Simple Stir Fry

Tags

dinner, food, foodie, health food, healthy eating, lunch, pasta, peppers, postaday2011, prawn, recipe, rice, sauteed vegetables, shrimp, side dishes, stir fry, supper, vegetables

Stir Fry 101
Like a curry, stir fry is so versatile and easy. It’s a perfect dinner that’s quick to prep andhealthy. With fresh vegetables more readily available, stir fry is one of my favorite Spring dinners. One pan for dinner makes clean-up easy too!

Simple Shrimp Stir Fry

1. Heat pan, then warm oil. Add seasoning.
Suggestions: vegetable oil, sesame oil, olive oil, canola oil, etc…
Suggestions: garlic, ginger, shallots, onions…

2. Add meat or protein source and cook until done.
Suggestions: beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, scallops, lobster, tofu or tempeh

3. Add veggies and cook.
Suggestions: bell peppers, baby corn, carrots, green beans, Italian beans, squash, broccoli, snow peas, water chestnuts, alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts,

 4. Add sauce and stir well.
Suggestions: white wine, red wine, liquid aminos, teriyaki, brown sauce, vinaigrette

5. Toss in rice or pasta or serve over rice or pasta.
Suggestions: basmati, brown rice, angel hair, penne, couscous, barley, etc…

6. Garnish
Suggestions: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, mustard seed, parsley, cilantro…

I prepared mine with shrimp, ginger, red bell peppers, orange bell peppers, baby corn, Italian green beans, water chestnuts, carrots and white white.

What is your favorite stir fry combo? 

Potato & Spinach Curry

Tags

curry dish, dinner, food, foodie, lunch, meal, postaday2011, potato, potato curry, potatoes, recipe, side dish, side dishes, spinach, supper, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

There are tons of herbs and spices you can use in any curry. I like to play around with different tastes, so even if the main ingredients are the same, the flavor can be completely different. Hubster loves potatoes, but not spinach; mixed together as a curry though and he loves it. I would eat this dish as a main dish, Hubster prefers it as a side.

Potato & Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, olive oil, 3 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, 1/4 tsp. red chili powder, 1/4 tsp. turmeric, 1/8 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 tsp. cumin, 1/8 tsp. coriander, 1/8 tsp. ground fennel,  pinch of cardamom, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Bring water and 2 bay leaves to boil in a medium sauce pan. Peel and cube potatoes, lightly boil in water for about 4 minutes In a frying pan add all herbs and spices (except salt) and dry roast over low heat. Add potato cubes, olive oil and tomato paste and cook until potatoes are Remove from heat and make sure potatoes are well coated. Allow dish rest for a few hours (you can skip this step if you don’t want to wait). Reheat potatoes and toss in spinach leaves until wilted. Serve hot over basmati rice.

What is on your menu tonight?

Apple Smoked Turkey Tenderloin

Tags

apple, dinner, entree, food, foodie, grill, grilling, lunch, main dish, marinade, meat, postaday2011, recipe, supper, tenderloin, turkey, turkey tenderloin

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe, so let me share last night’s dinner. I had planned to serve a few slices of these turkey tenderloins over a bed of sautéed spinach, lightly drizzled with a glaze and a side of tarragon pear rice. Unfortunately the fresh spinach at the supermarket didn’t look so… fresh, and my turkey tenderloins were ready to be cooked. So today I skipped the spinach and the glaze… Hopefully next time, the spinach will look better and it’ll have a nice picture to update this post.

Apple Smoked Turkey Tenderloin

Ingredients:
2 turkey tenderloins, 4 c. sparkling apple cider, 1/3 c. honey, 1/8 c. smoke flavoring, 1 Tbsp. chopped sage, 1 small shallot minced, 1 tsp. powdered garlic, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Put tenderloins in zipper bag and set aside. Mix together remaining ingredients. Pour marinade in zipper bag over turkey tenderloins, cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place tenderloins and marinade in casserole dish. Insert meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Place in oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 165°F. Cover and let rest before serving.

*This is also fantastic grilled.

What is for dinner at your place tonight?

Shrimp & Asparagus Linguini

Tags

asparagus, dinner, food, foodie, linguini, pasta, postaday2011, prawn, recipe, seafood, shrimp, supper

Hubster is stuck in traffic on the interstate, and I’m too hungry to wait. So tonight I quickly whipped up shrimp for myself, while the chicken is in the oven for him.

