Basil Chicken with Coconut-Curry Sauce

I got this recipe out of my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and I'd pay money to know why it has the title it does instead of, say, Curry Chicken in Basil-Coconut Sauce. Or Basil Coconut Curry Sauce for Chicken. Anyway. Suffice it to say that I (and 2 of my kids) thought this was a big hit. I think I might even choose it for my birthday meal, it's that good.

Cut 4 chicken breast halves into 1" pieces. In a bowl, combine the following:
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
Sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours. (Or 10 minutes if you're like me.)

1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

In a large wok or skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and stir-fry the onion, garlic and peppers over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from wok.

Add half of the chicken to the work and cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken and repeat with remaining chicken. (Add additional oil if necessary.)

Combine 1 14 oz can light coconut milk and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Carefully add to the wok, cook and stir until bubbly. Add onion mixture and chicken.

Stir in 3 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped, and 1 tsp grated fresh ginger.

Heat for 1-2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Rhonda's changes: I used less chicken and then added 4ish cups of a raw stir-fry mix (broccoli, pea pods, carrots and cabbage) and fried that a bit before I added the onions, etc. Also, I didn't have any jalapenos, so I used 3-5 good shakes of jalapeno Tabasco sauce. I'm pretty sure I used more like a tbsp of ginger, too...why bother with just a teaspoon??

Elote Sauce

1 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (just the powdered stuff, not fresh)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Mix together and refrigerate for one hour.  Spread on corn on the cob...preferably grilled or roasted.

And for you gringos, elote (corn) is pronounced ay-LOH-tay.  I guess you can leave out the cilantro if you must.

Mayonnaise

*note: I would post a picture, but my photos are not that great and it would make it look bad. thank you.


*another note: I have always steered clear of making my own mayo, because I couldn't imagine it actually turning out. Last night I wanted garlic mayo and found this darling. This is the most amazing mayo I have ever tasted. I don't think I'm exaggerating. I added about 3 cloves of garlic to this and I may have had terrible breath afterwards, but it was worth it. Don't ask anyone else if they agree.


And now, whisk together the following, or use a mini-food processor:

1 large egg yolk
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt

Measure out 1/2 C oil. (I used canola oil. I was hesitant to use olive oil)
Add a few drops of oil and continue to whisk or pulse in food processor.
It will begin to thicken soon, and when it does, add tiny bits of oil in a slow and steady stream (or a few drops, pulse, a few more drops, pulse) If you add too much at a time it will not blend properly.
Continue to whisk or process until all oil is mixed in and mixture is thick.
Add:
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 cloves chopped garlic, if you want
Mix again.

This will keep in the refrigerator about 3 days.
I was very surprised how easy and fast this was. And so much better than prepared mayo!
I'm thinking this would make wonderful egg salad sandwiches!

Coconut Whoopie Pies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
White of 1 large egg
3/4 cup lite coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Fluff Filling:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup marshmallow crème
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 tablespoons lite coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

Position oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add egg and egg white, and beat until incorporated. Add half of flour mixture and half of coconut milk to creamed mixture; beat at medium speed just until blended. Add remaining half of flour and coconut milk and vanilla; beat until blended.

Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, drop batter into 12 mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Or drop batter into 24 mounds by well-rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle half of the mounds with coconut. Bake for about 10 minutes for large cakes and 8 minutes for small cakes (just bake them the way you like them). Remove from oven and onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Spread flat side of the plain cakes generously with Coconut Fluff Filling. Top with remaining coconut-topped cakes, pressing down lightly to seal them together. 

Coconut Fluff Filling:

Beat butter and marshmallow crème in a large mixing bowl at medium-high speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in confectioners’ sugar, coconut, coconut milk, and extracts. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

My notes: This recipe is almost perfect. I still want to tweak it a bit next time, but wanted to share it with you whilst I do so. I made it almost exactly as the original recipe. My only change was that I added coconut to the cookie batter itself, because I thought it seemed like it needed it. The original recipe said to bake the cookies til they have cracks in the top, which is ridiculous. Who likes dry cookies? Not me. Next time I will make a double batch (12 total small cookies are just not enough), and instead of this filling (which really is very good) I'll try Karla's which you can find here, but I'll use coconut milk and coconut extract in it. 

