Thai Coconut Vegetable Soup

The other day I was at the store picking up the ingredients to make a pot of Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup. I was reaching for bamboo shoots when I saw the coconut milk. That is when the wheels started turning, what if I added coconut milk to the soup? I got both and I just kept thinking. By the time I got home I had decided that adding coconut milk would make the soup more Thai style. So I did some research. Most of the soup recipes I saw included ginger, lemon grass, fish sauce, herbs (basil or cilantro), chili paste, and coconut milk. Well I did not have lemon grass but I had everything else. So I went for it. I think it turned out amazing. I used a combination of lemon and lime juice to compensate for the lemon grass. I would not call the soup authentic at all but it was surely delicious. I did keep the simple cooking method or the Hot and Sour Soup. It is pretty much a dump and stir recipe. Ready in 10 minutes. I loved all the Thai flavors of curry, fish sauce and ginger. I think next time I may peel and slice the ginger in thin threads. I think I would enjoy leaving it in the finished soup. I loved the creaminess of the coconut milk too. It really balanced all the red curry heat. This is another great soup option. I see making it again soon.

Thai Coconut Vegetable Soup

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Coconut oil spray

1/4 cup onions, diced

4 slices fresh ginger

1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped plus more for garnish

4 cups unsalted chicken stock

16 oz. package frozen stir fry vegetables (I used a sugar snap blend with carrots and mushrooms)

1 cup sliced mushrooms(I used reconstituted Shiitake, stem removed)

2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

2 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 – 2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tomato, seeded and cut into strips

13.66 oz. can lite coconut milk

1 green onion, sliced

1 jalapeno, sliced

Lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Spray a soup pot with coconut oil, sauté onions, ginger and 1 Tbsp. cilantro over medium high heat. When onions begin to soften add chicken stock. Bring chicken broth to a boil, add frozen veggies, mushrooms and turn off heat. Add remaining ingredients except jalapeno, remaining cilantro and lime wedges; stir to blend. Remove ginger slices. Serve garnished with jalapeno slices, additional cilantro and a lime wedge.

Butterfly Cheesecake Muffins

Dear sister just had a birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! She wanted to bring something to share at work since she had to be there on her birthday. I said I would make mini cheesecakes for her to bring. We have been making cheesecake muffins for years. You can make so many variations. I have shared a few on the blog already. These I wanted to make special so I set out to make them "springy". Sister loves butterflies so I wanted to use this cute pretzel idea I saw all over Pinterest. But I needed to find a way to make a green topping or field for them to sit on. That is when it came to me I could tint the sour cream topping from the Ultimate Cheesecake recipe. It worked perfectly. It also makes a great flat top on each muffin. This little technique is going to make for tons of other cute cheesecake muffins. Sister said the sour cream topping balances the other sweet ingredients. These little cuties are sweet because hidden inside is an Oreo and a Snickers bar. So with the pretzel and the candy inside and out this little muffin is salty and sweet. They are cute and tasty too! Perfect for any birthday or Easter event. I hope you will find a way to celebrate spring with this recipe.

Butterfly Cheesecake Muffins

Makes 24 to 28 muffins

Ingredients

1 pkg. Oreo thins

1 bag mini Snickers bars

3 (8oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese

3 eggs

1-1/4 cup Granulated Sugar, divided

1-1/8 tsp. Vanilla, divided

16 oz. light sour cream

16 drops green food coloring

1 bag Flipz white fudge covered pretzels

1 bag Easter M&Ms

1 bag peel and eat Fruit Punch Twizzlers, peeled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Place 1 Oreo thin in paper lined cupcake pan. Place a Snickers on each cookie and set aside. Cream the cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and beat until well mixed. Spoon cream cheese over each cookie until cup is 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile mix sour cream, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/8 tsp. vanilla and green food coloring adding drop by drop until desired green color is achieve and sugar is dissolved.

