Chicken in Yellow Curry

The posts are few and far between now - but I wanted to get this recipe on the blog since it is delicious and nutritious!  My teammate was asking me how to make it, and it inspired me to write on the blog a bit more.  Since I began teaching third grade this past December, my mind has been thinking more about my students than about my stomach.  With that said, teaching also reminds me how much I love writing, and so I wanted to try to keep blogging if at all possible!  So hopefully I can try to find time to do so!

This Chicken in Yellow Curry comes from The World Kitchen from Williams-Sonoma with some slight alterations made by yours truly.  It is a FANTASTIC cookbook and I use it more often than the other recipe books that decorate the counter in my kitchen.  It has authentic cuisine from countries around the world, and I have yet to dislike a meal that I made from this cookbook.

If you enjoy curry, give this one a try!  If you aren't sure about curry, try it anyway.  :)

This is great to make on a Sunday when you may have more time to cook.  Plan ahead because the mixture simmers for an hour, but it is well worth it!  This also makes great leftovers for the week.  Next time I may add some green pepper to give it some color because it is pretty yellow, as the name suggests!  Maybe I should have served it in a different color bowl...


Chicken in Yellow Curry
Ingredients:

• 3 T canola oil
• 3 lb. Chicken Thighs - I used boneless / skinless
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 T curry powder
• 1 T dark brown sugar
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 2 t lemongrass (the easiest is using the kind from a squeeze tube); otherwise, 2 stalks chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, minced (if you want large pieces of ginger, slice instead)
• 1 C chicken broth
• 1 can lite coconut milk
• 2 T fish sauce
• 3 carrots cut in 1 inch pieces
• 1 med. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 3 T basil (optional, but it adds some color)!
• Wild, brown, or basmati rice

Directions

1. Warm the oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat and brown chicken  in batches (about 4 minutes each side). Once browned, remove from pan and set aside on a plate.
2. Once chicken is browned, at shallots and garlic to drippings in dutch oven and saute 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Then add curry, sugar, red pepper, black pepper, lemongrass and ginger.  Mix together and saute for about 30 seconds.
3. Add chicken broth to the pot and deglaze the pan.  You may need to scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon!
4. Stir in the coconut milk and fish sauce.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Add the chicken thighs, carrots and sweet potato back into the coconut milk mixture.  Make sure to push the chicken and veggies down into the liquid with a spoon so they are covered.
7. Partially cover and cook over low heat for about 1 hour.  Chicken should be cooked through and tender, veggies should be soft.
8. Meanwhile, cook the rice.
9. Spoon rice into bowls, and scoop chicken curry mixture on top.  Garnish with basil and serve warm.

Bon Appetit!

Spicy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

     Thanks to the encouragement of my dear friend Angela, I have decided to do some procrastinating and post about these delicious enchiladas instead of attempting to be productive in other areas of my life.  Food is always a priority in my life.  Trust me, the first planning I do for each day or week begins with the food I will be consuming.  Therefore, I decided the other things I planned on doing would just have to wait a few minutes.  People need to eat!

     I am so pleased I decided to try these beauties.  Enchilada recipes in my life tend to fall into two extreme categories: 1. Way too Plain or 2. Way too Crazy.   My Mom makes a delicious, yet rather simple, enchilada recipe which I go to when I am seeking traditional, and the other enchiladas I have made involve pumpkin cream or delicious Asian inspired flavors.  If you don't believe me, check out the Pumpkin Cream Enchiladas or the Thai Chicken Enchiladas.  This recipe, however, falls nicely in between those extremes.  Thank goodness my husband asked me to try something fairly traditional but with more flair (aka more sauce and more spice).  The recipe below meets that criteria to a T.

     The recipe below is from the Colorado Classique cookbook which is a favorite among many of my friends and family members.  I can honestly say I have never made or eaten a recipe from this cookbook that was not 100% satisfying.  So if you like this recipe, GET THE COOKBOOK.  You won't be sorry.

     Anyway, onto the good stuff.  The cheesy sauce pairs nicely with the spicy jalapenos...and grilling the chicken adds some nice flair.  Nothing beats the flavor of grill.  That sounds gross, but you know what I mean.  =)  Plus, the black beans add the perfect touch to bring each bite together in perfect palate harmony.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  They are certainly going to be a dish I go back to time and time again (although, my Mom's will always be popular in the recipe books as well).

INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:

• 1/2 C onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 t coriander, ground
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1 t cumin, ground
• 2 T butter (or you can sub olive oil to make it healthier)
• 3 T flour
• 8 oz. sour cream (I use light, but if you love the real deal, go for it!)
• 2-1/2 C chicken broth (round up or down if that makes life easier)
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced fine with seeds (I use seeds from 1 but not both, but I like mild)*
• 4 oz. can of diced green chiles
• 1 C cheese, shredded (Mexican, Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack for more spice)

*For the jalapenos, I used fresh, but the cookbook I used calls for a 4oz. can of jalapenos.

Enchiladas:

• 4 chix breasts, halved (so they grill faster), grilled and cut into bite size pieces*
• 8 medium flour tortillas
• A 15oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 C cheese, use the same that you use in the sauce
• 1 C chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 C sliced green onions

*For the chicken, I make the breast thinner before my husband grills for easier cooking.  I marinated the chicken breast with a small amount of olive oil and some salt and pepper, but they don't need much because the enchiladas are very flavorful.


DIRECTIONS:

1.  Grill the chicken ahead of time if possible.  If you are feeling lazy, you can cook the chicken ahead of time with another method, but I highly recommend grilling.
2. Preheat the oven to 350.
3. In a large sauce pan, saute the onions and spices for the sauce in the butter (or olive oil if you prefer).  Cook until the onions are tender.
4. Meanwhile, stir together the flour, and sour cream.
5. When the onions are tender, add the flour/sour cream mixture to the saucepan and mix well.
6. Stir in the broth, jalapenos and canned chiles.  Stir the mixture until it thickens and the sour cream and flour smooths out.  This can take about 10 minutes.
7. Once smooth, remove the sauce mixture from heat and stir in the 1 C of cheese. 
8. Set aside.
9. Once all your other ingredients are prepped, set up a space to assemble the enchiladas.  I usually have one plate piled with tortillas, one plate where I wrap, and the greased Pyrex all in a row.
10. Mix 1/2 cup of the prepared sauce with your grilled chicken in a small bowl
11. In each enchilada add a spoon full of the chicken, a spoonful each of black beans, diced tomatoes, green onions and a pinch of cheese. 
12. Roll up the enchilada and place it seam side down in the 9x13x2 baking dish.  This helps to keep the tortillas rolled while you fill the others.
13. Once all your tortillas are filled, top the enchiladas with the remaining sauce mixture and sprinkle with cheese.
14. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Begin checking around 25 minutes to make sure the cheese isn't burning, and if you run into problems with too much browning, cover the pan with foil for the remaining bake time.
15. Allow time for the enchiladas to cool slightly, then serve warm and garnish with more green onions and tomatoes if you have some left.  Otherwise, it is delicious as is!

P.S. The series premiere of "The Taste" is on tonight and you can bet I will be tuning into that new show!  Get people to enjoy your dish in one bite?  I imagine that could be tricky!

Bon Appetit!

Thai Chicken Enchiladas

I know that many people think Pinterest is useless and is just a way to waste time and think about all the crafts and trips and recipes you won't ever try.  I agree it is the central hub for procrastination nation; however, I truly think it is a wonderful tool for people to try new things, and change old habits for the better (pending user motivation).  I really try to only add pins to my boards that I really want to try, and the following recipe is the perfect example of a glorious Pinterest find.

Can't decide if you are in the mood for Thai food or in the mood for Mexican?  Have both!!!!  This recipe from How Sweet it Is was a delicious find and is definitely a must try.  My husband took one bite, his eyes opened wide (along with his stomach) and a look of pure delight spread across his face.  Don't get me wrong, he generally enjoys my cooking, but this was probably one of the best reactions to a meal ever and I knew this was a recipe to stash away with "those which we are willing to eat again" recipes.  I am more of a recipe scouring, experimental cook than a stick to the same menu, repeat old recipes cook, so it says something that I already am excited to make this again.

If you never try anything else I put on my blog, at least give these a try because they are scrump-didilly-umptious!

