Thai Tofu and Green Bean Red Curry

This is my final Thai dish of the week. I pulled this recipe out of my Thai cookbook.  This book has so many good recipes it was hard to make a decision. However, I chose a vegetarian dish with mushrooms because the hubs doesn't like them and I do. Perfect time to make it since he was away.
I got the ingredients at my local Ranch 99 market (Asian market) because I knew I wouldn't find Thai chilies or Kaffir leaves anywhere else.  I used 3 Thai chilies and it was perfectly SPICY! Actually got me coughing and the baby moving. I served this over rice and it was delicious!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 -2 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons palm sugar or 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
3 1/4 cups button mushrooms
1 cup green beans, trimmed
6 ounces firm tofu, rinsed,drained,and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
2 -4 fresh hot red chilies or 2 -4 Thai chilies, chopped ( amount to taste)
fresh cilantro leaves ( coriander

Directions

Heat approximately 1/3 of the coconut milk in a large pan.


When it starts to separate (an oily sheen will appear on the surface), add the curry paste, fish sauce, and sugar and stir to mix well.

Add the cleaned mushrooms and cook 1 minute.

Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the green beans and tofu, then reduce heat, and simmer gently for about 4-5 minutes.

Add the kaffir lime leaves and hot chillies.

Garnish with cilantro before serving.

Serve with hot cooked rice, if desired

Thai Peanut Noodles

I make a dish very similar to this but this one comes from Epicurious. I wanted a side dish to go with the salad and this was something I knew would be quick and I had most of the ingredients on hand. It's always delicious. My substitutions were whole wheat spaghetti in place of linguine, crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy and garnished with cilantro because that is what I had. I also added a teaspoon fish sauce and some sriracha to the liquid ingredients.
Ingredients

8-10 oz. linguine or flat rice noodles

8 green onions

3 small garlic cloves

1 T. fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 medium carrots

1/2 large red bell pepper

2 T. sesame oil

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

1/4 c. soy sauce

3 t. unseasoned rice vinegar

1/4-1/2 t. red pepper (optional)

1/2 c. mung bean sprouts

1/3 c. chopped peanuts

Directions

Whisk together honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper and set aside. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Julienne the green onions, carrots, and bell pepper; and mince the garlic. Heat the seseme oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the carrots, saute for a minute or two, then add the garlic, bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Saute until crisp tender. Add the liquid ingredients and heat through, stirring gently. Then add the pasta and toss until coated. Garnish with the chopped peanuts and bean sprouts.

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

I am going to try to make a couple recipes from a different country each week, as long as I don't get restrictions from my Dr. again!
This week...Thailand. This is a recipe out of my "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger" cookbook. Here is a link to the recipe. I didn't make any changes but I did add a bit more chili-garlic sauce and some red pepper flakes.

Ingredients

1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick

3 tablespoons lime juice, divided

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce

1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)

3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried

1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
 
Directions
 
Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain.

Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots.

Red Curry Shrimp with Quinoa

Ingredients

1 onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 can (14 ounces) lite Coconut Milk

2 tablespoons Red Curry Paste

1-2 tablespoon brown sugar

1/3 cup water

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup sliced red and green bell pepper

1/4 cup fresh  basil

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

Directions

In wok, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until tender.

Add Coconut milk and red curry paste and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add 1-2 Tbs brown sugar, bell peppers, fish sauce and water. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in shrimp and continue cooking 3-5 minutes, until shrimp are cooked.

Garnish with fresh basil. Serve over quinoa.

Eating Well's Black Bean Nacho Pizza

This recipe is from eating well. My husband sent me the recipe and once I looked it over I instantly thought of the mexican pizza from Taco Bell. I used to love those. Now I will not go near their food. So I decided to see how this recipe turned out and it was great. The only change I would make is to use either fresh jalapenos or canned. The pickled ones were a little bitter and sort of over powered the pizza. I also added hot sauce and cilantro to ours before serving. This would work as a great appetizer too, just cut into small pieces. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers

1 medium clove garlic, quartered

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Yellow cornmeal, for dusting

1 pound Easy Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough, or other prepared dough

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 medium plum tomatoes, diced

4 medium scallions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped pitted ripe black olives

2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños

 

Directions
 
Place a pizza stone on the lowest rack; preheat oven to 450°F for at least 20 minutes.
 
Place beans, peppers, garlic, chili powder and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel or large baking sheet. Roll out the dough (see Tip) and transfer it to the prepared peel or baking sheet, making sure the underside of the dough is completely coated with cornmeal.

 

 

Slide the dough onto the preheated stone and cook until the bottom begins to crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven using a large spatula and place it uncooked-side down on the peel or baking sheet, making sure the underside of the crust is completely coated with cornmeal.

 

 

Quickly add the toppings and slide the pizza back onto the stone. Continue baking until the toppings are hot and the bottom of the crust has browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

Mango Chicken Salad

This recipe is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. I believe the first time I made it was in one of my college cooking classes, still good after all these years!

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups chopped ready-to-eat roasted skinned, boned chicken breasts

1/2 cup diced peeled mango

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 tablespoon hot mango chutney

1 tablespoon light mayonnaise

1 tablespoon low-fat sour cream

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon pepper
 
Directions
 

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine chutney and next 6 ingredients (chutney through pepper) in a small bowl, and stir chutney mixture into chicken mixture. Serve in whole wheat pita for a delicious sandwich!

Spring Carrot Cake

This is a recipe out of a Good Housekeeping magazine from 2000. I never make any changes and it always comes out perfect!

Ingredients for cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can crushed pineapple ( 8-8 1/4 oz )

1 Tbs vanilla extract

3 cups loosely packed shredded carrots ( about 6 medium )

1 cup walnuts, chopped

¾ cup dark seedless rains
 
Ingredients for frosting
 
1/2 cup softened


1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract
1 package(s) (16-ounce) confectioners'
 
Directions
 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 9” round pans. Line bottom with parchment paper; grease paper and dust pans with flour.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

 

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat eggs and granulated and brown sugars until blended, about 2 minutes, frequently scraping bowl with spatula. Beat in oil and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture and beat until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping bowl. Fold in carrots, pineapple, walnuts and raisins.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out almost clean 55 -60 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare cream cheese frosting. .In large bowl, with mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Beat in confectioners' sugar until blended. Increase speed to medium-high; beat 2 minutes or until light and creamy and decorate your cake.