Chicken Curry

Well this isn't the most appealing dish I've ever made but it certainly is one of the more delicious ones!!!  My son shared this recipe using chick peas as the protein source.  I didn't think Tim would buy into the chick peas being the "meat" in this dish, so I substituted chicken.

This recipe is so versatile, you could substitute any protein or veggies.  I may try carrots next time just to brighten up the color.   If you're a curry fan, give this one a try.  It's easy and oh so yummy!!

 Chicken Curry
Recipe Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• 2 cups Basmati Rice
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced Fine
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons Curry Powder, Any Variety
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 2 cups cooked diced chicken breast or thigh
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can (13.5 Ounce) Coconut Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Honey, More To Taste
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha Or Hot Sauce (more To Taste)

Instructions

Cook the basmati rice according to the package instructions.  (I use a rice cooker, one kitchen appliance I wouldn't be without!)

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to turn golden. Sprinkle in the curry powder and garlic and stir, cooking for another minute or so. Pour in the vegetable stock and stir to scrape up all the brown bits in the pan. Add the coconut milk, honey and a squirt of sriracha. Bring to a boil, add the chicken and peas, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, honey, or Sriracha (or lime juice, if using.)

Serve the curry over the rice.

Irish Potato Soup with Cheese and Red Ale

It's the fifth Monday of February and that brings an extra Secret Recipe Club reveal.  When there is a five week month, SRC features an extra reveal with a theme.  February's theme is Leprechaun's and Bunnies.

For this special SRC reveal, I was assigned A Day in the Life on the Farm.  A little about Wendy..... "My husband and I were both police officers in the third largest city in our state.  When we retired we moved as far away from the hustle and bustle as we could, landing in a small town of approximately 4000 people and buying a house on 12 acres. I enjoy scuba, travel, reading, games, hiking, entertaining, cooking, quilting and painting."  Stop by Wendy's blog and browse her wonderful collection of recipes and other posts.

I had no trouble choosing my recipe for this week's reveal.  Wendy's post for this soup was a posting for the group Food Fix.  In this group, a blogger chooses a movie and the post includes a review of the movie, along with a related recipe.  The movie Wendy reviewed was The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne.  John Wayne was the favorite actor of my late father and this movie was one I recall him watching frequently.   If that alone wasn't enough to convince me to choose this recipe, the original recipe was written by Crescent Dragonwagon.  Crescent is a food writer and former inn owner in one of my favorite little towns, Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

The wintertime price on the leeks at the grocery store was too rich for my blood, so I omitted them.  Although Kerrygold Cheddar Cheese is amazing, the store brand tasted great to me.  If you like blue cheese, do sprinkle some on top of the soup, it really enhances the flavor.  This hearty and delicious soup, served alongside a salad and crusty bread, makes a great weeknight meal.

Irish Potato Soup with Cheese and Red Ale
adapted from a recipe by Crescent Dragonwood as found on Relish.com

 Recipe Courtesy of A Day in the Life on the Farm

4 T. butter, divided
1 large spanish onion, chopped
3 leeks, white and light green parts, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
8 med. yukon gold potatoes, coarsely chopped
1 bottle Smithwick's premium Irish Ale
4 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
3 T. flour
4 c. milk (I used 2%)
7 oz. Kerrygold aged Cheddar Cheese, grated
6 slices thick bacon, crisped and crumbled
Blue Cheese (optional)

Melt 2 T. of butter in a stockpot over med heat.  Add onions, celery and leeks and cook for about 8-10 minutes until softened.  Add the potatoes, ale and chicken broth.  Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes.

Melt remaining 2 T. of butter in a medium saucepan.  Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook for a few minutes until flour smell is gone, stirring constantly.  Gradually whisk in the milk until hot and thickened.  Add cheese and stir until melted.

Stir cheese mixture into the potato mixture until combined.  Warm over very low heat for 10 minutes not allowing the soup to boil.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with the bacon and blue cheese, if desired.

An InLinkz Link-up

Blue Cheese and Bacon Truffles

I was looking for something different to take to the Super Bowl party we were invited to.  I wanted something besides those go to apps for Super Bowl.  I ran across this recipe from Giada and thought it would be perfect.

I modified the recipe slightly, instead of the one to one ratio of cream cheese to blue cheese,  I used a 2:1 ratio cream cheese to blue cheese.  I wanted them to have the taste of blue cheese but sometimes blue cheese can be overpowering.  This recipe, as written doesn't make very many, I doubled the amount of cream cheese and it made the perfect amount.  If you're looking for an appetizer to take to a party, give this one a try.  They're delicious!

Blue Cheese and Bacon Truffles

6 ounces double-smoked bacon, chopped fine
2 small shallots, minced
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I used 8 ounces)
4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives (I omitted these)

Directions

Place the bacon in a medium skillet and heat over medium heat. Cook the bacon until almost entirely crispy, about 10 minutes. Add the shallots and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the bacon mixture into a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese and gorgonzola and mix well with a rubber spatula. Using a 1-tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop little balls of the cheese mixture and roll them between your palms to smooth. Place on a plate, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When ready to serve, allow the balls to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Mix together the pretzels and chives in a small bowl. Roll the truffles in the crushed pretzel mixture and serve.

