Tag: recipes

Taste Test and Recipe: Chicken with Red Curry Sauce from Trader Joe’s with Homemade Hummus

I made most of my family try something new for dinner tonight that I was pretty sure that they would flat out refuse- a chicken curry sauce over rice. They have been relatively on board with me trying new things this year, pretty supportive overall, but are getting to the breaking point with the food experiments.


IMG_6565IMG_6566Tonight I made them try Trader Joe’s Chicken Breast Medallions with Coconut Red Curry Sauce. The photos all stink tonight, sorry… lost my mojo for the day, what can I say.

In a nutshell: The Boy gave the best performance of his life, feigning torture at the hands of his mother. His drama teacher for next year would have been so proud! Because this is mildly spicy, The Girl got a Get Out Of Tasting Free pass with her sore throat. Neither reaction from my kids surprised me, but here was the kicker: The Husband loved it. This guy does not care for Indian food. We have Indian friends and it kills me that he doesn’t like most of the home made foods we have been fortunate to share. He is always game to try it… he’s not an unmannered slob, for Pete’s sake, he just doesn’t enjoy the the spices. As for me, I liked it a lot. Great flavor, not to spicy (hot), super easy, the big chunks of chicken weren’t dry and tasted freshly made, and the stuff looked like the picture on the box- no food stylist magic was done by TJ’s.

As for this box of curry from Trader Joe’s fridge section, I know it isn’t authentic, but I’ve received a seal of approval from a friend who knows her Indian cuisine; she likes this ready-made dish, too. I served the curry over brown basmati rice (also from Trader Joe’s), with a side of peas, and hummus that I made this afternoon. Holy cow, that hummus was GOOD!

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Here’s the world’s easiest recipe for fabulous hummus:

Into the bowl of a food processor add the following:

-fresh squeezed juice from one lemon
-one clove garlic
-one 14 oz. can of chick peas drained, but reserve the juice from the can
-one tablespoon of tahini
-one tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil.

Blend until smooth, this could take a while to get it good and smooth, and to get the hummus to the right consistency you will probably need to add some of the reserved juice from the can of chick peas- add a little at a time, you don’t want too much. Add salt to taste, also. You may want your hummus with more garlic, lemon, or tahini so adjust to your tastes.

This is kick-butt-good because it uses fresh garlic, fresh lemons, good extra virgin olive oil and real tahini. If you substitute any of these with something that isn’t fresh, it won’t be nearly as good. And you will be cursed in the kitchen. And you will stub your toe and get a paper cut. Really.

Trader Joe's Chicken with Coconut Red Curry Sauce, served with Brown Basmati Rice
Trader Joe’s Chicken with Coconut Red Curry Sauce, served with Brown Basmati Rice

May Project of the Month- Graduate Two Teens & Maintain My Sanity

Graduation-2015-PV252Two teens graduating, two freshmen next year, family coming over two weekends in a row for lots of people and lots of love overflowing. Graduate gifts to be purchased, traditional graduation projects for both schools to craft, reservations to make, photos still needing to be booked, housework to finish. Tears will be shed!

We will be making a big dent in that two cases of wine we won a couple of months ago…

The closest thing I think I want to do that resembles a Project of the Month is to pick several of the cookie recipes I have squirreled away on Pinterest and start baking. I bake and cook when I am stressed. It is the main hobby that I enjoy, and as a bonus- I can share the results with the friends and family that I have thoroughly annoyed along the way.

There’s a lot to choose from, just look at the number of ideas I have pinned here:

A few mini retreats to the kitchen are just the thing for me this month. I’ll also get to practice my food photography and promise to share the recipes- those that bomb and those we like!

New Menu Monday: Greek Kabobs Replace Grilled Burgers

We never really grill hamburgers in the backyard. Not when there are In-N-Out Burgers and Burger Lounge scattered about (I might admit to liking Burger Lounge better than In-N-Out, but don’t tell anyone, I might lose my Official California Native status, so, shhhh!!). When it comes to throwing something fast on the grill I prefer bratwurst ANY day to burgers. Think about it- there is way more greasy goodness to be had in a brat- no bun, please, that gets in the way of enjoying the grease.

Bratwurst, pork chops and loins, steaks of all kinds, and a really great copy-cat recipe of El Pollo Loco’s chicken** are regularly on my grill, plus lots of vegetables with olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Yum. How about trying a Mediterranean-style kebab for The Husband, who actually does like backyard burgers?

Kebabs formed, camera angle hiding the mess on the rest of the countertop...
Kebabs formed, camera angle hiding the mess on the rest of the countertop…

For tonights’s kebabs, I followed the best recipe that I found online… just kidding. I did a mix-mash of about four different recipes.

The Recipe: mix together in a bowl, form into 8 large, thick, patties

  • 1 1/3 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp each dried oregano and flour
  • 1/2 tsp each of onion powder, garlic powder, salt, Italian seasoning, ground pepper, and Greek seasoning mix.

