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Category: Recipes

Chicken Curry Recipe with Potatoes, Carrots and Coconut Milk

Fall is here!

This time of year, I love making soups, curries and stews. They’re versatile, easy to make and easy to freeze. Keep your eyes peeled here for more winter recipes coming soon…

This Chicken Curry recipe is in our regular rotation because it’s quick and easy and I can throw everything in the crock pot and a few hours later dinner is served!

If you choose to do a stovetop method instead of using a crock pot, follow the recipe and just simmer the curry in a pot for an hour or so on low.

You’ll need a large bowl, large pot, crock pot, and rice cooker or small pot with a tight-fitting lid.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 – 2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons of curry powder
  • 1 Tablespoon coriander
  • 1 Tablespoon cumin
  • 1 Teaspoon cayenne powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2-3 carrots, chopped
  • 4-5 small yellow potatoes, about 1.5 lbs, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 jar curry sauce*
  • 1 small head of broccoli florets, chopped (about 1-2 cups)
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
  • 1.5 cups water

Directions:

  1. Place chicken in large bowl and rub with spices (salt through cayenne).
  2. In large pot, heat oil over medium/ high heat.
  3. Cook onion for about 5 minutes, stirring it often to keep from burning. Add ginger and garlic and cook for another minute.
  4. Add the chicken and sear it for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add carrots, potatoes, bell pepper, coconut milk and curry sauce and bring to a simmer.
  6. At this point I put my curry in a crock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Please use caution when transferring hot liquids from one pot to another. Once the potatoes are almost cooked (meaning, when I press then with a fork, the outsides give, but the insides are still a little hard) then I add broccoli. Cook for another half hour or so. If you like your veggies really mushy cook longer.
  7. If you’re not using a crock pot, just keep simmering the curry on the stove until all the veggies are cooked.
  8. Cook rice (click here if you need help with that).
  9. Serve curry over rice, with fresh cilantro on top.

Super quick n easy version:

  1. Dump the first 15 ingredients (everything from the chicken through the curry sauce) into your crock pot. Turn it on low for 6 hours, high for 4 hours. Poke the potatoes and when they’re nearly cooked, add the broccoli and cook for 30 minutes more.
  2. Cook a pot of rice.
  3. Ladle the curry over the rice and top with cilantro.

*The sauce used in this recipe (in the photo above) is from Costco. I’ve tried this curry sauce from Trader Joe’s, as well as this one from Safeway and they are both delicious. These are not affiliate links, meaning I make no money off you going to these sites, just wanted you to see what I meant by “1 jar of curry sauce” in the above recipe.

I use full fat coconut milk because it tastes better and has less additives than the reduced fat versions.

I’m Anne McCranie, a Vancouver, Washington based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. I love sharing good food and healthy recipes with you. Please see your medical professional for specific dietary advice.

Mattie’s Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Here’s my favorite Thanksgiving recipe, my grannie’s cornbread dressing.

I grew up in north Florida, and in the south, “dressing” is very different than “stuffing”. This is a side dish, cooked separate from the bird, that is the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes, rather than crumbly bread cubes.

Depending on where you are in the south, you may see sausage or seafood in your cornbread dressing. The recipe below is what I ate growing up. If you’re looking for a vegetarian side dish you could easily make this using vegetable stock in lieu of turkey drippings or chicken stock, and leave out the milk. Please don’t try to leave out the butter. This is Thanksgiving, the high holiday of fat, baby!

My Mom’s mom Mattie was born in South Georgia and raised in Florida. She used curry powder (not sage) and moistened the dish with drippings from the turkey. My Dad’s Mom Mary Del grew up in Louisiana and she would put oysters in her dressing.

Below is Mattie’s recipe with an option to add oysters for Louisiana style.

Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Cornbread Ingredients:

  • 1 8.5 oz box jiffy cornbread mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup of milk

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 8 tablespoons butter (reserve one tbsp. to grease the pan)
  • 4-5 ribs of celery, chopped
  • 1 small green pepper, chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 5 slices white bread, dried in warm oven, and crumbled
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2-3 cups chicken stock (or pan drippings from the turkey)
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • Optional: 1 pint fresh oysters, drained

Directions:

  1. Make cornbread according to package directions. Cool and crumble (best to do this a day or two ahead.).
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the celery, green pepper, and onion until soft (5-10 minutes).
  4. In a large bowl, place the celery, pepper, and onion. Add the cornbread, white bread, eggs, chicken stock, milk, salt, pepper, and curry powder and mix well (add the oysters now if you are using them).
  5. Pour into prepared dish and bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. (to test for doneness, carefully and gently jiggle the pan, and if the center of the dressing moves cook it a little longer, til it’s set).

