Sweet and Mellow vegetables combined with aromatics and heat to create a heavenly lentil curry.
Recently, I learned about "Wonderpot". No, this is not something that you can now legally buy in the Mile High City (pun). Rather, this is a one pot dish that was pioneered by Budget Bytes. Basically, you throw all the ingredients into one large pot, let it simmer and your dinner is magically delicious (much like a bowl of Lucky Charms only, you know, satisfying). Even though I love to cook, easy and satisfying is something that I am for most week nights. These one pot wonders are a serious sanity saver and since they are on the site Budget Bytes, I assume they have low cost per serving too. Since its Indian (or British as the case may be) Food Week here on Crowdsource My Dinner (Did I announce that yesterday? It is.), I've decided to make a "WonderPot" of sweet potato, spinach and lentil curry. Lentils lend themselves really well to wonderpots, because they require simmering which means they have plenty of time to absorb the yumminess from other flavors (such as coconut milk, onions and garlic). This is definitely the easiest recipe that I've created in a long time, and one of the most delicious. The flavor of this wonderpot is out of this world. Creamy sweetness from the coconut milk, tender chew from the lentils, a little bit of acidity from the tomatoes, spicy and herbacious goodness from the aromatics. When I first started throwing ingredients into a pot, I worried about was that this would end up being mushy, but the lentils held their shape and texture really well, and created a distinctly non-mushy texture (the opposite of mushy is crunchy, but this is decidedly not crunchy). Enjoy!
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Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach Curry
by Hannah Rounds May-6-2014
This one pot wonder curry is as easy to prepare as it is delicious.
Ingredients
1 Very Large Sweet Potato- Diced
1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk
1.5 cups Stock (vegetable or chicken)
1 Medium Onion- Diced
3 Cloves Garlic- Minced
1 Can Diced Tomatos
3 Tablespoons Garam Masala
1/2 Teaspoon Tumeric
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Lentils Rinsed
2 Cups Packed Spinach
1/8 Bunch Cilantro
1 Dollop per Bowl Greek Yogurt
Instructions
1. Soak lentils for at least 45 minutes then rinse them.2. Add sweet Potatoes, tomatoes, stock, coconut milk, onion, garlic and spices to a pot and bring it up to a slow simmer for 20 minutes.3. Add lentils and allow pot to simmer 20-30 more minutes.4. Add spinach and allow it to wilt (2-3 minutes)5. Serve curry with yogurt and freshly chopped cilantro (and naan bread or rice are nice side choices)
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 Servings
Proving once again, that Britain may have turned a culinary page, I introduce you to the creamy, scrumptious bowl of curry goodness... Chicken Tikka Masala.
I used to think that movies/TV and other non-reading media were horrible methods for learning, then the internet happened. It turns out that you can learn a lot from the TV, as long as you are paying attention. The reason I never paid attention was that "educational" TV is boring. However, food shows are very interesting! For example, several months back I learned about the curry tradition in Great Britain from watching The Supersizers on Hulu. It turns out that despite the British tradition of making just horrible foods for literally centuries the Indians have been trying to fix Britain's palate one dish at a time. Thank goodness for India is all I have to say. Recently, Great Britain actually named their national dish to be Chicken Tikka Masala, which is only a little ridiculous considering it definitely was not developed in Jolly Old England, but they do consume a lot of curry dishes there and Madhur Jaffrey started a decidedly British curry revolution. Whether this falls into the category of Faux-Indian or just Indian food, Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the easiest, most scrumptious, velvety pile of tantalizingly spicy goodness that you will ever have the pleasure of eating. Honestly, this is not a spicy dish, but it is aromatic. The spices and flavors have the power to transport you to your happy place, where nothing can interrupt quality time with a bowl of Yum!, Chicken Tikka Masala's texture is velvety, almost creamy. And when the whole thing is piled high on a bed of basmati rice and topped with cilantro, you know that things don't get a whole lot better this side of heaven. Traditionally Tikkas are cooked in a Tandoor, but I have been working with this recipe from Foodie with Family for two or three years now, and I think the crockpot method is the best method that I've come across. Despite the fact that the crockpot does most of the work, this is still a bit of a time consuming dish, so be sure to set aside a bit of prep time and don't just plop everything in the crock pot and hope everything comes out all right. I've never gone wrong with this dish, make it and love it today.
