Pumpkin Chicken Coconut Curry Stew

Pumpkin Chicken Coconut Curry Stew

After Halloween, I had a big pumpkin that I wanted to breakdown into pieces that I could consume. It was a very fun and rewarding experience. And it was shocking home much pumpkin you got from just one little pumpkin! If you are looking for cost savings meals in the fall, definitely consider buying pumpkins. The pumpkin was also a great ingredient for a coconut curry. You could also use sweet potato as well.

ingredients:

2 cups+ raw fresh pumpkin cubed
red pepper
chicken breast
onion
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp curry powder
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

garlic
1-2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper
1 tsp brown sugar

handful of cilantro

lime

chicken stock

directions:

1. Dice up some onions, and put them in a medium size to large pot in some oil or butter. Start to cooking the onions down until they become caramelized. While the onions are cooking, prep your other ingredients. Make sure you have your pumpkin in cubes, maybe 1 inch wide. Also some red pepper. If you haven't done so already, you could cook the chicken breast in the oven before hand and cut that up. Or you could cut the chicken and put it in the curry at the same time as the pumpkin.

2. After the onions are done cooking, you can add your spices, and garlic to them. Heating the spices will help reinvigorate them. After a few minutes, add your coconut milk. If the coconut milk doesn't look like enough, you can also add a little chicken stock to stretch it out. But don't add too much or you'll lose the coconut goodness.

3. Toss in your pumpkin, chicken, and red pepper at this time. And turn down to medium heat. Let it simmer and cook the pumpkin through. Maybe 15-20 minutes.

4. Once the pumpkin has cooked through taste the curry. Is it salty enough? Is it sweet enough? Is it spicy enough? There is a good chance you might want to add some salt, brown sugar, or cayenne pepper just to get it right.

5. Once the curry is done. Spoon it into bowls. You could eat it with rice. But definitely eat it with a squeeze of lime for some freshness and acidity. Also, some chopped cilantro.

Wintery Spicy Sausage Kale Soup

Wintery Spicy Sausage Kale Soup

A great winter soup that is filling, but is also a little different. Tired of beef stew or chicken noodle soup? Give this soup a try! The turkey sausage is a refreshing change of pace compared to boring chunks of chicken breast. Also this soup is spicy, which also makes it great for the winter months or if you have a cold.

ingredients:

2 spicy or mild turkey sausages. You can substitute with pork as well, turkey is just healthier

2 white or yellow potatoes, skins on, sliced of cubed
handful of kale
garlic
salt
pepper
chili flakes, or cayenne pepper
1-2 containers chicken stock, or veggie stock
1 onion

butter

flour
cream or milk (optional)

directions:

1. Dice up your onion, and put it in a large pot with some butter or oil. Let it simmer and start to caramelize. When it's starts to become translucent put in your turkey sausage. If they are in casings, cut the casing of the turkey and squeeze out the meat inside. Season the onions and meat with salt, pepper, chili flakes (cayenne), and crushed garlic.

2. After you have cooked the meat for a while in the onions and spices, add your stock. At this point add your potatoes well.

3. In a sauce pan, add some butter. Melt it down, then slowly start to add flour. Make a rue which you will use to thicken your soup. If you don't want to make a rue, or you want your soup to be creamy add some cream or milk instead. Or you could add both.

4. Cook the soup on low to medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through. Once the potatoes are almost cooked, put in some chopped up kale and let it cooked for at least a few more minutes.

5. Taste test your soup. Is it spicy or salty enough for you? I find I like mine a little spicy, so I might add some more chili flakes at this point if I want.

Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

Kung Pao Chicken Pizza

This pizza is at least a little out of the ordinary from the typical fare you can get at pizza places. This photo I took won a Food Network Cooking Club Challenge for a month based on this pizza that was on an episode of You Gotta Eat Here.

ingredients:

dough
chicken
red pepper
pineapple
mozzarella cheese
red onion
green onion
tomato sauce

directions:

pizza dough:

1. Fill a mixing bowl with 1-1 and 1/4 cups of warm water in a bowl.

2. Add 1 tbsp of active dry yeast. Add 1 tbsp of brown sugar, or white sugar if you feel the yeast is old. It will help activate the yeast and give it something to "eat". Let stand for about 10 minutes until white frothy bubbles are on top. Add in 1 tbsp of oil (though probably optional) and 1/2-1 tsp of salt.

