What We Ate For Dinner: Crock Pot Massaman Curry

I cannot promise you that I will take pretty pictures of my food.  Most of the time I will forget.  (The above is of the curry after I put it in the crock pot but before I cooked it.)  But, this experiment is not about pretty food.  Hopefully, it's about tasty food.  And this is one of my favorite recipes of all time.  I adapted it from one I found on allrecipes.com.

I threw this in the crock pot before church and used my rice cooker with a delay timer.  Everything was ready when we got home.  My in-laws came over and I think we each had seconds.  It was such a nice evening.  And my father-in-law gave my wheat grinder a bit of maintenance work.  I am seriously so thankful for him.  Whole wheat bread here we come!

1 can coconut milk
1/4 c. peanut butter
3 T. curry powder
3 T. brown sugar
3 T. fish sauce
2 c. chicken broth (or bouillon and water)
2-3 chicken breasts in chunks
3-5 potatoes in chunks
2 c. baby carrots or 2-4 carrots in chunks
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c. peanuts (optional)

Place first 6 ingredients in crock pot and whisk until peanut butter is combined.  Add everything else except the peanuts.  (You could saute the onion in some oil to soften it a bit, but I usually don't bother.)  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6.  Add the peanuts a half hour before it's ready.  Serve over brown rice.

What We Ate for Dinner: Crock Pot Chicken Mole

I saw this crock pot chicken mole a few weeks ago, but I thought I would have to wait for grocery shopping because I was short on ingredients.  FridayI decided to make it anyway and see what I could come up with.  My problems were the raisins, chili in adobo sauce and the chili powder.  I substituted dates, a can of green chilis and some additional spices.  Also, because I still haven't found all my spices from the move, I used whole coriander and cumin seeds.  I thought it was pretty tasty, but I would have liked to have some sour cream.

Here is what I threw in the crock pot (6 hours on low):

1 chopped onion
1/2 cup dehydrated dates, rehydrated and chopped
1 c. water from rehydrating the dates
1 T. chopped garlic
2 T. black sesame seeds
1 can chopped green chilis
1  27 oz. can of tomatoes, which I smashed a bit
3 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
3 t. cumin seed
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. oregano
2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. coriander seed
1/8 t. nutmeg
3 T. cocoa powder
2 large chicken breasts

What We Ate for Dinner: Asian Noodles and Grilled Chicken

Remember the Chinese chicken salad dressing I made here?  Well, the recipe makes a ton.  So, I froze the extra and brought it with me in the move.  Last night I use some to marinate the chicken legs I bought, then grilled them.  I also boiled a pound of whole wheat spaghetti and tossed it with the dressing.  Then I added carrots, red peppers and defrosted green beans.  It was a hit!

What We Ate for Dinner: Frozen Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas are one of my all time favorite freezer meals.  On Tuesday of this week I defrosted some enchiladas and put them in the oven in time for dinner only to find out that the knob on our oven is broken and I hadn't turned it far enough. (I love getting used to new appliances!)  They were still cold when I checked on them some time later.  So, I threw them back in the fridge and we ate out at Quizno's (courtesy of a Groupon from a week or so ago).  I pulled them out again last night and was finally able to get the oven to work right.

Here is my version of creamy chicken enchiladas.  I tried to lighten it up a little by only using one can of soup. It usually makes enough for two casserole dishes--one of the reasons I love to throw one in the freezer.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 can creamed corn (make sure it's the creamed kind)
1 small can diced green chilis (the fire roasted ones taste better)
1 small can red enchilada sauce
4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded (whichever you prefer)
shredded cheese
12 flour tortillas

Mix all the canned ingredients in a large bowl.  Assemble the enchiladas by placing chicken and cheese with a little sauce in each one.  Now that I think of it, sometimes I add in a can of beans (drained) with the chicken.  Fill two casserole dishes with the tortillas.   Split the rest of the sauce between the two dishes and top with cheese.

Cook 350 covered for about 45 minutes until warmed through.  Take off foil for the last few minutes.  If frozen plan on cooking an extra 45 minutes, or defrost first.

