Two For One

I betcha thought I forgot about ya'all.  Nah.  I couldn't do that!  I've just been cutting back on my 'screen time'.  I've been noticing that I've really been having trouble concentrating lately and feel 'foggy brained' a lot.  When I spend less time on the computer it seems to clear a bit.

Anyway, I've got something great for you today!  Two recipes in one post!  If you're the type of person who enjoys hearing about recipes then this is for you.  If not, I know you've probably already stopped reading and are moving on to the next blog.  But, that's OK.  I love you anyway.   And, I'll be back with some non-recipe posts very soon!

So, for those of you still here, I tried 2 new recipes this week.  Two!  This is huge for me.  I get stuck in a rut when it comes to meal planning....making the same things over and over.  And, while I see recipes quite often that look appealing & I think 'Gee!  I ought to try that.', if I don't have the stuff on hand I usually shelve the idea and forget about it.

But, I found 2 this week that really sounded yum.  For one recipe I already had everything I needed, and the other I was so intrigued by that I made a special grocery run to get the items I needed.  So, without further ado....

Recipe #1

Creamy Crab with Home-made Fettucini

Yup!  You read that correctly.  HOMEMADE fettucini!  For Christmas my in-laws bought me pasta maker attachments for my stand mixer.  And, this was attempt #2 at making my own pasta.  (The first was home-made pot pie noodles).  I'm still perfecting the art.  And, I won't take the time to explain it all now.  But, if you are curious, I think this tutorial does a great job explaining it.

From that same site I found this recipe for Spicy Chicken Pasta  and I followed it almost to a 't'.   I made a few small substitutions and changes.  Here's the recipe as I made it.

• 1 pound home-made fettucini
• 1 pack frozen (imitation) crab
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (I used slightly less than a whole jalepeno)
• 1-2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup light cream + 1 cup vegetable stock
• 4 oz (half a brick) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1½ teaspoons hot sauce
• 2½ teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

I sauteed the (thawed) crab in about 1-2 Tablespoons of butter for a minute or 2...just until heated through.  I set that aside and then in the same pan added 2 more Tablespoons of butter and sauteed the onion & peppers.  Then I set those aside.  Next, I added the last 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan along with the flour to create a roux.

To the roux I first added 1 cup vegetable stock and then the cream. I heated that mixture.  To that I added the cream cheese and once it was melted  I added the hot sauce and seasonings.  I continued to simmer on very low heat until it was thick and bubbly.  I then added back in the sauteed crab and veggies and the chopped roma tomatoes.  

Toss with cooked homemade fettucini.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was yummy!

 

Recipe #2

And, just last night I made another new recipe that I found in the Sunday News 'Food' section.  I love Indian food, so this one really caught my eye!  The author of the column said he found this recipe in a book called 'Slow Cooker Revolution'.  If all the recipes are as good as this one, I may need to add that cookbook to my list of books I'd like to own.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry 

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 T. olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (I used a heaping T. of pre-minced garlic in a jar)
• 2 T. ginger, minced (I used a heaping T. of powdered ginger)
• 2 T. curry powder  (Um.  Just realized I think I forgot this!  Might explain why it didn't taste as 'curry' as I expected)
• 1 T. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 1 (15 oz) can chick peas, drained
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 T. Minute tapioca
• 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 T. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• lime wedges

Combine onions, oil, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, and spices in a bowl.  Microwave 5-8 minutes until softened.  Transfer to a slow cooker.  Add chick peas, water, coconut milk and tapioca.  Mix well.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into the onion mix.  Cover and cook 6 hours on low.

Transfer chicken out, cool slightly, and shred into bite size pieces (It was SO tender!).  Add the tomatoes and raisins.  cover and heat 10 minutes.  Add the peas and shredded chicken and heat 10 minutes more.  Serve over rice.  Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Sorry.  No picture of this one.  But, trust me!  It's delicious!  I had leftovers for lunch today and it tasted even better the second time around.  I realize now after typing out the recipe that I missed the curry in my preparation.  How can I miss the curry in a Chicken curry recipe????  I even remember thinking it was strange that I hadn't put in any curry.  Duh!

I also almost forgot about the cilantro at the end.  If you like cilantro, you MUST do this.  It adds so much to the dish.