Black Bean Quesadillas

1 15 oz. can black beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (we used a yellow onion and just put in a little bit)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro
2 cups shredded cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp taco seasoning
10 taco sized tortillas

Here are the directions from the original recipe:

STEP 1: Drain the can of beans and rinse lightly. Place the beans in a large bowl along with the corn (no need to thaw).

STEP 2: Rinse the cilantro, remove the leaves, and chop roughly. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the cilantro, onion, garlic, and shredded cheese to the bowl with the beans and corn. Lastly, mix up a batch of taco seasoning and add to the bowl. Stir everything until evenly mixed.

STEP 3: Place a half cup of the filling on one side of each tortilla and fold over. Cook in a skillet on both sides over medium heat until brown and crispy and the cheesy filling has melted.

STEP 4: To freeze the quesadillas, simply fill each one and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for one hour to solidify the quesadillas and then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat either microwave (for a soft quesadilla) or cook in a skillet on low heat (make sure to use low heat so that the filling has time to thaw and melt before the outside burns).

These are really, really good and really easy too. We ate them with leftover rice and sliced avocado and dipped them in yogurt (we were out of sour cream and it's good anyway). Make them right now. Go.

Hearty Whole Wheat Waffles

This recipe is from the King Arthur website, and is our most-used waffle recipe.

1 1/2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour,  white whole wheat or traditional
 (I use any combination, any brand, of course)
2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined. 

Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron. 
Yield: about eight 8" waffles.

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

Here is the original recipe in all its glory, and I quote:

For the Bacon

10 slices of bacon

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and line with foil. Arrange bacon in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Place in the upper third of the oven and bake until sugar is caramelized and bacon is brown and crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately remove bacon slices using a pair of tongs. Place them on a cutting board (not paper towels, they’ll stick!) to cool before chopping. Once cool, chop the bacon into bite size bits and set aside.

For the Waffles

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cups canola or grapeseed oil

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

*If you don’t eat bacon for some reason, try adding 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the batter. Yum!

Set up your waffle iron on a level, clean surface and turn on to preheat.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. Whisk to blend. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold. Once almost fully incorporated, add the bacon bites. Stir. Try not to over mix the batter or the waffles will become tough. It’s ok if a few lumps remain in the batter.

Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.

End quote. Now, let me tell you that last time we cooked up some maple bacon with no brown sugar added, and used our favorite whole wheat waffle recipe and enjoyed them every bit as we ever did using the original recipe. The point is: bacon + waffles = yummo!

Banana Sour Cream Bread

• • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 (16 ounce) container sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease two 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoon white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

My notes: I made a few changes to this recipe: I substituted some brown sugar for the white sugar it asks for, and also used some whole wheat flour. I also changed the temperature it's baked at, as well as halving the original recipe. The loaves turned out kind of thin, so next time I would just make one big loaf. I'd also cut way back on the sugar. You can find the original recipe here.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

1 cup shortening

3 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp soda

3 cups flour

3 cups oatmeal

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Roll into small balls and flatten on cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F. When cool, put 2 cookies together with filling.

Filling:

2 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla

4 Tbsp milk

4 cups icing sugar

1 cup Crisco

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add vanilla, milk and 2 cups icing sugar. Beat thoroughly and add remaining icing sugar and Crisco. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

(I realize that this isn't the most detailed recipe ever, but I just copied it the way it's written. I recommend not over-baking the cookies.)

Butternut Squash and Sage Soup

This soup sort of evolved out of several different recipes so you might need to tweak amounts.

1 med. butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 small onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Add just enough chicken broth (or water and bouillon - I used the Helmuth's chicken soup base) to cover the vegetables and simmer until they are soft.

Meanwhile, over med-low heat, saute 4ish Tbsp roughly chopped fresh sage in 3-4 Tbsp butter, just until the butter begins to brown. In another skillet (or the microwave) fry 3-4 strips of bacon. Drain on paper towel and chop into bacon bits. (I prefer to chop them with my kitchen scissors when they are raw and then fry them up.) Set the bacon aside.

Add butter and sage to cooked vegetables, along with 1/4-1/2 tsp pepper and salt to taste. (It might be better to add the salt at the end?)

Puree in your blender, taking the usual precautions with hot soup. :) Return to the pot and add 1/4 - 1/2 cup plain yogurt, and milk to make the soup the consistency you like. Stir in the bacon bits and serve with some fresh bread. Mmmmmm.