Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables

Well friends, I'm back in the saddle again.  All of my frozen meals have been eaten and I find myself cooking us dinner again on a regular basis.  To make things easier on myself, I have become a naptime chef and made my crockpot my best friend.  Thanks to pinterest I have found some great new crockpot recipes and I wanted to share one of my favorites.

Coconut Ginger Chicken (recipe copied from www.simplebites.net)
Serve this creamy and fragrant stew over Jasmine or brown rice. I like to top mine with a few chopped scallions.

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 inch cube of ginger (about 30 grams), roughly chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into four
• 2 cans coconut milk, not shaken
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 can of baby corn cobs
• 1 cup peas or frozen vegetables of your choice
• For the spice blend
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients from the spice blend together and set aside.
2. In a mini food processor, combine garlic, ginger and onion and pulse until it forms a paste.
3. In the bottom of a slow-cooker placed on a burner, heat olive oil and melt butter. Add pureed aromatics and stir well. Cook for a few minutes, then add spice blend. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Move aromatics to one side of the pot and add chicken pieces to the pot. Cook chicken slightly on all sides, using a sturdy wooden spoon to move it around the pot. It should get thoroughly coated with the spice mixture.
5. Open the cans of coconut milk and remove the cream from the top using a soup spoon. You should have about 1 cup. Set aside.  Pour the remaining coconut milk over the chicken and with both cans, it should just barely cover the chicken.
6. Drain the corn cobs and chop in half. Add to the slow-cooker.
7. Place the slow cooker in the base and cook on low for 4 hours.
8. Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream until smooth and add to the chicken. Stir well. Add frozen peas or other vegetables of your choice. Cook for another half an hour or until you deem the chicken cooked and the vegetables hot.

Notes

You can certainly use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the thighs, but I prefer the dark meat and find it to have more flavor than the breast. It’s more affordable, too!

In the recipe I call for peas, but you can use any cooked or frozen vegetables you have on hand.

My slow cooker bowl can be used on a burner which can then be transferred to its electric base to cook further, but if you have a different type, then simply prepare the first few steps of this recipe in a heavy bottomed pot or skillet and transfer the ingredients to the slow cooker when the liquids are added.

Banana Oat Bars

I've been on the hunt for some healthy snacks for the kids, instead of the pre-made pre-packaged variety. Turns out healthy is often not yummy, and we've had a lot of flops on the way. Solution found in these babies! Full of peanut butter, whole wheat, oats and yogurt, rich in fiber and protein. The perfect solution for keeping little (and big) tummies full.

Banana Oatmeal Bars

Makes 20 bars (about 2 1/2 x 3 inches)

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup peanut or almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment, leaving enough hanging over on the edges so you can pull out the finished product.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, rice cereal, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon, stirring well to combine. In a second large bowl, combine the banana, honey, yogurt, nut butter, and vanilla. Stir until the mixture is fairly uniform.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ones and stir until they come together into one uniform mixture. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Transfer to the prepared pan and flatten down with a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just starting to brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 1 hour before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.

From http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com

Rainbow Sammies

I promise one of these times I will post my very own treasured recipes...but as this is a place to share what we're cooking now, I thought I'd share this one that Rach steered me to a while back.  This is so quick and yummy for those last-minute nights. We have it at least twice a month and sometimes even weekly. 

(Here is a link to her post with pics...)
http://workingoffthejane.blogspot.com/search/label/Delish%20Dish%20%28Main%20Dishes%29

GRILLED VEGGIE SAMMYS


1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic, minced (I usually use 2 cloves...it all depends on your desire for garlic flavoring!)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 sliced red bell peppers

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

1 small yellow squash, sliced

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt & Pepper

1 French Baguette

1 pkg Sun Dried Tomato Feta (crumbled) (I usually use plain feta as that's easier to have on hand)



DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix mayo, garlic & lemon juice. Set aside in refrigerator.
Combine all veggies on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to coat.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender.
Turn on broiler. Broil on high for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Slice baguette in half length-wise.

Spread mayo mixture on both sides of bread & top with feta.
Place in broiler for 2-4 minutes.
Top one side of baguette with grilled veggies.

Place other side of baguette on top.

Sooooo  yummy!!

Honey Mustard Curry Chicken

This is a recipe that has evolved the longer I've made it.  It is now perfectly tuned to our tastes and we make it a few times a month. It is pretty flexible so feel free to fiddle with it and add ingredients your family loves.  I usually serve it with rice and green beans.
Honey Mustard Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
2 T. butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 t. curry powder
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. sour cream
2 T. lime juice
1/2 t. salt
3 T. Dijon Mustard (I usually go a little short on this, somewhere between 2 and 3 T.)
1/2 c. chicken broth
1-2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Directions:
Heat oil in 12" skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken in oil until brown.  Meanwhile, combine butter, garlic, curry powder, honey, lime juice, salt, mustard, and chicken broth in a saucepan and simmer gently.  Pour sauce over chicken and cook an additional 10-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Add sour cream and cranberries and stir just until hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Tortellini Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest and have made it twice in the past week!  I am so loving it.  I was craving something warm and full of vegetables as the weather has started to turn a little cool.  This was exactly what I had in mind.  Tonight, I made it with these Parmesan Knots, which were SO EASY and totally delicious!

Tortellini Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
5 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 t. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 t. salt
8-9 oz. fresh or frozen tortellini (cheese or meat filled)
2-3 T. chopped fresh parsley
Black Pepper to taste
*I also added a few cloves of garlic (because seriously what is tortellini soup without garlic?!) and some celery that was hanging out in our fridge.

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot or large saucepan.  Add the onion, zucchini, and carrot (and garlic/celery, if desired).  Saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and salt to the pot.  Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil.  Add the tortellini and bring the soup back to alow boil.  Cook it for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes longer.  Gently stir in the parsley and pepper during the last minute or so. 

Makes about 5 servings.

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

I tend to make pancakes about half of the days of the week. I keep oatmeal pancake mix in the fridge and all I have to do in the morning is mix in an egg and buttermilk and cook them up. I love the idea of the kids eating whole wheat, but not of processed store syrup. So I've been making my own syrup and storing it in the fridge and just warming it the morning of. Normally, I do a vanilla syrup but it has corn syrup in it. I love that this syrup has no corn syrup in it. It is so good we dipped apples in it and basically found any excuse we could to put it on something.


Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan, bring buttermilk, sugars, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. It will bubble up a lot. Hopefully you used a large saucepan like I told you. As it cools, the bubbles will go away.

*Notes:

-The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter. I cut back to 1/4 cup to save my waistline and my husband’s cholesterol, but you can feel free to use all of it if you so desire. I won’t stand in your way.

http://www.creationsbykara.com/2011/02/buttermilk-caramel-syrup.html

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

I have never been a big fish person, but for this recipe, I make an exception.  The tilapia is very mild and when topped with a creamy parmesan coating it is very, very good.  Plus, it is literally done in minutes.  We love to serve this with rice and green beans.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia
(originally from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

-Jaime