veggies and noodles with thai coconut curry sauce

I got the recipe for this on the Our Best Bites website (linked on the left of the blog). You can find it here. It's a knock off of Noodles & Co Bangkok Curry, which I'm now considering ordering on my next visit there. Yum.

I don't like curry. This doesn't taste like "curry". It uses red curry paste, which I actually had lying around in the fridge. I also happened to have coconut milk in my cupboard. This really hit the spot with me tonight. Even Nathaniel ate it up, which really shocked me!

A couple of notes:

1. I used fresh broccoli and fresh carrots instead of the stir fry mix. I didn't blanch them first, I just threw them in the wok the same time as the red peppers and it was fine. With sitting for 5 minutes in the sauce to thicken, they soften even more. If they're soft once you add the sauce, I'd imagine they'd get a little limp.

2. I did half the recipe. Probably a smart idea. But, after I ate my 3 lbs and Thanny ate some, there's probably enough for Andrew to eat for dinner when he gets home and not a whole lot of left overs. So I may actually make the whole thing next time!

3. As a lover of sweet chili sauce- you do not have to go to the Asian market to find it. They have two brands in the Asian section of Smiths. Just so you know. (P.S. If you've never had sweet chili sauce, try it with sour cream and dip potato wedges in it. I ate this all the time in Australia- they even had sour cream and sweet chili potato chips in the store there, America needs to get with the program and get some of those. yum!)

Follow the link (the word "here") for the recipe.

Potato Leek Soup

This is a recipe that my mom makes. Andrew had it the summer we lived out there and has loved it ever since. I guess I was craving it today and it tasted so good. Plus, it was a good meal for meatless monday. I was going to post another recipe I made last week or the week before. But, it didn't settle well with me and the left overs made me nausiated. Needless to say, I'm not posting that one. I found some yummy rosemary olive oil bread on the reduced price rack at Smith's today that was really good with it. I just toasted it and put a little butter on it. I dipped and just ate. I also ate a little too much... my tummy was kind of in a little pain afterwards. But it was so worth it!

Potato Leek Soup

1 1/2 cups minced leeks

1/4 cup minced onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

3 Tbs. minced carrot

4 Tbl. butter

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups diced potatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

Sautee leeks, onions, carrot and garlic in butter. Add chicken stock and potatoes to large pot, along with sauteed vegetables. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are cooked. Put the soup into blender to puree, doing a little at a time. Return to pot; add cream. Reheat without boiling. Add seasonings. If too thick, thin with a little half and half or milk.

Day 2: Turkey Burgers, Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Today I made turkey burgers. They were tasty! I really liked them. The potatoes were not worth the time. I would have rather had red potato oven fries. And they would have been so much easier.

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1	turkey thigh , about 2 pounds, skinned and boned (or 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless thighs) cut into 1-inch chunks; arranged on sheet pan; frozen until semifirm, about 30 minutes
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1/2	teaspoon ground black pepper
2	teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2	teaspoons Dijon mustard
1	tablespoon vegetable oil or canola oil

Instructions

Mix together. I pan-fried them. They would be awesome grilled. I used ground turkey and added a scoop of ricotta cheese (that's would the directions suggested). Definitely a keeper.


Roasted Smashed Potatoes

This recipe is designed to work with potatoes 1½ to 2 inches in diameter; do not use potatoes any larger. It is important to thoroughly cook the potatoes so that they will smash easily. Remove the potatoes from the baking sheet as soon as they are done browning—they will toughen if left too long. A potato masher can also be used to “smash” the potatoes.

Ingredients

2	pounds small Red Bliss potatoes (about 18), scrubbed (see note)
6	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1	teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
	Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Adjust oven racks to top and bottom positions and heat oven to 500 degrees. Arrange potatoes on rimmed baking sheet, pour ¾ cup water into baking sheet, and wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Cook on bottom rack until paring knife or skewer slips in and out of potatoes easily (poke through foil to test), 25 to 30 minutes. Remove foil and cool 10 minutes. If any water remains on baking sheet, blot dry with paper towel.

2. Drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over potatoes and roll to coat. Space potatoes evenly on baking sheet and place second baking sheet on top; press down firmly on baking sheet, flattening potatoes until 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and season generously with salt and pepper; drizzle evenly with remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Roast potatoes on top rack 15 minutes. Transfer potatoes to bottom rack and continue to roast until well browned, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

Check them the last time earlier. They got a little burned. Like I said, I wasn't super impressed.

Roasted broccoli is super easy. Cut, drizzle with olive oil, season with kosher salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You will never eat broccoli any other way. Ever.

January

I haven't blogged anywhere since August. And I don't even feel guilty. Something had to go to make my life simpler. But I am going to try something in January-hopefully I will post close to everyday this month.

I frequently get stuck in making the same things for dinner over and over again. This January I am going to try something new-my goal is to not repeat a dinner once. 31 days of 31 new dinners. I hope I can do it. I am well aware that there are days when this might not be possible (you know, working full-time with two little ones and a husband who works more-than-full-time) but I am going to try my best.

So here's January 1st.

Pan Roasted Chicken with Potatoes from Cook's Country
(I am not the best at taking pictures...one day I will improve-when I have some time!)

INGREDIENTS
4 split bone-in chicken breasts
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2pounds red potatoes , cut into 1-inch wedges
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove , minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Pinch red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS
Making the Minutes Count: While the chicken browns, cut the potatoes.

1. Heat Oven: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Season and Brown Skin Side of Chicken: Pat chicken dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chicken well on skin side, about 5 minutes.

3. Microwave Potatoes: While chicken browns, toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in microwave-safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 10 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to toss potatoes halfway through.

