Red Curry

I am finally adding my favorite Thai recipes. I hope you guys use them. We keep all the ingredients on hand and cook Thai food very often, which is probably a bad idea because I hear coconut fat is pretty bad for you, but it is so delicious and so much cheaper than restaurants.

This recipe doesn't really have a recipe, you just add everything to taste, but this is my best estimate.

3 Tbsp. red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1-2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1-2 Tbsp. palm or white sugar
5 kaffir lime leaves
fresh basil
1 or 2 chicken breasts
Vegetables, if desired - bamboo shoots, eggplant, zucchini, etc.

Cook curry paste with a little coconut milk in wok. Add fish sauce, sugar, and tear up kaffir lime leaves. Add chicken and more coconut milk to taste. I usually don't add the whole can of coconut milk. Taste as you add it. The more milk you add, the less spicy it is, but if you add too much you can lose the color and flavor. Cook until chicken is cooked through. Add vegetables. Add basil at the end. Eat with jasmine rice (definitely worth the money - it makes the house smell wonderful and it tastes so good).

Phad Thai

Jeremy and I have been eating this at least once a week since we got back from Thailand. (We ate it almost every day there!) We finally feel like we are perfecting it. It is a kind of dish to play with and add whatever sounds good. I like to taste the sauce before I put the noodles in and sometimes I don't add all the noodles, just enough to get covered in the sauce. So everybody should try this because it is so delicious.

6 oz. or so rice noodles (this is always hard to decide how much, but rice noodles try again)
2 Tbsp. oil
1 cup or so tofu cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. tamarind juice or vinegar
1 cup bean sprouts
3 eggs
10-20 shrimp
some chopped, roasted, peanuts
Chili flakes
Green onions
1 lime

Soak noodles in lukewarm water for 20 minutes. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in wok. Add 2 cloves garlic and start to brown. Get wok really hot, then add the following fairly quickly. (It is best to have everything out and ready to add in order because the cooking doesn't take long.) Add fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and tamarind juice or vinegar. Add tofu and stir fry. Add noodles, bean sproats, peanuts. Move everything over to one side of the wok and break eggs into pan. Scramble then mix in. Add everything else, juice the lime on the phad thai and serve quickly.

Creamy Rice Pudding (Sorry for all the dessert recipes)

This recipe is supposed to deserve more than five stars. I found it on allrecipes.com. I am going to try it this week.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.

Note

This recipe may also be made using Splenda® instead of sugar. Use 1/3 the amount. This is an easy way to enjoy this great creamy recipe but cut down on the sugar and calories.

Wacky Cake (vegan)

This cake is really good. Adria, you probably have a vegan cake recipe, but if you don't you need to make this right away.

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ cup cocoa

2/3 cup oil

2 Tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl add the above ingredients. In an ungreased 13X9X2 pan place batter and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Choco-Buttercream Frosting:

1/3 cup soft butter

2 ounces melted chocolate

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp. milk

Mix thoroughly butter & cooled chocolate. Blend in sugar. Stir in vanilla and milk; beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency.

Veggie Quesadillas

I got this recipe from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Nate and I both thought it was delicious!

Ingredients:
1 cup butternut squash, cooked and pureed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup navy beans
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tortillas
salsa

Directions:
Mix the cheese and squash together in a bowl until well blended, then spread onto 2 tortillas.
Mash the navy beans (or white Northern Beans) in a bowl with the sour cream until smooth. Spread on the other 2 tortillas. Bring the tortillas together to make 2 quesadillas with the filling in the middle. Place on a baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes at 400. Serve with salsa.

Lemon Pepper Shrimp from P.F. Chang's

This dish might look hard, but all you need to do is read through the recipe once and it is not bad at all.

It is best if eaten right away.

Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/3 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons coarse grind black pepper

1 pound medium raw shrimp (31/40 count), shelled and deveined
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup vegetable oil
4 thin lemon slices, each cut into quarters

Garnish
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 large green onions
1 cup bean sprouts

1. Make sauce by heating 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and ginger in the hot oil for about 15 seconds being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the soy sauce, then dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add the mixture to the pan. Add brown sugar, lemon juice and black pepper and bring mixture to a boil. Simmer for two minutes then remove it from the heat.
2. Coat all the shrimp generously with cornstarch. Let the shrimp sit for about five minutes so that the cornstarch will adhere better.
3. Heat a cup of oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp to the pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until the shrimp starts to turn light brown. Strain the shrimp out of the oil with a slotted spoon or spider and dump oil. Replace shrimp back in the wok along with the lemon slices, sauté for a minute, then add the sauce to the pan. Toss everything around to coat the shrimp thoroughly. Cook for another minute or so until the sauce thickens on the shrimp.
4. As the shrimp cooks, heat up 1 teaspoon of oil in a separate medium saucepan. Cut the green part of the green onions into 3-inch lengths. Add those green onion slices and bean sprouts to hot oil along with a dash of salt and pepper. Sauté for a couple minutes until green onions begin to soften.
5. Build the dish by pouring the green onions and sprouts onto a serving plate. Dump the shrimp over the veggies and serve.

From: http://www.topsecretrecipes.com

Serves 2.

Tuna Pockets

Ladies, I have been racking my brain for dinner ideas since Christmas. I have meant to post some stuff but never have. Today I made some non-vegan Tuna Pockets (originally mom's recipe) that have been a husband hit every time. All you need is:

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup water

1. Make dough out of the Bisquick and water and roll it out 18x12 inches and cut into six squares.

2 small tuna cans
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 package (3oz?) cream cheese
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
3/4 cup wheat berries

1. Mix everything together and put 1/3 cup of it in the center of each dough square. Fold the corners into the center like oragami. Brush tops with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. Very filling. Too much cheese for me though. Husbands love it. Sorry no picture.
   

Variation on Mom's Theme

Mom, that was a great recipe!!! (Actually almost every recipe I've tried from this blog has been Amazing!!) Anyway, I couldn't find the foccacia at the Costco here, so I used bagels. And I didn't have any meat or cheese, so I made open faced sandwiches with mushroom slices on top of the pesto and thin tomato slices on top of the mushrooms, and then a tiny bit of garlic salt and parmesan on top of the tomatoes. It was so easy and filling and delicious. Thanks for the idea. It was really fun to see all of you guys at Christmas. Happy new year back in the kitchen!