easy coconut curry (thai style)

With both of the recipes I just posted I kind of made them up so the amounts are as close as I could get them but taste along the way to make sure you like the taste of things. We thought both turned out really good. I especially liked the curry cause I am a huge fan of thai food :)

2 med onions
4 cloves garlic
3 1/2T butter
1 can coconut milk
a dolup of sour cream
2 cups chicken stock
2T red chili paste
2T curry powder
1 1/2T ground cinnamon
kosher salt
pepper
any meat (I used steak)
2 cups snow peas
1 container of mushrooms
1/2 red pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
2T lemon juice

Cook the onions, garlic and butter on a medium low heat for fifteen minutes, the onions should be translucent at this time. add the chili paste, curry powder, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and mix in well. Then add the coconut milk, chicken stock, and sour cream. Let that simmer for about 20 min. Then add in the meat, peas, mushrooms, red pepper, cilantro, and lemon juice. Cook for another 15 min or until veggies are soft. Taste and see if you need to add more salt or lemon juice.

Chicken and Stuffing casserole

3 large chicken breasts
kosher salt
pepper
olive oil
2 cans of cream of mushroom
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
1T lemon juice
1t cumin
1t italian parsley
1 cup mozzerella
1 cup parmesean
1 box stuffing prepared

Place the three large chicken breasts on a baking sheet covered in the oil, salt, and pepper. Let it roast on 350 for 25 min or until cooked through.
Cut up the chicken breasts and add it to the cream of mushroom, sour cream, mayo, mozzerella, lemon juice, cumin and italian parsley. Put the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Add stuffing to the the top of mixture like a crust. Then put the parmesean cheese on top. Let it cook at 350 for 25 min. Eat!!

Cali Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

I thought it was about time we kicked off 2008 on this blog!

This is a really simple fresh dinner I made again tonight and remembered how really great it is. It is from allrecipes.com and calls for grilling but I just put the veggies in the oven with some olive oil on 375.

California Grilled Veggie Sandwich:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1 cup sliced red bell peppers
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, sliced (didn't use this)
1 small yellow squash, sliced
4 focaccia rolls or 2 focaccia bread pieces (it makes 4 open faced sandwiches)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. mix the mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice. Set in refrigerator.
2. preheat grill for high heat. (i do it in the oven at 375)
3. brush veggies with olive oil. brush grate with oil. place bell peppers, zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, set aside.
*4. Spread some of the mayo mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on the grill cheese side up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. This will warm the bread and slightly melt the cheese. Watch carefully so the bottoms don't burn. Remove from gril, and layer with vegetables. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches.

*I do it different- I roast the veggies in the oven, put the mayo on the bread, add the roasted veggies and then layer on the feta cheese and broil the whole sandwich to melt the cheese a little. yummy :) I have also done this on ciabatta bread and it is just as good. Also add some garlic salt to the veggies for more flavor.

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever, Seriously

No, really- I love it. But it's not for the faint of heart. Very rich, very delicious! Give it a go and let me know what you think.

1 cube margarine
1/2 cup oil
4 Tbsp coca
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can use regular milk and add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and let it sit for 5 min.)
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Combine first five ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add the flour, sugar, and buttermilk. Then add the baking soda, eggs and vanilla. Mix well then pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Icing:
1 cube butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tbs milk
4 tbs coca
1 tsp vanilla

Mix and pour over warm cake. (you may need a little more milk- I did)

From The Friendly Kitchen: Agnes McCafferty’s World Famous Secret Recipe:

(…for, um, chocolate chip cookies)

This was on my cousin Hannah's blog and I thought it was the perfect recipe for us girls!

You need:

¨ 1 cup of flour

¨ 1 cup of sugar

¨ 1 tin of crisco

¨ 1 pkg chocolate chips

¨ 1 tin of baking powder

¨ 1 medium mixing bowl

¨ 1 cup of hot chocolate…the chocolateier the better

¨ 2 regular sized candy canes

¨ 1 stylish apron

¨ 1 pearl necklace (optional)

