We love curry. Often. This, along with any Publix/aprons recipes, are not only quick and easy, but generally are things I have on hand.
Whenever I cook rice, I always cook extra and freeze it so when I need a quick dinner, I can thaw out the rice and make a stir-fry or curry and have dinner on the table in half an hour.
Served over rice, all I did to complete the meal was to dice up a fresh, ripened mango. Perfect accompaniment.
BRAZILIAN CHICKEN CURRY (4 servings)
1 1/2 cups onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 cup baking potato, coarsely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
Cooking spray
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp curry powder
1 (10z) bag frozen pre-cooked brown (or white) rice (or about 1-2 cups cooked rice)
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
Preheat large nonstick saute pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes. Cook vegetables with cooking spray; place peppers, onions, and potatoes in pan; cook 3-4 minutes or until browned.
Coat chicken with cooking spray, then season with S&P and curry powder. Add chicken to vegetables; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until chicken has browned on all sides.
Prepare rice following package instructions (or warm thawed, frozen rice).
Whisk coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, and garlic until smooth. Reduce heat to low, add sauce to chicken and cover; simmer and stir 3-4 minutes or until potatoes are tender and chicken is 165F. Stir in cilantro. Serve over rice.
Recipe Source: http://www.publix.com/recipes-planning/aprons-simple-meals/brazilian-chicken-curry
I'm am so loving that we are firmly into the autumn season. Cooler temps, changing colors, and soup!!!
This is a soup we used to make every autumn at a restaurant I worked at while living in Minnesota and our customers looked forward to it every year. But you have to love spending time in the kitchen because it is a wee bit labor-intensive. However, it isn't as daunting as it might initially seem. You can roast the squash and tomatoes a day or two ahead and then it's just a matter of putting everything together. I do use fresh herbs because I have them and cleaning the thyme is time-consuming (I do clean them very finely.....no stems) taking me about half an hour to get 1/4 cup. But if you're using dried herbs, you'll be done lickety-split.
This is really an elegant soup. Make it several days ahead if you're going to be busy with other dishes. But if you're a fan of butternut squash, I hope you'll try this one. It's at the top of my squash soup recipes.
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP with TOMATOES and THYME (makes about 8-10 cups)
1 to 1 1/2 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
1/4 cup EVOO, divided
6 roma or small vine-ripened tomatoes, halved (I leave the seeds in because I like the crunch....seed them if you want a smoother texture)
4 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-4 Tbsp butter (I use 2)
1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I like a thicker consistency, so I use 4 cups)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves or 4 tsp dried
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives or 1 tsp dried
1 Tbsp fresh sage or 1 tsp dried
Juice of 2 oranges
Please the squash cut side down in a large baking dish. Add 1 cup water and 1 Tbsp olive oil to the dish.
Toss the tomatoes and garlic with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a baking dish.
Roast the squash and tomatoes in a 450F oven for 35-40 minutes or until the squash is soft and tender and the tomatoes are soft and the skin is slightly shriveled. Let stand until cool enough to handle and then slightly crush the tomatoes with your hands or 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 occasionally until the vegetables are soft.
Add the broth and 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 the heat and add the thyme, chives, and sage. Cool slightly then, working in batches, pour the soup into a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and add the tomatoes and their liquid and the orange juice. Season with S&P.
Recipe Source: http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipe/roasted-butternut-squash-soup-with-tomatoes-thyme-and-corn-bread-croutons/
We are just about at peak foliage here in the Chattanooga area. We're going to have rain over the next few days so I took a few minutes to drive around our neighborhood today and take a few photos. I absolutely love this time of year. It's so peaceful.
This was a demo at Publix a few weeks ago. When I heard "Cornbread Salad," I really wasn't sure about this one. But it is absolutely delicious!
I will say my photo, as often is the case, isn't great.....my green onions were at their end so there's not much green in the photo. Regardless, if you make cornbread and have leftovers, either make this right away or freeze the cornbread to make it later.
