Rainbow Veggie + Chicken Noodle Bowl

The Ingredients:
Serves 3-4

1 lbs Chicken Thighs
1 lb Brown Rice Pasta (We like Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice + Quinoa noodles)
4 Tablespoons Sesame Oil, divided
3 Tablespoons Liquid Aminos, divided (or your choice of soy sauce)
1 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
1 Cup White Mushrooms, chopped
1 Cup Red Onion, diced
1/2 Cup Celery, thinly sliced
1 Cup Multi-colored Carrots (Trader Joe's sells them), sliced
1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Peas
1/2 Cup Almonds, coarsely chopped
1 Cup Cilantro, chopped

The Steps:

1) Brown chicken in 1 tablespoon sesame oil on all sides over medium high heat.  Then add in the water and 2 tablespoons liquid amino, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is tender enough to nearly fall apart.  Turn the chicken half-way through cooking after 15-20 minutes.

2) While the chicken is cooking, prepare all the veggies.  Set aside.

3) Cook the pasta according to the packages directions.  I like to break my noodles in half before setting them in the boiling water. Strain then add them to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, mix to coat the noodles evenly.  Set aside. 

4) After the chicken is done, shred or chop and set aside but leave all the liquid in the saute pan. 

5) Using the same saute pan that the chicken cooked in, including the cooking liquid, add to the pan honey, brown sugar, ginger, cardamom and 1 tablespoon of liquid aminos.  Turn the heat up to high and boil for 6-8 minutes or until the liquid has thickened.  It will reduce to about 1/2 cup of sauce.  Remove from pan and set aside. 

6) Using the same pan again, add in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and the onions.  Cooks onions over medium high heat for about 2-3 minutes and they are just beginning to soften.  Add in the mushrooms, celery, and carrots and cook another 3 minutes.  Then add in the frozen peas and cook another 3-4 minutes.  You want the veggies tender but still have a crisp to them.  Mushy veggies are never yummy in my mind, so make sure to keep a careful eye.  After veggies have cooked, add the chicken back to the pan to warm up and get incorporated. 

7) Time to dish up...Start with some noodles on the bottom, then add the veggie-chicken mix, drizzle some of the sauce over top. Then garnish will a healthy portion of cilantro and some chopped almonds.