Peanut Butter Bars (Gluten Free)

Peanut Butter Bars are always a hit.  I've been making them since I was in high school, and there's never been a time when they weren't VERY well received.

This time around, I made them gluten-free so that I wouldn't leave out the gluten-free people that they would be shared with.  My recipe usually includes graham cracker crumbs.  I subbed in cashew meal and coconut flour instead.  If you want to make them the regular way, just replace the same amount of graham cracker crumbs back in.

What you need:

Base:
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
scant cup EACH cashew meal (or almond) and coconut flour
2+ cups powdered sugar

Ganache Topping:
8 ounces chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate *see note
4 ounces heavy cream


Mix together peanut butter and butter until smooth.  Stir in the cashew meal and coconut flour.  Add the powdered sugar and stir until the mixture becomes a thick mass.  It WILL be very crumbly at first, but stick with it and it will form a dough-like mass.  Pat this into a deep-sided container (I actually used two smaller Pyrex containers this time, but a 11 x 7 inch pan works perfectly.  I've also done 13 x 9, but you will have thinner bars).

Now, for the ganache topping:  Melt the chocolate and the heavy cream together over a double broiler (place a metal bowl on top of a sauce pan with water in it to make your own double broiler).  Once smoothly mixed, pour over the top of the peanut butter mixture.  Refrigerate for an hour or two before cutting into bars.  Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!



*I usually get Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips- cheaper than the bars of bittersweet, but nicer quality than regular chocolate chips.  I was stuck with Tollhouse this time around, which works fine.

Thai Curry Chicken with Butternut Squash

This is an easy recipe to put together on a weeknight... especially since I used a store-bought jar of Thai Red Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's.  You can sub in a different sauce if you want, or play around with making your own- coconut milk and a lot of curry powder would probably do the trick.

Lately, I've been making a lot of chicken in the oven while I do some sort of vegetable on the stove. Super easy, and you don't have to monitor two frying pans at once. A two and a half pound bag of chicken tenderloins lasts us for three or four dinners, and I just make new vegetables to go with the leftovers to mix it up.

I had leftover cooked butternut squash from last week when I made Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup.  Some of it got used up over the weekend when I made some nachos and added chunks of cooked squash to them (give it a try!), but I still had a over a quarter of my large squash.  And I had this jar of sauce that I bought on a whim sometime earlier.

So I went with it.  You could leave out the butternut squash if you want, but it really added to the dish.  In fact, next time I'll be adding more.  Because I had a lot of chicken, I added a few spices.  But if you had less chicken, there'd be no need and you could just stick with the jar of sauce.  You could also jazz it up with some onion, fresh ginger, and/or jalapenos if you have the time or inclination.

What you need:

2 1/2 pounds of chicken tenderloins
I (11 ounce) jar of Thai Red Curry Sauce
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
~2 cups cubed cooked butternut squash (or more, but that's all I had on hand.  Next time I'll be adding more)

Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix everything but the squash together in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan or casserole dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Add squash and mix it in.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (internal temp registers 165 F if you use a thermometer).  Or cut into a couple and make sure the juices run clear.  Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

It was a rainy fall day- perfect for soup!  This soup is easy to make and delicious.  I made sauteed mushrooms and some Quick Sauteed Seafood to top it.

What you need:

1 medium butternut squash (I actually had a pretty big one, but only used a little over half of it in the soup)
1 teaspoon coconut oil (or oil olive or butter)
1 medium-large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
~3 tablespoons curry powder (or a red curry paste would be better... but I didn't have any!)
4 cups chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) light coconut milk (or 1/2 of a can of regular.  Trader Joe's only had light, but I usually get the regular and use half.  The light stuff is just watered down regular anyway)

Start by roasting the squash:
      You can do this a few different ways.  I always bake/roast it.  This time I did it whole.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (no need to preheat).  Poke your squash a few times with a fork.  Bake for about an hour and a half, two hours if you have a large squash.  The squash should be tender.

