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!

Hearty chicken Stew

4 small onions, quartered
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into -2inch chunks
2 pounds chicken thighs, skin removed
Handful thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds red bliss potatoes, washed and quartered
2 handfuls green beans, trimmed
Hot pepper sauce, to taste

In a large pot, combine onions, garlic, carrots, chicken and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Add cold water to cover. Bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Skim and discard any scum that may come to the top.

Simmer until the meat of the chicken falls off the bone with almost no pressure from a fork, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate. Use 2 forks to separate the meat from the bone. Add the meat back to pot.

Add the potatoes, cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Add green beans, cook until crisp-tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Navajo Tacos

1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 egg
1 1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp corn meal
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
5 cups flour
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 lb ground beef (optional, you can also use chicken or leave out meat entirely)
1 can refried beans (I like to use black beans)
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 can sliced olives
1/4 cup sliced jalapenos
1 jar salsa
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in lare bowl with water. Add a little of the sugar to help activate the yeast. After about 5 min. add all other ingredients except 3 cups flour. Mix and cover 1 hour. Add rest of flour and knead well. Let rise double in bulk. Refrigerate until ready to use. For tacos: roll out a small piece of dough on a floured surface. Fry in a little oil in a frying pan. Drain on a paper towel. Top with ingredients you like. The leftover scones are good with cinnamon and sugar or honey for dessert!

Oriental Steak Salad

Here is the real recipe:

Ingredients 1 pkg (3 oz.) Oriental flavor instant ramen noodles 4 cups water 1 bag 16 oz. Birds Eye frozen Cauliflower, Carrots & Snow Pea Pods 2 tbsps vegetable oil 1 lb boneless beef top loin steak, cut into thin strips 1/3 cup Oriental sesame salad dressing 1/4 cup chow mein noodles

Instructions Reserve seasoning packet from noodles. In large saucepan, bring water to boil. Add ramen noodles and vegetables; return to boil and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook and stir about 8 minutes or until browned. Stir in reserved seasoning packet until beef is well coated. In large bowl, toss together beef, ramen noodles, vegetables and salad dressing. Sprinkle with chow mein noodles.

Serving Suggestions Serve over lettuce.

Here is how I changed it:

I didn't have any oriental sesame dressing so I used caesar italian and poured the ramen flavoring in the dressing with a little teriyaki sauce and olive oil.

This is a delicious recipe!

Veggie Chowder

Ok, I know you guys are sick of my vegginess- and I also know that Marilee just posted a corn chowder recipe- BUT I got this free cook book at costco and this recipe was in there and it was sooo easy and good, and if you had it the night after corn chowder it would still be new and yummy. All you need is:

• 2 Tbsp Butter (or in my case Smart Balance Marg)
  
• 1/4 Tsp Thyme
  
• One Onion chopped
  
• 1.5 cups milk (I used vanilla soy milk and it was really good)
• 2.5 cups water
• 2 bullion cubes
  
• Two Potatoes cubed
  
• 5 cups of Frozen Veggie Medley (I used the Fred Meyer Garden Veggie Medley which has red peppers, a few kinds of beans, broccoli etc. but of course the cook book recommended the costco variety.)
• Salt and Pepper
  

Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the thyme and onion. When the onion is soft add the milk, water, bullion and potatoes and boil. Simmer until potatoes are soft. Then add the frozen veggies and bring back to a boil. Turn the heat to low and take two cups of the soup and put it in the blender and puree. Put the puree back into the soup and serve (salt and peppered) with biscuits. Seriously it's good!! Don't believe Vegan is Gross! It can be Good! Makes enough for 4 servings, and freezes well.

Baked Chicken Picatta

3 med chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp salt
1/6 cup butter, plus 2-3 Tbsp extra light olive oil
1 cups fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup flour, season with garlic salt, onion powder, pepper, and paprika
1 Tbsp of seasoned flour
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion, white bulb only
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
1/8 cup cream
1/2 dash tarrogon leaves to taste
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon to taste
1/2 dash capers (optional)

Directions:

Coat chicken with seasoned flour. Brown in butter. Remove and add onion and mushrooms. Cook 3 min. Stir in 2 T seasoned flour. Add chicken broth and cream. Add tarragon and lemon to taste. Bake 1 hr at 350 with foil; then uncover last 15 min.

Sausage Pie with Cornbread Crust

Hello sisters, guess everyone is really busy lately. Kedra seems to think all of my recipes sound gross, but I wouldn't post them if I thought they were gross, and I've tried them all. So there. Well, I bought some Morningstar Farms breakfast sausage patties at Costco a while ago and they were really good in this recipe. I also had all the other stuff on hand so it was an easy meal (I always have cornmeal around for polenta-another easy meal, see adriasrecipes.blogspot.com). You need:

• 1lb sausage (I used mashed up veggie sausage patties as I said before- I'll bet ground beef would also work
• 1 cup wheatberries cooked
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms

Cornbread Topping: (The next time I make this casserole I will double the topping recipe.)

