Chicken Curry

I am leaving for a trip to San Antonio today, so I won't be posting the rest of the week. But before I go... Enjoy some delicious lightened up chicken curry. I had been planning on making fried rice, but was just so in the mood for rice that was soaked in sauce (yum) and I happened to have a can of light coconut milk on hand, so this delicious spiced (but not spicy) curry was born. With enough delicious sauce to drown a huge bowl of rice. Have a great week, see you all Monday!

Chicken Curry:
1 tbsp of coconut oil
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp of flour
2 onions
1 parsnip
1 bell pepper
2 tbsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp mustard
1 tsp of Garam masala
1 tsp of chili powder
1 Bay leaf
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/2 cup of light coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Toss the breasts with the flour to coat. Add to the hot pan and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes then flip. Chop the onions, parsnips, and pepper and add to the pan. Cook until onions soften slightly, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add spices, sugar, stock and coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft, about 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Happy Eating.

Daring Cooks: Moo Shu

Blog-checking lines: The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

This, I think was my favorite Daring Cooks challenge so far. It was absolutely delicious! Not all of the ingredients made it into my Moo Shu, because I got a little frazzled, but it was so good that next time I make it (and trust me, there will be a next time) I won't even bother to add them. The hoisin sauce was AMAZING, easy to make, and made from pantry staples plus it provided plenty of leftovers that were consumed throughout the week. The Moo Shu sent me on a cabbage eating binge like you would not believe. Making the pancakes was a lot of work, and they didn't really taste like anything, they were a good conduit for the meat and sauce, but next time I would happily eat this plain, over rice, or on a store bought tortilla, which would also make this more of an everyday meal (less work). Can you guess when I actually made this, I have been sitting on this post, dying to share it for a bit of time. (Hint: look for lots of cabbage and something else with hoisin sauce). Anyway, enjoy the deliciousness!

Moo Shu Pork:
1 pork loin, about 3/4 lb
1/2 head of green cabbage
1 bunch of scallions
1 package of gourmet mushrooms
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of canola oil
salt, pepper, chili powder

Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Finely chop the pork and add to the oil, cook until browned slightly, about 1 minute. Chop the cabbage, scallions and mushrooms and add to the pan. Add the vinegar and soy sauce and cook until cabbage softens, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder to taste.

Hoisin Sauce:
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp (or more) of Sriracha
1 1/2 tbsp of molasses
2 tbsp of almond butter
2 tsp of white vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp of garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth and combined.

Pancakes:
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of wheat flour
1/2 tsp of canola oil
3/4 cup of boiling water

Put the flour in a food processor with the dough blade and pulse a few times. While the machine is running pour in water and oil. Remove the dough from the processor, roll into a ball and cover with a damp towel, let stand 30 minutes. Return to the food processor and run until the dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Dive in half and roll into a long log, cut each log into 7 pieces, keep dough covered when you aren't using it. Roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a disk. Roll the disks out into a 6-8 inch circle. Heat a pan on high heat, then put on medium-low, cook pancakes until light brown spots appear, do not flip. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

Happy Eating.

Grilled Fried Rice

My obsession with grilling knows no bounds. I am seriously addicted, even when the planned dinner does not involve the grill, I can find a way. Like fried rice, which is a staple im my house. We eat it at least every other week and it's one of my absolute favorite easy meals. So how do you kick it up to the summer extreme and indulge my grilling addiction, while still enjoying this comforting staple? Grill the meat and all the veggies!! Wow! That is all I have to say about this, it is seriously awesome! If you like fried rice, you will love this. The char on the vegetables and meat, mixed with the delicious salty soy of the rice is such an amazing combination, I am astounded I didn't think of this sooner! Seriously, if you are like me and love to grill, try this now!

Grilled Fried Rice:
2 cups water
1 cup white rice, dry
1 large vidalia onion
1 bell pepper
1 poblano pepper
1 T-Bone Steak, or other meat of your choice
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
Salt, Pepper
Sriracha and Mayo for serving (optional)

Preheat the grill. Bring the water to a boil in a small pot, add rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absoarbed. In the mean time, Cut Onion into thick slices, and remove stem and seeds from peppers, brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place veggies on the grill (directly, or on a grill basket), grill until charred and cooked through, about 15 minutes, flipping half way through. Season steak on both sides with salt and pepper, and brush lightly with olive oil. Grill until desired doneness, flipping once halfway through (about 8-10 minutes total for medium rare). Let steak rest. Heat a skillet on medium heat, and spray with non-stick spray. Chop grilled onions and peppers and add to pan. Mince garlic and add that. Crack egg into pan, and scrammble it into the veggies. Add cooked rice and stir. Add soy sauce and stir together. Raise heat to high to crust the bottom of the rice (optional). Cut steak into bite size chunks, discarding bone. Turn off the heat under the pan and stir in steak. Serve with sriracha, may or sriracha mayo.

Happy Eating.

Garlicy Shrimp and Udon

On a lazy, slightly rainy gray, summer day I was craving something warm and soothing, yet still a lit summery and fun. I was thinking about a stir fry, and wondering how I could kick it up a notch. Then it hit me, soup! This delicious dinner was part stir fry, part homemade ramen, part soup, and all delicious. Like many of the delicious Asian and Asian inspired soups out there, it is totally hearty enough to be a meal, full of delicious veggies, shrimp and udon noodles. I found the noodles in the Asian section of Wegmans, it took a little hunting but it was so worth it.



Garlic Shrimp Soup:

5 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 container shitake mushrooms
1 bunch of swiss chard
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic, divided
2 tbsp Chili sauce
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp of soy sauce
salt, pepper
8 oz of udon noodles (1 package)

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large pan or wok. Dice 3 cloves of garlic and the onion and put them into the pan. Lightly salt and pepper and add 1 tbsp of chili sauce and 1 tsp of curry powder. Bring the stock to a boil in a medium pot, smash the last clove of garlic and add it to the stock, add a tsp of curry powder and a tbsp of chili sauce to the stock. Cook the udon noodles for 10-12 minutes in the stock, then remove the noodles from the stock. Add the mushrooms and chard to the onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Add the shrimp and the soy sauce to the pan. Turn heat to medium high and cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. To assemble the soup, put about a cup of noodles in a bowl with a generous scoop of shrimp and veggies, then top with stock. Serve and Enjoy.

The Shrimp Cooking away:


The Shrimp and veggies on top of the noodles:


Ready to eat:


Happy Eating.