Thai Curry Chicken

I may have died and gone to heaven! This is so incredibly good. Must make. Again and again and again.

Thai Curry Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 4 people):

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or fat of choice
• 1 small onion, chopped medium
• 2 tablespoons red or green Thai curry paste (whichever color you prefer)
• 2 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 C chopped broccoli
• 1 C chopped zucchini
• 1 C chopped mushrooms
• 1 carrot, grated
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

Cut the chicken into medium-sized chunks and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan.

When the oil is shimmering, brown the chicken…

and transfer to a separate plate.

Add the onions to the saucepan and sauté until translucent.

Return the chicken and juices to the pot, and add the curry paste to taste.

If you don’t like spicy, just use 1 tablespoon.

Stir-fry until you can smell the rich aroma of toasted spices.Pour in the coconut milk…and toss in the veggies.

Raise the heat to high and bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Then, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer the curry for 5 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through and the flavors meld. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add the cilantro.

You can serve over rice or eat like a soup. Seriously so good! 

Swedish Meatballs with Brown rice

I am not sure that I have ever had Swedish meatballs before tonight, but I am sure I will be having it again and again and again! YUM!!! The kids were all in the kitchen picking at the meatballs before dinner was even done. And to make matters the best ever, EVERYONE loved it!

Swedish Meatballs

Makes about 35 to 40 meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs

6 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 onion, chopped

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp evaporated milk

2 lbs ground beef

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Gravy

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp garlic powder, granulated

1 tbsp dried parsley

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ cup fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Melt 3 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and sautée for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs with evaporated milk and stir, allowing the crumbs to absorb the milk.  Add the ground beef, onion, egg, salt, black pepper and parsley to taste.  Mix well and form golf ball sized meatballs.
3. Heat remaining 3 tbsp oil in the same skillet over medium to medium high heat and add the meatballs.  Carefully shake the skillet to run the meatballs, as needed.  Sauté efor 10 to 15 minutes or until meatballs are browned on all sides.  Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter.
4. Deglaze skillet with 1 cup of the beef broth, letting it simmer for 3 minutes while scrapping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula.  Strain the gravy into a clean bowl and add the remaining 1 cup of broth.  Melt 2 tbsp butter in the skillet, then whisk in 3 tbsp flour; cook 1 to 2 minutes.  Whisk warm beef broth into flour mixture.  Let simmer, whisking constantly until thickened slightly.  Add the cream and season with onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper.
5. To serve, cover meatballs with gravy and garnish with fresh parsley. 

Garlicky Kale Pita Pizza

I wanted something filling and yummy for lunch and then I remembered a recipe that I copied off almost a year ago that I wanted to try. It called for goat cheese. Upon inspection of our goat cheese I knew that I would not be adding that to the recipe. Maybe next time. I headed out to the garden and picked some kale and the fun began. This ended up being so good. I was a little scared because of the kale. The last kale I had was really bitter. Maybe picking it straight from the garden helps that problem.

Garlicky Kale Pita Pizza

1 whole wheat pita
2 cloves garlic, minced
About 1-2 C kale, chopped
olive oil
Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Saute the garlic and kale in a little bit of olive oil until the kale is wilted.
On the pita spread just about 1 teaspoon of olive oil and then top with mozzarella cheese, however much you want.
Put the kale on top of the cheese and bake until the edges of the pita are browned and the cheese has melted.

SO GOOD! Next time we will try it with goat cheese.

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Found this recipe on Pinterest and it is amazing. It would be really good over coconut rice but we couldn't wait that long. It was amazing paired with sweet potato fries.

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken
1 C low sodium soy sauce
1 C water
3/4 C brown sugar(I tried it with Sucanat and it was good)
1 bunch of green onions
1/4 C chopped onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 can coconut milk

Combine all the ingredients except chicken in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours or over night.
Cook chicken on a hot grill. Garnish with green onion or just eat it with your hands right off the grill.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

The world of Pinterest has opened up tons of new recipes and websites for me. It's the pictures that draw me in. There is some amazing photography of food happening. Which you will probably not see happening here. This recipe comes from penniesonaplatter.com via pinterest. And I basically didn't want to stop eating them.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1 T lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C cheese- you can use Mexican blend or I just used cheddar
small flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic until smooth. Add the cilantro and green onion and then add the chicken and cheese. Mix it thoroughly.
Spoon 2-3 T of the mix into a tortilla rolling it up tightly.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden.

