Indian Curry...YUM!

I LOVE curry!  I especially LOVE creamy curry with potatoes and onion and carrots and chicken...hmmmm...I'm having a moment remembering one of my favorite Thai restaurants in Layton, Utah called Pad Thai.  They had some of the BEST creamy Masaman Curry I have ever had.  When I found this recipe I was hoping it would be a similar creamy curry, because that was what I was craving.  While it was SUPER flavorful, it missed the creamy boat a little.  It also stunk up my kitchen to high heaven!!!  I cooked this recipe a week ago and my house STILL smells like curry!

• Indian Curry
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Saute onion until lightly browned.  Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt.  Continue stirring for 2 minutes.  

Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt and coconut milk. (I also added carrots to offer some hidden veggies to my family).  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper.  Simmer 5 more minutes.  Serve over rice.

The left overs of this dish were even better than the original meal.  I would highly consider making this meal and eating it the next day to get some serious flavor!  

Thai Stir Fry...Hey, That Rhymes!

I LOVE cook books.  In fact, I collect cookbooks.  Whenever I visit a new city, museum or even a cool book store, I like to leave with a cookbook to remind me of my visit.  That's how I connect with people and place...FOOD!  I pulled out a SUPER old Thai cook book I bought in my early early twenties that I purchased at Barnes and Noble when I was starting to grow my cook book collection and found a GREAT recipe for stir fry.  I changed it up a bit because I didn't grab all the necessary ingredients at the grocery store to make the recipe in the book.

Thai Stir Fry:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp ginger puree
3/4 cup carrots cut into 'batons'
1 cup zucchini cut into 'batons'
1 chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups fresh spinach
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsbp rice vinegar

Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium-high heat.  Add garlic, ginger, carrot and zucchini.  Cook until slightly brown.

Add Chicken and cook through.

Add cilantro, spinach, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar.  Cook until the spinach is wilted.  Serve immediately over white rice.

This didn't last long enough for me to get pictures of the final product.  It was AWESOME!!!  The sauce was FANTASTIC!...even if it was a tiny bit sweet.  I will TOTALLY make this recipe again.  I was even able to get my 3 year old to eat her veggies with this meal!

This is a KEEPER!

I LOVE Chinese food!  Let me clarify, I LOVE Chinese take out.  However, I am pretty wary when it comes to finding a new take out joint because of MSG issues and the super fried factor.  I found a pretty sweet recipe for Sweet and Sour Sauce on Allrecipes.com.  I was a little nervous because the last recipe for Chinese food I pulled from Allrecipes.com was HORRIBLE, despite all the great reviews (which could very well be a result of the chef...i.e., ME). The sweet and sour sauces you get at regular Chinese restaurants is a cherry red, this sauce is the color of whiskey.  This makes a sweet and tangy sweet and sour sauce.  I TOTALLY prefer this to the stuff you get at take out restaurants. 

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch 

Place the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, ketchup and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened. 


I poured this over pan seared cubes of chicken breast over rice.  Even my picky two year old LOVED this sauce!!!

Thai Chicken Salad

I am always on the search for new recipes for lettuce wraps.  The October edition of Cusine at Home magazine had an O.K. one I tried out this week.  Instead of making actual lettuce wraps I made a salad which keeps me from wilting left ove lettuce because I don't use it all. 

I liked this salad well enough, but the peanut sauce was ultimately lacking.  The recipe definitely called for too much peanut butter.  I would have liked it to have some vinegar and more oil...runnier and more flavorful.  However, give it a shot and let me know your thoughts.

Thai Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
3 Tbsp natural creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced and ground into a paste
1 Tbsp freash lime juice
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp fish sauce - which I left out because fish sauce is straight up barf!
1 tsp Sriracha sauce - definitely could have used more if you like spicy

For the Chickn Salad
6 oz. cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups broccoli slaw
2 Tbsp peanuts
8 large Bibb lettuce leaves - I served over a spring salad mix

Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, water, honey, fish sauce, and Sraracha for the sauce in a small bowl.  Toss chicken, slaw mix and peanuts with peanut sauce; chill covered until needed.  To searve, divide salad among lettuce leaves.

