Garlic Ginger Ground Turkey with Peas

If you've followed my recipes on County Meanderings, you know that one of my favorite guilty pleasures is Chinese takeout. For me, it's not about the convenience. I simply love the dept of flavor and the "I can't make this at home" uniqueness that American Chinese dishes have. What I don't love is the MSG and unnecessary fats that come along with that. I've spent the last few months in the kitchen exploring ways that I can zap those cravings with a healthier and more cost effective alternative. Using inexpensive and lean ground turkey, this recipe takes a health spin on the delicious brown sauce that my pallet aches for. If you're a fan of ginger and garlic, I know you'll love my last Asian creation. 

Bonus...This is a one-pot dish - you have to love that, right? Easy prep, easy clean-up. That's my style. 

Ingredients

Turkey
1lb lean ground turkey
1/2 yellow onion
1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger
2-4 cloves of garlic (depending how much you like!  I went 3 medium cloves)
1 cup frozen green peas

Sauce
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of red chili flakes
1 tbsp thai chili sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Dice onion, garlic and ginger (you can also grate the ginger if you aren't a huge fan of it). 
2. Saute the onion, ginger and garlic over medium heat (any oil is fine but I love to use chili oil from the asian food isle) until it becomes very fragrant and the onions are translucent (5-8 mins).
3. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink (medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes).
4. Add frozen peas and cook through (5 mins). 
5. Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, chili flakes, chili sauce (could also add any other heat you like!) until the sugar dissolves. 
6. Cut the heat to medium-low and pour in the sauce. Simmer on low for 10mins - 30 mins depending on how long you want everything to meld together. 
7. Serve over rice, green beans, or in lettuce wraps. 

Spicy Orange Shrimp and Snow Peas

Have you ever experienced one of those stop-in-your-tracks, must-have-it-now cravings? Well, that's me every single time I think about chinese takeout. It's my one weakness that I've absolutely loved since I was a kid. We only had takeout when something fun was happening: a birthday, a visit to my Aunt Nancy's, a girls-night out with my Mom. It was something we always had to celebrate! 

It's certainly great for celebrating considering most of it has enought MSG to keep our bodies well salted for literally days. In my efforts to continue to be a healthy gal, I try not to order it often now! While I do splurge now and again, I've been trying to recreate my favorites at home. Today's recreation was a spicy take on shrimp and snow peas mixed with my personal favorite, orange chicken. I did a combining of the two for a much healthier, affordable and delicious recipe! You can certainly sub out some of the spicy stuff if that's not your thing. Swap the chili oil for stir fry or peanut oil, swap the chili sauce for honey and leave out the chili flakes. That will give you the same dish, just without the spice. 

I love plating and garnishing my homemade dishes. It makes it feel like restaurant-quality! 

Keep in mind, this sauce I've created can be used on any of your favorite proteins. Whether it's tofu, chicken, pork or beef, this makes a great, less-guilty sticky-style sauce that will curb your takeout cravings. 

Ingredients

For the Shrimp and Snow Peas:

1 bag raw, deveined, tail-off shrimp (I used small 60-80 count because they are always $5 at Walmart!)

2 cloves fresh garlic

1-2 spring onions 

1 bag fresh snow peas 

Sauce necessities!

For the Sauce:

1/2 sugar free orange marmalade (could use sugared but makes it lighter with this kind!)

1/2 sweet chili sauce

1/4 low sodium soy sauce (add more if you like salty food - I am not a fan of super salty)

1 splash (probably 2 tbsp) rice vinegar

1 tbsp chili oil 

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili flakes

1 - 2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in a splash of cold water

Directions:

1.) Thaw frozen shrimp in collander by running cold water over them for 3-6 minutes. Place in a quart size ziploc bag. Set aside.

2.) In a small mixing bowl, add orange marmalade, chili sauce, soy sauce,  rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and chili together. Whisk until combined. Pour 3/4 of the batch over the thawed shrimp the bag. Marinate for approximately 30mins to an hour. Reserve the last 1/4 for the cooking process.

3.) Drizzle medium size skillet with stir fry oil. Add two cloves of minced garlic over medium heat. Sweat the garlic for about 2 minutes. Add in snow peas. Saute for 3-4 mins so they are still crisp and keep their bright green color. Take out of pan and set aside. 

Garlic sauteeing!

4.) Over medium high heat, dump marinading shrimp and excess mix from the bag into a skillet. When shrimp begin to turn pink, stil continuously adding the remaining sauce. 

Raw shrimp mix!

5.) When shrimp are almost done - completely pink and firm throughout, dissolve one tbsp of cornstarch into a splash of cold water. Bring the sauce to a boil with the shrimp and add cornstarch. Turn back the heat and allow to thicken. May require doing this once or twice. 

Perfectly bubbly sauce!

5.) Serve shrimp over top of garlic snow peas and enjoy! 

In Good Taste,

-Karen