Pumpkin Cashew Chicken Curry

This dish is by far the best thing I have made in a LONG time. My neighbor AnnMarie and her family just moved from Okinawa and gave me a bunch of canned pumpkin. I asked her how she used pumpkin and she shared with me this amazing recipe. I am so thankful she did because it was seriously delicious. You can't go wrong with the flavor combinations in this one pot meal - pumpkin, curry, coconut milk, red onion, cinnamon, cilantro, cashews. I added in carrots for additional flavor and veggie content and this dish could easily be adapted for vegetarians if you substituted more veggies for the chicken. After I made it I put it in my crock pot to hang out on warm for several hours and I think it really intensified the flavors.

This is my new favorite recipe and one I will put into our regular dinner rotation. 

Pumpkin Cashew Chicken Curry
Modified from PaleOMG and recommended by AnnMarie (thanks AM!)
Serves 4-5
Printable Version
Ingredients 
2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons ginger 
1 red onion, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
1/2 can coconut milk 
1 large can of pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup cashews
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut oil)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Pinch of cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, for garnish 
3 cups of cooked rice (I used Jasmine)

Directions 
Heat large pot or Dutch Oven to medium and add in oil. Add minced garlic and ginger and once fragrant add in chicken and carrots. Cook until chicken is white on all sides. 

Pour in coconut milk, all spices, red onions and pumpkin. 

Raise heat until mixture becomes bubbly, stirring frequently.  Allow to cook until onions have softened, about three minutes. 

This is when I transferred everything to my crock pot but you can also serve it immediately. When ready to eat place on top of rice and garnish with cashews and chopped cilantro. 

Crock Pot Queso Dip

I made this incredibly yummy and gluttonous Queso Dip for a Cinco de Mayo dinner we hosted. My husband loves Queso and could have eaten the entire batch. Thank God we had our friends to share this with because it is not healthy! It was so easy to make because all you do is throw everything in the crock pot and in an hour or so it's ready to be gobbled up. 

Crock Pot Queso Dip
From A Gilt Nutmeg
Printable Version
Ingredients 
1 tub of hot sausage 
2 lbs Velveeta, roughly cubed
1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese
1 can of Rotel or other brand of diced tomatoes and green chiles 
Tortilla chip for serving

Directions 
Fry up the sausage and crumble it, making the pieces as small as possible. Place on paper towels on a plate to absorb some of the drippings. In the pot of your crock pot place the sausage, cubed Velveeta, cream cheese and can of Rotel. Turn the crock pot on high and in about half an hour stir to combine ingredients. Stir again in another half hour and everything should be melted together. Turn crock pot to warm setting until ready to serve. 

Vegetarian Curry

Hooray I have a Meatless Monday recipe to share with you! I have made this vegetarian curry dish several times now. It's so easy and so good and so healthy! If you don't like a lot of heat be sure to leave the pepper out of this, as just with curry alone it has a little kick. 

You can add or subtract whatever veggies you like or have on hand. This time I forgot to get chickpeas so I substituted some small potatoes. I think sliced summer squash or zucchini would also be excellent in this! It also is a great recipe to make ahead and keep warm in the crock pot. My friend Jess shared this recipe with me after she got it from our friend Kelly. Thanks ladies! :)

Vegetarian Curry

Serves 4

Printable Version

Ingredients

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon ginger

1 thai or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed

1 can coconut milk

½ cup water

½ cup frozen peas

½ cup diced tomatoes

Directions

Warm oil in dutch oven at medium low. Add garlic, ginger, onion and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in curry and season with salt and pepper. Add sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk and water. 

Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for ten minutes. Add peas and tomatoes and cook until heated through. If you want to keep warm in a crock pot, this is time time to transfer everything over. Serve over rice.

40 Garlic Clove Chicken

This meal is one of the best I have made in a very long time. It was so good that no pictures of the finished product were taken because my husband and I scarfed it up so quickly! The chicken was juicy, oh so wonderfully garlic-y. My husband was literally drinking the gravy that I made with the juices. With fresh herbs and a ton of garlic (40 cloves, to be exact) this chicken was out of this world delicious. An added bonus is your house will smell divine as it cooks! Do yourself a favor and serve it on top of some mashed potatoes. 