I really liked the addition of the broccoli slaw in this recipe, which was what drew me to it in the first place.  I would TOTALLY make this again, but with a different dressing/peanut sauce.

 

Lettuce Wraps - Take Two!

Awhile back I did a post for PF Chang's lettuce wraps.  I wasn't overly pleased with how they turned out and I certainly didn't think they were PF Chang quality.  I've had a serious hankering for lettuce wraps so I set out in search of better recipe.  And did I find it!  WHOOOHOOO!!!!

This recipe is SO much more flavorful that the one I found at recipezaar.  But what can you expect from a web site that doesn't spell czar correctly?  I hate this 'cute' little marketing ploy everyone does these days by spelling their names incorrectly.  How are the kids of this country going to learn to spell?  But I get side tracked. :) 

I found this recipe on my all time favorite recipe web site allrecipes.com...notice they spell their name correctly. :)  This recipe received an almost perfect five star scoring out of almost 17,000 people!  IT ROCKED!!!!  Even Alex was impressed and he isn't as fond of cute finger foods as I am. 

Lettuce Wraps - the RIGHT way!
16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves

1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.

In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!


The recipe calls for ground beef...which I am not a fan of...so I used cooked chicken breasts that I cut up into cubes and cooked in the sauce. I also 86'd the water chestnuts and replaced them with cashews...SO MUCH BETTER!!!  This recipe is going to be a repeater.

Cashew Chicken...Williams Sonoma Style

I used to surf the recipe section of Williams Sonoma's web site ALL the time drooling over the pictures of the FABULOUS dishes and adding them to my online recipe box.  I have a TON of recipes in this online box that I have never made because I didn't have the time before...until now!  Being a stay-at-home mom has some SERIOUS perks!

When going to a Chinese restaurant, Cashew Chicken isn't my very first choice of what to order...but I LOVE cashews and we happened to have 1 cup that needed to be used up. 

Cashew Chicken
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. rice wine or dry sherry
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbs. corn or peanut oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup salted roasted cashews
Steamed rice for serving

In a large bowl, stir together 2 Tbs. of the soy sauce, the wine and ginger. Stir in the chicken to coat evenly and set aside for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbs. water, the remaining 1 Tbs. soy sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, sugar and cornstarch, and stir to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch.

Stir-fry the chicken

Heat a wok or large fry pan over high heat until very hot and add 2 Tbs. of the corn oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade, draining it well, and discard the marinade. Add the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until opaque, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a bowl.

Return the wok to medium heat and add the remaining 1 Tbs. corn oil. Add the green onions and stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Return the chicken to the wok and add the cashews. Give the sauce a quick stir, add to the pan and stir until the sauce thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately with the steamed rice. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Asian, by Farina Wong Kingsley (Oxmoor House, 2007).


I didn't notice until I started cooking this meal that it lacked the veggie element of most Cashew Chicken dishes...that was really too bad. I like meals with different textures in them and this just didn't have it.  When I marinated the chicken I did it for an hour rather than the 15 minutes the recipe called for.  I've always thought that if a little of something is good, then a LOT has to be even better...that isn't always the case.  The chicken SOAKED up the soy sauce and over powered the dish.

Overall this wasn't too bad.  I'd totally make it again and add my own flourishes...like veggies...to improve this dish.  I'd also stick to the marinating instructions rather than improvising. :)

Noodles in a Hurray!

For Christmas, Alex's sister gave us a subscription to a cooking magazine called Cuisine at Home. We got our first issue two days ago. So far, I like it. There are a lot of recipes in there I normally wouldn't make, but I am glad as it will expand our cooking experience.

Soba Noodle Salad:

For the Noodles:

1 box soba noodles (8 oz.)

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon EACH: low-sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, and minced fresh garlic.

1 teaspoon chile garlic sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons sesame oil

3/4 cup snow peas, halved crosswise

3/4 cup sliced red or yellow sweet pepper

3/4 cup bias-sliced scallions

3/4 cup bean sprouts - our stupid grocery store doesn't carry bean sprouts so we had to pass

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

For the Shrimp:

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons fresh ginger root

2 teaspoons minced garlic

20 medium shrimp

Salt and Pepper

2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds - we passed on these too.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for noodles. Cook noodles according to the package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside.