First: Preheat the oven to 350, or somewhere in that neighborhood. Next, tie the stylish apron carefully around your waist so as not to wrinkle the silk party dress you are undoubtedly wearing. You may want to bring a full length mirror in at this point to admire how charming and domestic you look. We recommend fastening one to the inside of your pantry for easy access. Now take out the ingredients we’ve conveniently listed above. Carefully arrange these items on the counter for maximum visibility. It's important that passersby know how hard you are working. You may want to include some other things to add authenticity: eggs, butter, baking soda, milk, etc. However, we find that these items can be messy and choose not to bother with them at all. After opening the chocolate chip bag to sample a few tasty morsels, go to your refrigerator and remove one pkg of Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough. Slicing the dough yourself can be exhausting, so we recommend placing one slice of cookie dough in your mouth for each one you place on the cookie sheet. It is important to keep one’s strength up. Now, place the cookie sheet into the oven and cook for however long it is that you are supposed to. I’m sure it’s on the package. After all the dough has been eaten used, be sure to throw the wrapper away so as not to disillusion your guests. Now, you’ve worked hard! You deserve a little reward, so we suggest you treat yourself to a nice cup of hot cocoa, and a candy cane while you wait for your cookies to finish. (Don’t forget to dab just a little flour on your cheeks just before you serve, it adds that “I’ve been slaving over a hot stove all day so you could have this cookie” touch!)

Tragically I was so busy writing the recipe, my cookies burned.

Cinnamon Cheesecake

I am not sure if I have given you all this recipe before. This cheesecake is the reason Ryan married me, I'm pretty sure of it. It sounds weird but it is really good. I hadn't made it for a long time and then made it for a family dinner on Sunday and everybody loved it. You can't get too much simpler either.


Cinnamon Cheesecake
Makes 1- 9x13 pan

2 (10oz) cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 Tbl vanilla extract
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup white sugar
1 Tbl ground cinnamon

1. Set oven to 350 degrees.

2. Flatten one tube of crescent roll dough, and press into the bottom of a 9x13” pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough in the pan. Unroll the remaining crescent roll dough, and place over the top of the cream cheese layer. Spread melted butter over the top, and sprinkle the top with a mixture of ½ cup sugar and cinnamon.

3. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven or until top is lightly toasted. cool, and refrigerate before serving.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

I tried this recipe for a halloween party we went to this weekend. To my surprise everybody loved it. Even people who don't like pumpkin loved this bread. It is very moist and sweet. My favorite part is that it makes your kitchen smell like fall!

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger

1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 7x3 loaf pans or 24 muffin tins.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for 50 minutes for a loaf or 30 minutes for muffins. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

*Note: add half a bag of mini chocolate chips to batter for extra yummieness

Artichoke and Mushroom Pasta

This is such a fantastic dish. Artichokes have a distinct flavor but if you like them at all you have to try this dish. It has become one of my favorite dishes. Hope someone will try it and like it.

Artichoke and Mushroom Pasta

6 oz capellini pasta
3 Tbs. olive oil
8 oz mushrooms thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 (9oz) pkg frozen artichoke hearts or one can, thawed, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups, chicken stock or canned low salt broth
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
¼ tsp dried crushed red pepper
5 Tbs. butter, room temperature
1 ½ Tbs chopped parsley
¾ cup grated Asiago Cheese (about 2 oz) plus more for garnish

1. Cook pasta until tender but still firm to bite. Toss with 1 Tbs oil.

2. Heat 2 Tbs oil in heavy large skillet over med-high heat. Add mushrooms, garlic and oregano; sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Add artichokes; sauté 3 minutes. Add stock, lemon juice and peel and crushed red pepper and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add butter; whisk until just melted. Add pasta and parsley; toss until pasta is coated and heated through. Add ¾ cup cheese and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Serve with additional cheese.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

2 small packages vanilla instant pudding
3 cups milk
1 (8 oz.) cool whip
1 package graham crackers
1 container chocolate frosting

Make vanilla pudding with just 3 cups of milk. Mix cool whip with pudding. Layer in a 9 x 13 inch pan as follows: layer whole graham crackers, then 1/2 cool whip mixture, then layer graham crackers, then other 1/2 of cool whip mixture, then top with graham crackers (one layer). Frost with chocolate frosting. Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving..we think it tastes best the next day. Enjoy!

Tater Tot Casserole

This is one of our family favorites, and is so easy. I love crock pot cooking!

32 oz. bag frozen tater tots
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 14 1/2 oz. cans green beans, drained
10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk

1. Line slow cooker with frozen tater tots.
2. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over potatoes.
3. Cover. Cook on High 3 hours. Sprinkle individual servings with grated cheese.