• 2/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk or soymilk
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook sausage, onion, pepper, mushrooms and garlic in a skillet 8 to 10 min. If using real meat, cook until done all the way through and then drain it.
   
3. Add wheatberries, corn and tomatoes, 5 more minutes.
4. Stir all topping ingredients in a bowl until blended.
5. Spoon sausage mixture into a deep casserole, and spoon the topping over it evenly.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
   

Stuffed Squash

We don't make monkey macaroni because, since his mission, Garth has developed a slight intolerance to cheese.

Well, this week I made some easy stuff like pizza, and cashew fried rice, and veggie pot pie-but I tried one new recipe that was not bad. Sorry no pic, it is actually probably more beautiful than delicious but only by a little. You need:

• 1 squash (acorn is probably the most delicious, but this time I used delicata, which was not as good)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 small onion chopped finely
• 2 carrots grated
• 1 cup broccoli chopped finely
• 3/4 cup corn or chopped bell pepper
• some garlic salt
• a tiny bit of cayenne
• some other spices I threw in, whatever is lying around
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
  

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil the whole squash for 15 minutes while you chop the other veggies. Fry the onions in the oil until they are soft. Sautee the rest of the veggies and spices with the onions for 5 minutes while you cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Smear one tablespoon of butter on the inside of each squash half. Transfer the veggie sautee to the buttered squash cups and bake for about an hour. The top veggies should be kind of crispy and the squash flesh should be really soft (you can check with a fork or toothpick).

I really had low expectations for this recipe but it was surprisingly good and it would have been very easy without a baby. Anyway, it seems like people don't eat a lot of squash nowdays anyway so it is good for variety, and it is pretty cheap. Plus you can clean the seeds and roast them later. (Or you can boil a squash, peel and mash it with some butter and brown sugar, kind of like mashed potatoes- that's another of my favorite ways to eat squash.) See you all later!

Monkey Macaroni

This really isn't Adria, this is Garth. I am hijacking her account for a little bit to post the recipe for Monkey Macaroni, which is a versatile little recipe that I developed while on my mission. On with the recipe:


Ingredients

• Macaroni noodles
  
• Water
• Grated cheese (Gouda, cheddar, Swiss, it doesn't really matter what type)
  
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoon oil (olive, corn, sunflower oil, etc. it doesn't really matter)
• 1-2 spoonfuls butter
• Spices: 2 bouillon cubes (preferably chicken), onion powder, garlic salt, and anything else that you have got that might be good with macaroni

Directions
Dump macaroni in a pot of boiling water. To create the sauce combine the milk, oil and butter with about 1/3 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in your spices and remove from the heat. When the macaroni is cooked (about 8 minutes), strain the macaroni. Add the cheese and sauce to the macaroni. Mix well, serve and enjoy!

Corn Chowder

Cook 1 c. carrots, 1 c. potatoes, and 1/2 c. celery in about 1 c. water. Add 2 cans corn and one can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup and 2 cups milk. Cook 6 strips of bacon and drain and then cook one chopped onion in the same pan. Cut up bacon and add the onions and bacon to the soup. Add cooked wheat berries. Salt and pepper and simmer. Do not boil.

Ingredients:
carrots
potatoes
celery
2 cans corn
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
milk
bacon
wheat berries

Bean and Vegetable Burritos

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, minced
1 Tbsp chili pepper
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup shredded cheese
sour cream, optional
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 16oz can yams drained, diced
1 15oz can corn rinsed
2 Tbsp lime juice
6-8 tortillas
salsa, optional
Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil over medium high heat in large saucepan. Add onion and cook 10 min, stir often. Add jalapeno pepper, chili powder, garlic, oregano and cumin; stir 1 min. Add Tbsp water and stir, remove from heat. Stir in yam, beans, corn, pepper, and lime juice. Spoon 2 Tbsp of cheese in center of tortilla, top with filling. Fold tortilla. Place seam side down, cover with foil and bake 30 min or until heated through. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
Serves 6-8

Apples and Onions for pork chops or potatoes

Cut up one or more apples into bite-sized chunks. Cut up half an onion per apple (or less). Saute in pan and sprinkle with cinnamon and cloves.

Cook pork chops or potatoes and sprinkle with rosemary and thyme. Serve cooked apples and onions on top.

I served the apples and onions on top of pork chops and mashed potatoes so I know whichever one you want to use tastes good.

Asparagus Bread Pudding

I used broccoli instead of asparagus because it was cheaper and it was good too. I served this with pork chops the first time I made it, but it is versatile. Here is the link: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001571.html

This website is cool for different and delicious ideas. The only problem is that sometimes Heidi uses unique spices and ingredients that I don't have.