Masaman Curry

This sweet and spicy type of curry – Masaman – is one of the best (in my opinion), and remarkably easy to make at home! It just takes a small can of the curry paste (found at most grocery stores on the ethnic food aisle), some coconut milk, chopped veggies (James used carrots, celery, onion, and cherry tomatoes here) and diced chicken. Stir fry it all up and serve over some rice for an easy, flavorful, and relatively quick meal! We plan to stock up on all different types of curry paste to make this an easy go-to weeknight meal. We’ll have to try different veggies and maybe some shrimp next time!

Stir-Fried Thai Chicken & Brussel Sprouts

Now that we have our basic Thai ingredients on hand, we’ll probably be eating at least one Thai dish a week, ha. This one is sticky rice with stir-fried chicken and hot (Thai) basil, Thai chili peppers, and a delicious, light sauce. The brussel sprouts were boiled for only a short minute, then stir fried with chili peppers and a little sauce. This meal really hit the spot, and I have a feeling will be one that I crave often.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies & Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Squares

Since this is my last week at my current job, I made these treats for the cheerful door man that I pass every morning on my walk to work (who always waves to me and brightens my morning). And lucky for my coworkers, there were enough leftover to take in to the office as well. These were both new recipes for me, and both a sweet success! The no-bake coconut squares were an AMAZING combination of ingredients and so very easy to make – I think they will be a new Christmas treat staple in my house. The pumpkin brownies were also very easy to make, but a bit rich for my taste.

Penne with Shrimp & Broccoli

This was a super quick and easy dinner that I threw together with some random ingredients we had (typical for a night when I’m only cooking for myself and don’t want to think too hard about what to make!). The shrimp came from a bag of frozen shrimp… they thaw super quick, so during that time I chopped up some broccoli, garlic, and green onion and sauteed it for a few minutes with some olive oil. Threw the thawed shrimp in there for a minute or two with some spinach and Thai basil, a little lemon, salt and pepper and boom! Healthy, yummy, and filling dinner in 20 minutes! (The pasta cooked during the sauteing).

Pumpkin Donut Holes

I found myself wanting to make something easy and yummy last night (last minute) for a coworker’s birthday today. I remembered this recipe that I had recently found on Pinterest for Pumpkin Donut Holes and that it was supposed to be very quick and easy. Luckily I had all of the ingredients on hand already! Due to baking them in a mini muffin pan instead of frying them, they took more of a muffin form than a round donut hole.  I may try to find ways to remedy that if I make them again in the future as I’d rather avoid the added guilt that usually accompanies the frying. They also turned out a bit more moist and cakey (though still deliciously fall-like) than I expected so that may result in some future recipe-tweaking as well, but that’s the best part of trying a new recipe! 

Hearth Bread

James became interested in the art of baking bread from scratch years ago and has been perfecting it one loaf at a time since. After starting the dough the night before, he spent much of his Saturday mixing, kneading, patiently letting the dough rise, kneading more, and finally baking this  loaf of classic hearth bread. It tasted as heart-warming as it looks and was the perfect pairing to some homemade  turkey chili shared with friends while watching college football on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Risotto

Parmesan risotto with hot Italian sausage and peas, topped with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. There’s not much to say here except that this is one of the best meals James makes, hands down. He made it for me on our first date, and obviously it (he) won me over. He’s made other types of risotto since, but this is definitely our favorite.

Thai

This was James’ first attempt at some real deal, authentic Thai cooking. And it was awesome. He bought the cookbook from one of our favorite Thai restaurants we went to in Portland, OR last spring and has since learned some pretty exciting, fascinating facts about Thai cuisine and cooking methods. We had a pretty fun time going to the local Asian market this past weekend to build our basic Thai ingredient base and needless to say, are super excited to try all sorts of dishes from that cookbook.

First up was papaya salad: a very spicy yet crisp, cool, and fresh appetizer/side dish consisting of shredded papaya, green beans, cherry tomatoes, peanuts, crushed thai chili peppers, and some classic staples such as dried shrimp and fish sauce. It was amazing.

We decided to have some fun making our own spring rolls too – what an easy, healthy, delicious decision! We cooked some ground chicken (and added some Asian flare to it) and thin rice noodles, sliced some veggies, and then rolled them right into the thin rice papers after soaking them in water for a few seconds to give them that sticky texture that holds it all together.

James made a SUPER sweet and yummy dessert as well. A Thai favorite (though not necessarily eaten for dessert) – sticky rice with mango, topped with a coconut cream sauce and sesame seeds. The consistency came out a bit more soupy than expected, but that didn’t stop me from licking the bowl clean. Also, leftover sticky rice makes an amazing breakfast 🙂

We definitely learned a few things along the way of making this meal, and can’t wait to try our hand at some more Thai recipes soon!

Ginger Cookies

I had this ginger cookie recipe on the refrigerator through the whole winter season last year and never made them, so when I got the craving for a soft, gingerbread-like cookie the other day, I went straight to this recipe. The orange zest and fresh grated ginger root (my own addition) really gave these cookies a festive flavor pop. I had so much fun mixing, kneading, and rolling out the dough, then using cookie cutters for fun shapes, that I can’t wait to do it again in only a few weeks for Christmas cookies!

Slow Cooked Pork Loin

One of our first meals in the slow cooker this season. A flavorful, savory combo of pork loin, apple, and onion, along with fresh picked rosemary and sage. Lightly steamed green beans made for the perfect crunchy complement on the side.