Now, for the rest:
      Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add in the onion, ginger, and garlic.  Saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add in the curry powder.  Stir that around for a minute or two and let it get nice and fragrant.  Add a little chicken broth and deglaze the pan.  Add the rest of the chicken broth and the roasted squash and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add in the coconut milk.  Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender (just be careful if using a regular one... might want to let it cool a bit!).

Top with green onions, some crushed red pepper, greek yogurt, or whatever else you feel like.  Or this Sauteed Seafood recipe.  Or leave it plain, 'cause that's tasty too.

Seafood Curry

A super flavorful curry loaded with veggies, seafood, and spice.  Serve over rice, or in a bowl with a spoon.  I used a Panang Curry Paste by Taste of Thai, but you could definitely substitute in some other pre-made curry paste.  This makes a big pot of curry that can feed a crowd, or just leave you with plenty of tasty leftovers.

What you need:

1-2 teaspoons Chili Oil or Olive Oil

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh Ginger

1 medium/small Onion, chopped

5-6 cloves of Garlic, peeled and chopped

1-2 hot peppers (optional- I'm not sure what kind I used because I got them from the farm here and wasn't even a name, but I think that jalapeno or thai chilis would be good)

1 packet Panang Curry Paste (1.75 ounces) or another type of curry paste- just be sure to get paste, not sauce

1-2 teaspoons Thai Fish Sauce

1-2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar

2-3 teaspoons Curry Powder (optional, but I like to have a lot of spice and thought it needed this)

1-2 teaspoons Coriander 

1 medium Carrot, sliced thinly

3 large leaves of Chard, stalks and leaves sliced and separated

8 ounces Cremini Mushrooms, sliced

1 can Coconut milk

1-2 cups broth (you can use seafood, chicken, or vegetable)

3/4 pound peeled shrimp

3/4 pound fish, cut into bite size pieces (I used one piece of Swai and one piece of Grouper, because I had them in my freezer and wanted to use them up.  You can use whatever type of white fish that you like- tilapia, red snapper, cod, etc)

2-3 fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 can diced tomatoes (mine were fire roasted with garlic)

2-3 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with a little water

3-4 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat the chili oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, garlic, and ginger.  Stir and let cook for 1-2 minutes, then add: the hot peppers, curry paste, fish sauce, vinegar, other spices, carrot, and sliced chard stalk.  Saute for a couple minutes and add the mushrooms and chard leaves.  Stir and add the coconut milk and broth.  Bring to a boil and add the fish and shrimp and tomatoes (fresh and canned). Bring back to a boil and reduce heat to medium low.  Let simmer until fish and shrimp are cooked through.  The fish should be falling apart and both should be opaque.  Add the cornstarch and cook for another minute, until the sauce thickens.  Stir in the green onion.

Serve over rice or with some bread for sopping up the sauce.  Enjoy!

Coconut and Peach Tilapia and Shrimp

Super simple and pretty healthy.  Not a bad combo.  I served it on top of a salad with fresh lettuce, arugula, sliced radishes, avocado, and nectarines with some goat cheese and nectarine filo pastries (and made a light fruit vinaigrette to go on top of the greens).  Yum.

What you need (this is going to make enough for 4-6 people... we have lots of leftovers):

3/4 pound tilapia
3/4 pound shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
1/2 packet coconut milk powder (or try using 1/2-1 cup coconut milk)
2-3 tablespoons unsweetened dried coconut
2-3 tablespoons peach nectar
1-2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (I used a raspberry flavored version because it's what I had, but I don't think it really matters)
1 tablespoon Ponzu (basically lime-y soy sauce, so if you don't have it, try a mix of lime juice and soy sauce)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix everything together.  Let marinate for 30 minutes or so.  Heat oven to High Broil.  Pour everything onto a baking sheet (include marinade).  Broil for 10-12 minutes until cooked through.

*If you want, you can broil the shrimp and tilapia without the marinade so that they get more of a "crust".  But I recommend that you still keep the marinade and bring it to a boil so that it can be served alongside as  a sauce.

Enjoy!