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Chicken Tikka Masala
by Hannah Rounds May-5-2014
A scrumptious, velvety smooth, tomato and chicken curry, made easier by some love from the crock pot.
Ingredients
8 Thighs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs- Diced into 1/4" pieces
1 Cup Full Fat Greek Yogurt
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Coriander
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
1/2 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Teaspoon Tumeric
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Medium White Onion- Diced
6 Cloves Garlic - Pressed
2-3" Fresh Ginger Grated
24 Ounces Crushed Tomatoes
1 Jalapeno- Finely Diced
2 Tablespoons Sugar
3/4 Cup Half and Half or Cream
2 Teaspoons Corn Starch
5 Tablespoons Butter
Instructions
1. Mix yogurt and all spices2. Marinate chicken in yogurt mixture for at least 30 minutes3. Melt butter, then brown chicken4. Add chicken/butter mixture to a crockpot along with all remaining ingredients except half and half and cornstarch.5. Cook on low for 5-6 hours, then add half and half and cornstarch6. Cook on low for another 45 minutes then serve with rice, peas and cilantro
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6 Servings
Colorful food is fun to eat, and dressing makes it delicious!
My college years were salad glory days. Our dining hall made some pretty incredible food, all things considered, but the salad bar was the stuff of legends. It had spinach, iceberg lettuce, soy beans, tofu, little baby corns, carrots, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, boiled eggs, hummus, and on and on and on.
It was popular to take two large bowls, fill one with veggies and dressing and use the other as a lid and shake the salad up for an even distribution of dressing and salads. Like a McSalad Shaker, only big, and with more than three ingredients. While most people used a two handed approach to shaking the salads, I distinctly remember having a cross country teammate who bragged that he could shake these bowls with one hand... and he could. I was impressed.
However, his bragging about his salad shaking ability (shaking what his mama gave him as he put it) often prompted competitions of machismo which inevitably resulted in the other competitor dropping salad everywhere. Our poor dining hall workers.
These days, I wouldn't be nearly as impressed with the size of his hands or his salad shaking abilities, because for a few months, I worked with a guy whose hands were the size of kleenex boxes. He could probably palm a basketball the same way I can palm a softball.
As I was going to say, before I so rudely interrupted myself with reminiscing is that post-college, I never thought I would be able to make salads nearly as well as I did in college due to a lack of an appropriate salad bar. I don't know about you, but I don't think the 8 foot by 8 foot kitchen shared by four women in my first post college home wasn't exactly conducive to industrial sized salads. I pretty much gave up salading altogether.
That was until I started reading food blogs about a year ago, and I noticed recipes for salads. And the recipes weren't just dump everything into a bowl and shake. It was actually a thoughtful combination of a reasonable number of ingredients. "Self, you can do that," I thought to myself, and I could. I didn't have to buy the entire produce section, just enough ingredients to make me a healthier person, and the rest could be rounded out with things I already had on hand.
This salad comes close to one that I would have eaten in college. Just a basic bowl of crisp delicious veggies, with the crunchy addition of uncooked ramen. It's really the dressing that makes this a salad worth sharing. Rather than being primarily cream or vinegar based, this one is actually aromatic based, so its a really unique flavor. The dressing is a combination of onions, garlic, carrots, ginger, fish sauce, vinegar and sesame oil pulsed together until it becomes a sauce. The flavor is what would happen if ceasar dressing and ponzu sauce got married and had babies, but in a good way.
Be warned, you will want to brush your teeth after this one.
Like all salads, the best way to eat this would actually be to add some meat to the salad, but for the purpose of the post, I kept it simple. I hope you enjoy!