Thai Chicken Enchiladas
Yields: 8-9 enchiladas (Serves about 4)

Ingredients:

• 8 flour tortillas
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked.  - I boiled them for 15 minutes (or until cooked through) and then shredded as soon as I took them out of the water while still hot
• 1T canola oil - or whatever oil you prefer
•  1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• about 1/3C carrots, shredded - I found it easiest to chop fine in a small food processor
• about 1/2C cabbage, shredded - you could either chop in small food processor or slice in thin pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 t salt
• Pepper to taste
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 1/3 C chopped peanuts + whole peanuts for garnish - again, easiest to do this in a small food processor
• 1/4 fresh cilantro - food processor style
• 1 can coconut milk, divided into 3/4C and whatever is leftover
• 1/3C Sweet chili sauce + about another 1/2C - This can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store where you find the water chestnuts, rice noodles, soy sauce, etc.

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. When prepping ingredients, place onion, carrots, cabbage, garlic, and salt in one bowl.  Place green onions, pepper, cilantro, and peanuts in another bowl.
3. After prepping all ingredients, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Pour onion, carrots, cabbage, garlic and salt into skillet and saute over medium heat until veggies begin to soften, about 7-8 minutes.
5. Add cooked chicken to the skillet along with the pepper, green onion, peanut, cilantro mixture.  Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.  At this point, taste your creation and adjust salt as needed.
6. Pour 3/4C of coconut milk and 1/3C sweet chili sauce into the skillet and mix well.  Remove from heat.
7. Grease a 9x13" baking pan
8. Take what is left of your can of coconut milk and pour some chili sauce into the coconut milk can until the level of the milk is close to the top of the can.  Mix well. *Note #1: The chili sauce will sink to the bottom of the can, so make sure you use a spoon that will aid in spooning out all the deliciousness the sweet chili sauce has to offer!  **Note #2: Keep in mind, the original recipe called for more coconut milk for the sauce for the top of the enchiladas, but I did not want to buy more than one can because I am not a fan of excess coconut milk so I used less and it still tasted great!!  Refer to the link above to the original recipe if you are interested in more sauce. 
9. Spoon a small amount of sauce into the bottom of the pan...just enough to dot the bottom of the baking dish (but you don't have enough sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish)
10. Spoon equal amounts of your chicken mixture into the flour tortillas.  Roll tightly and place in the prepared baking dish.  I find placing the wrapped tortillas seam side down is most effective for keeping everything in place
11. Spoon the remaining coconut milk mixture over the tortillas trying to cover as much of each tortillas as possible 
12. Snack on any leftover mixture, or any mixture that fell out of the sides of your tortillas when placing them in the baking dish  =) - this step is optional
13. Bake for 20 minutes
14. Remove from oven and garnish with additional cilantro and whole peanuts
15. Serve warm and enjoy your Asian Fiesta!!

When serving the enchiladas I tried to spoon some of the warm sauce from the bottom of the pan over the tortillas being served since the sauce is limited and pretty thin.
The enchiladas are filling on their own, but for future Thai Chicken Enchilada meals I may try to make some sort of salsa with an Asian inspired bread for dipping.  Yummy!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try this recipe.  You won't regret it!

Bon Appetit!!

Grilled Chicken Satay with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce

As I briefly mentioned in my previous post, my in-laws hosted a wonderful holiday party while we were visiting.  It was a wonderful way to meet some of their friends and spend time with our wonderful friends, AND it was an amazing way to discover some new recipes and get a solid amount of time in the kitchen.  What a bonus!  

Being this was my first year not being with my family for the holidays, it was great to find ways to make Christmas somewhere new to feel like Christmas with my family.  I always help my mom cook during the holidays, so planning the menu with my mother-in-law and cooking for this party made me feel a little closer to home!

We prepared many delicious appetizers which I will blog about when I return from my honeymoon (yay!), but I couldn't wait to share my favorite of them all, Grilled Chicken Satay with a Peanut Dipping Sauce.  The chicken marinade was a recipe we found at a blog called Dishing Up Delights, and the sauce was by the Barefoot Contessa and was found on Food Network.

The grilled chicken was delicious on its own and had a wonderful flavor.  The cilantro and garlic make a delicious savory combination, and the red pepper flakes add just enough kick to give it a little extra something something.  The sauce was also delicious and combined my favorite, peanut butter, with the sweet, salty and sour flavors of brown sugar, soy sauce and vinegar.  It wouldn't hurt to add more peanut butter the next time around, but the sauce was delicious and was definitely a hit!

