Green Chili Curry

Recipe From: My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (sliced into 1/2" strips)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup couscous (cooked according to package directions)
2 tbsp cilantro leaves (chopped)

Season both sides of chicken with salt and black pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes per side until golden brown. In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut milk, green chilies, curry powder, garam masala, and cumin. Add mixture to chicken and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce reduces slightly. The sauce will be quite runny. To thicken it up a bit, I mixed one teaspoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water and added it to the sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Serve chicken and green curry sauce over couscous and garnish with cilantro.

Substitute for Garam Masala
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp crumbled bay leaves
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Naan

Recipe From: My Kitchen Cafe
I can't believe I actually made this and the taste and texture was perfect!

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used fat-free)
1/2 cup milk

In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and yeast. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients. Increase machine speed to 2 knead (with dough hook) until it is smooth and shiny. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until the dough doubles in size, about an hour.

Put a heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees for at least 30 minutes prior to baking. Divide the dough into eight pieces and form into teardrop (mine were more like oval) shapes with your hands, about 6 to 8 inches across.

Cook two or three pieces at a time. Drop the dough onto the hot stone and shut the oven door, watching until they are just starting to turn brown in places, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the naan and lay on a board. Serve warm with a nice curry. (The original recipe says to butter the naan with garlic butter after it comes out of the oven but I did this with the first batch and found it made the bread too greasy for my taste - we much preferred the bread soft and tender without the butter. Follow your tastes and do what you prefer!)

Sausage, Broccoli & Brown Rice

Recipe From: Picky Palate
Blake loved this. We used turkey sausage.

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 lb cheese filled chicken sausages (thinly sliced)
4 Cups broccoli florets (steamed)
4 Cups cooked brown rice
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese (grated)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic; cook for 1 minutes then add chicken slices. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is browned on both sides. Add broccoli, rice and parmesan cheese. Cook for 2 minutes or so, then season with salt and pepper.

Asian Grilled Salmon

Recipe From: My Kitchen Cafe Blog
We love eating grilled anything with fresh veggies and rice/potatoes. This was really easy and tasty. We made it with cheesy orzo.Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat grill for medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Beef & Scallion Rolls

Recipe From: Martha Stewart Website
Really great flavors and easy. I would double the sauce next time.Ingredients:

1 lb beef sirloin (pounded thin and slice into thin strips)

1 red pepper (ribs & seeds removed, sliced into thin strips)

4 scallions (trimmed & sliced thinly lengthwise)

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp oil

2 tsp sugar

salt/pepper

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet and add bell pepper. Cook until pepper blisters (2-4 minutes). Add 1 tbsp soy sauce. Transfer to a plate and wipe skillet clean. Place beef slices between plastic wrap and pound lightly until 1/8" thick. Season with salt/pepper. Divide bell pepper and scallions among slices. Roll tightly into bundles and secure with a toothpick. Heat 1 tbsp oil in same skillet and sear rolls until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Wipe skillet clean. Add water, remaining soy sauce, vinegar and sugar to skillet. Cook over medium heat until sauce is reduced and syrupy. Serve over rice (remove toothpicks) and drizzle with sauce.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe From: Proffit Family

I've been making these as long as I can remember. The recipe came from my mom's collection. Blake and I eat cookies AT LEAST 2-3 times a week. Now that we are preparing for Costa Rica, we don't indulge nearly enough.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter (I use Blue Bonnet...have no idea why!)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla, baking soda, baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1/3 to 1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar and eggs together until creamy. Combine the remaining ingredients, adding chocolate chips last. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 325 for 14 minutes (so they are soft). Let cool on the cookie sheet. Blake and I only eat a batch at a time, so we put the remaining dough in the freezer, so we can have cookies whenever we want!

Sweet Pulled Pork Salad & Taquitos

Compilation of Recipes
After spending the weekend in Utah, I got to eat Cafe Rio again. Yummy. I've tried many different recipes for sweet pork and the tomatillo dressing. This is the latest, and so far the best. The taquitos were inspired by The Cheesecake Factor (of all places). We ate there the last night in SLC, and ordered taquitos as an appetizer. It's amazing how great meat and cheese can taste!

