriracha
1/2 cup splenda or sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp honey

Whisk together cold water and arrow root (or corn starch).  Put whisked together water and arrow root (or corn starch) on medium/high heat.  Whisk in the remaining ingredients.  Bring to boil.  Reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.  Set to side.

Saute chicken until almost done on medium/high heat.  Pour sauce over chicken and cook until sauce reaches desired consistency (at least 2 minutes).

Enjoy!

Until next time...

Sneaky Tofu Baked Penne

For some reason, when meat-eaters hear the word "tofu" they start start to make faces and sounds that suggest they have just heard the most disgusting thing imaginable. I'm not sure why my omnivore brothers and sisters are so scared of this little item, but they are. So, I decided to be sneaky...

I saw a recipe a while back that used tofu in stuffed shells. The author of the recipe said that the tofu would take on the consistency of ricotta. This got the gears a turnin' and I wondered if tofu would work in just a simple baked pasta. So, I gathered my ingredients:

Ingredients:
1 12 oz box of whole wheat pasta (I used penne)
1 block firm tofu
1 lb. ground turkey (I went with turkey sausage and it was perfect!)
1 8 oz package of shredded low-moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Once the water begins to boil, cook the pasta to "firm."
Brown the ground turkey.  When the turkey is fully cooked, add the two jars of pasta sauce.
Open the tofu and drain any excess moisture.  In a mixing bowl, mash up the tofu and stir in 1 cup (half the 8 oz. package) of mozzarella. Stir/mash until the tofu looks like ricotta cheese.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot.  Mix in the pasta sauce and turkey mixture.  Then mix in the tofu and mozzarella mixture.
Pour the mixture into a 9x11 baking sheet.  Top with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella.
Baked uncovered until the cheese is melted and the dish is warmed through.
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

It was halfway gone before I thought to take a picture!

My husband is a big meat eater and has never been a real big fan of tofu. He ate two big helpings and then went back for thirds a few hours later.

We took the leftovers to some friends' house and several people helped themselves.  When I sprung it on them that the "ricotta" was actually tofu they said they never would have guessed.

Needless to say, this much healthier baked pasta was a hit around our house and we will be making it again soon.

Until next time!