Remove muffins from oven and top with green sour cream mixture. Bake for 5 more minutes, remove from oven and let cool completely. Top each muffin with two pretzels spread just far enough apart for a row of M&Ms in between. Place one color of M&M to make the head of the butterfly. Place three of a different color below for the body. Poke two pieces of Twizzler string near the head for antennas. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Note: Be sure to let the muffins cool completely before decorating. Heat and moisture will affect the candy. Heat will make the coating melt. Moisture will make the candies caulk. For perfect muffins you may want to decorate just before serving.

Linking to:
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Pancake Tacos

This recipe was inspired by brown sugar bacon. I watched a few videos on the Brown Sugar Bacon BLT where they made this bacon. When I tried the bacon for myself it screamed pancakes to me. It has a sweet, salty, nutty flavor sort of like pecans. I knew it would be just delicious with pancakes. Well since I am taco obsessed right now I decided to use the pancakes for taco shells. All that was left was deciding on the rest of the fillings. Since it is pancakes and bacon then it should be breakfast right? So eggs? Maybe cheese? But what kind of cheese? And I can't forget the salsa! I decided on scrambled eggs, goat cheese and an apple salsa. After all goat cheese is mild and creamy and it goes well with eggs and apple. The scrambled eggs and goat cheese were so creamy, a great contrast to the crunchy bacon and apple salsa. The salsa turned out to be the biggest surprise, such a delicious combination. The honey, lemon, green onion, and cilantro really makes the apple salsa. It is the perfect crunchy topping for these pancake tacos. I can't wait to try it on a salad one day too. It is great with the bacon. I know both would make a great salad. Now believe me when I say this is a filling breakfast. Huge in fact, so get really hungry before you make it.

Pancake Tacos
Serves 2

Ingredients

Shake and Pour Pancake Mix

Apple Salsa:
1 pink lady apple, chopped
Juice of one lemon
1 green onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. honey
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste

8 slices low sodium center cut bacon
Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Butter, divided
4 eggs, beaten
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
Maple syrup, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Prepare pancake mix according to package directions and set aside.

Combine salsa ingredients and set aside.

Place bacon in a pan over medium heat. Cook until you start seeing a little brown color on the bacon (see first bacon photo), flip and sprinkle with brown sugar. Cook the second side until slightly brown, flip and sprinkle with brown sugar. Watch carefully the bacon will brown (or burn) fast now that it has brown sugar on it. Flip one more time to caramelize the sugar. Remove from pan and set on paper to drain.

In another non-stick pan, melt a little butter over medium heat. Pour enough pancake batter to make a 6" pancake. When you see bubbles on the surface of the pancake check to see if brown and flip. Cook until second side is brown. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and put in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter until you have four 6" pancakes.

In another non-stick pan, melt remaining butter over medium low heat. Add beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir eggs until soft curds form, continue to cook until eggs are set and remove from heat.

To assemble the tacos, start with a pancake, place two pieces of bacon inside, add a fourth of the eggs, top with crumbled goat cheese and apple salsa. Drizzle with a little bit of maple syrup.

after first flip with brown sugar sprinkle

with maple syrup drizzle

Linking to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Tornadough Alli: Throwback Thursday Link Party
Reasons To Skip The Housework: STH Link Party
The Lazy Gastronome - Taco Tuesday Blog Hop

Piri Piri Chicken

Have you ever heard of Piri Piri? It is Portuguese in origin and popular in South Africa. Recipes vary but the common ingredients are chilli, lemon, oil, red bell peppers and garlic. It is used as a sauce, marinade or seasoning. It was new to me when I saw a recipe for Mixed Grill with Spicy Piri Piri Sauce in a cookbook. But it soon became a favorite in our family. In a previous post, I shared a Father's Day meal where we used piri piri sauce on pork and beef. Well now there is a new restaurant in town call Boneheads that specializes in Piri Piri fish, chicken and shrimp. They have four different sauces ranging from mild to very hot. I have tried them all and they are delicious. I decide to try a twist on the Piri Piri Sauce recipe I had made in the past. I wanted to use birds eye chilies. I only used six even though I saw recipes that called for more. It turned out much spicier than the previous version. You could call this one hot and the other mild. The funny thing is that once grilled, the chicken is not hot at all. The fresh sauce has great heat and lingers on the tongue. But the grilled chicken has more sweetness of the red peppers than the spice of the birds eye chilies. It is so delicious! I chose to make some sides you might find at Boneheads or Nando's another popular Piri Piri restaurant chain. Both serve a spicy yellow rice. While only one serves a sweet soy broccoli. I loved this meal! It was a great healthy plate and the best part, I have more Hot Piri Piri Sauce for experimenting. I see Piri Piri Mayo and Piri Piri Mushrooms in my future. I hope you will put Piri Piri on your menu.