Pork Ingredients:

Pork Butt Roast (I know, it's the butt...but! I've tried a tenderloin and regular roast, and the HEB meat lady said the butt is the best for pulled pork...agreed!)
1 can Coke
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup fat free French dressing
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 cloves garlic

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours.

Tamatillo Dressing Ingredients:

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Mix
1 large jalepeno
1 clove garlic
1 tamatillo
1 handfull cilantro
1 lime
1 cup fat free mayo
1 cup fat free plain yogurt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Other Ingredients:

Guerrero Tortillas
Monterrey Jack Cheese
Black Beans
Steamed Rice (mixed with cilantro and fresh lime juice)
Lettuce, Cilantro, Limes, Pico di Gallo

Beef Lo Mein

Recipe From: Salt Lake Tribune

When Blake and I got married in 2001, he said one of his favorite things was asian style noodles. I probley tried 10 different recipes until I found this one.

Beef Marinade:
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame seed oil

Sauce:

2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp sesame seed oil
2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp white pepper (or less)
4 tbsp peanut sauce

Ingredients:

1/2-1 lb beef flank steak
1 lb thin spaghetti noodles
1/2 lb bean sprouts
1/4 cup green onions
garlic and ginger

Mix beef marinade. Cut steak into 1/4 inch slices. Marinate beef for about 15 minutes. Cook meat and set aside (I just put it in the broiler). Add noodles to a large pot of boiling, salted water. Do not drain. In a bowl, mix together sauce ingredients. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or skillet, add grated ginger, garlic and salt...saute until fragrant. Add sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Add cooked meat, noodles (scoop directly from the pot of water so there is a bit of the salty water), green onions and bean sprouts. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Homemade Bread & Blackberry Jam

Bread Machine Recipe & Pectin Box Recipe

Blake eats a peanut butter & honey sandwich everyday for lunch...last night we had NO bread! So, I set the bread machine timer to bake it while we slept. We woke up to the smell of fresh baked bread - yummy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp dry milk

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp dry yest

Combine all ingredients in that order and follow bread machine directions. I think the crust was a little too tough, but otherwise it was really good warm. I made the blackberry freezer jam a couple of months ago.

Meatball Sandwiches

My Original Recipe
Blake HATES meatloaf, but I love it. I figured why not just change the shape and put it on french bread...he'll never know the difference! I was right...he LOVED IT! I used my mom's meatloaf recipe as a base recipe and changed it up a bunch.

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1/3 onion (diced)

2 slices whole wheat bread (torn into pieces)

2 eggs (beaten)

2 tbsp skim milk (might delete next time)

1 green onion (sliced)

8 oz can tomato sauce

3 tbsp ketsup

salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram

French Bread

Bottled Marinara Sauce

Fresh Mozzerella

Homemade Sauce:

8 oz can tomato sauce

1 can tomato soup

salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram

Combine all ingredients(except cheese & marinara) into a bowl and mix up. Because I wasn't following a recipe, I didn't really know what I was doing. It seemed a little too mushy when I shaped them into balls, but they tasted really moist and yummy. It made about 24 medium sized meatballs that I put in a 9x13 pan sprayed with Pam. Mix up and pour about 1/2 the homemade sauce over the meatballs and bake at 350 for about an hour. 1/2 way through, I turned them over in the pan and when there was about 10 minutes left I poured the rest of the homemade sauce on the top. Cut a 6" piece of bread, then cut in half and then slice open. Put a few meatballs in and cover with bottled marinara sauce and top with cheese. Melt the cheese in the broiler and enjoy!

Beef Teriyaki Stirfry

Recipe From: Campbell's Soup
Super easy and one of Blake's favorites...there are few.

Ingredients:

1/2 - 1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak

1 can Golden Mushroom Soup

1 tbsp brown sugar (heaping)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 bag frozen vegetables (it's good when there are waterchestnuts)

I usually buy thin siroin steaks when they are on sale (about 1 1/2 lbs in a package). When I get home I seperate into 3 ziplocs and freeze. So, I don't really remember what kind of steak it is...other than it is really thin and yummy. When it is still a little frozen, cut meat into 3/4 inch thick strips and broil on low with a splash of soy sauce and meat tenderizer. Combine golden mushroom soup, brown sugar and soy sauce in a large skillet. Stir while it warms, add the beef and then the frozen veggies. Cover and stem until the veggies are crisp. Serve with rice...just the way Sammie likes it.