Whisk peanut butter, broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger root and chile garlic sauce together in saucepan over medium heat just until peanut butter melts. Stir in lime juice and sesame oil, set aside.

Toss noodles, peanut sauce, snow peas, sweet pepper, scallions, sprouts and cilantro together in a bowl to coat.

Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons ginger root and garlic in a bowl. Toss with shrimp; season with salt and pepper.

Saute shrimp in remaining olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve on top of noodles and garnish with sesame seeds.

This is a pretty decent dish. The noodles and peanut sauce ROCK! Alex thought it was weird that the veggies weren't cooked up at all, but I LOVED the crunchiness of the veggies. This would be a GREAT dish with or without meat. You should definitely check it out.

Light but SPICY!

After a week of Mexican food, I opted for something light tonight. When I want something light but with tons of flavor, I turn to Ellie Krieger. That chick know how to stay skinny and still eat food that tastes good. I bought her 'The Food You Crave' book off The Good Cook.com. Bare with me while I plug this web site. I don't remember how I heard about this site, but I scored 3 FREE cookbooks when I signed up and I was only obligated to buy two others at 'club' price. I know...businesses like this are shifty...they mail you books when y0u forget to mail in those silly cards. But The Good Cook allows you to decline online. They also hook you up with 50% off books all the time too. O.K., I'm done plugging...but check it out.

I loved this book so much, I bought one for my mother and mother-in-law for Mother's Day last year. What is the best way to show the mother's in your life that you love them? Give them books that will keep them healthy so they stick around for a long time.

Enough with the book already! Tonight I made Ellie's recipe for Savory Chinese Chicken Salad. This is the BEST and I mean ABSOLUTE BEST asian chicken salad I have ever eaten. The dressing makes the whole thing!

Adapted from Ellie Krieger's

Savory Chinese Chicken Salad:

1/4 cup sliced almonds

For the chicken:

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

For the salad:

1 bag shredded cabbage

1 bag romaine lettuce

3 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

1-11 oz can mandarin oranges

For the dressing:

1/3 cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons chili sauce, such as Sriracha

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ginger...I didn't have fresh ginger so I used powdered.

Alex and I put the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil in a plastic bag with the chicken and let it marinade for about 10 minutes. Alex grilled it up...it was VERY proud of the grill marks he achieved.While the chicken was cooking up I mixed up the dressing. Throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. The dressing is runny like a vinaigrette...which is one of the things I love about this dressing...it isn't sticky sweet like some of the dressing you get in restaurants. This recipe meets ALL my needs. Because of the Sriracha it gives a nice KICK of spicy heat to the dish. How many dressing do you know that are spicy?! I love it!Mix up the amount of greens you want in a salad bowl and top with the cooked chopped up chicken, mandarin oranges, scallions and almonds. The last time Alex and I made this recipe we didn't have almonds and substituted cashews...anything you like. The sky is the limit!

I hope you love this recipe as much as Alex and I do!

Orange Chicken

Here's a news flash for some of you...I used to be a vegan. Seriously. I dated this vegan guy for a while and thought I would see what it was all about. I hated to give up my favorite foods so I went out of my way to create vegan meals I loved. I even posted a couple of recipes on a vegan website called vegweb. My favorite was a recipe for General Taos Tofu. It was pretty decent for a vegan recipe.

I wanted something asian this weekend, but not General Taos...fortunately I happened on a recipe for Orange Chicken on Annie's Eats site.

Orange Chicken:
For the marinade and sauce:
1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1 ½” pieces
¾ cup low sodium chicken broth
¾ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 ½ tsp. grated orange zest
8 thin strips orange peel (optional)
6 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup dark brown sugar
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold water

For coating and frying:
3 large egg whites - I used Egg Replacer
1 cup cornstarch
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups peanut oil (or canola oil)

For the marinade and sauce, place the chicken in a Ziploc bag; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken broth, orange juice, zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper; whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved. Measure out ¾ cup of the mixture and pour it into the bag with the chicken; press out as much air as possible and seal the bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with the marinade. Refrigerate 30-60 minutes, but no longer. Bring the remaining mixture in the saucepan to a boil over high heat. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and cold water; whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the orange peel (if using); set the sauce aside.