40 Garlic Clove Chicken
Found on The Crepes of Wrath
Serves 3-4
Printable Version
Ingredients
3 1/2-4 pound fryer chicken (I used a whole chicken but recommend chicken that is already cut into serving pieces)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
40 cloves of garlic, peeled but still whole (about 3 cloves of garlic)
3/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon thyme (I used way more because I had fresh on hand)
1 teaspoon rosemary 
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon butter 

Directions
Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Rub the chicken generously with salt and pepper and place in your crock pot. 

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and add the peeled whole garlic. Cook for 5-8 minutes over medium heat until the garlic is golden. 

Then add the white wine and stir until the liquid has mostly evaporated, another 3-5 minutes.

Pour the garlic and white wine over the chicken and sprinkle the thyme and rosemary over top of everything. Add in the bay leaf. Turn on the crock pot to low and cook for 3-4 hours. Set aside. Pour the juices from the pot through a mesh sieve into a saucepan. Press the garlic through the mesh sieve, scraping it off to form a paste. Cook with a tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until slightly thickened and serve over the chicken and whatever else you happen to be eating (cooked vegetables, potatoes, crusty bread, etc). Enjoy! 

And because I don't have a finished product photo for you here is something pretty for you to look at -- this view is from my front yard (and what I often see out my kitchen window) - an amazing sunset over the East China Sea!

Freezer to Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers

After the birth of my daughter my parents came to stay with us for ten days and during that time my Mom and I set about to making several freezer to crock pot meals that I could just throw in the crock pot and use for a quick, easy dinner. This sausage, peppers, and onion recipe was for my husband as it contains ingredients that he loves. It had really great flavor and was excellent over pasta. I loved this recipe because it made six servings so I froze it into two separate batches and we enjoyed it twice. 

Freezer to Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers
From Ring Around the Rosies
Makes two freezer bags, about three servings each
Printable Version
Ingredients
6 Italian sausages or chicken sausage
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves

 2 cans Italian diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Directions
Slice peppers and onions into thins slices. Mince the garlic. Split all ingredients into two gallon size freezer bags. Mix, lay flat, and freeze. Write on the bag: Add drizzle of olive oil and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve over pasta or fresh french bread with mozzarella cheese.

Easy Shredded Crock Pot Chicken

Here is a wonderfully easy and super yummy chicken recipe for the crock pot. Most likely you have almost all of these ingredients already in your kitchen too! I served this over rice but it would also be good on buns. It was great warmed up as leftovers the next day too!

Easy Shredded Crock Pot Chicken
From Fake Ginger
Printable Version


Ingredients
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ginger (I used fresh but ground would work too!)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions
Place chicken into the bottom of a crockpot. Cover with all the other ingredients. Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours then remove and shred chicken or cut into chunks.

Return to crockpot and stir to combine and warm through. Serve over rice. 

Saying Farewell to the South with Carolina Pulled Pork Barbecue

This is going to be my last post while living in Virginia. Hubby and I are moving out today and headed to Michigan to spend time with our families before the BIG move to Okinawa, Japan. I wanted to make my last post from the south a good one and decided to pay homage to the wonderful barbecue that is a staple here in Southern Virginia: Carolina Style Pulled Pork Barbecue that is so easy and delicious that even a Northerner like myself can pull it off! 

While living in Virginia, hubby and I have tried lots of different BBQ, and though I am not much of  a pork eater, I actually enjoy it this way, with tangy vinegar and lots of spices. The meat is so tender it literally falls apart. I served this at a dinner I hosted for my hubby and his co-workers. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it and it was perfect for a large group.  


Although my posting may slow down a bit while we are in transition, I will keep posting recipes and have some great ones to share next, so keep stopping by! 

Farewell to the South Carolina Style Pulled Pork Barbecue
Recipe from Savour Fare
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 onions, quartered
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (I didn't have any so used regular paprika)
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (4-6lb) pork butt or shoulder roast
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions
Place onions in the crock pot. Blend together the sugar, paprika, salt and pepper and rub over the roast.

Place the roast in the crock pot and drizzle the liquid smoke over the roast.
Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic, and cayenne pepper and whisk together. Drizzle about 1/3 of the marinade mixture over the roast. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade. Cook the roast on low for 8-10 hours. Remove the meat carefully and using a slotted spoon discard the onions. Place in a large bowl.

 Shred the meat with two forks. Return the meat to the crock pot and stir to cover the meat with the juice. Pour half of the marinade over the meat and stir again. 

Keep on warm until ready to serve. Use the leftover marinade as a drizzle on sandwiches. *In the south the use white buns, of course!*