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Spinach Salad with Ginger Carrot Dressing
by Hannah Rounds May-1-2014
Enjoy a delicious salad with an aromatics based dressing
Ingredients
2 Carrots - Finely Grated- Divided
1 Red Onion- Finely Sliced- Divided
1 Clove Garlic- Pressed
1.5 Inches Ginger Peeled
1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1-2 Teaspoons Rice Vinegar
Up to 2 Tablespoons Water
3 Cups Spinach
1 Yellow Bell Peppers- Diced
1/2 Cucumber- Thinly Sliced
1 Package Uncooked Ramen Noodles
Instructions
1. In a food processor combine 1/2 of carrots, red onion, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Pulse until smooth. Add water if necessary.2. Toss vegetables with dressing and enjoy
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 2 Servings
When you make the broth yourself, Ramen is still delicious, and it won't kill you!
Do you ever have a crystal clear partial memory? Where you remember a certain detail vividly and you remember exactly 0% of the context? That happens to me a lot. I have no idea why my brain latches on to certain minutia, but it does, and today you will get learn about a detail that I remember from seven years ago. I was in my Freshman Residence Hall, but in the basement. I smelled something funny (this is not unusual since it was a male hall with no natural ventilation) and I followed my nose to an athlete whose name/sport I never knew, and I told him "Your room smells atrocious." He looked at me and said, "I made ramen with Gatorade for the carbs and electrolytes, but it was gross, so I poured it down the sink." I glanced into his sink from across the room, saw a pile of ramen noodles and some yellowish residue (probably the gatorade powder). That's the end of my memory, but this incident had such a profound effect on me that I did not eat ramen for my entire college career. Why would you put Gatorade powder in your Ramen, are you really that desperate for electrolytes, or just dumb? After college, I didn't eat Ramen either because I became independently wealthy and can afford to spend more than $.12 per meal. However, a few weeks back I saw this blog post from Buttered Side Up, and I was inspired to give Homemade Ramen a try. The soup has to be called Semi-homemade because I didn't make the noodles, I don't think I would ever attempt that sort of thing. I was hoping to be fancy and use soba noodles, but Food Lion and Aldi don't carry those things, so plain ramen it was. Now, you can eat Ramen any way you please, but if you don't want to kill yourself, repeat this mantra, "I will throw away the seasoning packet." The reason that this Ramen Soup is so flavorful and delicious is that I substitute high quality homemade chicken broth for MSG. The components of this soup are extremely easy, chicken broth (spiked with fish sauce), vegetables, chicken (in Penzey's Sate Seasoning) and boiled eggs, but the flavor will blow you away. Combining both chicken broth and fish sauce makes this almost a mock pho (not quite that deep of a flavor, but close), and I wish I would have had jalapenos, thai basil, and bean sprouts to throw in. Almost any broth would work, and I hope to make this again soon with a pork based broth. Typically when I eat broth based soups, I think, "Good appetizer, where's dinner?" But this soup is so full of goodies (and protein) that it actually filled me up. Going forward, I won't think of this a soup but as warm hug for my belly. It's the perfect antidote to spring rain, and almost delicious enough to make me forget about Gatorade Ramen... almost.
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Semi-homemade Ramen Soup
by Hannah Rounds April-24-2014
This ramen soup is a delicious way to get your noodle fix, and as a bonus, it won't kill you :)
Ingredients
3 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1/2 White onion thinly sliced
3 Stalks Celery julienned
2 Carrot juilenned
3 Chicken Thighs diced
1/2 Tablespoon Penzey's Sate Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Cup Kale sliced into bite size pieces, stalks removed
2 Packages Ramen Noodles
3 (or 6) Boiled Eggs
1/8 bunch Cilantro
Instructions
1.Add chicken broth, fish sauce, sriracha, celery, carrots and onion to a pot with plenty of extra room. Bring pot to a slow boil. If you haven't boiled your eggs yet, you can actually do it in this pot if you want.2. Cover chicken in seasoning then heat olive oil in a large frying pan and cook chicken over high heat until chicken is completely cooked (5-7 minutes)3. When the chicken is done cooking, add ramen noodles and kale to your broth and allow broth to continue to boil for 3 minutes.4. Serve ramen in a bowl and top with chicken, boiled eggs and cilantro.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 3 Servings
Sweet, aromatic and delicate: three words I never associated with fish. Then I made fish curry.
