Showing posts with label entrees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entrees. Show all posts

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Pineapple Coconut Chicken Curry

I'm not sure curry is the right description but it is definitely a Thai flavored concoction.  Spicy, sweet and filling.  You can easily add or remove vegetables as you see fit - or get rid of them all together - add this would still work. On the flip side, leave out the chicken and you've got a great vegetarian/vegan dish.  If you have a particular aversion to one of the spices or can't find it anywhere, leave it out, I imagine this is still going to work just fine.

 


Makes: ~6 servings
Per serving: 244 calories, 31g protein, 7g fat, 13g carbs
 




Ingredients: 
1 3/4 pounds chicken
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1 can (14oz) lite coconut milk
1 cup coconut water -- I used this because I had recently opened a fresh coconut; you could easily substitute for store bough coconut water or just plain old water.
1 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 cubanelle pepper, sliced
1/2 lb snow peas
3 oz coconut meat -- Possibly substitute unsweetened shredded coconut instead if you don't have or don't want to deal with opening and shelling your own coconut
8oz mushrooms, sliced
4 oz pineapple sliced and cut into 1" pieces
2 T chopped ginger
1 tsp guar gum*
1 tsp xanthum gum *
*(you could substitute 1T of corn startch, flour or thickener of your choice)

Directions
Cut the chicken into roughly 1-inch cube sized pieces. Mix with the spices, 1/2 of the coconut milk, and 1/2 of the chopped pineapple.  Place in the refrigerator overnight to marinate (or chill for at least 1-2 hours)


 
You can also prepare the other ingredients ahead of time if you wish.  I prepped everything and was able to have everything cooking at the same time in different pans to speed things along. 
Mix the snow peas with the sliced mushrooms and coconut in one container.   In a second container prepare and combine the onion, peppers, garlic and ginger.

 

Mix the onions, peppers, garlic and ginger in a saute pan and quickly saute just until onions start to turn translucent.  Add 1/2 of the coconut water and allow to simmer until fully cooked - about 20 minutes.
 
Remove the pepper mixture from the pan and replace with mushroom mixture, add remaining pineapple.  Saute until the mushrooms just start browning and simmer covered for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

 

Place chicken in large pan and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked, about 10 minutes.
 

Add remaining coconut milk, coconut water, guar gum and xanthum gum and simmer until desired consistency, about 15 minutes.
 

Combine pepper mixture with vegetables in pan and stir to mix.
 

Combine to serve.  Serve alone or over your choice -- as below with glucomannan noodles, regular pasta or rice noodles, rice, shredded cabbage, salad greens, etc.  I initially left the chicken and veggies separate and combined over the noodles but later mixed them all together and it works just fine as well if you want to combine before serving.
  

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Gnocchi

A twist on sweet potato gnocchi with the addition of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices.  I topped it here with a warmed pumpkin butter which amped up the pumpkin but doesn't really let the gnocchi flavor itself shine through.  Also delicious with a browned butter sauce which lets you get more of the pumpkin flavor in the gnocchi.  This did also require a great deal more flour than sweet potato gnocchi traditionally would because the pumpkin was so wet but still worked out just fine.




Makes: 12 dozen
Calories: 200/dozen

Ingredients:

24 oz sweet potato (about 3 med-large potatoes)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3T egg whites (or 1 large egg)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3-4 cup flour

Directions:

- Bake potatoes in over at 375F for approximately 1 hour or until soft.
- Remove from oven and cut in half.  Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes
- Scoop potato insides into bowl and mash or puree.  Add pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
- Slowly add flour to thicken.  Knead dough continuing to add flour until about 80% of the moistness has been removed.  The dough should have give to it and retain an indentation when pressed but not hold the indentation perfectly.
- Divide dough into manageable portions (I split into 4).  Place on floured surface and roll into lengths 1" in diameter.


- Using a blunt knife or fork cut off 1" segments
- Drop segments into pot with boiling water and boil for approximately 5 minutes or until gnocchi begin to float.


- Top with your desired sauce and enjoy.