All together - shrimp curry, roasted tomatoes, crispy onions, and rice
1 lb butternut squash, cut in chunks
1 lb asparagus, cut in slices
2 cans light coconut milk
1 can chicken broth
1.5-2 T red curry paste
Salt to taste
1 lb shrimp
1. Cook squash, asparagus, coconut milk, broth, and curry paste in a large pot over medium heat until vegetables are soft, approximately 20 minutes.
2. Add shrimp, cook about 5 minutes.
3. Serve over rice
Crispy Onions
I intended these to be caramelized onions. But perhaps I cooked it at too high heat or didn't use enough olive oil. They turned into shriveled, crispy onions, but I think ended up tasting even better that way. They added a nice crunch to the curry.
1 onion, sliced thinly
1. Cook over low heat for about an hour.
Roasted Canned Tomatoes
2 (14 oz) cans whole plum tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1. Drain tomatoes. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Roast at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
Dessert
Chocolate Crunch
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
4 oz butter (1/2 stick)
1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
8 oz digestive biscuits
1. Melt chocolate with butter in microwave or stove.
2. Stir in condensed milk.
3. Break up digestive biscuits (do this with hands; they crush easily). Mix in.
4. Pour into a loaf pan, cake pan, baking sheet...whatever. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
Black Bean Tacos
1 onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 T taco seasoning (I bought some in bulk from my co-op)
1. Cook onion and garlic over medium-low heat until soft.
2. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and simmer and liquid is reduced a bit.
Taco Construction
I put the tortillas in the oven at 350 to warm them. I overdid it a bit and ended up with crispy tortillas. Oh well. I decided to use chipotle hummus as the base for my taco. This was a great idea! It made the taco much more creamy and flavorful. I then added my black bean mixture, sauteed spinach with a little salsa, and some cheese.
Such an easy and delicious dinner. I'm feeling very proud of myself.
Roasted Butternut Squash
1 lb butternut squash, cubed (I bought it already cubed from TJs)
Olive oil
Chili powder
Salt
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Drizzle olive oil over squash cubes and sprinkle with as much chili powder and salt as desired.
3. Roast for 30-40 minutes.
Spring Rolls
Now that the cruise is over, I'm craving light meals. And green - I missed my spinach. Veggies were more of a garnish on the cruise. So tonight, I made spring rolls for the first time.
First, I thinly sliced 1 lb extra-firm tofu and marinated it for 20 minutes
Tofu
1 lb extra-firm tofu, thinly sliced
1 T garlic, minced
1 T ginger, minced
1 T sesame oil
1 T honey
3 T soy sauce
1. Marinate tofu about 20 minutes
2. Stir-fry over medium heat until brown and crispy
Dipping Sauce - The recipe called for garlic, ginger, and sugar in addition to the below ingredients, but I forgot them. It still tasted great.
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
1.5 tspn rice vinegar
Building Spring Rolls
1. Take a piece of rice paper and dip it in hot water for 20 seconds
2. Blot on damp towel
3. Add toppings: tofu, carrots, cucumber, broccoli slaw
4. Fold into a roll - or, in my case, a burrito
5. Dip into sauce
Served with sauteed spinach
All together now
Sausage and Peppers
12 oz chicken, spinach, and garlic sausage, sliced thin
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 T garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
Italian seasoning
Crushed red pepper
1 T balsamic vinegar
1. Saute peppers, onion, and garlic until soft. Remove and set aside.
2. Saute sausage until brown
3. Add back in pepper mixture. Add in diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes.
4. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and salt, to taste.
5. Add balsamic vinegar. Add cheese, if desired.
Normally, I would make this with pasta, but I was not in the mood. Instead I served it with half a microwaved sweet potato with chili powder and salt.
I also made a big salad with homemade dressing.
Balsamic Mustard Dressing - Very tart and garlicky
2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
1 T garlic
1. Mix all ingredients together vigorously.
Curry Chickpeas and Pasta
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
5 cardamom pods
2 T garlic
1 onion, sliced
3 cups chickpeas
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 t curry powder
1-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8 oz whole-wheat penne pasta
1. Saute spices and onion in a little olive oil until the onion is soft and the spices aromatic.
2. Add chickpeas and tomatoes. Add curry powder. Simmer over medium-low heat until heated through. Add salt to taste (I prefer more rather than less).
3. Boil pasta and add it to chickpea mixture
Panzanella
I bought a big package of roma tomatoes at Sam's Club on Monday and needed to come up with some way to use them. So I made Panzanella, one of my favorite summer dishes. The tomatoes certainly aren't as good as they will be in a month or two, but the dish still had a lovely fresh taste. Typically, panzanella is made with fresh basil. I didn't want to pay $2.50 for a package of basil, so I used parsley instead. Worked well. I served the panzanella with a large salad.
I added roasted broccoli and poached chicken to the panzanella.
Roasted broccoli and garlic
Panzanella
8 oz crusty whole wheat bread
8 oz fresh mozarella
8-9 roma tomatoes, cubed
1 bunch parsley, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar
Salt, to taste
1. Slice bread into medium sized cubes. If the bread is fresh, toast the cubes in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
2. Put all ingredients into large bowl and mix.
Fish Tacos
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 T garlic
8 oz white fish
1 T olive oil
2 T lime juice
1 tspn taco seasoning
1. Sautee yellow pepper and garlic over medium heat.
2. Add in fish. Pour oil, lime juice, and taco seasoning over fish (both sides). Cook until flesh flakes easily, flipping sides at least once.
3. Serve in whole wheat tortillas with tomatoes and salsa.
Red Lentil Curry - Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
1 onion, sliced (divided)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tspn red pepper flakes
1/2 tspn tumeric
1 cup red lentils
3 cups water
1 can light coconut milk
1 tspn mustard seeds
3 bay leaves
1. Cook 1/2 sliced onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until onion is soft in a little olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add tumeric, lentils, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. In a separate skillet, cook remaining 1/2 onion, mustard seeds, and bay leaves until onions are crispy - about 5 minutes if the onion is diced.
4. Add coconut milk to lentils and simmer about 5 minutes.
5. Serve lentils over rice and top with onion mixture. Add plenty of salt.
Chilled Mango Soup
2 mangos
10 oz orange juice
1 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1 tspn cinnamon, divided
1 T lime juice
1. Add mango, OJ, yogurt, lime juice, and 1/2 tspn cinnamon to blender. Blend until well-mixed. Add some ice cubes if you want it thinner.
2. Pour into bowls. Sprinkle bowls with remaining 1/2 tspn cinnamon
Strawberry Chicken Salad
Poached chicken, strawberries, orange pepper, cucumber, spinach.
“Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin/Chip Bars
Makes 9 bars (I cut mine into 16)
Ingredients:
2 cups dry oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients until smooth.
3. Spread batter in prepared baking pan, and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until bars are cooked all the way through.
4. Let bars cool completely in pan before cutting.