Piri Piri Chicken

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers

6 birds eye chilies* stems removed

4 Tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast

Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Combine bell peppers, birds eye chilies, lime juice, sugar, salt, garlic and cumin in blender; puree. Drizzle in olive oil and continue to blend until all ingredients are liquefied. Pour sauce into a Mason jar and store any leftovers in the frig. Add chicken to a zip top bag. Pour in enough sauce to cover chicken, squeeze out air and seal the bag; turn to coat the chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, marinade at least 30 minutes*. Remove chicken from marinade and season both side with salt. Grill chicken on a medium high grill about 6 minutes a side (time may vary depending on your grill) and serve with reserved sauce.

Note: You can make this sauce as mild or spicy as you like. Add jalapeno for a mild sauce, a serrano for a little more heat or use birds eye chilies for hot. If you want more heat add more peppers.

Marinating depends on the protein. If using pork and beef it can go for up to 8 hours; if using shrimp, fish or chicken it should not be marinated that long. Try 30 minutes.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Reasons To Skip The Housework: Skip The Housework Link Party
Memories By The Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: #tastytuesdays
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
The Diary of a Real Housewife: Friday Favorites
Mary's Kitchen: Real Food Friday

Men’s Club Coleslaw

My Dad has been a member of the Men's Club at church for many years. These special men from the church plan fundraising activities to do projects around the church. Most of the time the money is for materials and they provide the hard work and talent it takes to make the improvements. One of the fundraisers is an annual Chicken Char-broil. They start days in advance with prep work and then Sunday after church they sell plates with half a char-broiled chicken, dirty rice, coleslaw and a roll. I have always asked Dad how do they make the coleslaw? Can you get the recipe? See my family really doesn't have a coleslaw recipe to call it's own. So I would love to use the Men's Club recipe as our tradition. Dad says that he is usually doing other tasks but they make tubs of it at a time so he does not know the proportions. He said they use Miracle Whip, Wishbone Italian Dressing, sugar and garlic paste. They like to use the cross-cut cabbage because it is easier to get into the foam cups they serve it in. Well I have tried a number of times to make a small batch and failed. But I think I have finally got something delicious this time. This is not the official recipe of the Men's Club. It is my version. It has great garlic flavor which is unique in coleslaw. It is not too sweet, just right. I love how savory and how easy it is to prepare. I still hope to get the secret recipe one day. I just may have to volunteer to stir the tub in order to get it. In the meantime I am happy to use this as my recipe whenever coleslaw is in order. I hope you enjoy it too.

Men’s Club Coleslaw

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing

3 Tbsp. Wishbone Italian Dressing

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 clove garlic, grated

16 oz. coleslaw mix (cross-cut if available)

Directions

Combine all ingredients except coleslaw mix in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Stir until combined well and sugar has dissolved. Stir in coleslaw mix until well covered with dressing. Served chilled.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
My Pinterventures: Summer Salads Party
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Picnic Food

Thai Turkey Spaghetti Squash

I mentioned in the past that I have been experimenting with turning my Pork Noodle Salad recipe into a spaghetti squash dish. Well I have made it several times and I think I have settle on the final recipe. My struggles have been with the dressing and seasoning of the squash strands. I wanted them to have flavor but not be swimming in the dressing. I tried to use less dressing but then the squash was bland. The trick is to make the squash first, dress it with the dressing and set aside while everything else is prepared. That way the flavor has time to absorb into the squash. Then when serving try to drain as much of the dressing out as possible. It is delicious! I have made it with both turkey and pork, both are great. The meat has a spicy lightly sweet sauce. I love the combination of the hoisin and garlic chili paste in the sauce. This dish has all the flavor and texture of the original dish. In this case the spaghetti squash is a great substitute for rice noodles. I love all the fresh Thai garnishes too. You just can't beat the cilantro and onions with the savory, spicy, sweet, and tart flavors.