FYI....they used Marie's Asiago Peppercorn salad dressing. A creamy Caesar salad dressing is an acceptable substitute(see http://thefultongirls.blogspot.com/2011/01/creamy-caesar-salad-dressing.html). Also, they used their own bakery's corn muffins which are on the sweet side reminding me of Jiffy's brand corn muffins.
CORNBREAD SALAD (4 servings)
6 slices cooked bacon
2 ears fresh yellow corn
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup Asiago Peppercorn salad dressing
4 regular or 3 jumbo corn muffins
Cook bacon, chop and place in medium bowl. Remove corn from cob.
Add remaining ingredients (except corn muffins) to bacon, stir until blended.
Break corn muffins into large chunks (be careful not to crumble into small pieces); fold into bacon mixture. Serve.
Recipe Source: http://www.publix.com/recipes-planning/aprons-simple-meals/steaks-with-charred-pepper-relish-and-cornbread-salad
A few weeks ago, our latest puppy-dog addition started having seizures. We took her to our veterinarian and he prescribed phenobarbitol. Her seizures stopped for a bit, but she seemed overly-medicated. We reduced her dosage, but she just was never the same. She seemed to be recovering, and then she just got worse.
I took her to the vet yesterday thinking "this was it." But he assured me that we just needed to keep her on the pheno and get her to start eating again. She was really doing well this morning.....she spent 5-10 minutes in the backyard walking very well and ate some chicken I cooked for the dogs. Then I gave her another pill and she went to sleep for a couple of hours. She never really came out of her fog and at about 8:40 this evening, she died while in my arms.
She had the sweetest, loudest bark which I hadn't heard in about a week. She was just the sweetest little thing. She came to us about 3 years ago. A couple that Jim worked with at Sequoia Nuclear Plant (TVA) had found her living in a haystack. They were going to take her in but their dog didn't get along with Scooter, so they asked Jim if we would take her. REALLY????? The day they brought her to us, she immediately fit into our family. What a joy she was for the last three years. We have no idea how old she was or what her background was, but she was just about the sweetest little girl you could have ever know.
My sweet Scooter, I miss you already and have cried for hours. I can only hope that you are with your Dog-Momma and former Human-Momma in heaven.
I love(d) you so deeply.
Your Momma Kay
OK, the last of my "Arugula Installment" recipes! An absolutely simple, delicious side salad that would nicely grace any of your entrees.
Again, I'll just list what's in the salad....you decide on the quantities. You can see the original recipe at the link below.
ARUGULA PEAR SALAD
Bartlett pear(s), thinly sliced
crumbled blue cheese
chopped, toasted walnuts
arugula (I add romaine)
apple vinaigrette or poppy seed dressing
Recipe adapted from: http://www.publix.com/recipes-planning/aprons-simple-meals/steak-with-spicy-mushroom-sauce-and-pear-arugula-salad
I had made this salad several times and as much as I like arugula, it was a bit too much for me. So I've starting cutting the amount of arugula in half and adding romaine to lighten it up a bit, in addition to adding a bit of crunch.
Now I find this salad dressing essential to the salad. It's based on the Green Goddess dressing of old, but has tahini (sesame seed oil) to give it a unique flavor. They stock it in the natural food section at Publix, but if you're interested, you can see if it's available in your area or you can buy it on-line by going here: http://www.annies.com/products/dressings/goddess-dressing.
I don't give amounts here....use as much or as little of each ingredient to your liking. See the link below for the precise recipe.
ARUGULA MUSHROOM SALAD
1/2 arugula
1/2 chopped romaine
red pepper slices
quartered mushrooms (Portobella recommended, but button will do)
macadamia nuts
Goddess salad dressing
Recipe adapted from: http://www.publix.com/recipes-planning/aprons-simple-meals/sun-dried-tomato-artichoke-chicken-with-arugula-mushroom-salad
