The Holiday Meal Planning Has Begun!

Yep...Thanksgiving, Christmas, my brother's birthday, and New Year's planning has begun, and since I'm up late I'm scouring the internet looking for some creative holiday dishes...I'm excited about what I'm seeing!

Stews and Soups: Peanut Butter Chicken Stew

Ingredients

2 medium yellow onions, diced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, cut in half, seeds and ribs removed (leave them in if you're feeling adventurous)
1 green pepper
2 bay leaves
1 thumb of ginger
4 cups water
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 4 pieces (reserve bones for poaching)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut into 4 pieces
2 smoked turkey necks
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1 tablespoon coconut  oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups roughly chopped canned and peeled tomatoes
2 teaspoon salt (divided)
1 pound spinach, tough stems removed, washed, drained, and chopped

Directions

Combine the onions, carrots, chilies, green pepper, ginger, and bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, smoked turkey neck, thigh bones (if reserved), and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the chicken thighs, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add the chicken breasts and simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is simmering, toast the peanuts in a small dry sauté pan over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. Let cool, then grind 1 cup of the toasted peanuts in a blender. Slowly add coconut oil until peanuts are blended into a smooth paste.  Set aside.

Remove the chicken, turkey neck, bones, and bay leaves from the broth. Set aside the chicken and turkey neck. Discard the bones and bay leaves.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the broth.  Strain the broth, separating the broth from any excess fat from the chicken. Set aside the broth and discard the fat.  Transfer the vegetables to a food processor, and puree the vegetables until smooth. Add a little bit of the broth as necessary to make the paste as smooth as possible.

Place the broth back into the pot with the vegetable puree and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat, and add the peanut puree, whisking until well combined. Add the, tomatoes, chicken, and turkey neck, and simmer until heated through.

Remove from the heat. Add the spinach and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir until the spinach is wilted.

NOW LET'S GET COOKING!

Rejoojing the Recipes...

I'm in the process of tweaking all of the recipes on this blog to make them healthier. I'm living a healthier lifestyle, so leaving some of these up as is would be quite hypocritical of me. 

I'm also going back and re-reading the recipes that are up and realizing I hit submit too soon on some of these posts! YIKES!  I'm so sorry for that! Thank you so much for dropping by and commenting! New recipes are on the way soon...

Also, thank you so much for stopping by! Don't forget to like us on Facebook. I can't believe my humble little page has reached 1000+ likes. Thank you oh so much for the <3 nbsp="" p="">

NOW LET'S GET COOKING!

My Favorite Things: Mini Taco Bowls

I found this recipe, and it has revived my love of all things made in a muffin pan! A couple changes that I would make:

1.  Corn tortilla instead of flour tortilla;
2.  Sour cream instead of ranch dressing; and
3.  Add guacamole to the mix.

DELISH!

My Favorite Things: Mini Taco Bowls

Vidoe of the Day: Interview with Chef Ming Tsai and Others

Chef Ming Tsai should have been on this season of Iron Chef and was screwed last season, IMHO. Any chef that scores a guest spot on Arthur, one of the greatest cartoons ever to grace PBS, should definitely be an Iron Chef! I'm still angry on his behalf. :-/

Sensational Sides: Momma's Potato au Gratin

Ingredients

2-1/2 pounds potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups of heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 pyrex with butter flavored cooking spray.

Lay the peeled and sliced  potato in the prepared pyrex.

In a separate bowl whisk together the melted butter, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and heavy cream.

Pour the cream mixture over the potato.  Be sure that the potato is completely submerged in the mixture. Use more cream if necessary.

Cover the baking dish with foil and cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Place the pyrex on a baking sheet to catch any of the cream mixture that may bubble over.

Remove the foil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place back in the oven uncovered for 20 minutes or until the potato is fork tender.

NOW LET'S GET COOKING!

Sensational Sides: Steamed Red Cabbage

Ingredients

4 strips of bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 green bell pepper
1 pkg frozen honey glazed carrot from Jolly Green Giant, thawed
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
1 small head of red cabbage
1 pkg Sazon

Directions

Fry bacon until crispy, and set aside.

In the same pan melt butter. Saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper. Do not allow garlic to burn.  Cook until onions are translucent.

Add carrots and glaze to the saute. Cover and continue to cook until carrots are heated through.

Add salad dressing and Sazon to the saute, and stir to combine.

Add finely chopped cabbage, stir to combine.  Allow cabbage to wilt but still crispy.

Remove from the heat, and add the crispy bacon to the steamed cabbage, toss to combine.

NOW LET'S GET COOKING!