Friday, January 29, 2010

Indonesian Beef Curry

Ingredients
Curry:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds lean top round, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 serrano chiles, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cardamom pods, crushed
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Rice:
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 cup light coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
To prepare curry, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Place half of the beef in skillet; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Remove the beef from pan. Keep warm. Repeat process with the remaining beef.
Lower heat to medium; add oil to pan. Add shallots, ginger, garlic, and chiles; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in coriander and next 6 ingredients (through cinnamon); cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Return beef to pan. Add broth; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until beef is tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Discard cinnamon stick; stir in juice.
To prepare rice, bring 1 1/4 cups water and remaining ingredients to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Place 2/3 cup rice onto each of 6 plates; top each serving with 1/2 cup curry.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
280 (30% from fat)
Fat:
9.4g (sat 3.4g,mono 3.4g,poly 1.2g)
Protein:
27.9g
Carbohydrate:
18.6g
Fiber:
1g
Cholesterol:
64mg
Iron:
3.1mg
Sodium:
536mg
Calcium:
26mg
Mark Scarbrough, Cooking Light, MAY 2007

Robin's Chicken Burgers




We had the chicken burgers for dinner last night. First of all, I never intended to serve them on a bun since I considered it a waste of calories for a home meal. Secondly, I took the bag of frozen burgers out of my freezer and left it on the counter to thaw which was probably not the best plan since by the time I returned home they were so soft that they were losing their burger shapes. I hoped to save my mistake by carefully placing them back into the freezer so they would firm up a bit before I needed them. No luck. So, I started to re-form the patties, but truly hate that feeling so I mushed the whole thing up and made chicken meatballs using my meatball scoop.

I pan-seared the meatballs in a bit on olive oil using my cast iron skillet on the stove top. The smell of mayo and rosemary as they cooked was delightful. Since they were smaller than the burgers, I cooked them for about 3 minutes on each side then would rotate them in a new direction until fully cooked.

I enjoyed them more than anyone else. Rosemary is probably my favorite herb so it was really nice for me to have a new rosemary application. Jeff thought they were okay. I confessed that I was supposed to serve them on a bun and he said a slice of onion, tomato and cheese would have made a huge difference for him. Charlie and Paige were both suspicious of the meatballs -- they both asked a couple of times if it was meat and what kind of meat it was (this was the first time I've served ground chicken) and Stella claimed to not be hungry. She ate one whole meatball without too much complaint, but stuck to her story of not being hungry. The meal was served with steamed green beans.

I probably would make this again, except next time I'll follow through with the bun to make it more of a crowd pleaser.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Amanda's Crab Cakes

Recipe: ?

Instructions: ?

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Short Sharp Chops

Recipe:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=225902

Instructions:
Thaw in refrigerator, turning bag occasionally. When ready to prepare, heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until done.

Asian Chicken Turkey Lettuce Wraps

You will need to buy a head of lettuce!

Recipe:
http://freezinginhaymarket.blogspot.com/2009/09/erikas-recipes-asian-lettuce-wraps-and.html

Instructions:
Let sauces and chicken mixture thaw in the fridge.

Heat chicken mixture in a large skillet until heated through.

To cook rice noodles: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add rice noodles and cook about 4 minutes until soft. Drain.

Assemble lettuce wrap by putting a small amount of chicken in the middle of a piece of lettuce. Add rice noodles and wrap up. Dip in one of the sauces and enjoy.