Are you ready for green curry in a hurry? About 90% of the time when I am rushing to get dinner on the table, I make some sort of stir fry. It's delicious, healthy, filling and has endless variations. I used to think of stir fry as a soy sauce only deal until I read Well Fed, A Paleo Cookbook for People who Love to Eat (link to the author's blog here). In this book, Melissa Joulwan pretty much blows the lid off of traditional stir fries and quick dinners and creates delicious recipes that made me look at the pictures and say "Get in my Mouf." Melissa is a hard core paleo eater (no grains, legumes or dairy), and I'm not; however, I still love learning from her. One of her favorite flavor tricks are coconut milk and fish sauce. This coconut fish curry sauce is a delicious paleo approved version of Thai Green Curry. Before I started working on this recipe, I was a little worried that fish would not work with coconut milk, but I was so wrong. The brininess of the fish actually enhances the sweet decadence of the coconut milk and the two primary components have a truly addictive flavor that you can whip up in just 15 minutes. Nothing will make you feel more virtuous about your healthy eating than consuming a bowl of veggies swimming in omega three fatty acids (double win on the fish and coconut milk). You might even get inspired to start that cross-fit workout you've been meaning to try (or not). Like the Thai Red Curry, this curry sauce uses curry paste (Green this time), coconut milk and fish sauce, but you can change up the vegetables to suit what you have on hand. I've actually done a similar curry using acorn squash so even if you have your doubts about a certain veggie, give it a try. The big technique when it comes to curry or stir fry is to start with the hearty vegetables (Squash, root veggies, cruciferous vegetables) and leave delicate vegetables (leafy greens, snap peas, etc.) to the end. I promise that you will love this recipe. At least this guy did!
Littlest playing with a paint rolling stick. It's one of his top activities these days.
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Coconut Fish Curry
by Hannah Rounds
This green coconut curry is the perfect meal to make when you are in a hurry. Its especially quick if you can prep the veggies ahead of time.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Green Curry Paste
3 Cloves Garlic Pressed or Minced
1/2 White Onion diced
3 Whole Carrots Carrots thinly sliced
1-2 Crowns Broccoli diced
2-3 Vegetables Zucchini thinly sliced
4 Tilapia Filets cut into chunks
1 Can Coconut milk
Small Handful Cilantro
Instructions
1. In a large skillet heat olive oil then add garlic, onion, green curry paste and fish sauce. Heat for 1-2 minutes2. Add all vegetables (unless you are using delicate vegetables then reserve those for the end) and heat for 5-7 minutes.3. Add Tilapia and heat for 3-4 minutes (until mostly cooked)4. Add coconut milk and delicate vegetables and keep on heat until coconut milk is quite warm and addictive.5. Serve with cilantro and lime.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 Servings
Pretty much every Friday night, we eat the same thing at my house... Pizza! And pizza is the ultimate in Friday night Fare, but every once in a while you are out of an essential ingredient or five. In fact, I was down to little tidbits of this and that, and I was about to call in the support squad (488-8888 Pizza Hut delivery is Really Great!), when the Mad Scientist grabbed a can of coconut milk and gave me big puppy dog eyes and said, "I thought you were going to make something with coconut milk this week." Never being one to back down from a challenge, I grabbed this recipe from Pinch of Yum and made it, and it is one seriously delicious meal. The sauce is creamy and rich and addictive. The heat from the curry paste makes you feel alive, but the sweet from the coconut What makes this fancy and frugal? Well, for starters this meal kept us from ordering pizza, but for another I cannot tell you how many leftover ingredients get used up every time I make a curry. One third of a box of rice noodles? Check. Two already cooked chicken thighs? Checked. Languishing asparagus? Check. 1/8 of a bunch of cilantro? Check. Sriracha? Check. It's always a check with Sriracha. The original recipe calls for Peanut Butter, Coconut Milk, Red Curry Paste, Fish sauce which aren't staples for everyone, but they are for me. I did have to make a few substitutions and omissions from the original, so I've decided to include a recipe here, even though it is super similar. Additionally, any food that can be made and photographed with this cute of baby around, deserves to be called fancy. Littlest has now mastered forward crawling which puts the Mad Scientist and I at a major risk for disaster if we don't pay attention to him pretty much every second.
