Coconut Chicken Curry (Massaman Curry)

We tried this recipe for freezer meal night and I'm in love!  My kids even gobbled it up which was magical too.  I think a lot of people hear curry and they think spicy but curry is one of those recipes you can easily tweak to make it perfect for your preference.  My husband and I just added red chili flakes to spice our up and let the kids enjoy a non-spicy meal :)  This is a nice hearty meal with potatoes and chicken and a yummy nutty curry sauce.  Enjoy!

Massaman Curry with Chicken

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken thighs or breasts, diced
2 T. coconut oil
2 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cans coconut milk
4 T. Thai red curry paste
2 tsp. fresh ginger paste (or to taste)
1 tsp lemongrass paste (or to taste)
4 T. lemon juice
3 T. fish sauce (or to taste)
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1-2 cups water
red chili flakes (to taste)
chopped peanuts (optional)
Cooked Botan or Jasmine rice

Stove Top Instructions:
Cook chicken. Chop and set aside. In a large stock pot heat coconut oil and add diced vegetables. Cook over medium heat, stirring often to coat veggies in oil, for about 15 minutes or until veggies begin to soften. 

In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, pastes, lemon juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, chicken bouillon, and peanut butter.  Pour sauce over veggies.  Add water and chicken. Add chili flakes if desired.  Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or until veggies are tender.  Server over rice and top with chopped peanuts and extra red chili flakes if desired.

 

OR...

Crock Pot Instructions:
Heat coconut oil and add to bottom of a large crock pot.  Add chicken and vegetables and stir to coat.  Combine coconut milk, pastes, lemon juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, bouillon, peanut butter, water and chili flakes.  Pour over chicken and veggies.  

Cook in crockpot on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through (use thermometer for best indication) and vegetables are tender.  The sauce will reduce and thicken some while cooking.  Serve over jasmine or botan rice and top with chopped peanuts and extra chili flakes if desired.

OR...

Freezer Meal Instructions:
Dice and chope chicken, onions, bell pepper, carrots and potatoes.  Place in a gallon sized freezer bag. 

In a medium bowl combine all remaining ingredients (except water, peanuts, and rice) and whisk until well combined.  Pour sauce over chicken and veggies in bag. Label and freeze.

When ready to serve: Add contents of bag to large crockpot with 1-2 cups water.  Cook on low 7-8 hours or until chicken is cooked through (use thermometer for best indication) and vegetables are tender.  The sauce will reduce and thicken some while cooking.  Serve over jasmine or Botan rice and top with chopped peanuts and extra red chili flakes if desired.

Autumn Squash Soup

Many of you know that I'm obsessed with Panera Bread's Autumn squash soup! So yummy!! I've tried several recipes over the years and this is as close as I can get.  I've taken my favorite parts of several different recipes and mixed them together.  I think it comes pretty close! I've also adapted it for my freezer meal workshop too so make it and store it away for a busy night. Give it a try!

Autumn Squash Soup (Panera Bread Copy Cat)

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (apx. 2 lbs.) Peeled and chopped into 1 in. cubes

1 small onion, diced

3 small carrots (or 2 large), chopped

1 golden delicious apple, chopped

3 tsp. chicken bouillion (if making vegetarian use vegetable base)

3 cups water (don't add to freezer meal until ready to cook)

2 cups apple juice or cider

½ tsp. curry powder

¼ tsp. cinnamon

½ cup pumpkin puree

¼ cup butter (cubed)

1 T. brown sugar (or more to taste)

Salt to taste

1 cup heavy cream (don't add to freezer meal until ready to serve)

Instructions:
Peel, core and chop butternut squash and place in a large stock pot. Chop onion, carrots, and apple and add them to the pot as well.  Add all remaining ingredients except for the heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until veggies are tender. 

Using an immersion blender- blend ingredients until smooth.  If you don’t have an immersion blender you can mash up ingredients as best you can with a potato masher and carefully place them in a regular blender until smooth. Stir in heavy cream.  Top with toasted pumpkin seeds or candied pecans if desired.

OR

Freezer Meal Instructions:

Peel, core and chop butternut squash and place in a gallon sized freezer bag. Chop onion, carrots, and apple and add them to the bag.  Add all other ingredients to the bag and seal.  Double bag and label.

When ready to serve, combine contents of bag with 3 cups of water in a large crock pot and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until veggies are all tender.  

 

Using an immersion blender- blend ingredients until smooth.  If you don’t have an immersion blender you can mash up ingredients as best you can with a potato masher and carefully place them in a regular blender until smooth. Stir in heavy cream. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds if desired

Pork Roast with Chili Plum Sauce

My mom got this recipe from a Church activity when I was younger and we've had it for Christmas dinner ever since (usually accompanied by funeral potatoes...which you can see in the background here!) Anyway, for whatever reason I decided to make this for Easter instead of the usual ham...it was just one of those pregnancy food decisions! :-)

The sauce might sound strange at first but it's really like a sweet bbq sauce. In fact my 2 year old who usually hates any kind of meat gobbled hers all up and had seconds since it was covered in this sauce! So that was kind of a nice surprise.

When I made it this last time I realized I don't know why I only make this on special occasions since it is so easy! I think this would also make a great crock pot recipe and I might try it that way next time and let you know how it goes!

Pork Roast With Chili Plum Sauce

Roast:
3-4 lb. pork roast or tenderloin
garlic powder
chili powder

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
2 tsp. chili powder (or to taste)
1 1/2 cup plum jelly (good subs are red currant jelly or grape jelly)
1 T. apple cider vinegar

Instructions:
Place roast in large roasting pan. Rub with garlic and chili powder. Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cover roast using half of the sauce. Continue baking roast for 1 hour or until meat is done. Serve the other half of the sauce with dinner and top each piece as desired! That's it...pretty easy!

Or...
Freezer Meal Instructions:

Rub roast with garlic powder and chili powder to taste.  Place inside a large gallon sized freezer bag. And seal.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients until smooth.  Pour sauce into a quart sized freezer bag and seal.  Place roast bag and sauce bag inside another gallon sized freezer bag, seal and label.

When ready to serve: thaw in refrigerator overnight.  Line a large roasting pan with foil and place tenderloin  in pan.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour.  Brush with ½ of sauce and continue baking for 1 to 1.5 hours or until meat is done.  Use a thermometer to prevent over or under cooking meat.  Heat other ½ of sauce and serve with sliced tenderloin as desired.  This goes great with funeral potatoes!