Curry & Coconut Vegetable Stew

Home run for healthy, home run for taste! 

Normally I steer clear of coconut recipes because of the high cholesterol/saturated fat content, but for this I used my soy-coconut milk recipe and had great results.  This is a meal that will be repeated in our house.

Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew (adapted from thekitchn.com)

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 medium white or red potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and minced (for milder curry, I used a 4 oz can of mild green chiles)
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 (16-ounce) cans beans, drained and rinsed (originally chickpeas, but I used a combo of chickpeas and pinto, you can use any beans you like)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used red)
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juices
• 8 ounces baby spinach (most of a 10 oz package)
• 1 cup coconut milk (I used my imitation recipe here)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion with one teaspoon of salt until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and another teaspoon of salt, and sauté until just translucent around the edges.

Stir in the curry, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and chili and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1/4 cup of broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Pour this onion-potato mixture into the bowl of your slow cooker.

To the slow-cooker, add the rest of the broth, beans, pepper, cauliflower, and the tomatoes with their juices. Stir to combine. The liquid should come half-way up the sides of the bowl; add more broth as necessary. Cover and cook for 4 hours on HIGH.

**Kim's note: at this point, if you'd like a thicker sauce, remove some of the liquids, wisk them with 1 Tbs cornstarch, then return them to the slow cooker, stirring to incorporate.

Slice spinach into thin strips, then again into chunks. Reduce heat to warm, stir in the spinach and coconut milk. Cover with lid for 1 minute to allow the spinach to wilt. Serve, or leave in the warm slow cooker until ready to serve.  Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and other seasonings as needed.

Serve on its own or over cous cous, rice, or quinoa.

Honey Garlic Stir Fry Sauce

This is a wonderful alternative to super sugary Teriyaki Sauces. I'll be making this again for a marinade or just to put over steamed veggies and rice. YUM!

Honey Garlic Stir Fry Sauce (adapted from blogchef.net)

• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoons canola
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

If making the sauce alone, put all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer until thickened, stirring constantly.

If making a marinade (like in the pic), prep meat, mix sauce, put them together in a sealable container and refrigerate for a few hours. Scoop out meat, cook in a sauce pan until almost cooked through, then add the rest of the sauce.  Cook until bubbly and thickened.

Slow Cooker Indian Chicken

The original recipe was called Butter Chicken, but I killed the butter, simplified the spices, and adapted it to my slow cooker to make it easier for a busy mom.  Goes great with warm naan!

Slow Cooker Indian Chicken

• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 tsp olive or canola oil
• 3 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fat free half-and-half
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, and jalapeno. Stir often while cooking until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, garam masala, chili powder. Cook stirring, constantly for another minute.

Scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor and add tomato paste and chicken broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Place chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker, add sauce to cover.

Cook on low for 4 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken meat, turn slow cooker down to warm, pour in the half and half and cilantro, stir to incorporate it, then let the mixture warm until time to serve

Serve over hot cooked rice.

Mongolian Sauce (from PF Chang's)

We tried this tonight and I was just too excited to wait to post it.  Hubby and I love the Mongolian dish from Pei Wei (PF Chang’s) and I was lucky enough to stumble upon the copycat version of their sauce online this week.  It seemed like all of the copy-catters were agreeing on what made the sauce so amazing, so I thought it would be worth a try.  I did cut some oil, and smudged a few ingredients to work with what I had at home, but the end results were awesome!

I didn’t think it was an exact match, but after a bite Hubby said to me, “Wow, this really does taste like the Mongolian chicken I get.”

This one is definitely a keeper at our house!

PF Chang’s Mongolian Sauce (with Kim twists)

• 1 tsp. canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 1/2 c. soy sauce (lite or low sodium works well)
• 1/2 c. water
• 3/4 c. brown sugar (the recipe calls for dark, but I used the normal kind with good results)

Warm oil in sauce pan, add ginger and garlic, stirring quickly to avoid scorching.  Add water, soy sauce, and sugar allowing sugar to dissolve.  Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to med-med/low.  Continue to stir sauce until it reduces and thickens slightly.

Sauce goes well with veggies and rice, but if you’re doing a meat dish:
Slice meat (chicken, steak, pork) into bite size pieces.  Coat lightly with corn starch and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for the corn starch to do its thing (my chicken sat like that in my fridge for most of the afternoon and it worked out well).  When ready to cook, warm a frying pan over medium high heat and prepare pan with cooking spray or a little oil.  Cook meat until browned on edges, then add the sauce to the meat.  Allow sauce to boil and thicken around meat until meat is cooked through.  Serve over rice.

*Kim’s hint:  I did a veggie rice with this dish much like what you’d get at Pei Wei.  I added carrot strings to the rice water, and then when it was done cooking I tore fresh spinach into the rice and stirred it in until wilted.  Delicious!

Curried Chicken and Lentils

When I found this recipe, I knew that I found something special.  It has great flavors, tons of possibilities for add-ins, and best of all it’s SO HEALTHY!

Curried Chicken and Lentils*

• 4 chicken breast pieces, trimmed of fat
• 1 c. Minute Rice (I used brown Minute Rice which adds an extra element of health)
• 2 Tbs. curry powder
• 3 c. water
• 1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. lentils (rinsed and picked over to remove foreign objects)
• 3 bouillon cubes (I used chicken, but you could use vegetable if desired)
• 1 medium red potato, cut to very small cubes
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 c. frozen peas and carrots, thawed and drained of excess moisture

Combine all ingredients, except peas and carrots in your slow cooker.  Cook on low for 4 hours, shred chicken if desired, then add the thawed and drained peas and carrots. Cook for an additional half hour.  Serve alone, or possibly over mashed potatoes.

*To serve as a side dish, leave out the chicken and up the amount of veggies.

Potato, Cauliflower, and Lentil Curry

I was not excited to make this dish.  It seemed like a healthy idea, but not something I'd really like, but I was wrong! Not only did we enjoy it the first time around, I found that I couldn't stop eating the leftovers either.  Talk about a win-win!

Potato, Cauliflower, and Lentil Curry (adapted from thekitchn.com)

• 1 large onion, diced small
• 1 pound (about 6 small) red potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1-2 carrots, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 Tbs curry powder (or more to taste)
• 1.5 c cooked lentils
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in their juices
• 1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a 4- to 6- quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the onions with a half teaspoon of salt until they are soft and translucent. Add the potatoes and cook until they are browned on all sides. Add the cauliflower and cook until it is also browned in spots.

Toss in all of the spices and stir until they are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes with juice and cooked lentils. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and let the curry simmer until the potatoes and cauliflower are soft. For a thicker sauce, remove the lid in the last five minutes of cooking to let moisture evaporate.

Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Taste the curry and adjust the salt, pepper, or other seasonings as desired. Serve with rice.