Main Dishes

Chicken Satay and Thai Peanut Sauce

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For this post, you get two recipes in one! The chicken satay recipe came from here. And the most amazing Thai Peanut Sauce recipe came from here.

Thai Chicken Satay:

2 normal to large sized chicken breasts
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 wooden skewers
Directions:
1. Soak the skewers in water while prepping your chicken and sauce. This will help keep the skewers from burning when you place them on the grill. 

2. Cut the chicken into thin slices. 

3. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, add the chicken and massage. The chicken does not need to marinate in the sauce for very long, in fact only a few minutes. Place the chicken on skewers and drop them on the grill at medium heat. Flip the skewer just before you start to see grill marks on the chicken. This makes for the perfect “doneness” without drying it out. 
This marinade also goes great with shrimp! 
For the Thai Peanut Sauce:

One 13.5-ounce can of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk
2 ounces (approximately ¼ cup) of Thai red or Massaman curry paste
¾ cup unsweetened (natural) creamy peanut butter (Do not use regular peanut butter or anything with added emulsifiers. I get mine fresh ground in the bulk section at Winco.)
½ tablespoon salt
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (Do not use white wine, red wine, balsamic, or anything else — not even rice vinegar)
½ cup water
Instructions:
Put everything into a medium heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat; be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot.
Take the pot off the heat, let the sauce cool down to room temperature (or slightly warmer), and serve the sauce with satay or fried tofu.
Notes
This peanut sauce keeps in a glass container in the refrigerator for weeks. Refrigerated sauce will thicken up considerably. All you have to do is thin it out with a little bit of water to desired consistency, reheat, and serve. The sauce also freezes beautifully.

 

Lasagna Soup

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Have I told you how much I absolutely love Thrive?  I mean, seriously.  It’s amazing.  I have saved so much time in the kitchen just by using Thrive foods–they are ready to use right out of the packaging–no more chopping onions, no more greasy meat prep, etc.  And the taste is unmatched!  Not to mention the nutrition bonus of eating freeze dried foods of the highest quality.  You are really missing out if you haven’t tried Thrive for yourself.

I love “throw and go” cooking with Thrive foods.  The other day I made some spaghetti sauce using that method; and for me, that means just tossing in what I like and adding enough water along the way to rehydrate the foods to perfection.  This is all without any measuring!!!  Love it.  And my spaghetti meat sauce, which I began making AFTER I started the pasta, was done before the pasta was!

But sometimes I do like to try recipes and measure.  Lasagna Soup intrigued me when I saw it and, lemme tell you, it did NOT disappoint my taste buds.  Several in the family went back up for seconds of this tasty dish.  This one is definitely going to be made many times in our house!  And, bonus, you can also vacuum seal this (layered in the order listed) in a quart mason jar and keep it on the shelf for emergency quick meals (although going directly into the pot was fast to begin with).  Just dump and go.  (Email me at gimmethrive@gmail.com for more info on jar meals!)

Ingredients:

¼ cup Thrive Tomato Powder
1 tsp Thrive Chef’s Choice Seasoning
 ¼ cup Thrive Tomato Sauce 
3 TBSP Thrive Mixed Bell Peppers
 1 TBSP Thrive Chicken Bouillon
¼ cup Thrive Freeze Dried Onions
 1 tsp  Garlic powder
¾ cup Thrive Freeze Dried Sausage Crumbles 
¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 cups Thrive Farfalle (Bowtie) Noodles

1. Dump all the ingredients into a pot or Dutch oven.  Stir in 8 cups of water.
2.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the noodles are al dente.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and serve with salad and breadsticks!  Easy peasy!

 

For more information on how you can save time and money while eating nutritious, convenient food from Thrive, 
email me at gimmethrive@gmail.com.  
You can also visit my website to learn more.

 

Mushroom Marsala Risotto

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I found this recipe a couple years ago. It takes some time (like most Risottos) and is a labor of love, but it is so very very worth it! It is absolutely delicious. It is one of my favorite things to eat. I normally double the recipe too.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1 cup Marsala wine, divided
3-4 cups low-sodium broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 cups cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano (I used a lovely grana padano cheese)
2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced (additional whole leaves for garnish, if desired)
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet or saute pan over medium heat until foaming subsides.

Add shallots and saute until soft, 2-3 minutes.

Add garlic, tomato paste, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a separate medium saucepan until simmering.
Add the Arborio rice to the skillet and toast until opaque around the edges, 3-5 minutes.

Add 3/4 cup of the Marsala wine and cook, stirring often, until absorbed, approximately 5 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of the broth, and stir occasionally until almost absorbed, 8-12 minutes.