Shrimp & Asparagus Linguini

Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp, 1 bunch of asparagus, 1 minced shallot, 23 Tbsp. butter, 1/4 c. Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 lb. linguini, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Cook and drain linguini according to package directions. Cut asparagus into smaller pieces and set aside. Peel and devein shrimp. Melt butter in sauté pan and brown shallots. Add shrimp and asparagus and cook until shrimp is pink and asparagus is tender. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and allow sauce to thicken a bit. Serve over hot linguini and garnish with fresh grated Pecorino Romano.

*I toss the linguini in the pan, to coat in the sauce, before plating.

*This is excellent served with homemade linguine or fettuccine.

UPDATE:
My mom was able to come home from the hospital this afternoon! She’s not out of the woods yet, but is doing much better. I want to thank my friends and readers for all the positive thoughts and prayers you’ve been sending our way!

We’re half-way through the week, I’m hoping the second half will be much better than last week!

What positive thoughts and prayers do you need sent your way?

Hubster’s Beef Stew

Tags

beef, beef stew, carrots, celery, crock pot, dinner, food, hearty meal, lunch, meat & potatoes, meat and potatoes, postaday2011, potatoes, recipe, shallots, slow cooker, supper

Monday… does anyone really love Monday? I don’t and especially after DST Spring ahead… Tonight, I needed to whip Hubster up something hearty, simple and easy. Once again, something I could just prep and forget… This is personally my busiest month at work.

Hubster's Beef Stew

 

Ingredients:
cubed steak, 2 shallots, 2 Tbsp. butter, 4 cubed potatoes, 5 sliced carrots, 1 bunch celery (chopped), 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. celery seed, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 2 c. white wine, water, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt.

Directions:
Melt butter in stock pot, add shallots and meat and brown. Add wine, bay leaves, celery seed and mustard seed, bring to a boil. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, salt pepper and cover with water. Place lid on pot and simmer for a few hours. Discard bay leaves. Serve hot.

Hubster doesn’t like gravy in his stew, but you can take the broth and thicken it with cornstarch or flour.

Tonight, my meat & potatoes man had his meat & potatoes and ate it too…
Serve over alone, over rice, with biscuits or bread. Hubster had his stew with a big chunk of Irish Soda Bread. I used a semi-sweet whit table wine for this recipe.

What are Mondays like for you?

Coconut Curry Shrimp

Tags

appetizers, basmati rice, coconut, coconut curry, curry, dinner, food, foodie, lunch, main course, main dish, postaday2011, recipe, shrimp, side dishes, supper

I love coconut and I love shrimp… Hubster doesn’t like either. After a long weekend, I decided to indulge  in two of my favorite ingredients (and cooked him something different tonight).

Coconut Curry Shrimp

 

Coconut Curry Shrimp Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp, 1 minced shallot, 2 c. coconut milk, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1/2 c. tomato sauce, 1/2 c. dry white wine, 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro, 1 Tbsp. curry powder, 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt

Coconut Curry Shrimp Directions:
Peel & devein shrimp and set aside. Add olive oil and shallot to pan and sauté until soft. Add garlic, ginger and curry and warm. Add tomato sauce, coconut milk, salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Stir in cilantro. Serve over basmati rice.

*Serve in small ramekins or dishes as an appetizer.

One of my favorite things about shrimp is that is how quickly it cooks.

What was for dinner tonight?

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice

Tags

dinner, food, foodie, fruit & nut, fruit and nut, gourmet, lunch, pistachio, pomegranate, postaday2011, recipe, rice, rice vinegar, side, side dish, supper, vinegar

I read a post where a guy made “Mexican Pom and Almond Rice“, it looked good, but I had a few hang ups about the side dish. Pomegranates aren’t really Mexican, so the pairing just didn’t work for me even though I love almonds. Also the recipe was missing a little oomph! I modified the recipe to focus of the pairing of Asian products…

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice

This was a delicious side dish I prepared, just as appealing to the eye as it is the palate… The textures are fun as they swirl across your tongue and the colors of the unusually paired ingredients dance for your eyes.

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice Ingredients:
1 c uncooked rice, 2 c. chicken stock, rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. white rice vinegar, 1 c. pomegranate seeds, 1 c. halved pistachios, chili powder, garlic powder and fresh cracked black pepper

Pomegranate Pistachio Rice Directions:
Place uncooked rice and chicken stock in pot, cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer until rice is done. Remove from heat, stir in chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper and rice vinegar. Combine all ingredients and serve hot.

What unusual ingredients have you paired recently?