Coconut Curry Stir Fry - yum

This recipe is from an Americas Test Kitchen Light Cookbook. I was very nervous as I am not a huge curry fan and the thought of making a stir fry terrified me. I told my husband he could choose a couple recipes and if I liked them I might make them even if they scare me "a little".

I prepared in the afternoon for this and had all my cutting, chopping, slicing, mixing and other prep ready to go. I had also read through the recipe multiple times so I knew which order to cook things. I was ready for this super fast meal. I later learned that there is a special name for that preparation, some french term, that I have since forgotten...sorry hunny!

We ended up serving it over basmati rice and it was just d

elicious. Even the kids and our picky eater friend loved it (Okay so our picky eater friend [lets call her PEF] maybe didn't love it but didn't hate it despite her hatred for coconut, I know right, COCONUT). I am about to enjoy my small plate of leftovers and plan to make this recipe along with other stir frys in the future.

Basic Stir Fry

3/4 pound protein

2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons dry sherry

3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 scallions, white parts only

5 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 lbs prepared vegetables

1. Toss the protein with soy sauce and sherry in a medium bowl. In small bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, scallion whites and 2 teaspoons of the oil.

2. Heat 1 more teaspoon oil in a 12 inch non stick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the protein and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up clumps., until lightly browned, 1-4 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl.

3. Add 1 more teaspoon oil to pan and return to high heat until shimmering. Add longer cooking vegetables to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp tender, 1-5 minutes.

4. Add the remaining teaspoon oil and faster cooking vegetables and cook until vegetables are crisp tender, 30 sec-1 minute.

5. Clear the center of the pan and add the garlic mixture. Cook, mashing the garlic mixture into the pan with the back of a spatula, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Stir the garlic mixture into the vegetables. Add the protein and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce (made below) to recombine, then add it to the pan and bring to a simmer. Off the heat, toss until the protein and vegetables are well coated with the sauce and sizzling hot. Serve immediately.

Cocunut Curry Stir Fry Sauce

2/3 cup unsweetened light coconut milk

6 tbsp. low sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon corn starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Combine all ingredients except the curry powder and pepper flakes in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Add the curry powder and pepper flakes to the garlic mixture in step 1 of the stir

Yankee Pot Roast and Veggies - Crock Pot

This recipe was found in a crock pot recipe book. I have never really made a good pot roast. I do have to admit, this is my first time cooking with parsnips and had to look them up on google while at the grocery store. Come back later for an update!

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 pounds beef chuck pot roast

salt and pepper

3 unpeeled medium baking potatoes (about 1 pound) cut into quarters

2 large carrots, cut into 3/4 inch slices

2 stalks celery, cut into 3/4 inch slices

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

1 large parsnip, cut into 3/4 inch slices

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup 99% fat free, reduced sodiu beef broth

DIRECTIONS

1. Trim excess fat from beef and discard. Cut beef into serving sized pieces; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Combine potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, parsnip, bay leaves, rosemary and theym in crock pot. Place beef over vegetables. Pour broth over beef. Cover' cook on LOW 8 1/2 - 9 hours, or until beef is tender.

3. Trasnfer beef to serving platter. Arrange vegetables around beef. Remove and discard bay leaves before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Lemon Blackberry Cheesecake

So we had a family gathering to go to and it was my turn to bring dessert. I made a couple varieties of cookies and some brownies (chocolate, peanut butter, banana brownies, which were delicious!), but I thought I should make a new recipe. I came across this one and remembered I had frozen blackberries in the freezer and my husbands family enjoys lemony things so it sounds great!

This recipe as you can imagine is not weight watchers friendly, but we wanted to make it a little more friendly. The below recipe and picture is taken directly from ivillage.com. The original recipe is 10 weight watchers points per serving (that is if it is cut into 17 pieces, I know it is a weird number, lol). With my revisions it comes out to 4 points plus per serving. All I changed was using fat free sour cream (I buy mine in the states as their fat free sour cream is still quite thick) and I also changed it to fat free cream cheese (also bought in the states). I was absolutely amazed when I calculated and 2 pounds of regular cream cheese was almost 90 points and fat free was only like 25 (that is by memory only, lol)

Overall, taking out all the fat did change it, it was more creamy that a normal baked cheesecake but we really enjoyed it and nobody even guessed it was light! Good luck!

Lemon-Blackberry Cheesecake

This two-layer cheesecake looks cool and tastes better. It is nice to see the pure cheesecake layer above the berries, but if you’re in a rush you really don’t need to divide the batter; just add the purée and berries to the entire batter and omit that step.

From My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, by John Besh

Dessert

Twists (0)

Did you change this recipe up a little? We want to know! Share it with us by adding your special Twist.

Did you change this recipe?

Add your Twist

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, softened		1 cup sour cream
1 cup graham cracker crumbs		1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds cream cheese		1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar		1 1/2 pints blackberries
3/4 cup milk		Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 eggs

Yield: 8 Servings

Shopping List:

Add Recipe

Recipe Added!

View shopping list

directions

Total:

• 1
  
  

  Preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium bowl. Press onto the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan.

• 2

  In a large bowl, use a handheld mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Blend in the milk, then beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in the sour cream, flour, and vanilla until smooth. Divide the mixture between two bowls.

• 3

  In a food processor or blender, purée 1 pint of the blackberries with the lemon zest and juice. Pour the purée into one bowl of the cheese mixture along with the remaining 1⁄2 pint of whole blackberries and mix well.

• 4

  Pour the blackberry filling on top of the prepared crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the remaining filling over the top. Return to the oven to bake for 1 hour, until the topping is set. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve
  .

Busy Mom Puffins (Pancake Muffins)

Totally made these for my kids and they LOVED them. We did some plain and some with blueberries. Both ways were a huge success. I do plan to make these again.

Below is a picture and recipe directly from pinterest.

Busy Mom Puffins (Pancake Muffins) Preheat oven to 350, mix 1 c pancake mix, 2/3 c water, 1/2 c syrup. Mix together, pour in greased muffin pan. Top with banana, blueberries, chocolate chips, pecans, sausage, bacon….etc. Bake for 12-14 minutes and serve. Easy, fast, delicious & no syrupy mess!!

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

Okay I have been so lazy with posting lately so today we are going to get a few recipes. Not all were made today, but this particular recipe is going in the crock pot for dinner tonight. It sounds delish and soooo very EASY!! Easy, yummy and frugal is my idea of a GREAT meal! It says you can serve it over rice, but I think I will put it on buns and serve it with salad.

All you need is...

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast

1 bottle of BBQ sauce

1 can of pineapple chunks (drained)

All you need to do is...

1. put chicken in crock pot

2. pour BBQ sauce over top of it

3. add drained pineapple chunks

4. cook on LOW for 4-6 hours

5. shred chicken and serve over rice (or on buns)

Come back later for pictures and an update!