Working 1 ladle of broth at at time, continue to add broth, stirring constantly.  Add the next ladle when the broth is almost completely absorbed.

After you have been cooking the risotto for 10 minutes, stir in the mushrooms.  Continue to cook risotto, stirring constantly, until it is al dente, a total of 20-25 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in remaining 1/4 cup of Marsala wine, Parmigiano-Reggiano (or Grana Padano) cheese, basil, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if necessary.

Garnish with basil leaves.  Serve immediately.

Source

Mom’s Beef Stew

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I love simple, tasty food.  Especially when it’s comfort food.  And this Beef Stew hits all those attributes for me.  I just love it.

Ingredients:
2 pounds stew beef
2 Tbsp. bacon grease (or shortening)
1 large onion (sliced)
1 tsp. minced garlic (from the jar)
1 quart hot water
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf

6 small potatoes, cut in chunks
6 small onions, cut in chunks
3 carrots cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cold water

1.  In large pot, heat bacon grease over medium-high heat.  Brown stew beef.
2.  Add remaining ingredients up to and including the bay leaf.  Bring to a boil; then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
3.  Add veggies.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.
4.  Remove and discard bay leaf.  Combine flour and water in a small bowl to form a paste.  Stir this into the stew.  Cover and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Makes 2 1/2 quarts of stew.

Notes:

  • Though I always use the same type of ingredients, their form varies from time to time for me.  This time I didn’t have any fresh onions so I used my freeze-dried Thrive onions.  
  • To make this GLUTEN FREE, use an alternative flour like I did this time.  I used Krusteaz Gluten Free flour.
Source:  my mom

Chile Rellenos Chicken

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This is a really quick and tasty dish that you will love.  I just made it for the first time tonight and I wish I had not eaten something already for supper.  I had to take 3 test bites of this one.  So good.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4-6 oz. each)
1 lime, cut in half crosswise
1 egg white
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup finely crushed nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 can (4 oz.) whole green chilies
2 T. shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 t. snipped fresh cilantro
Prepared Salsa (opt.)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a shallow pan with foil.

2.  Place one chicken breast in a resealable food storage bag. Seal. Lightly flatten to even thickness with a meat mallet.  Repeat with other breast (I actually put them both in a gallon-size bag so that I could adjust the size more easily.  And it was quicker).  Discard bag.

3.  Juice the lime halves into a small bowl.  Add egg white and garlic.  Whisk until frothy.

4.  Place crushed tortilla chips in a shallow dish.  Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into chips, coating completely.  Discard any remaining chips. Place chicken on pan.

5.  Bake 20-22 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.  Arrange chile strips over chicken, sprinkle with cheese and bake 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve with salsa if desired.  YIELD: 2 servings.

Source:  Stoneware Inspirations.

Sloppy Joes

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And who doesn’t have a recipe for this one?  But I needed a blog post and I am taking a meal to a couple of teen-aged boys and I think this will fill them up quite nicely.  Their Mom is at Duke Medical Center with another brother and several of the women at church are providing some meals for the boys in her absence.  This goes together very quickly, but does need to simmer for an hour.  I chose to throw it in the slow cooker because I don’t have time to cook when I get home from work. You can probably substitute ground turkey to make this recipe a little healthier.  I won’t do that to the boys–their palates would probably freak out.

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger*
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 t. salt
dash of pepper
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup Catsup (or ketchup, whichever you prefer)
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. chili powder
hamburger buns (potato rolls are da bomb!)

1.  Brown meat and drain off fat.
2.  Mix meat and other ingredients together in a skillet and bring to a boil.  Simmer one hour.
3.  Serve on buns and add some celery/carrot sticks and maybe some chips of some kind.

NOTE:  I stretched the meat a little with Taco TVP that I had on hand so that I could keep some of this for our supper.  Also, if  you are using a slow cooker, just do everything according to the recipe and then cook on low for about 5 hours.

Fettuccine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

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fetuccinne-with-tomato-cream-sauce-2
Well, it’s officially 2015!  Have you made any resolutions?  I bet some of you have made diet and weight-loss resolutions.  While I LOVE cakes, pies, and cookies, I’m going to try to post a few healthy recipes (for you and for myself!)  This first one is from the Cooking Light magazine, and I have modified it to make it even healthier than originally published.  I am trying to eat whole wheat (instead of refined grains), organic, and nothing artificial.  It’s tough to find all of the groceries I need, and I’ve got to say, it’s quite a bit more expensive!  But, I guess I’m paying for my family’s health by buying wholesome foods!  I’d rather pay a few more dollars for healthy foods now than pay for doctor’s bills later in life!  In the pictures you’ll see regular white pasta, but if you can use whole wheat pasta, you should try it! 