Baked Fried Chicken

Words can't describe how in love with this chicken I am. Make it and you can be in love too!

Baked Fried Chicken-
3 large chicken breasts, cut in small pieces

Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 min. 

In a gallon sized ziploc bag mix:

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 T Season All

3/4 tsp Pepper

1 c. Flour

2 tsp. Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/3 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9x13 pan or a large jelly roll pan. Melt butter in pre-heated oven.

Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan.

Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl until coated.

Place each piece of chicken in the pan.

Cook for 15 min. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 15 more minutes, or until cooked through.

Fried Rice

I don't have a picture of this. It got eaten so quickly that there was no hope. I hope this will become a staple in our home. We always have left over rice so this is perfect.

Fried Rice

2 T sesame oil
1/2 C each celery, carrot, red, orange, yellow peppers, green onion
1 C chopped ham
abt 4 C rice, cooked
2 eggs, whisked
1/4 C soy sauce

In a frying pan heat the sesame oil and then saute the vegetables until cooked. Add the ham and rice mixing all of it together well. Create a well in the center of the rice mixture and add the eggs. Cook them, stirring often and then incorporate them in to the rice mixture. Add the soy sauce in and enjoy. It's really good as leftovers too!

Cheeseburger Soup

The weather here has been basically parallel to Antarctica. The winds have lowered the temps below the negative mark day after day. The best way to battle that is to make soup. Yummy soup that warms you from the inside out. I found this recipe and made it last night. It was so good I had leftovers for lunch. If your weather is anything like ours this may be the ticket to warming up from the inside out!

Cheeseburger Soup
1 lb ground beef
3/4 C chopped onion
3/4 C chopped carrots
3/4 C chopped celery
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
4 T butter, divided
3 C chicken broth
4 C peeled and diced potatoes
1/4 C flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 C milk
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C sour cream

In your large soup pot brown the ground beef and then remove it from the pot setting aside. In the samepot saute the onion, carrot, celery, basil and parsley with 1 T butter until the vegetables are tender. Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.

In a small saucepan. Melt the remaining 3 T butter and then add the flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until bubbly about 3-5 minutes. Then add the milk slowly stirring it in with a whisk. Simmer until it thickens and then add to the large soup pot with the vegetables and beef. Simmer soup or about 5-10 more minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the cheese and sour cream and stir until completely melted. Serve!

Cashew Chicken with cabbage

It's been about two weeks since I made this dish but I keep thinking about it. It may be time to make it again and soon! I LOVE chicken and I ADORE cashews so this was perfect!

Cashew Chicken and Cabbage-
1 T rice vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T olive oil
2 chicken breast, diced
1 C green onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C cashews
1/2 head cabbage

Combine the rice vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce until sugar is dissolved.
Heat oil in pan and add chicken to brown about 5 minutes. Add green onions and garlic until cooked. Then add the sauce, cabbage and cashews. Heating until the cabbage has wilted. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Salad goodness!

My brother owns a cafe in Anchorage and he serves a salad that I am absolutely in love with. Funny thing is just months ago I proclaimed my hatred for salads and now I have at least 4 that I could honestly eat everyday. I guess it all depends on how they are made. Anyhow the salad he serves is a Hawaiian salad. He uses Vidalia Onion salad dressing that he gets at Costco. I tried to find it at the stores around here but could only find Ken's Steak house brand. Still REALLY good!

Hawaiian Salad Goodness

Combine according to how much you want:
Lettuce
Teriyaki chicken (you can use just plain chicken as well)
toasted coconut
pineapple
red onion

Top with Vidalia Onion dressing and you have a REALLY tasty lunch or dinner or whatever!!!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

This was dinner tonight and I loved it. No yucky frozen spinach taste because I used fresh. So good!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

10 Lasagna noodles, cooked
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 C parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 C fresh spinach, chopped
Pasta sauce (I use contadina spaghetti sauce)
1 C mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. And spray a 9x13 in pan. Cook and drain noodles. In a bowl mix together the ricotta, egg, parmesan and salt and pepper. Mix in the spinach with the cheese mixture. Spoon spinach cheese mixture into the noodles evenly and roll up. Place in pan. Cover with sauce and cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until all the cheese is melted!

