Sweet Potato Hash

Sweet potato hash is always a "round two" meal for us. If I have any left over meat that needs using, I usually turn it into hash. The best one I ever made was with leftover chicken, steak, and pork tenderloin. Yummy. The one here, I only had steak to use...still delicious.

Ingredients
Steak (chicken, pork)
   1 onion, diced
   3 cloves garlic
   3/4 cup carrots
   2 sweet potatoes
   1 bell pepper, diced
   1/2 mushrooms
   1 Tbsp italian seasoning
   1 tsp garlic powder
   1 tsp ground sage
   1 tsp fresh sage (optional)


1 tsp fresh basil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste



Add 1 Tbsp oil to a pan on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for about 4 minutes. Add the carrot and sweet potato. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the sweet potato gets golden brown on some edges.

Add in the mushrooms and green pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the steak and cook about 3 minutes. Add in fresh herbs at the end.

Hope that you try this one because it is quite tasty!

God bless you and your food!

Corned Beef!

The first time I had corned beef was at Cody's parents' house, and wowee! It was tasty! I thought it was difficult to make, but now I know that it is not too complex. Connie, Cody's mom, is an inspiration when it comes to cooking, and the corned beef definitely comes from her. Thanks Connie!

What you'll need:

Oil and water

Flat cut corned beef brisket 

3 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

Carrots and potatoes

Topping: Horseradish and spicy brown mustard 

Cabbage (I did not have any this time)

Pressure cooker (optional...but you're going to want it)**see note below

Corned beef is pretty easy to find in a package that also comes with a seasoning pack. Flat cut is good (point cut would also work).

When you take it out of the package, pat it dry on both side.

Remove some of the fat. In this picture I have already removed A LOT of fat.

Get the oil hot (about 3 Tbls), and then brown both sides a bit. I always feel as though I could brown it more, but then I get scared. Anyway, I usually let it go about 4 minutes each side.

This side has been cooked for about 4 minutes. Once the other side is browned remove the pot from the heat.

Quarter the 3 garlic cloves and add to the pot with two bay leaves.

The seasoning package came with the corned beef, but it is really just pickling spices that you can buy in the spice aisle.

Add the spice packet or pickling spices.

Make sure the pot is off the heat, and add about 4 cups of water. Then, return to  high heat.

Add the top and lock.

For my pressure cooker, I have to wait for the yellow pressure  button to pop up to know that the pressure has built up.

Once it pops up, turn the heat down a bit, and start the cooking time. I let it cook for 1 hour.

When the cook time is over, I use the quick release to reduce the pressure faster. I recommend putting a towel over the steam release for the first minute or so. The first time I did not cover it, and it melted the paper on a calender that was hanging on the wall five feet away. haha!    

After a while the steam and pressure reduce. If you want it to go even faster, run it under water, and the temperature and pressure reduce very quickly.

Once pressure is reduced, remove the brisket  to a pan.

The leftover liquid is great for cooking the vegetables--so much flavor!

Cut up the potatoes into about 1 inch pieces.

Add the potatoes and carrots. Re-pressurize the cooker and cook the veggies for only 4 minutes. If you have cabbage you can now cook it by itself for 2 minutes. The pressure cooker drastically reduces cook time for everything! 

We like to put a topping of equal parts mustard and horseradish on the corned beef. If you told me two years ago that I would like horseradish, I would not believe you. Long story short, you should try it.

Mix it up!

Shmear it!

Put the pan under the broiler in the oven for 5-10 minutes depending on how crunchy you want it.

Take the veggies out, and start serving!

Yumkins! Try it; you'll like it!

**If you don't have a pressure cooker, the brisket still has directions on the package for cooking without one(boiling in a pot or cooking in the oven). The veggies can just be roasted in the oven (with olive oil, salt, and pepper) at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes.
***My pressure cooker is 6 quarts made by Fagor. I got it for Christmas, but it seems as though you can get one from $40-$80.

God bless you and your food!

Roasted Vegetables

Roasted vegetables are a staple in my kitchen. First of all, they are so easy. Second of all, they are so tasty. Hence, I make them all the time. Plus, I can always use different types of vegetables if I want to mix it up. I even tried Brussels sprouts once, and they were pretty interesting--definitely worth a try. Anyway, I usually use onions, potatoes, and carrots. The onions always add good flavor, so regardless of the vegetable mix, I always use onions. I always seem to have potatoes and carrots, so those are usually most common for dinner.    

