Coconut Chicken Curry

Adapted from: http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/10/coconut-chicken-curry.html
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size cubes
1 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. Indian curry powder
1 small onion, diced or thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can light coconut milk
1 14.5 oz. can crushed diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, to thicken (optional)
2 cups brown rice
4 cups water (or low-sodium chicken broth)
crushed peanuts, for serving
fresh cilantro, diced, to garnish

DIRECTIONS
1.Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 45-55 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is soft. (If you are using par-boiled brown rice follow the package directions for how long it should take.)

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add curry powder and cook for about two minutes, stirring often. Add onions and garlic, and cook for several minutes, until soft. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Toss to lightly coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the edges are browned.

3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan. Stir to combine. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is somewhat reduced. (At this point I add 1 Tbsp. cold water mixed with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch to thicken. Unless you were to simmer for an hour or so the sauce won't thicken enough on its own.)

4. Serve curry over a bed of brown rice. Top with crushed peanuts and cilantro.

Serves 6.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

SALAD:

4 c. chopped Romaine Lettuce

2 c. chopped grilled chicken (you could use Taco Chicken if you want)

1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, washed

1/3 c. vertically-sliced red onions

1 avocado, cubed

1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 8 3/4 oz. can corn, rinsed and drained

DRESSING:
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 c. light sour cream
1 1/2 + tsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chilies
1 tsp. chili powder
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
¼ tsp. salt
OPTIONAL:
Tortilla Strips
Make sure all salad ingredients that need to be washed or rinsed have been. I rinse the beans and corn together; no reason not to! Heck, throw the tomatoes in while you’re at it if you want!
Combine lettuce, chicken, beans, corn, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl and gently mix with your hands (which you have obviously and thoroughly washed, of course! :) ). Set aside.
Mix dressing ingredients. I say to start with 1 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and then go from there, probably 1/4-1/2 tsp. at a time. If you’re serving this for a crowd, it’s probably better to err on the side of not spicy enough rather than too spicy, but if you’re just making it for your family and you have taste buds of steel, have at it. You could even chop up one of the chilies and toss it in there if you’re feeling super-brave. Then taste the dressing and you’ll know what heaven tastes like. Set dressing aside.
If you’re making tortilla strips, fry those puppies up now. I didn’t make them here because I’m trying my darndest not to be naughty nutritionally, but if I make this salad for some kind of festivity, I always make the tortilla strips. Allow them to cool.
When you’re ready to serve, add avocado, tortilla strips, and dressing. Gently combine and serve.
Makes 4-6 meal-sized servings and 6-8 side-dish or party-sized servings.

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Adapted from Our Best Bites: http://www.ourbestbites.com

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Adapted from: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/04/monte-cristo-sandwiches/

I had one of these in San Fransisco and it was AMAZING!!!

White sandwich bread

Thin sliced deli ham

Swiss cheese, sliced

butter

2 eggs

1 C milk

2T flour

Strawberry Jam (or raspberry works too)

Powdered sugar

optional: dijon mustard or maple syrup

Instructions:

Whisk flour and milk and then add in eggs and whisk until well-blended and place in a shallow dish.Now this isn’t rocket science- basically you want to put the cheese and the meat on the inside of the bread, then dip both sides of the sandwich in the egg/milk mix, then grill in a hot buttered skillet until the bread is browned and toasty and the cheese inside is melted.Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with Jam. Done.

However, I’ll tell you how I find it easiest to do.When I tried to build the sandwich first, and then dip it, it was hard to keep everything together and I had egg stuff dripping all over. Apparently I’m not as coordinated as Dawn is because that’s how she did it and it looked effortless!

Soo…I dip one side of one piece of bread in the egg mixture and place in a hot, buttered skillet. Then immediately build the sandwich on the bread in the pan, starting with the cheese on the bottom, then meat, then cheese again. (This way, the cheese melts and “glues” the sandwich together.) Then I dip one side of the 2nd piece of bread in the egg and place it on top (egg side out).

Let the sandwich sizzle for a few minutes until the bread on one side is nice and brown, and flip.

To serve, slice in half and sprinkle with powdered sugar.I like it served with the classic strawberry jam.I place a little bowl on the side, but you can just grab a knife and slather some on the inside too.When I had these at my friend’s house in addition to the jam, she also had maple syrup andDijonmustard (not to be eaten together- just to pick one or the other!)So it’s really up to you and your preference.