Thai Turkey Spaghetti Squash

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 cup red onion, sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1/2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. garlic chili paste

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey (or pork)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions

To prepare spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place cut side down in a microwave safe dish, add 1/4 cup of water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes (You may have to do each half separately, I do). When squash is cool enough to handle, pull the squash into spaghetti like threads.

In a small bowl prepare the dressing, combine the 1/4 cup vinegar and next 4 ingredients (through fish sauce) pour over squash strands toss well. Top with some of the red onion, green onions and cilantro, toss again and set aside.

Combine hoisin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic chili paste). Heat oil in a skillet, brown turkey seasoning evenly with salt and black pepper. Add hoisin mixture; continue to cook until well combined. Using a slotted spoon, divide squash into four bowls (or return to the squash shells) and top with turkey mixture. Garnish each bowl with more of the red onion, green onions, cilantro, and peanuts.

Linking to:
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Coriander, chervil & chives
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Mississippi Chicken Spaghetti

Growing up I was never served chicken spaghetti. It wasn't until college that my roommate mentioned she had it at a church social. That was the first time I had heard of it. It was many years later when I found a recipe and tried it myself. It is delicious. The recipe I normally make is cheesy; it has chicken, Velveeta, peppers, onions, cream of mushroom soup and spaghetti. A quite common recipe for chicken spaghetti. This post today is something very different. I found it in a company cookbook my Nannie gave my Mom. I copied it and it has been in my to try pile for a few years. This week I decided to make it on one of the days I was home working. I thought it would be great to have a pot of something I could eat from when I was too busy to cook. It was delicious! Much lighter than the recipe I usually make. It is so hard to describe this one. It has such an unique flavor; it is not BBQ or creole, but maybe related in a way. It is sweet and creamy, loaded with the trinity of celery, onion and peppers hence the creole reference. Then is has chili powder for spice, I think that is what makes it have a hint of BBQ flavor. I really enjoyed it. I did try to make it healthier than the recipe in the cookbook. I cut way back on the butter and used healthy options for the can soups. I took a short cut too and used a rotisserie chicken. It was a very hearty, comforting pasta meal. It was even better the next day. Believe or not it is great cold too. I will definitely keep this recipe in my recipe box.

Mississippi Chicken Spaghetti

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

6 stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 can reduced fat, low sodium, cream of mushroom soup

1 can reduced fat, low sodium, tomato soup

2 cups fat free, low sodium, chicken broth

1/4 tsp. black pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed and shredded

16 oz. package spaghetti

Directions

In a 3-1/2 quart pot melt butter in olive oil over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper; sauté until tender. Add sugar, chili powder, soups, broth and peppers; simmer for 30 to 40 minutes on low heat.  Boil spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Add chicken and spaghetti to sauce stirring to combine. Serve and enjoy.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
Anyonita Nibbles:Tasty Tuesdays
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday Link Party
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Almond Toffee Butter

