This curry recipe is delicious, and really close to a butter chicken curry you might get in an Indian restaurant. If you like Indian curry, I highly recommend trying this recipe!
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp peanut oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger root (or ground ginger, if you don’t have fresh)
1/2 tsp white sugar
salt to taste
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp chili paste
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions:
1. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Sauté onion until slightly browned.
3. Add chicken, garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, garam masala, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until chicken is browned, stirring occassionally.
4. Stir in tomato paste, chili paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf. Stir in lemon juice, cornstarch, and cayenne pepper. Simmer 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.
This recipe was adapted from Allrecipes (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/indian-chicken-curry-ii/detail.aspx).
Kraft Mac & Cheese was one of my absolute favorites as a kid, and mac & cheese is still one of my favorite sides today. However, Kraft simply doesn't measure up to macaroni & cheese from scratch. I love a good stovetop mac and cheese because it is the perfect creamy consistency. I have made this many times and highly recommend! Or check out my roasted garlic mac & cheese if you prefer baked mac & cheese.
Ingredients:
8-ounces dry pasta (elbow, shells, bow-tie, etc)
2 eggs
1 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
4 tablespoons butter
8-ounces cheddar, shredded
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Directions:
1. Cook pasta al-dente according to the package instructions. Drain.
2. Whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt, pepper, and ground mustard.
3. Add butter to the pasta pot over low heat. Add drained pasta to the pot.
4. Stir in the sauce, then the cheese. Stir the pasta until the cheese has melted and desired texture is achieved.
5. If consistency is too thin, remove a portion of the liquid and combine with cornstarch until dissolved. Recombine with mixture in pot. Stir well.
This recipe was adapted from "Quick and Easy Stove Top Mac & Cheese in 15 Minutes" from PBS (http://www.pbs.org/parents/kitchenexplorers/2013/02/28/quick-and-easy-stove-top-mac-cheese/).
To follow up my copycat of Yumm sauce, here is the basic idea behind Yumm bowls. I love the original Yumm bowl, which is described below. The main difference between the one I make and the original at Cafe Yumm is the rice. Cafe Yumm uses brown rice, but I use white rice. This is mostly just because we keep white rice in the pantry but not brown rice. I don't think it makes that much of a difference in the overall taste. These bowls are delicious and cost a fraction of what they would cost from the restaurant!
As I've said, I like to eat vegetarian when I can. However, I have many friends who cannot conceive of a meal that does not include meat. To make Yumm bowls more appealing to those people, we add some type of cooked chicken to the top. Highly recommend trying Cajun chicken!
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 can black beans, warm
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1-2 avocados, sliced
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2-1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
Yumm Sauce (make your own!)
Salsa
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro
Cooked chicken (optional)
Directions:
1. In a soup bowl, add 1-2 scoops of cooked rice.
2. On top of rice, add a layer of black beans, and pour desired amount of Yumm Sauce over the top.
3. Add desired amount of tomato and black olives and sprinkle cheese over the top.
4. Top the bowl with sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
If you have ever been to Oregon, you might have been to a local restaurant chain called Cafe Yumm. Most of their food is just rice bowls, but what makes this restaurant really unique is the signature sauce. I wanted to find a good recipe so that I could make the sauce at home, but most of the recipes I found online were not very close to the real thing. I have been tinkering with the recipe for about a year, and now I finally have something that is ridiculously close to the original! This sauce is awesome!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
3/4 cup cooked garbanzo beans (~1/2 15 oz. can)
3/4 cup cooked soybeans (not edamame beans)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning (or add a little black pepper and lemon zest)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Directions:
1. In a food processor, blend toasted almonds, garbanzo beans, soybeans, and oil.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until creamy and smooth.
This recipe was adapted from the recipe at http://www.food.com/recipe/yummy-sauce-297251. I modified this recipe heavily, as the original recipe was not very close to real Yumm sauce.
This salad is a great side that can be made with no use of the oven or stove. It is awesome to make on summer nights, when I don't want to heat up the house. Totally delicious too!
Ingredients:
1 avocado, cut into small pieces
1 roma tomato, diced
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed (or use halved balls of marinated mozzarella)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Mix avocado, mozzarella, and tomato together and season with olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper.
This recipe was adapted from "Avocado Tomato Mozzarella Salad" from Bearwithmeee (http://www.chefjenny.com/2012/02/avocado-tomato-mozzarella-salad.html).
When I was in college, I loved getting pesto pasta from one of the coffee shops on campus. It was so delicious and simple that I just had to make it at home, especially when we started getting ridiculously large amounts of basil from our garden. This is great with a homemade pesto sauce, but you could also use store-bought too. Great summer side!
Ingredients:
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
8 ounces macaroni pasta (or whatever you have on hand)
3 Tbsp pesto
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Parmesan Cheese
Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain.
2. When pasta has cooled slightly, add the pasta to a bowl with tomatoes, olive oil, and pesto.
3. Toss and add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to serve, top with parmesan cheese, to taste.
This recipe was inspired by the recipe at the Whole Grains Council (http://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/main-dishes/penne-with-pesto-and-cherry-tomatoes).
I used to always buy canned salsa in the store just to have around for when we made Mexican food. However, a few months ago, I found this recipe for salsa made from canned tomatoes, and it is so awesome, I will never buy canned salsa again! It's amazing how much of a better this is than canned salsa, despite starting from canned tomatoes. The use of fresh garlic, onions, jalapeños, and lime juice are really make the flavor of this salsa. I did not expect this to be so great, but now I make it all the time!
Ingredients:
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 tsp lime juice (fresh is always better)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (or 2 Tbsp dried)
Directions:
1. Drain tomatoes and reserve juice.
2. Add onion, jalapeno, and garlic to a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse to chop.
3. Add juice from tomatoes, lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne. Pulse to combine.
4. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes and process on for a few seconds. Add remaining tomatoes and cilantro and pulse until the salsa is the proper consistency.
This recipe is adapted from "Best Canned Tomato Salsa Recipe" from Simply Fresh Cooking (http://simplyfreshcooking.com/2012/04/best-canned-tomato-salsa-recipe/).
