indian in another life perhaps

See, I love curry. I love Indian food... and, shockingly, I'm also moderately good at making it at home, yippee for me. :) Of course, no one else I know (except Ellen) would attempt to make Indian food at home, for the most part. Me, I like beans, lentils/dal, and all kinds of curried veggies.

Tonight I made a great cauliflower/potato curry with basmati rice. YUM. It wasn't perfect, but it was definitely good enough for a 2nd bowl. hehe. :D

Perhaps I was Indian in another life? Naaah. ;-)

Recipe

3 medium potatoes,
fresh head of cauliflower broken up 2" florets,
1 can of chicken broth,
1.5 tsp curry, 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground coriander,
dash celery seed,
1/4 tsp all spice, pepper, salt,
half onion coarsley chopped,
1/4 tsp onion powder and garlic powder.

coarse chop potatoes (2" cubes), put in spices and chicken broth into cooker. cook 3 minute, quick release (taste test and see how the spicing is coming along... modify if necessary)

after opening, add broken cauliflower on top of potatoes, 1 cup of water, and onion. cook 3 more minutes, quick release. Add red pepper to taste... mild, add none, medium add 1/8tsp or so.

Then i put it in the slower cooker mode for 2 hours to marry the flavors better, but that was because i didn't have the amounts right during the PC part. should be better next time.

Oh, and I'm in love with a machine... my Pressure Cooker, that is. :) Speedy little devil! LOL I'm loving the options I have now to cook fun meals quickly .... that taste half way decent to divine.

Now, if I could only figure out some GOOD homemade Chinese food... easy, quick, authentic... that's my next goal.

Peace.

Pumpkin muffin recipe

I want to try this recipe, but doubt I'll make them tonight! ;-)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese (room temp.) and
3 Tbl. maple syrup or honey
Set aside

In a large bowl, place
1 cup honey or maple syrup (we like honey)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 stick butter - soft
2 eggs
Mix this well
Add:
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 ts baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
Mix until well blended

Now fold in the cream cheese filling very gently.
Fill greased muffin tins or lined muffin thins 3/4 full.
Mix 1/2 cup nuts with 2 Tbs. brown sugar and sprinkle on top (I double this...just cuz-yummmm).

Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly brown on top.

Peace.

Lentil Loaf?

I am considering trying something new this week... a 'meatloaf' made out of lentils. I love beans. What can I say... we eat them because Lil M and I both really like them... and, that works, too, because I don't have a super-love for most meats. Normally, I'd make meatloaf out of ground turkey. But I'm considering trying this recipe. :)

Vegetarian "Meatloaf" with Oats Recipe

Serves 6

Takes 10 minutes to prepare and 30-40 minutes to cook.

This version of Lentil Loaf is a classic. It is high in protein, yet free from soy. It is flavorful and has a lovely texture - this loaf is a perfect starter vegetarian dish. Appreciate lentil loaf for its unique taste - it doesn't try to copy the flavor of meat.

Because Vegetarian Meatloaf is smaller than a turkey, there is plenty of room left in the oven for roasting vegetable side dishes like sweet potatoes, turnip, or squash.

Ingredients:

• 1 (19 oz.) can lentils, drained, rinsed, and slightly mashed
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup rolled oats (quick or large flake)
• ¾ cup grated old cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ – 2/3 cup spaghetti sauce or barbecue sauce
  
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• ¼ – 1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix lentils, onion, oats, and cheese in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Add the beaten egg and mix well.
4. Add the sauce, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper.
5. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and pour/scrape the lentil mixture in. Even out the top surface with a spatula or fork.
6. Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes or until top is golden and crispy.
7. Let cool at least 5 minutes.
8. Turn out onto serving platter and garnish with parsley, if desired.

Variations:

Add chopped celery, different sauces, different cheeses (or no cheese!) or try more traditional poultry spices instead of the Italian ones. Serve with all the 'fixins: mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, squash, and salad.

Read more: http://vegetariancuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/vegetarian_thanksgiving_dishes#ixzz0V3fHPvAi

Thoughts or suggestions (if you've tried something like this)...are welcome. :)

Peace.

Bread...made of squash

So, I made butternut squash the night before last... and I figure it is pretty close to pumpkin, so why not use it in my bread recipe...?? Yep, I'm crazy.