Curry Chicken Salad

About two weeks ago I went to lunch with my dear friend, Jenwood. We went to a place called Cadillac cafe. I decided to be adventurous and try something new. I got the Chicken Curry Salad and immediately fell in love. It was so incredibly good. That was on a Tuesday. By Friday I had thought about that salad so much that I took my husband and daughter there for lunch just so I could have it again. Probably not too high on the lowfat list but you can get all your days worth of veggies in one sitting. The price was a little too high for me to go and enjoy it often though. So with a little imagination and some ingredients I think we have something that is close enough to satisfy me!

Chicken Curry Salad

4 C lettuce
4 oz chicken, cooked and cubed
1 C grapes, halved
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C sliced red onion
1/4-1/2 C raw cashews- depending on how much crunch you like!

Curry dressing:
1/4 C mayo (I used my homemade mayo)
1/4 C buttermilk
1 Tbsp curry powder
dash of paprika
salt and pepper

Combine salad ingredients and then toss with the dressing.

The BEST spanish rice EVER!!!

This is a repost of a recipe that is already on here, but we had it for dinner tonight (using cilantro we grew in the kitchen) and I wanted to bring it up to the top, because it is just THAT good!

Cilantro Spanish Rice

2 T olive oil

1 C white rice, long grain

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 med. garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 C chicken broth

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

Cook rice with oil in a large skillet until golden. Add onions, garlic, cumin, and salt. Cook until the onions are soft. Add the tomatoes and broth. Cook until rice is tender- about 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro after rice is done and serve!

Coconut Shrimp Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

I just had the best dinner I have had in the history of the last 4 months or so. SOOOOO good!!! So good infact, that I was sneaking bits from the bowl of my 12 yr old when she wasn't looking. Bwahahaha!!!
I got the original idea from Gina over at Skinnytaste. Hers called for chicken and I changed it to shrimp. It was seriously so good that I convinced the pickiest eater in the house to eat some and he ate two bowls! SUCCESS!!!


Coconut Shrimp Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette.

16 oz shrimp- precooked and take the tails off
6 T unsweetened coconut (I get this in the bulk bins at the store)
1/4 C panko bread crumbs
2 T crushed corn flakes
1/3 C egg substitute or egg whites
pinch salt
cooking spray

Green leaf lettuce, the entire head chopped
1 large carrot shredded
1/2 zucchini, chopped

Vinaigrette
1 T olive oil
1 T honey
1 T white vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the coconut, panko, corn flakes and salt in a bowl. In another bowl put the egg. Dip the shrimp in the egg and then in the crumb mixture. Put on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the coating is starting to brown. You can turn them over if you like but I liked the crispy on one side.
In a small bowl combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette and mix well.
Once shrimp is done add lettuce, zucchini and carrot in a bowl. Top with shrimp and 1 T dressing.
IT IS SO GOOD!!!!

And here is a closer shot just so you can see it closer. LOL :)

Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Tonight for dinner was PW's Pasta with Cream Sauce. It was really so incredibly good. I had to make one change because I didn't have any heavy cream. I added evaporated milk instead and it really turned out so good. Everyone, except the 5 yr old that wanted to go play, ate theirs. I loved it!

We just topped our pasta with it instead of stirring it in and I also think that sauteed mushrooms would be so amazing in this dish as well. 

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 whole medium onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
dash of sugar
1 C evaporated milk
grated parmesan or romano cheese
fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 lbs pasta, cooked

In sauce pan heat butter and oil and then add onion and garlic for about a minute. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar. Let simmer on low heat for 20-25 minutes. It will thicken up very nicely. Remove from heat and stir in the evaporated milk. Add cheese to taste. Stir in pasta and basil and serve immediately.

Canning dry beans and Taco Bells Bean burritos

Years ago a lady in our ward, Inga, told us about canning dried beans. She even brought several bottles and some bean dip she had made from said beans. I remember thinking how badly I wanted to do that. Fast forward to now. I finally got around to it and actually had to message her and ask her to remind me how to do it. It was so easy and they turned out perfect.
Tomorrow I am going to attempt to do it with black beans. Today was pinto. Anyway, here is how it goes.

