Chinese New Year | Dinner Inspiration

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When you get married and are in that glorious newlywed phase, one of the things you most look forward to is celebrating the holidays together. You get to create traditions, fun memories, and dictate what holidays will look like in your little world. It's such an exciting time! 

Recently, when I was leafing through my collection of recipes, I came across an old favorite for Ground Turkey Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein. I shared it not too long ago on this little blog, but we loved it so much that I wanted to repurpose it for something fun. That's when it hit me. What's coming up? Chinese New Year! This little revelation inspired me to create the perfect meal that I just can't wait another second to share. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

I went to Walmart for inspiration to kick my recipe up a notch and give it a real "Chinese New Year" feel, and I stumbled upon Pagoda Express Chicken Eggrolls and Chicken Potstickers in the frozen section. They are made with 100% white meat chicken, and here is a coupon for $0.50 off 2 Padoga products from Ibotta. Boom. Done. No Chinese meal is complete without an eggroll. Am I right?

My favorite part? Both Pagoda products could be made in less than 2 minutes in the microwave. When you are almost finished cooking dinner and don't want to wait another 20 minutes for the oven, this feature will be your new best friend. They also made great appetizers when my husband exercised his lack of patience fueled by hunger.

Now, onto the main course: my deliciously healthy recipe for Spaghetti Squash Chicken Chow Mein. This recipe really could not be any healthier (Hello? It's basically just chicken and vegetables), and it has that authentic Asian flavor that we typically only get from the restaurant. It's taste bud approved and waistline approved. That's a win-win in my book!

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and fill a 9x13 glass baking dish with 1/2 cup of water. Cut a spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lay skin side up in your baking dish and bake 30-40 minutes, or until the flesh is very tender. Once done, scoop out the inside with a fork so it breaks apart into strings. 

Place spaghetti squash strings on a large plate and set aside.

In a large pot over medium high heat, add olive oil and cubed chicken. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper, and saute about 4-5 minutes. 

Add in celery and onion, and stir until tender, about 3-4 minutes. 

Stir in cabbage mix and heat another minute. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. Add mixture to your large skillet.

Stir together 1-2 minutes to fully incorporate. 

Take your plate of spaghetti squash and carefully add "noodles" to your skillet. 

Stir to combine and remove from heat. Serve warm!

Like I mentioned above, I served with Pagoda Chicken Eggrolls and Pagoda Chicken Potstickers, and BOOM! It felt like the Chinese New Year in our little world. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

1 pound chicken breasts, cubed

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp ginger

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 stalks celery, diced

2 cups cole slaw mix (packaged in the veggie aisle)

1 medium onion, diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and fill a 9x13 pyrex pan with 1/2 inch of water. 

2. Cut a spaghetti squash length wise and scoop out the seeds. Lay skin side up in your pyrex pan.

3. Bake spaghetti squash for 30-40 minutes or until the flesh is very tender. Once done, scoop out the flesh with a fork so it breaks apart into strings and set aside.

4. Meanwhile, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, and ginger and set aside.

5. In a large pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and saute cubed chicken until almost cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Add in onion and celery and stir often, cooking until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in cabbage and heat another minute.

6. Stir in your soy sauce mixture and spaghetti squash until well combined, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Have you ever celebrated Chinese New Year? Do you love to celebrate anything and everything like we do?