Cherry Vinaigrette

Last summer one of my neighbors brought me back a batch of beautiful Michigan cherries.  Having made this flavored vinegar earlier this year, I decided to use a few to make cherry vinegar.  What a beautiful color.  Fruit flavored vinegar is easy to make.  I combined the cherries and balsamic vinegar and let them sit in the fridge for a few weeks. 

I've gotten into the habit (a good habit) of making homemade salad dressing.  I made a simple vinaigrette with this cherry vinegar.   I chose a simple  recipe so the cherry vinegar could be the star.  It's so hard to get a good picture of dressing!  :-)

Cherry Vinaigrette

Combine 3 parts of your favorite oil with 1 part of flavored vinegar.  Add shallots and some dried herbs.  I make this a few hours before dinner so the flavors have a chance to develop.  

Slow Cooker Carmalized Apples

Last fall Tim and our good friend The Landscaper went apple picking.  The Landscaper had all of the necessary tools for apple picking.  Our harvest was plentiful.  After making apple butter, an apple crisp or two, I froze the balance.

For our first Secret Recipe Club of 2016, I was assigned ButterYum.  Patricia, says, "I'm of British and Italian decent, the mother of 4, and I've been married to my wonderful husband for more than 25 years. I had always dreamed of going to culinary school, but reality hit when I married and started a family, so I took matters into my own hands and taught myself to cook and bake from scratch. I started with zero kitchen skills and now I teach cooking classes!"  How fun is that?!!

After enjoying a tour of Patricia's blog, I chose these Slow Cooker Caramelized Apples.  As a child, I remember enjoying baked apples with brown sugar.  This recipe is an even more delicious version of those baked apples!  I love that these can be made in the slow cooker, which is perfect for simmering these in the brown sugar and butter.  On the stove, they would require a constant stir and you would risk burning.  Served warm alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream ...  yum!

 

 

Slow Cooker Caramelized Apples

serves 10

Ingredients

• 8 cups diced baking apples (peeled and cored)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 dash freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Put all the ingredient in a slow cooker and mix thoroughly. 
2. Cover and cook on high until apples are tender, about 3 hours.  The yummy salted-cinnamon-vanilla-caramel sauce that coats the apples will thicken slightly upon cooling.  Cook uncovered for a thicker sauce.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pork Ramen

Depending on where you live there may be ramen restaurants popping up all over town.  In Omaha, we have just two but that doesn't stop the city from being crazy about ramen.  Last summer there was a ramen festival, I can't remember the exact numbers but over 10,000 people attended.  It's funny, ramen reminds most of us of the ramen of our college days.  Those noodles are the base for ramen dishes today.

When I looked on Wiki for a definition of ramen, here's what I found
Ramen (/ˈrɑːmən/) (ラーメン rāmen^?, IPA: [ɽäꜜːmeɴ]) is a Japanese noodle soup dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or (occasionally) fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork (チャーシュー chāshū^?), dried seaweed (海苔 nori^?), menma (メンマ menma^?), and green onions (葱 negi^?). Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen of Kyushu to the miso ramen of Hokkaido

The soft boiled eggs are missing from this recipe.  Tim doesn't care for them, I attempted to soft boil one for my ramen.  The result ... fail, the egg wouldn't peel and hadn't reached the soft boil stage.  Despite this, the dish was delicious and quite filling.  My ramen didn't follow the above definition exactly but we both really enjoyed it for a weeknight dinner.

Spicy Pulled Pork Ramen

Yield: serves 4
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

10 to 12 ounces pulled pork shoulder (I used leftovers)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces shitake mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups low-sodium chicken stock (or veg stock, or even beef stock!)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 blocks dried ramen noodles, seasoning packets removed
4 scallions, sliced
1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
2 (or 4) eggs, soft boiled or poached
2 tablespoons chili garlic paste
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the mushrooms and garlic and toss. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and juicy, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
While the mushrooms are cooking, bring the stock to a simmer. Stir in the soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Cook your eggs too! I like to soft boil mine - but poaching is good too.
Place the ramen blocks in two large bowls. Add the pork, scallions and a few cucumber slices to each bowl. Pour the stock over both blocks evenly and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes before stirring. Add mushrooms to each bowl and stir in a few more cucumber slices. At this point you could separate into two more bowls if you want 4 servings. Stir in the chili garlic paste (I do about a tablespoon per bowl for SPICY!) and add your egg and nori sheets. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with toasted sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Ruth's Chris Potatoes Au Gratin

These potatoes remind me of the scalloped potatoes of my childhood. Layered among the cream and topped with cheese, they melt in your mouth and you can't resist a second helping. A perfect side dish for a holiday dinner or a weeknight meatloaf dinner.