In quart jars put 1 C dried beans- you don't have to soak, boil or anything- and 1 tsp salt. Cover beans with boiling water and fill to within 1 in headspace. Put the prepared lids on and put in pressure canner for 80 minutes on 15lbs of pressure. I have an old school pressure cooker.

I let mine sit until the pressure was all gone and then took them out and opened a jar. They were perfect. Not mushy or hard! Bonus!!! And then I made Taco Bell's bean burritos for dinner and my picky eater ate three of them. THREE!!!!! We'll be doing this again!

Taco Bell's Bean Burritos
1 qt jar of pinto beans, mostly drained but leaving a little liquid
red enchilada sauce
mexican cheese blend
tortillas
onion, minced (optional)

In your blender or food processor blend the beans with some of their liquid until smooth. Add enchilada sauce until you like the taste. Put a scoop of beans on the tortilla and cover with cheese. Roll up and enjoy. We left out the onions because of the picky eaters.

Bill's Chili

It always surprises me when I notice that some of our absolute favorite recipes have yet to be posted. This is one of them. We make this chili all the time. People ask my husband to make it for them. He has won ribbons at the state fair for it. It is the best sweet chili I have EVER had! Make some cornbread and enjoy on a cold wintry night.

Bill’s Chili

½ lb cubed bacon, cooked

1 lb ground beef, cooked

1 C chopped onion

1 can pork & beans

1 can Ranch style beans

1 can kidney beans

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp vinegar

½ C ketchup

¾ C brown sugar

Mix all ingredients in crock pot. The longer it simmers the better it is!

I am in love with spaghetti squash

I have wanted to try spaghetti squash for some time. I just didn't want it to taste squashy. We got one on Sat and it has been sitting on the counter begging to be used before it went bad. So today I bit the bullet and ate the squash. It was so easy and tasted so good. I didn't have any olives so we just eliminated those. The texture was literally just like spaghetti and the wheels in my mind started turning about all the many ways I could use it. I am totally going to make regular spaghetti with it and not tell my picky eater son that it is not noodles(insert evil laugh). Here is the recipe that I got from Allrecipes.com and next time we might add chicken.

Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise

and seeded

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 tablespoons sliced black olives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2.	Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
3.	Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
4.	Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

Philly Cheesesteak casserole

This is all that was left of the dinner I made tonight. I wish I could emphasize how paramount this is. Almost NEVER do I make a casserole in a 9x13 pan and have it all be gone. I am thinking about licking the pan after putting up this post. :)

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
3 C uncooked egg noodles
1 lb boneless beef sirloin
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 can fat free beef broth
1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C half and half (you can use fat free but I didn't have that)
1 T Dijon mustard
8 slices provolone cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook and drain noodles.
Trim excess fat from meat and cut into very thin slices. Heat a nonstick skillet and cook beef until browned.
Stir in onion and pepper. Cook for 2 min and then spoon into the baking dish.
In a medium bowl mix beef broth and flour until smooth. Put it in the skillet and heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in half and half and mustard. Spoon over beef mixture. Stir in cooked noodles
Top with the slices of provolone.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until cheese is melted and it is heated through.

Homemade Egg Noodles

The rain continues to pour down here in Alaska. We've had record breaking rainfall all summer. These kind of days make me want to cook. So cook is just what I decided to do. I was browsing the Pioneer Woman's site (love her!) and found a comfort food for Homemade Chicken and Noodles. I decided to make it for family dinner tomorrow.

Her recipe called for frozen egg noodles. I didn't have any so I decided to try my hand at making my own. They turned out amazing and the kids loved them with only butter on them. I made up the soup today and so tomorrow the flavors should be amazing! You can find the soup recipe here. 

Homemade Egg Noodles

4 eggs
2 Cups flour
In a bowl mix the eggs and flour with your hands until blended. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead more flour in until the dough is soft and elastic- not sticky. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Roll out as thin as you possibly can. Cook in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes- they could really fast. Enjoy with your favorite sauce, in a soup or with a little butter on top.