First, I preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When cutting up the vegetables, I usually try to make them about the same size so that they can all cook at the same speed.

Once all the vegetables are on the sheet pan, I drizzle olive oil over the top--about 4 tablespoons.

Then, I season the vegetables with salt and pepper, and I mix them around with my hands so that the oil can evenly coat everything. Once the oven comes up to temperature I put the pan in the oven, and it cooks for about 40-50 minutes. About half way through, I mix them around so that one side does not get too browned.  

I love these roasted vegetables! Funny story--our apartment does not have the best oven, so it cannot handle very high heats well. Long story short, almost every time I make these vegetables the fire alarm goes off even though there is no smoke. It's great...haha.  

Regardless, I think you will be surprised at how easy and tasty these are. Give them a try!

God bless you and your food!

Honeymoon Inspiration: Coconut Curry Chicken

For our honeymoon, Cody and I went to Maui, Hawaii. Needless to say, it was spectacular. From sunup to sundown, we soaked it all in--sun, fun, and memories. After long days of exploring and snorkeling, we would either cook dinner together in our condo or go to a local place to try new things. Maui had quite a few restaurants that served either freshly caught fish (since we were in the middle of the ocean) or Asian food (because we were quite close to Japan and China). One night we went to Pho Saigon 808, a Thai restaurant that was recommended in our guidebook.

  

When we finally found it, I was afraid they were about to close because it was getting late. I told Cody to ask if they would be mad if we ate there. He said it exactly that way, "Would you be mad if we ate here," and the teenage boy smiled and showed us to a booth. This was the first time I had ever had real Thai food, but it will not be the last. Anyway, we ordered fried calamari, two different types of Pho (Vietnamese or Thai soup), and a Thai iced tea. The most memorable thing was definitely the Coconut Curry Chicken Pho. I could drink the curry broth alone; it was that good. 

Once we got back home to the States I knew I  wanted to find a recipe for the Curry Coconut Chicken. After several hours of searching, I found my first recipe inspiration here. I changed a few things, and I add a lot more vegetables to make it more similar to our experience in Hawaii. View my edited recipe below.   

Unlike the recipe I found, I serve the Coconut Curry Chicken over rice (instead of with noodles) from my rice cooker, one of the best kitchen tools. The rice comes out perfect every time, and I do not have to watch it at all. Starting the rice is always how I begin making this tasty meal.

All of the ingredients (except for the chicken...oops.)

Here is a list of everything that I use:
4 cups cooked rice 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced lemon grass or pale green cilantro roots (optional, definitely optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dark red chili paste (sambal)

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken, thinly sliced 

3 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup half-and-half

4 cups chicken stock (or water and stock base)

2 tablespoons fish sauce (use soy sauce as alternative)

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

salt and pepper, to taste
green bell pepper (I use green because it is cheapest, but red or yellow is nice for color)
1-2 cups carrots, sliced
1-2 cups snap peas
2-3 heads of broccoli


How I do it:

First, I start out by cooking the onions (see before picture) in the hot oil over medium heat until they are soft (see after picture). The most important part of making this dish is making sure the onions are cooked down well enough so that they are not crunchy. 

before

after

Usually while the onions are cooking, I cut up the chicken, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, and garlic, and I grate the ginger. The fresh ginger adds so much Asian flavor to the curry, so don't leave it out! Once the onion is cooked down, I add the ginger and garlic to cook for about a minute. Then, I turn up the heat to high so that I can add the chicken. 

chicken added

 

Once the chicken is partially cooked, I add the curry powder and paprika. Then, I add the carrots and broccoli. Those vegetables take some extra time to cook, so I add them now, but it would be okay if you added all the vegetables at the end.

  

Then, I add the coconut milk and half-and-half, and I stir until the curry looks evenly distributed.

Finally, I add the chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, bell pepper, and snap peas. Usually, I let it all simmer for about 20 minutes so that all of the vegetables can cook, and then all of the flavors come together. Once it has simmered for a while, I always take a spoon and taste the broth. It is amazing every single time! Yum. 

When I serve the coconut curry chicken, I put about half a cup of rice in the bottom of the bowl, and then I load it up with vegetables and top with broth. It is best in a bowl because it's more like a soup after all. :) Cody and I usually end up eating this for a week. I never get tired of it. Hope you try it and enjoy it!

God bless you and your food!