Kung Foo Panda Pea-No Noodles (gluten free, peanut free, refined sugar free) and Secret Ingredient Soup (gluten free, refined sugar free)

This is a two for the price of one recipe.  In that I created two recipes, in one night, hoping my daughter would try some new good-for-you food if I used one of her favorite movies at the moment to try and get her to eat them.

Yeah, that didn't work.

She DID however, try the broth to the soup, so it wasn't a total loss in that she drank a combination of chicken and vegetable broth and she actually drank quite a bit thinking she was getting out of eating the "ucky" vegetables in the soup.  See, mom is learning!

My daughter has a mini-obsession going with Kung Foo Panda right now.   We haven't had TV in the cable sense in over seven years, so movies are what we have around here.  I had bought Kung Foo Panda years ago during a Black Friday sale and my kids didn't even watch the first thirty seconds of it before they decided they hated it.  Since they were young, I just put the DVD aside and waited.  About a week ago I ran across it in our DVD binder and decided that it was worth a shot.  And yeah, we've been watching it for a week straight.

Since my daughter is in love with the movie right now, I decided I would try to make Secret Ingredient Soup, which played a major role in the movie.  Since all the recipes I could find online were basically chicken noodle, soup, which I thought wasn't all that cool, and none of them were really oriental flavored or gluten free (they all used wheat noodles) I figured that wasn't going to work for me.  So, I made my own Asian inspired soup, which actually does have a secret ingredient in it (psst...it's fish sauce, but don't tell anyone ;). And since I had an open packet of stir fry rice noodles, I decided to try and re-create peanut sauce noodles, which I've been missing, using almond butter.  And hey, it worked pretty slick!

So, here you go folks!  Two recipes for the price of one!  Stick on Kung Foo Panda (1 or 2...we haven't seen 2 yet) and see if your kids will try some soup I think Pao himself would approve of!

Kung Food Panda Inspired Secret Ingredient Soup (or Asian Vegetable Noodle Soup):  Gluten free, refined sugar free

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 Cups Vegetable Broth
• 3 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth (use a quart box and reserve last 1/2 cup for "Pea-No Noodles", recipe follows)
• 1 TBS Fish Sauce (be sure it's gluten free, I used Red Boat Fish Sauce)
• 1 tsp. Powdered Ginger
• 1 TBS Gluten Free Tamari or Coconut Aminos
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 4 to 5 Mushrooms, sliced (I used dehydrated button mushrooms and just added them to the broth)
• 1 Carrot, grated
• 1/2 Head Cabbage, shredded
• 1 tsp. celery salt (or 1 stalk of celery diced...I was out of celery)
• Salt to taste
• 7 oz. Stir Fry Rice Noodles, or 1/2 package Rice Noodles (I used Thai Kitchen Stir Fry Rice Noodles)

Instructions:

1. Combine vegetable broth, chicken broth, fish sauce, tamari, ginger, garlic powder, carrots and mushrooms in a large stock pot.  Allow mixture to come to a boil and add noodles.  
2. Cook noodles for time called for on package.  Once noodles are done, add cabbage and allow to cook for an additional two minutes or until cabbage is just tender.  

Serve alongside Pea-No Noodles for a fun Asian-inspired meal (if you have meat demanders in the family, serve with some baked fish or some prawns for a truly awesome meal)

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Pea-No Noodles ("Peanut" Thai Noodles):  Peanut, gluten, refined sugar free

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chicken broth (reserved from making soup) or vegetable broth (for a vegan option)
• 3 TBS Creamy Almond Butter (I used Barney Butter as it's peanut free)
• 1 tsp. Sriracha, Curry Paste, or hot sauce of choice
• 2 TBS honey (or agave for a vegan option)
• 1/4 cup gluten free tamari
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 7 oz. Rice Noodles (1/2 package Thai Kitchen Stir Fry Noodles)
• fresh lime juice, finely chopped fresh cilantro and/or slivered almonds (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.  
2. While noodles are cooking combine all other ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.  Whisk till sauce is smooth.  Remove from heat and just let hang out until  the noodles are done.  
3. Drain noodles, return to the pan you cooked them in and then add sauce to the noodles.  Coat well with the sauce.   
4. Sprinkle some fresh lime juice, chopped fresh cilantro and/or slivered almonds on top when you serve them.  

Serve both of the above dishes with chop sticks for a lot of fun!

Enjoy!

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