Ingredients List:

8 oz. uncooked whole wheat fettuccine
4 quarts boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt (divided)
1 T. olive oil
3 T. minced garlic
1 (28 oz.) can organic whole peeled tomatoes (drained and crushed)
3 oz. organic cream cheese
10 kalmata olives (pitted and chopped)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in 4 quarts boiling water with 1/4 tsp. salt for 8 minutes or until noodles are almost al dente.  Drain pasta through a sieve over a bowl; reserve 1 1/3 cups pasta cooking water.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add oil to pan.  Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

3. Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and tomatoes; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

4. Stir in reserved 1 1/3 cups pasta water.  Bring to a boil. 

5. Add cream cheese; stir until smooth. 

6. Add pasta, olives, and crushed red pepper.  Cook 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente, tossing to coat.  Pasta will look runny and liquidy, but this will thicken.

fettuccine-with-tomato-cream-sauce-1

7. Divide pasta evenly among 4 bowls.  Enjoy your healthy dinner!
Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition Information, using white pasta and reduced-fat cream cheese, per serving: 358 Calories, 9.8 g Fat, 3.8 g Fiber, 10.3 g Protein

Source: Cooking Light

Bistro Chicken Twist

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This recipe comes from a good ol’ Pampered Chef recipe book. I have been making it for years and used to make it for my family on Christmas Eve before we decorated Christmas cookies.

1 C. Chopped cooked chicken
1/2 C. diced red bell pepper
1/4 C. snipped fresh basil leaves
1/4 C. grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 C. mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 packages (11 ounces each) refrigerated French bread dough-I use frozen bread dough, thawed.

1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, combine chicken, bell pepper, basil, 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise and garlic. Mix well.

Place bread dough on a greased cookie sheet. With a knife, cut each loaf length wise, end to end, halfway through. Then, use your hands to spread the dough about a bit.

Spoon half the chicken mixture into each of the two loaves. Gather up the edges over the filling, pinching to seal. Turn the two loaves over so the seam sides are down.

With the two loaves next to one another, crisscross them together. Leave a 1 1/2 inch space between the two loaves in the centers of the figure eights that you created.

Combine the egg white and the Italian seasoning. Brush over the top of the twist. Cut a small slit in the tops of the twist to expose the filling. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes.
Slice and serve.

Fideo Pronto

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This is a super-easy dish to throw together when you don’t have a lot of time on your hands–so basically any day of the week.  It can be a main ( throw in some grilled chicken or whatever meat you want) or side dish.  The recipe is from a box of broken up vermicelli that I used to be able to get in El Paso, Texas at my local grocery store.  Now I buy the vermicelli in a bag, in the Hispanic Foods section, and the recipe is not on there.

This is also a good way to get some veggies into your kids, and a good way to use leftovers.

 
Ingredients:
1 7-oz. pkg. vermicelli, broken up
1 15-oz. can of diced tomatoes, any flavor, with juice
1 tsp. sugar
1-2 T. olive oil
any veggies you want to add (we like fresh spinach, green chilies,  fresh broccoli…)
salt to taste
 
1.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add vermicelli and stir-fry until golden brown.  Be careful to not burn this.  The vermicelli will continue to brown quickly.
 
2.  Add the tomatoes with the juice and the rest of your ingredients.  Bring to a light boil, reduce heat and let simmer about 5 minutes or so.  You want the vermicelli to be a little chewy, but not crunchy.
 
 

Chicken with Sun Dried Tomato-Basil Sauce

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I found this recipe a year or two ago and have it pinned as one of my favorites. It is rich and delicious. One thing I did differently is that I added some of the drippings from the pan I cooked the chicken in. I de-glazed the pan with a bit of water and poured that into my sauce.

4 chicken breasts
Olive oil
Salt and fresh pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped (in package, NOT oil packed)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.  Season chicken with salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook in pan until thermometer reads 162 degrees or so (chicken will continue cooking after being removed from the pan.) Remove chicken from pan and set aside, keeping covered.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and shallots, cook 1-2 minutes, just until soft. Add sun dried tomatoes; stir.

With a whisk in hand, add flour and stir. Pour in chicken broth and whisk constantly to remove any lumps.
Add cream; whisk.
Continue whisking for 3-4 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.  Take off heat and let sit; it will

continue to thicken
Add fresh basil to sauce and give it a good stir.

Serve the chicken and sauce with your choice of pasta.

Source