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.

Crab Cakes and Arugula, Pear and Bacon Salad

Crab Cakes and Arugula, Pear and Bacon Salad

I always thought you needed expensive fancy fresh crab meat to make crab cakes. But you can really make them with the canned crab you can find in the store. Maybe they would be better if they were all fresh and fancy, but you are gonna break it all up anyways. So I don't think it's a big deal.

ingredients:

1 can of crab meat, or lump crab however you can find it
1 egg
1/2 red pepper

1 tbsp flour

salt
ground pepper

1/4 onion (optional)

arugula
bacon
pear
olive oil
white wine vinegar
salt
pepper

directions:

1. Take your crab meat out of the can, and place it in a mix bowl. Break it up with a fork so it isn't in chunks, but nice and flaky. Then add one egg (white and yolk) into the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix contents of the bowl together.

2. On a cutting board, finely dice red pepper and some onion (though the onion would be optional). Then add these to your bowl of crab. Instead of using bread crumbs to help bind our crab cakes, say like a burger, add a tbsp spoon or soon of flour. Add enough so that the mixture isn't soggy and wet.

3. Form crab mixture into balls that will be flattened into patty size. About the size of a kiwi, or maybe a little bigger. In a frying pan, heat some oil or butter on medium heat, and place your crab balls in pan. After places a ball into a pan, flatten it down a little with a spatula.

4. Cook crab cakes on both sides until you get a brown crust on both sides. To should help to ensure that the crab cake is cooked through.

5. For a side salad, mix some arugula with cut up pear, fried bacon, and an oil and vinegar dressing. You could even add some shavings of parmigiano-reggiano. Either way, arugula is a good accompaniment to the crab cakes.

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.

Lobster Flatbread

Lobster Flatbread

ingredients

1 lobster tail
handful of basil
1/2 red pepper
a pile of shredded mozzarella cheese
parmigiano-reggiano cheese
olive oil
salt
pepper
flatbreads (store bought) or you could make your own dough

directions

1. If your lobster tail isn't cooked, cook it, and then chop it into bit size pieces that would be appropriate on a pizza.

2. Dice some red pepper and basil to also put on the pizza.

3. Take your store bought flatbreads (which are quite the convenience) and drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

2. Top flatbread with shredded mozzarella cheese. Then your chopped lobster, red pepper, and basil. Sprinkle with parmigiano-reggiano cheese if you have it.

5. Put in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I always wanted to roast some peppers and peel the skin off. Had seen it done way too many times on TV that I had to try it. It was surprisingly easy. And delicious!

Butternut Squash Soup

With a broccoli tree growing up the middle...

Spicy Schezwan Tofu - The Ultimate Stir-fry

Spicy Schezwan Tofu - The Ultimate Stir-fry

Have you ever wanted to make a giant stir-fry? Here's how!

ingredients:

1 pack firm tofu
handful of bok choy
red pepper
snow peas
onions
garlic
soy sauce
honey
rice wine vinegar

bean sprouts
celery
carrots
onions

rice
soy sauce

directions:

1. Cut firm tofu into bit sized cubes. Maybe 1/2 an inch, by 1/2 an inch. Marinate tofu in soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and garlic over night if possible.

2. Cut bok choy into 1 inch chunks, and red pepper and snow peas into similar sized pieces.

3. In a large frying pan or wok, add in a little bit of oil. Then toss in your tofu. Add in some chopped garlic as well. Cook tofu until it starts to for a bit of a brown crust on the outside. Then toss in your vegetables. And toss the mixture until the vegetables are cooked through.

Chickpea Curry

Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

1 can Chickpeas
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper (Sometimes I will do orange instead)
1 Onion (white or yellow)
1 Garlic Clove
1 can Cocunut Milk (or 1/2 can)
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric (mostly for colour)
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
Salt
Olive Oil
Water

Instructions:

1. Dice up a red pepper, green pepper, and onion. Mash up some garlic. Add these elements into a frying pan, in perhaps some margarine. Add some salt to help release the water in the vegetables. Add 1 can of chickpeas. Then cover with water so everything is submerged. Cook on
medium heat.
2. After a while, the chickpeas will soften, you will see the skin start to peel off a bit. And the water will evaporate.
3. Once the water has evaporated, it is time to add the spices. Put in 1 tablespoon curry, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
(you can add more if you want it hotter but I really recommend this amount) and at least 1/2 can of coconut milk. (I usually don't shake the can up and just add the creamy half floating on the
top and chuck the rest)
4. Let that cook down, so the coconut milk and spices reduce and become sticky. Once sticky, add in a little olive oil and mix it together. (oil isn't necesarry but maybe helps bind it and give
it a little shine)
5. Serve with basmati rice.