Next, I sat down to type this post. Two minutes later, I ran back to the kitchen and chased the cat off the counter, and promptly wrapped the kababs and put them in the fridge.

Greek-ish Hamburger Kababs
Greek-ish Hamburger Kababs

Grilled on low heat around 10-15 minutes to about medium rare, these were GREAT!  The Grill Master chose the low heat because these were fairly thick, and didn’t want overcooked kebabs. We served them with a home made Tzatziki sauce (plain yogurt, crushed clove of garlic, grated cucumber, dill, salt, yum).

The Husband wants them in the regular line up. The Girl liked the kebabs, too, but she put ketchup on hers. What a plebe. The Boy says “Good, but could use more seasoning,” which is a surprise, since I thought there might be too much spice for the Prince of Plain. I think they would be far better made with half ground lamb, much like the most authentic recipes.

Really- get this little gem of a cookbook!
Really- get this little gem of a cookbook!

**Note- Speaking of the “More Top Secret Recipes” cookbook, by Todd Wilbur, I highly recommend it. This book is worth the purchase price if only for the Cinnabon Knock-Off and El Pollo Loco Chicken recipes.

And I guess I like both spellings of the word “kebab/kabab… and didn’t realize I had used both until my mom (also known as my editor) pointed out the inconsistency. Have I ever mentioned that I can’t spell in three languages? I’d pay for Spell Checker if it weren’t free.

Peruanos for Refried Beans, Because Eva Said So… Delish!

I’ve tried to make refried beans before, and mine are nowhere near as good as our favorite Mexican restaurant. I’ve followed The Mom-In-Law’s recipe and still, no better. I decided to try a different kind of bean as suggested by a phenomenal woman I met when we moved back to California. Eva suggested trying Peruano beans, she liked their texture.

I’d do just about any suggestion that Eva offers. She is one of the first people we met at our kids new school six years ago, and she treated us like family. What a wonderful gift that is when coming to a new city and school! I will never forget when Southern California had a massive power outage four years ago right when I was to pick up my son for the day. The school principal and I wisely decided to wait out the traffic jam, saving ourselves HOURS of traffic misery (HA! A wise decision, in hindsight, see yesterday’s post!). Eva made a fried chicken dinner for the four of us, and this is typical of her kindness.

So, peruanos it is!

Cooked beans on left, uncooked, right...
Cooked beans on left, uncooked, right…

Once the beans were cooked, I poured them into my cast iron skillet that had about a tablespoon of melted bacon grease and another tablespoon of corn oil. Next step is to mush away with a potato masher- I prefer the masher as pictured…

Voilà! Refried beans!
Voilà! Refried beans!

If you want to make these a more decadent dish, stir in about a half cup (or more!) grated cheddar, or even better/worse, crushed chicharrones. NOT the kind you get in the snack food aisle at the quickymart. Get real, freshly made chicharrones from a Mexican grocer, or don’t try it at all- there is no substitution. Curious? Here’s a link to a home made chicharron recipe:  SeriousEats.comTheNastyBits:HowToMakeChicharrones

Cheese, Please, and Throw in a Casserole, While You’re at It…

Tried a couple of new things tonight.

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Front…
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Back…

The Colman’s seasoning packet seems devoid of artificial colors and crap… I like that in foods that we can get from the UK. Less crap.

I gave it the Mom Test- meaning, Would My Mom Eat This? I think she would. She’s tougher than The Boy, no lie. I’ll make her try some for lunch tomorrow (you know you will try this, mom, because you are so intrigued by a packaged product that I’d try… that’s probably going to be the first thing you do when you get here tomorrow).

Chicken, vegetables, seasoning and water in the pot...
Chicken, vegetables, seasoning and water in the pot…

The chicken cooked 90 minutes at 350 with a quartered onion, three carrots (’cause, that’s all I had), 1 1/2 cups water whisked with the seasoning packet, poured over the quartered chicken and veggies in the lidded casserole. Everyone pretty much liked it, served with a baked potato and salad. No complaints, but no socks knocked off.

Aged Mahón Cheese
Aged Mahón Cheese

The great find today is this Mahón cheese from Trader Joes. It is only here for this month, but undoubtedly in any of the better-stocked cheese departments here in So. Cal. This is really delicious stuff, folks. It has a bit of the grainy texture of an aged cheddar and while creamier than a mild cheddar, tastes like a cross between an aged gouda and a milder cheddar. Make my Swedish friend happy- say “how-dah,” not “goo-duh.” She gives me a hard time when I say “goo-duh.” So, of coarse, I look right at her and say “goo-duh” whenever this subject comes up. That’s how I roll.

Mahón is a delicious Spanish cheese. The Swede would agree with me on that, her husband is Spanish and she wouldn’t dis a Spanish product. She’s nice like that. She also would  have liked the Pinot Gris that I enjoyed with my cheese and crackers while the casserole cooked and I watched Captain America. I bet she’d like Captain America- there we go, Annika, let’s look at your vacation photos, then watch Marvel Comics movies with the kids really soon!! I have the cheese and will buy more wine for us!