Sunday, October 30, 2011

Chicken Curry

We felt a little spicy on Saturday, and that called for Chicken Curry and Apple Curried Cous Cous!

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 pounds chicken breast filets, cut into strips
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ cup chicken stock (or broth)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. Heat butter in a heavy skillet over medium high heat until the foam from the butter subsides. Add the chicken and cook until browned, 5-7 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
2. Lower heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Slowly add the heavy cream and simmer (do not let the mixture come to a boil) for 3-4 minutes.
3. Transfer chicken and the sauce to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes: Be careful not to let the sauce boil after you add the heavy cream. If you are looking for the “Curry Powder,” it is the mix of cumin, coriander and ginger. Finally, the more red pepper flakes you add, the spicier you meal will be. Enjoy this meal with rice or cous cous.

Now, the Curried Apple Cous Cous recipe:

Curried Apple Cous Cous
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium apples, cored and chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- 3 green onions, washed and chopped
- 1 box Near East Cous Cous
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup pine nuts
- small handful of mint

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the butter, cumin, coriander and ginger and cook for a few minutes until the spices are fragrant. Stir in the chopped apples and cook for 3-4 minutes, enough time for the apples to soften up and absorb some of the spices. Scoop the apples from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir in the green onions and cook them until they are soft. Add the water and bring to a boil, then stir in the cous cous. Cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, then use a fork to fluff up the cous cous. Stir in the apples, pine nuts and chopped mint.

Serves 6

Monday, October 17, 2011

Sunday Pot Roast

    1 (4 -5 lb) beef roast, any kind
    1 (1 1/4 ounce) package brown gravy mix, dry
    1 (1 1/4 ounce) package dried Italian salad dressing mix
    1 (1 1/4 ounce) package ranch dressing mix, dry
    1/2 cup water

Directions:

    1    Place beef roast in crock pot.
    2.  Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast.
    3.  Pour the water around the roast.
    4.  Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Cooks notes.

I am a tweaker.  With the water, we added a little red wine.  We added vegetables - potatoes, a turnip, and carrots and put them in after the the beef had cooked for about two hours.   About 4 hours into the cooking, we added some beef broth.  Oh, and a little more wine.   In retrospect, I don't know that we really needed it.

In the end - magnificent.  It was delicious.  Meat was delectable and the veggies, just right.  Hmmmm....  help yourself.  Please share any tweaking you do.  :)


Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/to-die-for-crock-pot-roast-27208#ixzz1ahoqNHvE