What We Ate for Dinner: Chinese Chicken Salad

My friend, Jessica, gave me a head of cabbage a few days ago.  It was a kind gift for those of us who are fresh veggie deprived.  I was so inspired I broke out those last two chicken breasts and made a Chinese chicken salad.  I threw in some of the carrots from my grocery binge last week and the green onions came from my mother-in-law who was going out of town.  I topped the whole thing off with rice sticks and a yummy dressing.

Rice sticks are rice noodles that have been fried in hot oil.  It makes them puff up.  They are crispy and crunchy and make a nice addition to a Chinese chicken salad.  Fried won ton wrappers are also nice.  I didn't have any of those.

To make the dressing, throw all the following ingredients into a blender.

1 orange peeled
1 t. lime juice
2/3 c. red wine vinegar
2/3 c. sugar
3 T. soy sauce
3/4 c. canola oil
2 cloves garlic
1 t. salt
1/3 c. honey
2-3 T. sesame oil
2 T. sesame seeds (mine were black, which is why it looks like there are ants in my salad)

What We Ate for Dinner: Baked Penne with Chicken and Spinach

This was one of the last of my freezer meals.  I have been debating about whether to post a recipe, the problem being that I can't remember how I made it.  I have the recipe I used, but that doesn't help me much because I modified the recipe.  I will give you the recipe as I have it and then talk a little about what I probably did to give you an idea how to modify a recipe for what you have on hand.

1 lb. penne or rigatoni
6 T. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/3 c. flour
2 1/2 c. whole milk
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground white pepper
1/2 t. grated nutmeg
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. finely diced Provolone cheese
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1" dice, sauteed until golden brown.
9 oz. bag of fresh baby spinach
1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley

2 c. freshly ground breadcrumbs
2 T. melted butter
1 t. dried Italian seasoning

Cook the pasta until al dente.  This is especially important if you are going to freeze this after you make it because the pasta will absorb moisture from the sauce when it bakes.  Pasta that is well done will be mushy.

Saute garlic and shallots in butter until soft.  Add flour and cook for a minute to incorporate.  Whisk in milk until thickened on medium heat.  Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, cheese, chicken and spinach.  Pour over pasta in large bowl and toss with parsley.  Pour everything in baking dish and top with breadcrumbs mixed with butter and seasonings.  Bake covered in foil at 375 for 20 or 30 if refrigerated.  If frozen, bake until 160 internal temperature.  Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more.

Here is what I probably did.  I would have used regular onion in place of the shallots.  In place of the whole milk, I would have used a can of evaporated plus powdered milk to equal the 2 1/2 cups.  Evaporated milk is a pretty good replacement for cream in soup and sauce recipes.  I would have used regular black pepper in place of the white and mozzarella in place of the provolone.  I also used frozen spinach, defrosted in place of the fresh.  And dried parsley.

I modify a lot of recipes like this.  You shouldn't be afraid of using equivalents when cooking.  But don't forget when you are using dried herbs to only use half as much as the recipe calls for.  Dried herbs are more potent than fresh.

Self Reliance Experiment: Menu for Day 1

I can't tell you how excited I am for this no grocery experiment.  You must be wondering what they put in the water down here in Sanpete County--chickens, solar ovens, buddy burners, forgoing trips to the grocery store.  I don't even have a response.  But I will tell you what we ate yesterday.

Breakfast: Eggs with cheese and salsa in flour tortillas.
Lunch: Leftovers with grilled chicken.  (I'm lucky to have a boy who will each grilled chicken instead of nuggets.)
Dinner:  Chicken pot pie.

The pot pie was already made and in the freezer, I just had to bake it.  Here is the recipe.  (I didn't take a picture, so just pretend this one is mine.)

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 T. butter or olive oil

1 can cream soup

1 c. milk (can refill soup can with milk)

2-3 cups frozen veggies--ANYTHING works! (I like peas, carrots and corn, but I have used broccoli and cauliflower too.)

2 pie crusts (you can make your own, but I usually use store bought

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter or oil until soft.  Add the soup and milk and stir until combined.  Add chicken and veggies.

Put bottom pie crust in pie pan.  Fill with soup and veggie mixture.  Put second pie crust on top.  Finish off edges.  If you are going to freeze it, wrap in plastic wrap and pop it in the freezer and then defrost before baking.  

Bake 375 until golden brown (about 30-45 minutes).