Oh I wish I had another photo of this! This one just doesn't do it justice. And justice it deserves. I'd heard of Chicken Korma (an Indian dish) but is one I had never made. Two things: it is so good and it is so easy. This is a crock pot dish. I got everything read the night before (if you cut the potatoes ahead of time, be sure to cover them with water, drain before using) and just popped everything in the crock pot about 2 p.m. and by 7 p.m. it was perfect. The house smelled so good when I walked through the door. The recipe (from "More Make if Fast, Cook it Slow" by Stephanie O'Dea) calls for 1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken. I used half breast and half thigh. Also, I couldn't find my cinnamon sticks so I just sprinkled a bit of ground cinnamon in. Serve this over white or brown basmati rice. I served it with seasoned Italian green beans.
CHICKEN KORMA (serves 4)
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken, cut in chunks
1 large potato, peeled and cut in 1/2" chunks
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can stew tomatoes and juice
1 garlic clove, minced (1 tsp)
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (to add later)
cooked white or brown basmati rice for serving
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the potato and onion. Pour in the stewed tomatoes, and add the garlic and spices. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Discard the cinnamon stick, and stir in the sour cream or yogurt. Serve over white or brown basmati rice.
Did you ever see the program "Cook Yourself Thin?" It used to be on Lifetime and every once in a while I can catch a rerun. I really liked it, they would take a meal and revamp it to make it healthier with lower fat and calories. This was a take on potato skins and it is fantastic. This recipe is two full servings, but half of one of the servings was plenty filling for me. I generally like my sweet potatoes simple, baked with butter. But this was a meal in itself for me. And I think they would freeze very well. I hope you'll try this one.
Healthy Potato Skins
Calories per serving: 420
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bag baby spinach
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 slices turkey bacon
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
I had some leftover spinach and everything else to make a spinach salad, so last night that was what was on the menu. It's basic of what you have on hand. Last night I used spinach, red onions, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, goat cheese, hard-boiled egg, crumbled bacon, and last night I grilled a chicken breast to make it more of an entree salad.
The vinaigrette is a compilation of several recipes. I don't use all of the dressing, this is a just a guideline:
BACON VINAIGRETTE:
Fry 2 pieces of bacon. Drain the bacon, keep the drippings. Whisk into the drippings:
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp dijon
S&P
This is another re-post. I made these cookies about a year ago. I ran across the recipe which calls for Root Beer Extract or Concentrate. Now, I love root beer so I figured I'd give these a try. They were very good, but not over the top. At the time, I could not find root beer extract in these parts, so I had to buy it on-line. I found "Cook's Root Beer Extract." Recently, I noticed in all my local grocery stores have started carrying the "Watkin's" brand of extracts, including the root beer flavor. And what a difference! Now these cookies really taste like root beer. I'm loading up on this stuff.....if you need any....let me know and I'll get some in the mail to you.
ROOT BEER FLOAT COOKIES (made about 4 dozen for me)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temp
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp root beer extract or concentrate
4 cups flour
pinch salt
1 tsp baking soda
Cream together sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add milks, eggs, and root beer extract. Stir to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate dough until firm (mine sat overnight), then roll into 1" balls (mine weighed 20 grams each). Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, or a sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely before applying glaze.
Glaze: (I cut this recipe in half)
Whisk together:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk (skim, whole, 1/2&1/2, or cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla
I posted this meatball recipe a long time ago, but it is just too good not to post again. The recipe came from Char's "Amici's Restaurant" in Minnesota. Char used half ground beef and half ground pork, but I thought one day I'd like to try to lighten them up a bit. I tried ground turkey breast. And they came out incredibly well! You would think they'd be a bit dry, but they're not. And something I had never heard of: raisins in meatballs. I do not care for raisins at all, but it just works here. Really, really works. And I recently saw in a magazine where they had "decorated" the meatballs for Halloween by popping two black olive slices on top. And for the "bones" breadsticks, I just used refrigerated breadsticks, rolled them between my hands to lengthen them, and tied the ends in knots. Pour a bit of marinara sauce on the end to resemble blood.
Delicious, fun, and a fantastic Halloween evening meal!
AMICI'S MEATBALLS
20 oz ground turkey breast
2 eggs or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I always use Panko)
1 Tbsp fresh basil
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 large minced garlic cloves (2-3 tsp)
handful of raisins
1/2 cup milk (whole, skim, whatever you have on hand works)
S&P
Mix everything together until just combined. I weigh my meatballs at 50 grams each and cook at 350 for 18 minutes. Makes 18 meatballs.
My ode to autumn. Every year when I know summer is behind us and chilly weather is with us, this is the first dish I make. Another wonderful recipe from the restaurant in Minnesota, this was always a restaurant favorite. To me it just sings that fall is here!
This does take a while to simmer, so plan ahead. As with most soups, it grows more delicious everyday, so make it a day or two early if you have time. The most labor-intensive part of this recipe (for me) is cleaning enough fresh thyme to come up with a quarter of a cup. But I simply sit at the table on a cool, gray, blustery day and look out the window and enjoy this passage into autumn.
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP W/TOMATOES AND THYME (makes approximately 10-12 cups)
1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
6 Roma tomatoes, cored and halved
4 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp butter
1 small red onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves (or 4 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped (1 tsp dried)
Juice of 2 oranges
Place the squash cut side down in a large baking dish. Add 1 cup water and 1 Tbsp olive oil to the dish and roast at 450 for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft and tender (roast tomatoes, below, at the same time).
Toss the tomatoes and garlic with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and Balsamic vinegar in a baking dish. Roast in a 450 oven for 35 minutes or until soft and the skin is slightly shriveled. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then lightly crush the tomatoes with your hands or with a potato masher, into small pieces, reserving the liquid. Set aside.
heat the remaining oil and butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and cook and stir about 10 minutes until onion is soft and translucent. Add the carrot and celery and cook about 15 minutes, stirring constantly until the vegetables are soft.
Add the broth, S&P, and reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 20-25 minutes.
Remove the squash from its skin by scooping out the flesh with a spoon. Discard the skin and add the flesh to the soup. Simmer about 20 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and add the thyme chives, and sage. Cool slightly, then working in batches, pour the soup into a food processor and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and add the tomatoes and their liquid and the orange juice. Season w/S&P. Heat up on low.
NOTE: I have made the soup this way or by adding the tomatoes into the food processor. Tastes the same, just depends if you want some "tomato clumps" or a smooth puree.
This is a really interesting recipe I ran across on a blog a long time ago. I wish I could give the blog credit, but I didn't print out the blog address. The woman's name is "Steph." So thanks, Steph, somewhere out there in blogland.
Interesting because of the incredibly short and simple recipe. And texture. The dough is ultra sticky, and the baked cookies have an incredibly tender and light texture. While it takes just minutes to mix up the batter (and then at least an hour refrigerating), it takes a bit longer to roll the cookies in the powdered sugar because they are so sticky (I had to rinse my hands each time after rolling just a few). Definitely an end-of-summer treat. I'm so looking forward to getting into some wonderful fall dishes and soups!
LEMON CREAM COOKIES (makes about 3 dozen)
1 box lemon cake mix
1 large egg
zest and juice from 1 large lemon (I would consider using 2, especially if they are smaller or less ripe....I like a lot of tart lemon in mine)
8 oz Cool Whip
confectioners' sugar
Mix the cake mix, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest until evenly distributed. The batter will be crumbly. Fold in the Cool Whip until well combined. It will be sticky. Chill in the fridge for one hour (overnight might make it easier to handle).
Scoop the batter into the desired size (I weighed mine at 20 grams each) and roll in the sugar. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
