Honey Chicken Curry With Thai Coconut Rice

I made this tonight for dinner, and it may be my new favorite curry recipe! It was so quick and easy and very lummy (as Ryan says). I'm still amazed at how easy and yummy it was! I got the recipe from my friend Michele's blog (the link is above) and she also had a recipe for Thai Coconut Rice, which I made to go along with it. I am always a fan of coconut and curry and these two recipes together were awesome. I did the rice in my rice cooker and changed it a little from Michele's, so if you don't have a rice cooker or especially love cilantro (Jen) then follow her recipe instead of mine. Cooking it in the rice cooker took a double cook time, with a few stirs in the middle, rather than just turning it on and letting it cook, like I normally would. The coconut milk made it very creamy and thicker than usual.

Honey Chicken Curry
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. curry powder
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 chicken breasts, cut in half (I cut mine in half, and in half again)

Melt butter and add honey, salt, curry and mustard and stir until well combined. Place chicken in baking dish and pour mixture over the top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes (I didn't need to do this because I used a square dish and the sauce covered my chicken almost completely).

Thai Coconut Rice
2 c. rice
2 c. coconut milk
1 3/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 c. coconut

Cook in rice cooker until liquid is mostly absorbed. Stir occasionally if necessary because the milk settles at the top and the bottom may burn. While your rice is cooking, put a small amount of oil in a frying pan and lightly toast your 1/4 c. coconut over medium heat. Chop up your cilantro. When you serve the rice, serve the toasted coconut and cilantro on top.

Adapted from: http://www.sweetluvininthekitchen.blogspot.com/

*Update: I made this with the cilantro and toasted coconut on the top and I thought it added SO much! So I have added that into this recipe so you can enjoy it that way too!

Hearty Hamburgers

I am making hamburgers tonight, but I make them a little more hearty, almost like a mini meatloaf. I think they taste better that way and also I can sneak veggies in for my kids. This partially comes from when we lived with Grandpa W. and partially from Deceptively Delicious by Mrs. Jerry Seinfeld (although it is all from my memory now since Jen still has my cookbook...).

1 egg
1/2 tsp season salt
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1/4 c pureed cauliflower
breadcrumbs
1 pound ground beef

Beat the egg and add all seasonings and cauliflower. Add enough breadcrumbs to soak up the egg. Use your hands to work the ground beef into the egg mixture until it is well blended. Form into patties and fry until cooked through.

*These measurements are total guesses on the spices. I tend to just add a lot of stuff until it looks "right". Also, sometimes I use actual bread and sometimes I use store bought bread crumbs. Either works fine.

Breakfast Pizza

This a great idea if you want to switch things up for breakfast. It's super easy and fairly quick. Matt makes this for me many mornings and we can do it before we have to leave for work. It also makes great leftovers; just reheat and serve.

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury croissants or biscuits

6 eggs

.75-1 lb. ground breakfast sausage (cooked and drained)

1 bag of hash browns

shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1- Flatten biscuits or croissants onto a large cookie sheet and press edges together to form a pizza-like crust.

2- Whisk eggs together in a small bowl and pour over crust.

3- Sprinkle hash browns, sausage, and desired amount of cheese over eggs.

4- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown and eggs at center are cooked.

5- If you're like me and love sweetness in the morning, serve with syrup:)

Serves 5 adults easily with many leftovers.

Berry Lemon Pancakes

So, because I am obsessed with breakfast foods, hopefully not more than any of you... Carolyn, and I found a blog that shares my love of breakfast foods, and then goes above and beyond. I found this one and tried it out on the family while they were here. We decided that there were things to be done that could perfect this recipe, so I've added that into the recipe.

Berry Lemon Pancakes

adapted from Joy the Baker.

8-10 pancakes, enough for two (I doubled this and it was perfect for 6 adults)

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 cup fresh blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries (we used frozen, slightly thawed, and it worked well too)

*We felt that if the berries were chopped or halved then they would cook a little better.

Directions:

In a small bowl rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar until pale yellow and fragrant.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and butter. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until just combined. The batter may be a bit lumpy. That’s better than overmixing the batter. Fold in the berries with a few strokes. Not much stirring necessary.

(For this next part I just cooked mine like normal on a heated griddle, no butter.) Heat a griddle pan or a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil or a dab of butter and heat through. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of batter to the pan. Heat until bubbles form and start to pop. Carefully flip over and cook through. Place cooked pancakes on an oven proof plate and let rest in a 200 degree F oven while you fry the rest of the pancakes.

Top pancakes with maple syrup or mascarpone sweetened with a dash of powdered sugar and the juice of one Meyer lemon.

Five Cheese Ziti

In the classroom I work in we all love to eat, so we decided to have a potluck. My friend brought this and we all loved it. It takes a lot of ingredients, but oh how it's worth it. I couldn't find any Fontina cheese, and really, I don't think it needs it.

Ziti Sauce:

4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups alfredo sauce
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons Fontina cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Ziti Topping:
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons romano cheese, grated
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped

Remaining Ingredients:
1 lb dry ziti pasta
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preparing the Ziti Sauce:

Combine all ingredients for the Ziti Sauce in a large bowl; cover
and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preparing the Ziti topping:

1- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the first four ingredients for
the Ziti Topping.
2- Add the garlic, oil, and parsley and mix until thoroughly blended.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to prepare the whole dish:
1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking dish or
large casserole with non-stick spray.
2- Prepare the pasta according to package directions.
3- Pour 1/2 cup of prepared ziti sauce into the prepared dish, and
spread it evenly over the bottom using a spoon.
4- When pasta has finished cooking, drain the water and pour the hot
pasta into the bowl of remaining sauce. Mix thoroughly; pour into the
baking dish.
5- Spread 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over the pasta and sauce mixture.
6- Top the mozzarella with the prepared Ziti Topping, spreading evenly.
7- Place pan on center oven rack and bake until top is golden brown
and cheese is bubbling, about 30 to 40 minutes.
8- Remove and serve immediately.

(From the Olive Garden Restaurant, so I hear)

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

This is the best soup! We had it for dinner tonight and everyone agrees. It's also pretty quick and very easy. Just cook some chicken (you could even put it in a crockpot) and rice (in a rice cooker) and the rest comes together quickly. It is my favorite soup and we've eaten it many times in the short while I've had the recipe. We eat it with bread bowls and it is perfect.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

½ cup wild rice

1 ¼ cup water (For the rice that I used I had to keep adding water into my rice cooker and continue cooking until it was soft enough)

1 chicken bouillon cube

½ cup onion, chopped

½ cup celery, sliced thin

¼ cup butter

½ cup carrots, sliced-thin

¼ cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

Parsley flakes

1 cup cream

2 cups cooked chicken

Combine rice, water, & bouillon cube and cook in rice cooker.

Sauté onion, celery, & carrots in butter. Blend in flour and stir. Add chicken broth & parsley flakes. Stir until thick. Add rice, cream, & chicken. Cook 5 minutes.

Chocolate Chocolate Torte

For our triple birthday celebration, I chose a most wonderful cake and just can't describe it's yumminess. You will just have to make it yourselves and then you will understand why I spent a little while longer in the kitchen than I would have making a basic sheet cake with tub frosting.

This "frosting" is perfect because it's not too sweet so it balances out the rest of the cake very well.

Adapted from http://themiddleeasterncook.blogspot.com/2008/06/elegant-chocolate-torte.html

FILLING:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups milk
1 cup chocolate syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

BATTER:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chocolate syrup
1/2 cup water

FROSTING:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

*mini or crushed chocolate chips

1. For filling, in a small saucepan, combine flour, sugar and salt. Stir in milk and syrup until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to room temperature, stirring often.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with syrup and water. Beat just until combined. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

3. Cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with a third of the filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake. In a mixing bowl, beat frosting ingredients until stiff peaks form; spread or pipe over top and sides of cake.

*For extra goodness, I (took Eliza's suggestion and) added crushed chocolate chips to the side of the cake. Oh thank goodness for birthdays.

Scrambly Hambly

So, it's 5:15, my boys are watching Curious George, and I have about 15 minutes left before it's over and we all melt down if I don't come up with something to eat QUICK.  I searched every label we had for quick, easy, and casserole, knowing that my dear sisters wouldn't let me down in a moment of desparation.  And you didn't.  Except that every single one of those labels took me to the same Creamy Chicken Casserole.  Oh, and I have no chicken.  So, here's something chicken-less, quick, and easy for the desparately hungry.

Scramble some eggs

Fry some ham 

Stick it all between two pieces of buttered toast

(preferably buttered side in)

There you have it.  That will be our dinner tonight, and many nights to come.