For the coating, place the egg whites in a pie plate and beat with a fork until frothy. In a second pie plate, whisk together the cornstarch, baking soda and cayenne until combined. Drain the chicken in a colander or large mesh strainer; thoroughly pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place half of the chicken pieces in the egg whites and turn to coat. Transfer the pieces to cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the dredged chicken pieces on another plate or a baking sheet. To fry the chicken, heat the oil in an 11- to 12-inch dutch oven or straight sided sauté pan with at least 3 qt. capacity over high heat until the oil reaches 350° on an instant read or deep fry thermometer. Carefully place half of the chicken in the oil; fry to golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning each piece with tongs halfway through cooking. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Return the oil to 350° and repeat with the remaining chicken.

To serve, reheat the sauce over medium heat until simmering, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and gently toss until evenly coated and heated through. Serve immediately.

I realized when I got to the breading part that I didn't have any eggs. CRAP! I didn't want to run to the store so I used the vegan egg replacer I used for my General Tao's tofu. This recipe turned out so much better than my tofu version of General Tao's. It was a better than the orange chicken at Panda Express because it wasn't thickly coated in breading. I also only used a 1/2 cup of canola oil for frying so they didn't soak up all the oil. It was GREAT!

What do you have dessert when you eat yummy Orange Chicken? A fortune cookie! Yep. Alex and I keep a box of fortune cookies around just in case we have yummy asian food.

What did my fortune say?

PF Chang's Luttuce Wraps

I am all for finding yummy restaurant recipes online and making them at home. It sucks when they don't turn out tasting quite as yummy as you expect. I have had the lettuce wraps at PF Chang's each time I go there...I have been there a total of 3 times. I'm not very fond of the food at PF Chang's, but I dig the Lettuce Wraps.

I found the link to this recipe on a new (well, new to me) blog I have been checking out College Food Experiences. It took me to a link on recipezaar. This recipe got nearly 5 stars and all the reviewers raved about it. And I'm not sure why. It was O.K., but I don't think it deserved 5 stars.

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps:
3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnut (I used cashews instead of water chestnuts - Alex and I don't really like water chestnuts and I figured the cashews would give the same consistency as the water chestnuts)

2/3 cup mushroom (I omitted this all together because I didn't have any and Alex detests them.) 3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce:
1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard (I didn't have hot mustard so I used horseradish)
2 teaspoons water
1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.

Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set aside. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.

Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

When chicken is cool, mince it to the same size as the mushrooms and water chestnuts. When doing your mincing, remember to remove all labels...note the sticker I inconveniently left on the yellow pepper. LOL!

With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.

Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.

Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups". (Look at the way the stir fry sauce looks like 'Texas Tea, oil that is' - remember from the Beverly Hill Billy's?)

Top with"Special Sauce".

Considering the "Special Sauce" calls for 2 teaspoons chile sauce and 1 tablespoon horseradish, I expected it to be much hotter. It was bland. Next time I make this I would leave out the 1/2 cup of water from the special sauce or I would cook it down to a syrup.

I will make this again and make it better!

Back to School

My youngest step sister is starting her first year of college at the end of the month...that got me thinking about my college years. I was an industrious college student. I went to school full time, I worked full time, I owned a house and was a landlord...phew! How did I survive?! RAMEN NOODLES!!!!!

Who doesn't live on ramen noodles when they are in college? After a while you get tired of the same old, same old so I got creative.

Spicy Chinese Ramen Noodles:
1 package ramen noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cups cabbage (I normally use packaged cabbage, but cut up cabbage is just as good and cheaper!!!)
Pinch or two of salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger - in a pinch you can use ground ginger, but combine it with the oil to make sure it gets distributed throughout the dish.
1/2 teaspoon crush garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup chopped cashews

Cook the package of ramen noodles until soft. Toss the flavor packet. Using the flavor packets makes the noodles WAY too salty. Drain noodles and set aside. Heat oil in frying pan and add chopped cabbage. Cook until soft. Add ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Mix all together until well combined. Add noodles and cashews. Mix until combined and serve!

This recipe ROCKS!!! It is total comfort food. Stand by for additional ramen noodles recipes!