Oh, and if you are wondering if those are my flip flops laying around in the middle of my living room floor, the answer is maybe.
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Coconut Peanut Red Thai Curry
by Pinch Of Yum
This delicious red curry sauce comes from Pinch of Yum! I've only changed one ingredient and omitted a few of the extra ingredients. Check out the original here
Ingredients
1 Can Coconut Milk (I prefer full fat)
1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Red Curry Paste
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1.5 Tablespoons Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
3 Cloves Pressed Garlic
Instructions
1. Melt peanut butter in the bottom of a sauce pan on medium heat.2. Add garlic and red curry paste and allow it to cook for about a minute. Then add coconut milk3. Add the Vinegar, brown sugar and fish sauce.4.If you want a fairly thick sauce like the one above, allow the mixture to simmer but not boil for 10-20 minutes. If you want a thinner mixture allow it to boil for about ten minutes then use chicken broth or water to thin it to your desired thickness.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 Servings
When leftovers get married and have a baby, its chicken fried couscous.
These fancy frugal foodie posts are not very popular. I think it's because the pictures always look pretty bad, but the pictures look bad because I make this food later at night and out of leftovers, so my lighting isn't as good and the colors are never as vibrant, but the food is good, so I will share on. If ever become a great photographer, this won't be an issue anymore.
Now that the needless self-deprecation is out of the way, I will tell the six of you who are still reading an amusing story about grocery shopping during our early marriage.
Before we ever met, the Mad Scientist was a mad couponer. He even subscribed to a coupon matching service that would help you figure out which coupons to print, which to clip and where to shop. Coupons tend to be for processed foods and hygiene products both of which I tend to avoid (kidding); this means that even the best couponers have to supplement their stockpiles with things like produce, meat, and herbs and spices (the savvy couponers get these on sale with same as cash store coupons).
This is not a story about coupons, but about grocery shopping, so I digress. Usually when it came time to do our weekly grocery shopping, the Mad Scientist made a list of items to buy for pennies on the dollar at three different grocery stores, and I skimmed the weekly circulars and mentally made a meal plan with virtually no consideration for the things the Mad Scientist purchased.
Over time, our stockpile grew quite large, and we were not eating very much of it (except the cereal. We were making our way through that at pretty good clip). This large stockpile of food grew and grew, much to my dissatisfaction, but being both female and of Scandanavian descent I thought a passive aggressive approach would lead my husband to quit stockpiling (marriage tip- this is not helpful).
So to send the message that we should quit stockpiling since we really aren't preppers (and if you are don't you think this should have come up in pre-marital counseling), I decided to start a stockpile of my own. I guess my intention was to fight fire with fire.
Unfortunately my frugal nature would not allow me to commit to heavily to this plan, so on the first round, I bought an extra head of broccoli, and a twenty pound bag of couscous which I had never tasted before. I will also allow that even at the time my decision seemed ridiculous, but passive aggression can make a person do some strange things.
That night, I made couscous for the first time - it was gross, and the flood gates of emotion opened.
"I bought twenty pounds of couscous because I don't like macaroni and cheese or brownies," I blubbered. "And I don't know any recipes for sweetened condensed milk, and cereal is not a healthy breakfast choice, and I am so sorry that I bought couscous to make you feel bad, and now I hate couscous."