Speedy Pork and Pumpkin Curry

I got home at 5:45.  This was on the table by 6:15.  Yep, it's that quick.  And REALLY good.  And pretty healthy.  And it makes a lot, so you'll have leftovers for when you really don't have time to cook.  What more can you ask for?

I served it with some of my leftover vegetable salad, leftover cooked rice, and pita bread.   Without convenient leftovers, you'd still have time to cook up some rice while the curry is cooking and maybe roast a quick pan of asparagus or make green salad.  

What you need:

1/4 cup curry paste (I used Patak's mild curry)

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 teaspoon chili powder (optional)

1 teaspoon black pepper

2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

3 tablespoons minced garlic (or substitute garlic powder)

1/2 cup chopped onion

3-5 dried hot red Thai peppers

1 package (with the 2 tenderloins, each 3/4-1 pound) pork tenderloin, chopped into 1 inch chunks 

2 tablespoons Ketjap Manis

1 cup coconut milk

1-2 cups milk, water, or something along those lines (I used a light soy milk to cut calories and I also sometimes use unsweetened almond milk in things like this.  If you are not watching calories too carefully, you could also just use more coconut milk for a richer version.)

1/4-1/3 tomato sauce or ketchup 

Start by heating a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the curry paste, coriander, chili powder, black pepper, ginger, garlic, onion, and red peppers and let cook for a few minutes.  The mixture should become fragrant and slightly browned.  Add the pork and let this brown for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the pumpkin and continue to stir-fry.  If the mixture is too dry and starting to stick too much, go ahead and add the Ketjap Manis and a splash of water to help it along.  Once the pumpkin is slightly browned and beginning to soften, add the coconut milk, the Ketjap Manis (if you haven't already), the milk/ water, and the tomato sauce.  Reduce heat and let simmer until both the pumpkin and pork are cooked through (the pork can be just slightly pink in the middle.  Taste test and add a bit more Ketjap Manis, garlic powder, or even some regular curry powder if you find it lacking. 

Enjoy!

Thai Pumpkin Curry (Sauce or Soup)

I made this as a sauce for the Slow-Roasted Salmon I posted, but it could also serve as a thick soup as a light main course (or poured over a salad of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, which is what I ate for lunch the next day after the salmon).  

The first step to this recipe is roasting some vegetables.  This can be done ahead of time and the roasted vegetables can be kept in the fridge until you're ready to make the rest of it.

Roasted Vegetables:

3 cups chopped fresh pumpkin (about 1 and a half inch square pieces)

1 large carrot, chopped into 1 inch slices

1 medium-large onion, quartered

4-6 small green Thai hot peppers

Salt and pepper OR curry powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 13 x 9 pan with olive oil and spread the vegetables across it.  Spray them again and season with salt and pepper OR curry powder.  Roast vegetables until soft and slightly browned.  You may need to take the peppers out early so that they don't get too crispy.  Set vegetables aside while you start the rest of the curry.

What You Need For the Curry:

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger 

Couple of cloves minced garlic (or more)

2-3 Tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste

1 teaspoon EACH Garam Masala and ground Coriander

1/2 can coconut milk

Ketjap Manis OR Soy Sauce

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 cup Milk

Roasted Vegetables (from above instructions)

2-4 dried Thai hot peppers

1 teaspoon Kaffir Lime Leaves

1 can minced clams, NOT drained

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced red peppers.

Start by skimming off a glob of the thick coconut cream from the top of the coconut milk can.  Add this to a large greased pot along with the ginger, garlic, curry paste, garam masala, and coriander.  Fry these together until the spices become fragrant and have browned slightly.  Add in the rest of the coconut milk (altogether using half of the can), a couple splashes of Ketjap Manis or soy sauce, the fish sauce, milk, roasted vegetables. and dried hot peppers.  Let simmer for a bit (maybe 5-10 minutes), then use an immersion blender to puree everything.  Add some water if necessary.  Add the Kaffir lime leaves, can of clams, the mushrooms, and red peppers (and possibly more water, depending on how thick you want it).  Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.  You also may want to add a bit more Katjap Manis, fish sauce, or some garlic powder after a taste test.

Enjoy on its own or as a sauce for the salmon!