Oh, and I didn't have any flour in the house. How is that possible, you ask? Well, I haven't baked in awhile and I don't like to leave it just sit forever, so apparently I was out. So, what did I do? I took oats and ground them in the blender/processor attachment. Yep.

pumpkin bread recipe

Found this recipe tonight (here), and am thinking of trying it tomorrow with the squash I cooked last night (or the can pumpkin I bought)... just to see how good it is. :) 'cause, it looks darn good.

I was thinking I might use canola oil, but somehow I think I need to go get some veggie oil instead.


Preheat the oven to 350.

1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 cup water

Mix all the dry stuff in one bowl. Mix all the wet stuff in another bowl. Then mix them together. Easy.
Grease and flour a loaf pan. Dump the batter in. Bake it for an hour or until it is done in the middle.

recipes i want to try

homemade chicken tenders

egg&cheese drop biscuits (except i'll use turkey sausage or bacon)

man, they look yummy. :)

peace.

Chicken potato corn chowder recipe

I made a new recipe... and sort of made most of it up myself! :) Here it is. It turned out quite good. I think the key is to put the milk products in toward the end and turn it on simmer.

1lb chicken (cooked and chunked)
10-15 potatoes (i wanted this to be predominately a potato soup)
2 cans corn
4 cups or more of chicken broth (to cover the potatoes - i used chicken broth that i had made from a chicken before. you can use water here, but i think it gives it more flavor)
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 can condensed milk
1 cup milk

I cut up probably 12 potatoes (peeled and cubed) and put them in a pot of chicken broth only (probably 4 cups) - bring to boil

I took about 1lb of grilled chicken breast that i cooked the night before... it was cold, and i cut it up in small chunks.

Added 2 cans of corn
Added the 1lb cubed chicken
Added some spices - maybe 1/4 tsp onion powder and dehydrated onion, pepper

Then after about 20 minutes,
add 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
add 1/2 can of condensed skim milk
add about 1 cup of whole milk

Turn on low and cook until the potatoes are done. :) Season to taste.


Peace.

crockpot tater tot recipe

I want to try this:

Green Bean Tator Tot Crockpot Casserole $5.87
1 lb. ground turkey 1.99
1/2 t. salt .01
1/4 t. pepper .01
1 onion chopped .15
1 lb. bag frozen string beans 1.49
1 can cream of mushroom soup .49
1 c. shredded cheese .43
1 -21 oz. bag tator tots or equivalent in raw shredded potatoes 1.79

1. Crumble raw ground turkey in bottom of slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Layer remaining ingredients on turkey in order they appear in ingredient list.

3.Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3 hours.

Sounds yummy, doesn't it? :)

Peace

Pasta salad recipe and Mayo

I found a post I wanted to share about a pasta salad recipe... here

She asked an interesting question, that came up at my family's Easter dinner table today!

Are you a Mayo person or a Miracle Whip person?

Me... Mayo all the way!! :)

Here's part of her post:

I have a habit of making a big pot of pasta once a week. It might be elbows, bowties, or wagon wheels. Whatever I find in the pantry, mostly. I drain it and coat it with some olive oil and keep it in the fridge for a quick dinner. I might top it with spaghetti sauce or add some parmesan and serve it with chicken tenders. More often in the summer, I'll make pasta salad. The recipe is pretty free form - but it always, always contains hard boiled eggs. Eggs are a great source of protein and hard cooked eggs stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week.

For Easter dinner tonight, I mixed the pasta with a couple big spoonfuls of light Miracle Whip - I'm SUCH a sucker for that stuff - which brings me to this stumper, thanks to The Hubster - are you a MAYO person or a MIRACLE WHIP person? He's the former and i'm the latter and we argue about it allllll the time. I grind in some salt and pepper, and then the eggs. ALWAYS four - or more - hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped. That's the basic salad, the part that never changes. Today, I added chopped tomatoes (I can't WAIT for summer tomatoes, that makes the dish 100000% better) and diced green pepper. That's it, that's all. It was delicious. Sometimes I add cheese cubes, diced meat, pickles, frozen peas (which defrost almost instantly and remain just a bit crunchy) - the list goes on and on.

I'm going to try this. Sounds super easy!!! :) And, I completely agree with her about the summer tomatoes. Can't wait!!

Peace.