The party was large so we quadrupled the recipe and it worked out great for the chicken.  We should have only doubled the sauce because we had WAY too much when the recipe was quadrupled, but we later mixed it in with a stir fry which was absolutely delicious!

 Chicken Satay Skewers 

Ingredients

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into thick strips to weave onto skewers
• 2 t sesame oil
• 2 t soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1 to 1-1/2 T chopped cilantro

Directions:

1.  Prepare chicken and place in a bowl with a lid
2. Combine sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro and pour over chicken
3. Cover bowl with lid and toss to combine
4. Cook immediately or refrigerate until you plan to grill (we marinaded the chicken overnight)
5. When prepared to grill, soak wooden skewers for 15 minutes and then thread with the chicken
6. Grill chicken over medium high heat until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side
7. If feeding a large group, cut skewers in half to make appetizer size bites; otherwise, serve immediately!

Satay Peanut Dip: 

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T sesame oil
• 2/3 C small diced red onion (1 small onion)
• 1-1/2 t minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 C light brown sugar, packed
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1/2 C smooth peanut butter (add more if you want a more peanuty flavor)
• 1/4 C ketchup
• 2 T dry sherry
• 1-1/2 t lime juice

Directions:

1. Note: Rather than chopping some of the sauce ingredients, I put the red onion, garlic, and ginger root in a small food processor so it would be diced small
2. Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent, 10 to 15 minutes. 
3. Whisk in the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute. Cool and use as a dip for Chicken Satay Skewers

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.  If you try them, please let me know what you think!

After the honeymoon I will have some wonderful getaway posts along with the other dishes we made for our holiday feast!  Stay tuned and have a very Happy New Year!

Bon Appetit!

Chicken in Yellow Curry - a delicious and hearty dish!

      For those of you that have followed my blog since the beginning (maybe you are out there somewhere...) you may have read about the unbeatable Italian treat: Roasted Balsamic Strawberries.  That recipe as well as the recipe below comes from one of the greatest cook books I own, The World Kitchen. 
     I have made many recipes from this unique and worldly cookbook, but the Chicken in Yellow Curry is my first adventure in trying a recipe from the Thai and Vietnamese region of the book.  I do love curry though, so I had a lot of faith in how this recipe would turn out; plus, Luke and I both were aching for some sweet potatoes!
     This dish is relatively easy to make (although cooking the chicken can get time consuming) but the delight that follows is well worth the wait.  Tender chicken soaked in a sweet, yet slightly spicy sauce...what more could you ask for?

 Chicken in Yellow Curry Deliciousness (makes about 6 servings, allow just over an hour for cooking)
Ingredients:

• 3 T canola oil
• 3 lbs, skinless chicken thighs (recipe calls for bone in, but I prefer boneless)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 T curry powder
• 1 T packed brown sugar
• 1 T red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 stalks lemongrass (*Note: Lemon grass can be expensive.  Instead I substituted 1.5t lemon zest and 1/8t minced ginger....thanks to the AmAzInG Food Substitutions Bible)
• 1 T minced ginger
• 1 C chicken stock
• 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
• 2 T fish sauce
• 3 carrots, cut into about 1 inch chunks
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• Slices of fresh basil leave (to garnish, about 3 T)

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven or heavy pot (3.5 quarts is just big enough), warm the oil over med-hi heat.  Working with about 3 thighs at a time, sear chicken until browned on both sides (about 8 minutes per batch).  Set aside on plate.
2. Add garlic and shallots to pot and saute until fragrant (30 seconds or so).  Add the curry, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, about 1t black pepper, lemongrass (or substitute), and ginger and saute until fragrant and well blended (another 30 seconds or so).  Add the stalk and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.  Stir in coconut milk and fish stalk and bring mixture to a boil.
3. Once boiling, add all chicken, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  Make sure all are pushed down into the pot to be covered by the sauce.  Partially cover and cook over low heat for about an hour.  Veggies should be tender and chicken cooked through.
4. Spoon mixture into bowls and garnish with the basil.  Serve hot for a heart warming, curry experience!  (*Note: the recipe says to spoon the mixture onto a platter, but as far as I am concerned this would create a terrible saucy mess....so I opted to spoon straight into bowls.  One less thing to clean)!  

Heart Warming Deliciousness in Every Bite!!

This is a nice warm meal, perfect for a fall or winter day.  Please let me know what you think and Happy Cooking!

Bon Appetit!