3. Mix in 3 cups of flour. You can add more flour if its too sticky. Kneed dough on a flat surface covered with flour. Add more flour to the surface as needed. Maybe kneed for at least 10-15 minutes. Until the dough no longer sticks together on your hand.

4. Form the dough into a ball and coat with olive oil. Put in a covered container in a warm place. Warm is key. I sometimes run the oven for a little while, and then turn the oven off and put it in a pot. Let it sit for at least one hour. Two hours works too. The Longer the better. The dough should double in size.

5. Punch the dough, and cut in half. This pizza recipe will make two pizzas.

6. Oil a pizza pan with butter or margarine. And dust it with cornmeal. The cornmeal will adhere to the grease. And then spread out the dough on the pan.

7. Layer pizza sauce (or you could take tomato paste, add some water, salt, herbs if you want). Top with mozzarella cheese. Then add diced red pepper, red onion, pineapple, and the kung pao chicken (recipe bellow)

8. Cook pizza in the oven at 400 F for 20-30 minutes. Whenever the pizza starts to get that golden brown colour.

kung pao chicken:

Take any cut of deboned chicken and marinate in something spicy (cayenne, or sriracha sauce), soy sauce, garlic, white wine or rice vinegar. About 1 tbsp each. After marinating cook chicken in a frying pan. You can add cornstarch to the sauce to think it a little and help it adhere to the chicken.

Warm Chicken and Pineapple Salad

Warm Chicken and Pineapple Salad

This was inspired by a Michael Smith recipe. It was delicious. I cooked all the elements in a cast iron pan, as I don't have a grill. Chicken breast, pineapple, orange bell pepper, red onion, snap peas, cilantro... with some oil and a bit of salt. Fantastic. All that great caramelized flavour is what it's all about.

ingredients:

chicken breast (or thigh would work)
fresh pineapple (sliced)
orange peppers
red onion

cilantro

directions:

1. Cut a whole pineapple in slices, or buy pineapple sliced into rings. Chop your pepper into fairly sizable chunks, as we will grill or fry it, and de-seed. Cut red onion into thick slices, maybe 1 inch thick.

2. Take the chicken, pineapple, peppers, and red onion and grill all at the same time. Or do them in a cast iron pan if you don't have a grill. Flip them all so they cook on both sides. They will all cook at different rates. The onion and peppers should get done first. While the pineapple and chicken will take longer.

3. Once everything is off, and a little cooled down, chop them into smaller bit size pieces. Almost like a stir-fry. And mix together in a bowl. Add in some chopped cilantro and toss. This recipe doesn't even need any dressing because the juices from everything should be enough. You could add a little salt or pepper maybe if you choose. But I like the freshness of just these grilled veggies and fruit complemented with the chicken.

Butter Chicken with Cucumber, Mint and Pineapple Salad

Butter Chicken with Cucumber. Mint and Pineapple Salad

Butter chicken has to be the most famous Indian dishes outside of India. But from what I've heard it's not actually called Butter Chicken there... or at least parts of India, but either way it's a yummy dish and I don't care. Butter Chicken is probably best with boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you could also use chicken breast if you want to be healthier.

ingredients:

1 - 1/2 pound chicken thighs
1/4-1/2 cup cream
tomato paste or 1 can diced tomatoes

1 onion
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
pinch of salt
1/4-1/2 cup butter

1/4-1/2 cup yogurt

1 cucumber
handful of fresh mint
1/2 a pineapple

directions:

1. Mix yogurt with cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper. Cover this yogurt mixture on to the chicken thighs. Then bake chicken thighs in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

2. Chop up onions, and sautee them in a frying pan until they start to get caramelized. Then toss in your cayenne, cumin, curry powder, coriander into the onions and cook for a few minutes to reinvigorate your spices. Toss in some tomato paste, or canned tomatoes, and cook down until tomatoes seem cook. Transfer mixture to a food processor, or blender, or use a hand blender, and blend til smooth.

3. Mix in some cream and butter until the mixture to help make it creamy and velvety. Then put in your cooked chicken thighs and let them cook out a little more in the sauce.

4. Serve butter chicken over rice. And a great salad to accompany it would be some chopped pineapple, cucumber and mint. Dress is with a little vinaigrette or keep it plain.

Hungarian Chicken Meatballs with Raw Zucchini Salad

I think the only that makes these meatballs Hungarian is there is paprika in the sauce. Zucchini salad was amazing! So fresh and crisp.