Chewymom

Mixed Veggie Thai Curry

Firm tofu, sliced into cubes
Button mushrooms, sliced
Tomatoes, sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Broccoli
Peppers, sliced
Cabbage, sliced
Green thai curry paste
Coconut milk (150 ml)
Chilis, sliced
Garlic, sliced
Onion, sliced
Soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Olive oil
Rice

Boil rice. Heat oil in wok. Fry tofu til golden brown, then remove to drain.
Add chili, garlic, onion, mushrooms, and peppers. Stir fry.
Add all veggies and other items. Stir fry a little, but leave crunchy.
Add sugar and stir. Add dash soy sauce, stir.
Add curry paste and coconut milk. Stir and add tofu.
Serve with rice.

Tonight we had a very…eclectic dinner. DS11 has really gotten into the Redwall books, and he did a little research and found some recipes supposedly from the books. I had already planned to make something else for dinner, so we had all of it! DS11 made all of the “Redwall” items, and I made the pasta dish.

Here is our menu, complete with recipes:

October Ale (from Redwall)
16 oz. Cola
8 oz. grape juice
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice

Mix grape juice with soda, slowly, so as not to maek too much fizz. Then add in the sugar. Heat for fifteen seconds, and then stir til sugar dissolves. Add in lime juice, then stir again. Chill stil ready to serve.

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Shrimp and Hotroot Soup (from Redwall)
Ten handfuls paprika
Three handfulls ground pepper
Three green onions (diced)
Two cups pure spring water
One clove elephant garlic (diced)
One handful chili powder
One cup freshwater shrimp

Mix water, pepper and paprike together and heat for 5-minutes at the lowest possible temperature. Slowly add green onions, shrimp and garlic. Slow boil it and let it cool for one minute. Add chili powder and enjoy! Vary the amount of pepper depending on how spicy a soup you want.

*note: Actually varying the amount of chili powder makes it more or less spicy. Also, we boiled the soup for a good five minutes or so, then set it on a warmer until our other dish was ready.

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Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Pasta

1 large red bell pepper
1 crate mushrooms, sliced
1 crate grape tomatoes, halved
1 jar artichoke hearts
2 Tbsp minced garlic
Olive oil

1-1/2 Tbsp basil
1-1/2 Tbsp oregano
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste
dash balsamic vinegar

1/2 lb spaghetti–cooked according to package

Prepare veggies. Put olive oil into skillet. Add minced garlic and let sizzle a minute. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and stir. Cook for a few minutes, then add artichoke hearts, spices, lemon juice, and sugar. Add more oil if needed. Simmer 15 minutes while cooking pasta. Add pasta and a few spoons of pasta water to veggies and toss. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar.

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Scones with Meadowcream (from Redwall)

Scones:
1-3/4 cups flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
6 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
18-20 Tbsp heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425. Mix dry ingredients together, then add heavy cream, four Tbsp at a time, stirring well after every four Tbsp. Make sure the cream and the dry ingedients are mixed well. Shape into 3-inch balls (don’t shape too much–just enough so that the scone stays together) and set on a cookie sheet about 3-inches apart from each other. Bake for 10-16 minutes. Makes around 12 scones. Enjoy!!

Meadowcream:

1/3 cup cream
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar

Blend all ingredients together in a medium bowl with a fork or whisk. Amounts may need to be adjusted depending upon personal taste and desired thickness. Chill. Serve over EVERYTHING!

Lentils have become my new favorite food. My whole family enjoys the recipes I make with lentils, although DH probably hopes my obsession will subside, as we’ve been eating them a LOT! Anyway, here’s a recipe that everyone loves.

Baked Lentils with Cheese

1 package lentils, rinsed and drained
2 cups water
1 whole bay leaf
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp each, marjoram, sage, thyme
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups canned tomatoes
Put all ingredients in 9×13 pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in:
2 large carrots, chopped
1/2 cup sliced celery
Cover and bake 40 minutes. Stir in:
1 chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp parsley
Sprinkle 3 cups cheddar cheese on top.
Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes, until cheese melts.

FT3’s blog got me thinking about the kinds of wholesome foods my kids and I really enjoy. I often try to sneak and make a smoothie for myself, but the noise of the blender always gives me away, and I end up making seven smoothies, instead of just one. This is a delicious, nutritious choice for a snack or for breakfast! I’m estimating amounts, as I usually just dump stuff in.

1 cup yogurt (plain, non-fat–i make this)
1/2 cup water or milk
1 scoop soy protein powder
1 handful flax seeds
honey, maple syrup, or splenda to sweeten
frozen fruit (Our favorite fruits to use are strawberries and blueberries. We also use peaches and bananas (not frozen)–the possibilities are endless, depending on what you enjoy.)

These amounts make 2 large smoothies. Yummm!

I wanted to post two of my FAVORITE recipes on here. If you do the first one at night, you can use the leftovers for the breakfast the next day! You can substitute all kinds of veggies in here…green beans, broccoli, asparagus, etc. Even my two picky eaters like these…especially the fritattas. One son said, “this is the best way to eat vegetables that I’ve ever had!” I got these originally from the South Beach Diet cookbook and made some changes. Anyway, here they are.

Oven Roasted Veggies
1 zucchini, cut up
1 yellow squash, cut up
1 bell pepper, cut up (I like orange or red for the color)
1 red onion, cut up
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
fresh basil

Heat oven to 450. Place veggies in roasting pan. (I use my Pampered Chef round “pie shaped” pan.) Toss with olive oil and spices. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are lightly browned and tender.
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Veggie Frittatas
(*You can use the leftover veggies from the recipe above instead of those listed below!)
2 tsp butter or olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced zucchini
1 small tomato, diced
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 ounce cheese, shredded (cheddar, jack, mexican all work well)

Preheat oven on broil.

Place olive oil or butter in oven-proof skillet and melt. Add veggies and saute over medium-low heat until lightly browned. Add tomatoes, basil, and black pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes.

Blend milk, ricotta, and egg. Pour over veggies in skillet and cook on medium low until bottom is set–2-3 minutes. Put skillet in oven and broil until top is set. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and broil until cheese melts.

Serves 2.