Remember the Almond Toffee Butter my friend D found at the Benton Farmer's Market? Well I have to confess it was my breakfast food for maybe a week or more straight. It was so good! Did you catch that last part? WAS!!! Good. Yep, it's gone! No more! So I set out to try to re-create it. The most difficult part is having patience and faith that those little almonds will turn into butter. First it looks like sand spinning around. Then it starts to climb the side of the processor bowl. Then it starts to clump into a dough. Then it starts to spin like a top, real slow around the bowl. Will it ever become butter (Head in hand, shaking my head)? Then after all that, it smooths out and looks just right. How long does it take to make almond butter, you ask? Well for me about the length of a 30 minute cooking show. Pioneer Woman to be exact. I put my poor tiny food processor through its paces. Honestly I did not think it would be able to make another batch. It was a little over heated by the time the almonds were butter. But that little guy has made two more batches since then and I swear in less time each time, Weird? I made one without salt, also delicious. The third batch I got the salt to sugar ratio just right. Really every batch I made was so yummy, but I was after replicating the Almond Toffee Butter purchased at the market. This last batch was perfect! Just the right amount of sea salt, brown sugar and toffee bits. I love the texture of homemade almond butter. The toffee adds a nice little crunch too. I don't think I will ever buy almond butter again. It is too much fun to make I home. I can't wait to experiment with some other flavors. 

Almond Toffee Butter
Makes about 1-1/2 cups, 12 (2 Tbsp.) servings

Ingredients

2 c. whole unsalted almonds
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. walnut oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. toffee bits

Directions

Place almonds in the bowl of a food processor, process until it looks like coarse sand. Stop processor and push down the almonds climbing up the sides, continue to process. Add sea salt, walnut oil and brown sugar; continue to process as above until the constancy of chunky peanut butter. Add toffee bits and process until combined. Allow to cool before serving. The flavor is not as evident when warm. Store in the refrigerator, keeps well.

Nutrition information per serving*: Calories 169.4, Total Fat 14.8 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 4.3 g, Monounsaturated Fat 7.9 g, Cholesterol 0.7 mg, Sodium 61.7 mg, Potassium 167.0 mg, Total Carbohydrate 6.6 g, Dietary Fiber 2.9 g, Sugars 2.4 g, Protein 5.0 g.  
WW P+ 5

*Information from the Sparkrecipes calculator. NI may vary depending on the brand or size of the ingredients used to prepare it.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Memories By The Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Creative K Kids: Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party
Creative K Kids: Tasty Tuesdays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Sunday Dinner and a Peach Pie

We had a great family dinner this past Sunday. The meal was prepared from veggies and fruit from Ed Lester Farms. We all ganged up and prepared a half bushel of Butter Beans with Shrimp. Then for dessert we enjoyed a peach pie Mom made. This pie is a family recipe. She uses it for all her fresh fruit pies. Most often she would use strawberries. But I remember her using blueberries and even hand picked blackberries. She says her favorite is actually cherries in a chocolate graham cracker crust. I am rather fond of the peach version. I like fresh fruit pies more than baked fruit pies. They are so refreshing on a hot summer day. What makes this pie a little different is the layer of cream cheese in the bottom of the crust. It creates a nice barrier between the fruit and the crust preventing the crust from getting too soggy. This pie is so delicious! It is not a looker, it can be a bit of a mess to cut sometimes. But it is oh so tasty. I sure hope we can find the time and the occasion to make a cherry pie while the cherries are still in season.

Peach Pie
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 ready made graham cracker crust
3 oz cream cheese, softened
5 cups sliced peaches, (approx. 7 medium)
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 to 1 cup water *
1/2 pint whipping cream 
2 tsp powder sugar (optional)

Directions

In a small bowl mix softened cream cheese with just enough whipping cream to make it spreadable. Spread in the bottom of pie crust and set aside. Peel and slice the peaches. Reserve 1 cup and set aside. Arrange peach slices on top of cream cheese in pie crust. Mash reserved peaches. Add peaches sugar, cornstarch and water to a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool. When cool pour over sliced peaches in pie shell. Chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. Whip whipping cream and powder sugar (if using), spread on top of the chilled pie.

Notes: This recipe can be made with any fresh fruit. Try strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, or cherry. You can use a baked pie crust too. 

* About the amount of water in the recipe, I used 1/2 cup when I made it in the past. Mom used 1 cup this weekend. It sort of depends on the fruit. She said she always uses a cup when making berry pies. I say use less and the pie will hold together better.

See the cream cheese layer? YUM!

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday