Red Curry Sauce- with PB

Red Thai Curry Sauce

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 4

Source:http://pinchofyum.com/red-thai-curry-sauce

 

Ingredients

• 1 can light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (see notes)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ⅓ cup crushed peanuts
• up to ½ cup water or broth
• extra crushed peanuts and scallions for topping

Instructions

1. Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan over high heat. When the coconut milk reaches a gentle simmer, add the peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk and keep on high heat for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
2. Add the peanuts and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. When the sauce coats the back of a spoon, add small amounts of broth or water and whisk to adjust consistency depending on how you will use it and how thick you want it. If the sauce separates, just whisk vigorously to smooth it out again.
3. Serve over rice, noodles, chicken, fish, vegetables, or any other way that sounds good to you! Top with crushed peanuts and scallions.

Notes

More time simmering = thicker, creamier, more flavorful sauce. If you want a thinner sauce, I would simmer for less time and plan to add a bit of additional liquid. I've noticed that when I add the crushed peanuts, the consistency really thickens quite a bit, so you could omit the peanut butter and/or peanuts to also adjust to your desired consistency.

Last note: I know the fish sauce might take some convincing, but it is fairly easy to find at any grocery store and REALLY WORTH IT. Don't worry - it does not make the sauce taste like fish; it just makes it saltier and adds lots of deep flavor. Don't leave it out!

Except if you are vegetarian or vegan, then you can try swapping in soy sauce, miso, and/or hoison for the fish sauce.

Red Curry Chicken

• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 3 Tbs. red Thai curry paste
• 2 cups snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long strips
• One 13.5- to 14-oz. can coconut milk
• 6 wild lime leaves (magrut or kaffir lime;optional)
• 1 Tbs. light brown sugar
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil (or regular basil, torn into small pieces)
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce, more to taste
• 1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 20 seconds. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the snap peas, shallots, pepper, coconut milk, lime leaves (if using), sugar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the basil, fish sauce, and lime juice. Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce or salt.

DIY Baby Food

DIY: Homemade Baby Food

So soon as my son began chewing at around 11 - 12 months, we started experimenting with different foods and were buying Gerber and Earth's Best baby food for his age range. I was happy with that for a bit but after awhile decided to try and make his food at home.

Looking at the ingredients on the baby food jars. It seemed really simple. Most were just "peas, water", "carrots, water", "apples", etc. So I figured this was doable and maybe a bit cheaper than spending $.72 to $1.50 per jar, where baby boy was quickly eating 2-3 jars a day.

I started off simple with fresh fruits and veggies: sweet potatoes, apples, peas and corn, green beans and peaches. Many of the very things I was buying in a jar.

The process went like this:

• skin veggies
• chop
• boil (to soften and kill off germs)
• puree in food processor
• portion out
• store in fridge or freezer

The first try was a bit daunting but I quickly got the hang of it. To create the portions, I used the same 6 oz jars of baby food that were saved and used then to measure. Once portioned, my hubby had the great idea of storing them in freezer bags for space-saving. That way they could be flattened and stacked, like pancakes, saving room in our already packed freezer. Once they were frozen hard, they can be set oupright for even more room.

I like to flip through them like a book!

I do have to note that while this may be healthier for the baby, it definitely takes up more time! In fact, I have easily spent 2+ hours just preparing baby food. But I would do it on a weekend and make enough for the entire week. As some time went on, I did found ways to cut some corners, like buying frozen veggies to eliminate the skinning and boiling time and buy already peeled and cut fruit. 

Since my son attends daycare, I pack his meals for the next day, the night before. So I thaw and spoon the food in baby food jars but had added chalkboard stickers to them and label them with a chalkboard marker (available at any craft store like Michael's or Target). It's probably not necessary, but its kinda fun to label your own jar of homemade food. 

For his home meals, I simple pull the frozen portions out the night before and leave them in the fridge and they go right in the bowl to microwave for eating.

Things I Learned

While I originally thought it would save some money, in the end, it didn't really. Fresh foods do cost more and I found what I was spending on them was coming to about the same as the jarred food. But prep and cooking time was obviously a lot longer. Also a lot messier. But there is still a lot of satisfaction in knowing your baby is eating something you created and even better, loving it!

Tips

• To keep food moist, I'd added purified water.
• Make sure to buy freezer bags as they are meant for this. Others have had success with ice cube trays and other freezer containers.
• If using a chalkboard marker, make sure its really dry before you write on it and let it dry after. Otherwise, it can smudge right off. It smudges easily in general.
• Ditalini is a great pasta for babies who are able to chew. Its just their size. 
• One cup of brown rice (not the instant but real brown rice) can create a lot of food. I've made 4-5 servings of food with it mixed with veggies.

Some of the meals I've created include:

• brown rice & peas
• brown rice & zucchini
• apples
• peaches
• spinach
• creamy spinach from Birds Eye (sooo good)
• peas & carrots
• carrots
• green beans
• peas & potatoes
• brown rice & squash
• artichokes and asparagus (Wegman's)
• Ditalini pasta & cherry tomatoes

Grilled Fajitas

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash hot sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds meat (boneless, skinless chicken breast, skirt steak or peeled and deveined shrimp)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 lime, juiced, for topping
Sour cream, for topping
Salsa, for topping
Guacamole, for topping
Cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/gold-medal-sizzling-fajitas-recipe.html?oc=linkback

 

In a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, salt, pepper and your choice of meat. Seal and toss the bag around to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator. *Cook's Note: 15 minutes for shrimp, 20 minutes for chicken and 1 hour for skirt steak.

Preheat your cast iron servers in a preheated 400 degree F oven for at least 20 minutes, to get a good sizzle when you plate the fajitas.

Heat the outside grill or a large indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on the hot grill, discard the marinade. Cook chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, skirt steak about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare and about 2 minutes for shrimp. Slice the chicken and steak into strips if you are using.

In a large skillet heat up the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and fry the onions and bell peppers until crisp-tender with some salt and pepper.

Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven with the servers for 15 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, remove the cast iron servers from the oven and quickly arrange the meat and peppers and onions on it. It will immediately start to sizzle from their fat and moisture. Serve sizzling immediately with the warm tortillas and other accompaniments.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/gold-medal-sizzling-fajitas-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Tortilla Soup

• Heat canola oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and jalapeño and saute 3 minutes, adding garlic during last 30 seconds of sauteing. Add chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, paprika and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken breasts and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover pot with lid and gently boil until chicken has cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Remove chicken and allow to rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add diced tomatoes with green chilies to pot. Then, in the 2-cup liquid measuring cup used to measure milk (or a bowl), whisk together milk and masa harina until well blended. Pour mixture into pot and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture boils and thickens slightly (it won't thicken much). Dice chicken and add to pot, then add black beans, pinto beans and corn. Then stir in cream and sour cream and cook until heated through.
• Serve warm topped with cheese, sour cream, avocados, cilantro, limes and tortilla chips.
• *If chicken breasts are fairly thick, slices them horizontally through the thickness to create two portions. They will cook faster this way and be more tender as they'll cook more evenly.
• **If looking to make this gluten free, be sure the masa harina you're using is labeled as gluten-free, same with the tortilla chips. Masa harina can be found in the Latin section of the grocery store.

Nachos

Arrange a mixture of 2 varieties of corn chips on a very large platter or use your broiler pan as a platter.

Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavors to marry.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and peppers to the pan and saute 2 minutes, then add meat and crumble with wooden spoon. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper sauce. Cook meat 5 minutes, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low.

In a medium sauce pot, melt butter and add flour to it. Cook flour and butter 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in milk. When milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese with a wooden spoon. Remove cheese sauce from the heat.

Pour cheese sauce evenly over the massive spread of chips and top evenly with beef and beans and the pico de gallo. UBER NACHOS! Serve immediately as is or, garnish with your choice of extra toppings from the toppings list.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/super-nachos-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

• Source: http://www.pink-parsley.com/2009/08/chicken-enchiladas.html
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3 medim cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 large beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
• 1 cup extra sharp white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• cooking spray
• salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large saucepan. cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part reaches 160 degrees), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onin mixture, and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don't like the crunch).

Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, etc.