Tom Kha Gai soup

My local Thai place makes a really fab Tom Kha Gai, but I hate having to pay $9 for it.  I found this recipe and thought I’d give it a go, and WOW!  Tasty!!  Grossman loooooved it, too.  Granted, it’s not the healthiest meal ever what with the coconut milk and all, but it’s not like I’m having it every day (although I’d really really like to).  I think that next time I’ll add a little more lime juice and maybe some chili garlic paste to give it a little kick.

Tom Kha Gai

Ingredients

• 1  can (14 oz.) coconut milk
• 1  can (14 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 6  quarter-size slices fresh ginger
• 1  stalk fresh lemongrass, cut in 1-in. pieces
• 1  pound  boned, skinned chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-in. chunks
• 1  cup  sliced mushrooms
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 1  tablespoon  Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
• 1  teaspoon  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  Thai chili paste
• 1/4  cup  fresh basil leaves
• 1/4  cup  fresh cilantro

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass and bring to boil over high heat. Add chicken, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is firm and opaque, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard lemongrass. Garnish servings with basil and cilantro.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per 1 1/2-cup serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

357 (63% from fat)

Protein:

29g

Fat:

25g (sat 19)

Carbohydrate:

7.2g

Fiber:

0.5g

Sodium:

484mg

Cholesterol:

79mg

Three Bean Chili

And while I’ve got the blog open, I may as well post another recipe I just tried tonight.  Once again, it’s from Cooking Light.  I’m loving all of the healthy recipes I’ve been making lately!

Grossman suggested doubling or even tripling this he loved it so much.  I’m thinking of making a triple batch and freezing part of it; I’ll report back on how that goes if/when I do it.  I also whipped up a quick batch of instant cornbread to go with this.  So good!

Three Bean Chili

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  cup  prechopped onion
• 1/2  cup  prechopped green bell pepper  (I don’t like green pepper so I skipped it)
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic  (I minced three cloves of garlic)
• 3/4  cup  water
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 2  teaspoons  chili powder
• 2  teaspoons  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  (15 1/2-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15 1/2-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (14 1/2-ounce) can organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)  (I used low-sodium chicken broth)
• 1  (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1  tablespoon  yellow cornmeal
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh cilantro  (didn’t have it, didn’t add it)
• 6  tablespoons  reduced-fat sour cream

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup water and next 9 ingredients (through diced tomatoes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro. Serve with sour cream.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

180 (25% from fat)

Fat:

4.9g (sat 1.5g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.3g)

Protein:

8.4g

Carbohydrate:

29.5g

Fiber:

8.6g

Cholesterol:

5mg

Iron:

2.3mg

Sodium:

714mg

Calcium:

86mg

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

It’s officially damn cold here in Texass and I’ve been craving some serious comfort food.  Enter: pot roast.  My friend Heather posted a recipe for it ages ago and it seemed easy enough, so I thought I’d give it a go.  Oh. My. God.  SO GOOD! And so EASY!  My alterations are in parenthesis:

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

5 lbs. round bone pot roast (I used about 3lbs)
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. shortening (I used butter, I wasn’t buying Crisco just for this)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup apple cider (I used Costco brand apple juice)
8 carrots, pared, peeled, and cut into 2 inch chunks (we used a half a bag of baby carrots)
6 large potatoes, peeled and quartered (Yukon Gold tates)
2 onions, sliced
8 oz. fresh okra (I’m not a fan, so I used a few handfuls of white mushrooms instead)

1. Rub meat with salt.

2. Melt shortening in Dutch oven; add meat and cook over medium heat, turning once. (I did about 3 minutes a side)

3. Reduce heat, pour barbecue sauce and cider over meat.

4. Cover and simmer on top of range or in 325° oven for 3-4 hours. (I put it in the oven)

5. Add carrots, potatoes, and onions 1 1/2 hours before end of cooking time.

6. Add okra (mushrooms) 15 minutes before end of cooking time.

I think I started it around 3 and we ate around 7, so it was in there for a good 3.75 hours or so.  And it was PERFECTLY done.  We finished off the leftovers tonight and I still want more!  Next time (oh, there WILL be a next time) I’m making a bigger roast.