Ruth's Chris Potatoes Au Gratin
Recipe Courtesy of Epicurious

1. • 3 to 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
   • 1 cup heavy cream
   • 1/2 cup milk
   • 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
   • 1 large clove garlic, pressed
   • 1/4 teaspoon salt
   • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
   • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
   • 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
   • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley

1. 1.   Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch slices, then quarter each of those slices. 3. Beat together the cream, milk, flour, garlic, salt and pepper by hand just until well combined. 4. Coat the inside of a large baking dish with the softened butter. 5. Arrange one-fourth of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish. Pour some of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Repeat this layering step three more times. 6. Cover the potatoes and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 40 minutes or until the potatoes are starting to brown on top. 7. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top of the potatoes and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned and the potatoes are tender. 8. Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve.

Salty Honey Pie

Tim and love to cruise!  What's not to love, from the beautiful seas, amazing sunsets,  fabulous meals and fun entertainment.???!!!   Last winter, we cruised Celebrity Cruise lines for the first time.  If you were to ask Tim his favorite things about this last cruise, one of the top two or three would be the Salted Honey Pies, available in the coffee bar.   I love an afternoon latte while on a cruise, it helps me to stay awake for the evening show.  If you like you can enjoy a pastry along with your coffee.  On our first day, Tim discovered the honey pies, so he was happy to go along every afternoon when  I went to get my coffee.

Since last winter, I've been telling him I would try to duplicate the treat.  I did some searching, really what did we do before google?  and found the Two and Twenty Blackbirds recipe for Salted Honey Pie.  I'm not sure this pie was quite as good as the ones on Celebrity because everything tastes better when you're on vacation but it was pretty darn close. I wish it hadn't gotten so brown on the top but otherwise,  I thought it was delicious.  This is a great custard pie if you're looking for an alternative to pumpkin for a holiday dinner.

Salty Honey Pie
Recipe Courtesy of Joy the Baker

• Your favorite pie crust recipe
• ½ cup butter melted
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornmeal
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup honey (the best quality you can find)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup cream
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 1 or 2 Tbsp flake sea salt for finishing (like Maldon)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, corn meal and salt. Add the honey and the eggs one and a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the cream, vinegar, and vanilla until mixture is silky smooth.
3. Pour filling to shell, and bake pie for 45-60 minutes, or until the surface of the pie is puffed and golden, with the middle still slightly wiggly.
4. Cool for at least an hour, or overnight. Serve with whipped cream or enjoy without, as we did!

Sausage and Waffle Breakfast Bake

For Christmas morning breakfast I was looking for a something I could make the night before and bake while opening gifts.  I've made this breakfast bake before but if I recall we had guests and I didn't take the time for pictures.  This is hearty and delicious breakfast casserole has just a hint of sweet from the maple syrup and sauce.  Preparing this the night before is not only convenient but allows the sauce soak to into the waffles and create a wonderful bread pudding like texture.

Maple Sausage and Waffle Casserole
serves 6


8 frozen Eggo homestyle waffles, cubed
16 ounces maple breakfast sausage, crumbled

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 large eggs

1-1/4 cups whole or low-fat milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
salt
pepper

Cook the sausage in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain fat.

Grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Add half of the cubed waffles in a single layer. Top with half of the sausage and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Layer the remaining waffles and sausage and 1/2 cup more cheese. Whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the casserole.

Wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap and place refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day.

Bake at 325 degrees 45 to 50 minutes.

New Year's Eve Dessert Table

For the NYE dessert table, I made brownie bites, cake balls, dressed up fortune cookies and boozy pudding shots.

 A few weeks ago, I made these for Tim's office.  Using that recipe as inspiration, I  used a white cake mix, along with a little vanilla extract for the base, dipping them in almond bark and sprinkling them with glitter.

The brownie bites, no secrets here.  They were a boxed mix with a few mini chocolate chips tossed in.

Who doesn't want to break open a fortune cookie to see what their fortune is?  And if you don't like the one you chose, try another one!  I bought these at World Market and dressed them up with white chocolate and edible glitter.

And to top the evening off, I made some boozy pudding shots.  Using store bought chocolate cups, I made french vanilla pudding using milk and RumChata, topped off with a squirt of whipping cream.  Delicious!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve!!

We're had two couples for a NYE dinner and celebration.  I wanted something to dress up the appetizer and dessert table in the bar.  Where did I turn for inspiration?  Pinterest, of course.

The 2016 bottles were easy to put together, just be sure to allow plenty of time for the bottles to dry between steps.

Here's what you need:

Beer or Wine Bottles
Spray Paint of your choice
Scrapbook Paper of your choice
Floral Wire
Curly Ribbon

1. Remove the labels from your bottles.  I used Oxi Clean laundry powder.  Soak for a couple of hours and the labels come off easily.  A word of caution, the oxi can cause staining in ceramic sinks.  I do this process in a dish tub or large bowl.
2.  If desired, prime the bottles with white paint or primer.  Less glitter is required if you prime the bottles.
3. Dry overnight, spray with your desired color of glitter.
4. Trace numbers on the scrapbook paper.  Cut out numbers.
5. Attach numbers to floral wire with tape.
6. I used pieces of popcorn packing materials to hold the wire in place.
7. Cut desired length of curly ribbon to place in bottles.

I have enough scrapbook paper leftover, I can change the number for the next few years.  A fun and easy reusable New Year's Eve decoration.