4. Bake Chicken: Transfer chicken, skin side up, to baking dish and bake until thickest part registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Brown Potatoes: While chicken bakes, pour off any grease in skillet, add 1 more tablespoon oil, and return to medium heat until shimmering. Drain microwaved potatoes then add to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes.

6. Make Drizzling Oil: Whisk remaining 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes together.

Drizzle oil over chicken and potatoes before serving.


My chicken breasts were huge so I used 2. We feed our family of four plus had enough chicken left over to make something else. I'm thinking maybe a pot pie for dinner tomorrow? That also meant my chicken took a lot more time to cook. I would suggest putting the chicken in a larger pan. I used a small pan and the oil kept popping into the oven. We had the smoke detector going off no less than 3 times. Yikes.

I liked it, though. The drizzling sauce was really good. (We cut the recipe by 1/3m, but it was still too much-I guess it depends on how many people you are serving). It will make it's way into the rotation after January.

A Frost Family First: Christmas Cards!

Well, I couldn't resist the lure of free Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I love the idea of sending out Christmas cards (after convincing myself that maybe I actually do have people to send them to) but never am able to or want to shell out the dough. So what ends up happening: No Christmas cards. Until this year!

Shutterfly has such a cute variety of Christmas Photo Cards that I don't know which ones I'll end up choosing. I just hope that I have a cute enough picture of the family to go with the designs...

Last Christmas, my brother-in-law and his wife made a photo wall calendar for my in-laws. It has been so fun to have up all year long. I've been wanting to make one for myself and have actually already started looking into them from Shutterfly's website. One of the options that I think is really fun is that you not only can put a reminder on the day like December 28 being "Andrew and Victoria's Anniversary" but could put a wedding picture with both of our beautiful faces on that space on the calendar!

I did do a birth announcement for Nathaniel using Shutterfly last year. They were fun to pass out and give to people. My work had it hanging on the teacher's lounge door for months. After I quit teaching and started staying home, someone in the school threw it in the garbage. A few months later, I went back to visit my 1st grade team and Lori, one of my co-workers, had dug it out of the trash and saved it because she thought it was a shame to throw a cute announcement away! The best part was sending a bit of our joy to people out on the east coast who weren't able to meet the boy. Next baby I'll be looking through the options of birth announcements again!

So anyway, I'm excited. If you want one let me know and I'll send you one because the Frost's are sending out Christmas invites compliments of Shutterfly. Thanks Shutterfly! Go check it out for yourself, but the deadline to apply is the 10th!

This is a really weird picture that does not do it justice. The spread that was actually in the Rachael Ray magazine (I know, two recipes in a row) was very pretty. This was kind of a fun dish to make, had lots of good stuff in it and was just different, which is nice sometimes.

This makes one pie pan full.

2/3 cup rice

3 Tbl olive oil

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

pepper

1 onion finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (I didn't have any when I made this, so I used pieces of tomato)

2 cloves garlic, finely hopped

One 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 tsp finely chopped rosemary

salt

1 store-bought rotisserie chicken cut into cubes (I used cooked shredded chicken breast that I have stored in my freezer)

9 ounces cheddar cheese (2 1/4 cups)

1. Preheat the oven to 425. In a small saucepan, combine the rice with 1 1/3 cups water. Cover and simmer over med-high heat until water is absorbed. About 16 minutes. Let cool. (I cooked rice in the rice cooker earlier that morning and saved it for when I was making this recipe for dinner!)

2. Brush the sides of a 9-in pie pan with 1 Tbl olive oil. In a medium bowl, combine the cooled rice, parmesan cheese, egg and a pinch of pepper. Using lightly oiled fingers or a rubber spatula, press the rice mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake for 10 min. Set aside to cool.

3. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tbl olive oil over med heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring occassionally, until the vegetables are golden- 15-20 minutes. Stir in the spinach and rosemary, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 min. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Stir in the chicken and 1 cup of cheddar cheese..

4. Lower the oven to 375. Fill the crust with the chicken-vegetable filling, leaving a 1-inch border at the top of the crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 1/4 cups of cheddar cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Satay Noodle Soup

Rachael Ray says that this serves 4. Thinking it really did, I decided to just make it for the 4 servings and have Andrew and I eat it once for dinner and then once for lunch the next day as left overs. We've eaten it for dinner and I've eaten it twice for lunch and there is still TONS of soup left. So my advice is that if you don't have a large crowd to feed, half this recipe for sure!

That being said, this was kind of a fun and different kind of dinner. I would definitely not forget the toppings at the end (cilantro, peanuts, green onions and lime) since I felt like they totally made the meal.

Salt

1/2 lb whole wheat pasta

2 Tbl vegetable oil

3/4 lb chicken, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl tamari (dark soy) *I used regular soy since I didn't have any

1/4 cup Thai red curry paste

2 Tbl tomato paste

6 cups chicken broth

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1/2 head napa or savoy cabbage, shredded *I only had regular cabbage and it worked fine

1/2 cup apple joice

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

green onions thinly sliced

1 Tbl chopped cilantro

Lime wedges

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain

2. Meanwhile, in a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and garlic and cook, stirring until the chicken is opaque, about 5 min. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the peanut butter, tamari, curry paste and tomato paste to the pot and stir. Increase the heat to meduium-high and whisk in the chicken broth; add the ginger. Bring to a boil, then stir in the cabbage and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the apple juice.

4. Divide the pasta among 4 bowls. Ladle the soup over the pasta. Top with the bean sprouts, peanuts, green onions and cilantro. serve with the lime wedges.