How to eat more veggies, and prepare quick, healthy meals at home with Melissa Olson

We recently chatted with Nutritionist Melissa Olson. She shared her tips for getting a healthy meal on the table in minutes. Also, how much protein we need (surprise – you may not be eating enough!), and how to get even your pickiest eaters to try new vegetables.

Click here to watch the full interview (46 minutes).

Click here to watch “Healthy Eating During Menopause” (3:02 minutes).

Click here to watch “Healthy Meals in Minutes” video (4:49 minutes).

Click here to learn what to do with Kohlrabi and other “weird” veggies (5:41 minutes).

Melissa shared this recipe

Chia Coconut Milk Pudding:

Ingredients – basic recipe

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2-3 Tbsp Chia seeds (2 Tbsps yields a slightly runny pudding, 3 Tbsp more firm/ held together pudding).

Add in Ingredient Options/ Ideas (Choose 1 or more):

4-5 fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped. 2 Tbsp halved or crushed Blueberries. 1/4 cup fresh or frozen mango, chopped.

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine coconut milk and chia seeds. Gently whisk or stir with a fork continuously for 3-5 minutes until mixture starts firming up and chia seeds suspend in mixture.

Mix in add ins of choice.

Refrigerate a minimum of 30 minutes before serving. I prefer 1-4 hours or overnight.

Store in refrigerator. Enjoy within 5 days.

Thanks Melissa!

If you need help with your digestion, or getting your diet back on track reach out to Melissa at InTuneNutrition.com

Watermelon Mint and Feta Salad

 

Hooray for watermelon season!

I made this watermelon mint and feta salad for a potluck this weekend and wanted to share the recipe with you. Fresh, light, and easy to throw together this will be your new favorite summer salad.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’re lucky to have sweet and juicy Hermiston watermelons. I found a small seedless one at Chuck’s Produce.

We have a crazy amount of mint growing like weeds in the back yard so I’m on the lookout for summer recipes that include mint. This weekend as part of my Sunday meal prep, I made a big batch of green soup and thew in two big handfuls of parsley and mint.

Watermelon Mint and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
  • 4 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups of seedless watermelon cut into bite sized cubes
  • 4 oz feta crumbled
  • 2 Tbsp fresh mint finely chopped

Directions:

  1. Pour vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper into a jar with a lid.
  2. Secure the lid tightly and shake to combine.
  3. Place watermelon, feta and mint in a large bowl.
  4. Pour dressing over fruit mixture and stir gently.
  5. Serve immediately. 

Recipe – Quick Pickled Strawberries with White Balsamic

Here’s an easy quick pickled berry recipe you can throw together in minutes. It will last a week or so in the fridge, but I’m guessing you’ll eat them up quick!

While we do have strawberries in our yard, we’re getting just about a handful a day (and we have a cute lil brown bunny who also likes our strawberries) so to make this recipe I picked up a couple pints of berries at the Vancouver Farmer’s Market.

In an effort to tamp down my allergy symptoms this month, I’ve been sampling different local honey from Sithean Acres (also at the market) and used their fireweed honey in this recipe.

I recently found Navidi’s, a shop in nearby Camas that sells hundreds of types of olive oils and vinegars. I used their pineapple white balsamic in this recipe and it was delicious!

Quick Pickled Strawberries with White Balsamic

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of strawberries, trimmed and washed.
  • 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar.
  • 1/2 cup water.
  • 1 Tbsp honey.
  • Pinch of salt and pepper.

Directions:

  1. Place berries in a jar.
  2. Mix vinegar, water, honey, salt and pepper and pour over berries.
  3. Give the jar a gentle shake.
  4. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
  5. Enjoy!

I ate my strawberries right out of the jar, also put them on a salad (including this meal of salmon and grits). You could also spread goat cheese on a slice of toast and top with strawberries.

Enjoy!

~Anne