Needless to say, the Mad Scientist stared in bewilderment as I cried about about the fact that I didn't like couscous, and he couldn't quite make the connection to why couscous might make him feel guilty, but he forgave me. We talked through my feelings, and over the next few weeks, we ate through a lot of the stockpile; we ate through all but the couscous.
That bag of couscous has remained in our marriage for over two years, and has largely been untouched until now!
After running out of basmati rice, I committed to using up the couscous before buying more rice, and so I bring to you Chicken Fried Couscous. Not only does this recipe use up an ingredient that I am not overly fond of, but it also utilizes leftovers. A double frugal win! Best of all, it tastes great! Its reminiscent of fried rice, but the unique pearly texture of couscous yields a slightly different flavor profile. Even Littlest enjoyed it!
Chicken Fried Couscous
by Hannah Rounds
Using up leftovers and couscous in one recipe, and it tastes amazing! You can substitute for almost any veggies or protein you would like.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 2 Servings
Ingredients
1 Cup Couscous
2 Cups Chicken Broth
3 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 Large White Onion- Chopped
3 Garlic Cloves- Minced
2 Carrots- peeled and diced
3/4 Cup Broccoli- chopped
1/2 Cup Mushrooms- Sliced
1/3 Cup Frozen Corn
1 Cup Cooked Chicken- diced
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
Instructions
1. Cook the couscous in the chicken broth until all the broth is absorbed (this takes less than five minutes) 2. In a large frying pan or wok, heat the oil to a high temperature then add onion, garlic, carrots, sesame seeds and broccoli, stir frequently for 3-4 minutes 3. Add mushrooms, soy sauce (any additional seasonings as well), corn and chicken and cook 2-3 additional minutes 4. Make a large well in your crockpot and crack egg into it. Scramble the egg, and slowly incorporate into the couscous mixture. 5. Serve with your fried rice favorites (Soy Sauce, Sriracha, cilantro, green onion, etc.)
A delicious bowl of Thai inspired Chicken and Noodles
Spring came early to Raleigh this year. I shouldn't say it came early; most likely, spring came on time, but as a Minnesotan transplant it feels like spring came early. My Facebook feed is filled with memes that just don't apply to me this year. Such as this one, which is especially funny if you like to joke about second breakfast like my mom and I.
Whether spring is upon you now, or you have to wait until May, you understand that spring is the seasonal equivalent of running a 10K with no training. It's all about mind over matter, and everyone is surprised that they come out stronger at the end. In complete honesty, the weather is actually drizzly, muddy and cold, but the sight of flowers, birds, and open garden stores are enough to convince everyone to make their way outside each day.
Which is why you need to make this red coconut curry today. After a long day digging in forty degree dirt, or playing in mud puddles or melting snow, you need something warm and filling. On the other hand, the spring equinox is just around the corner, and you are craving something light and herbacious. This blend of sweet and savory, warm and light is the perfect answer. It literally gave the Mad Scientist a shiver of delight when he ate it.
Ingredients: 1 Onion Diced 3 Cloves Garlic Minced 1 Bell Pepper Diced 2T Sesame Oil 4 oz Rice Noodles 2T Fish Sauce 2T Sriracha 1.5T Red Curry Paste 1 14oz Can Coconut Milk 2.5C Chicken Stock 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (thawed and cut into fajita strips) 1t Cumin 1t Garlic Powder 1t Chile Powder Cilantro and Lime to serve Directions: 1. Cook Rice Noodles according to the package instructions 2. Heat one tablespoon of Sesame Oil in a 8 quart pot then add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until onions are translucent. 3. In a large frying pan or wok heat one tablespoon of sesame oil, then add chicken, cumin, garlic powder and chile paste, cook chicken completely (based on size should be less than 5 minutes) 4. Once onions are translucent in 8 quart pan, add Red Curry paste, stir often enough to keep the paste from burning for about 5 minutes. 5. Add Coconut Milk, Fish Sauce, Sriracha and Chicken Stock, as well as chicken to the 8 quart pot and allow to simmer 6. Pour broth and chicken over noodles, add Cilantro and lime for garnishes.