Dirt Cake

From: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?recipeID=7255&origin=detail&servings=10&metric=false

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

3 1/2 cups milk 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed 32 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear.
2.	Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl.
3.	In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together.
4.	Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together.
5.	Layer in flower pot, starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers.
6.	Chill until ready to serve.
7.	Add artificial flower and trowel. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from: http://jamiecooksitup.net/2009/11/chicken-enchiladas/

4 chicken breasts (you can start with frozen)

1 fajita seasoning packet

water

2 cans cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)

2 small cans green chillies

2 C cheddar cheese

milk

1 10 count package flour tortillas (I use the Smiths brand, they are inexpensive and only 90 calories a piece…and they are tasty!)

1. Place the chicken in a large skillet. Sprinkle the seasoning over the top of the chicken.

2. Pour hot water over the chicken until it is mostly covered.

3. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.

4. Turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken can be shredded.

5. Take the chicken breasts out of the pan one at a time and shred with a fork. Place the shredded chicken back in the skillet and simmer for another hour.

6. Place the chicken (reserve the saucy fajita mixture), soup, chiles, and cheese in a large mixing bowl.

7. Pour about 1/2-3/4 C of the fajita mixture over the top of the other ingredients.

8. With an electric beater, blend the chicken mixture together. Using the beater really helps shred the chicken up nicely, while incorporating all of the other ingredients.

9. You may want to add a little splash of milk at this point. The chicken mixture should be quite saucy. You don’t want dry enchiladas! The texture should resemble gravy.

10. Spray a 9×13 pan and spoon about 1/2 a cup of the chicken mixture over the bottom of it. 

11. Layer 4 tortillas along the bottom of the pan.

12. Pour just less than half the chicken mixture over the tortillas.

13. Layer another 3 tortillas on top of the chicken mixture.

14. Pour all but about 1/2 a cup of the chicken mixture over the tortillas.

15. Layer the last three tortillas on, and cover with the remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of cheese.

16. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Smore Cookies

From www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com  Time: about 90 minutes Yield: 48 cookies Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!   1 package graham crackers (9 full sized graham crackers) 6 T butter, melted 1 T sugar dash salt 1 C butter, softened 2 C brown sugar 2 eggs 2 T milk 2 t vanilla 1 t baking soda 2 t baking powder 1/2 t salt 3 1/2 C flour 2 1/2 C milk chocolate chips   24 large marshmallows 4 small 1.55 oz Hershey bars        1. Break the graham cracker crumbs up into pieces. Place them in a small food processor and grind them into crumbs. No food processor? Do not dismay. You can crush your crackers into crumbs by placing them in a gallon sized zip loc bag, sealing the bag securely and then smashing the crumbs with a rolling pin. 2. To your crumbs add 6 T melted butter,1 T sugar and a dash of salt. Let the food processor grind all of the ingredients together nicely. Set the crumbly mixture aside.  3. Place your softened butter and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until the ingredients are nicely creamed together, about 2 minutes.   4. Add your eggs, milk and vanilla and mix for another 2 minutes.  5. In a separate bowl combine your baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Add it to your creamed mixture and mix until combined.  Toss in your chocolate chips and mix yet again, just until the chips are evenly distributed.  6. Grab your graham cracker crumbs and pour them into the cookie dough. Using a wooden spoon, or your hands :) smash them into the cookie dough. You don't want the graham cracker crumb mixture to be totally lost in the dough, just....well....just smashed into it a bit. Boy, you have really come to an eloquently written blog now haven't you. Fancy lingo just dripping from every corner. :) 7. Roll the dough into 2 inch balls, place them on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 6 minutes, or just until the cookies begin to crack.  8. While your cookies are in the oven, cut the large marshmallows in half.  9. Press a marshmallow piece into the center of each hot cookie. Return the sheet to the oven and bake for about 1 1/2 more minutes allowing the marshmallows to puff up and get all wonderful and delicious.  10. Remove the sheet from the oven. Let the cookies sit for about 2 minutes, then press one Hershey bar piece into the center of the marshmallow.  11. Remove the cookies from the sheet and allow them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Spiced Carrot Waffles

Yield: Serves 3-4

ingredients:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, divided
1 cup packed shredded carrot
1 3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter

directions:

Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine egg yolks, milk, carrots and oil in a medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients. Beat whites in a separate smaller bowl until soft peaks form. Carefully fold whites into the batter, leaving a few fluffs.

Bake on hot waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.

Nat's Notes:
1. For buttermilk waffles, substitute 2 c. buttermilk for regular milk. Add ½ tsp baking soda and reduce baking powder to 2 tsp.

Adapted from http://www.perrysplate.com/2010/01/spiced-carrot-waffles.html