Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Asian Grilled Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing #LifesBetterWithTheLion

Yum



One of my greatest joys in life is to cook and create recipes.  I also love to go to the grocery store and shop for food.  I do a little happy dance when I get the Food Lion circular in my mailbox every week.  I sit on the couch with a pad of paper to make my grocery list and a big red pen to circle everything on sale that I want to buy. 

Now with the Food Lion website online, I don't have to just wait for the circular to come to my mailbox. I can simply go online and check out the circular for my local Food Lion any day of the week at any time.  

The circular online is so convenient, and I love how easy the Food Lion website is to use.  It is extremely user friendly and you will love it from the first time you click on the link to check it out.  Everything is clearly marked at the top of the site so if you want to check out the Weekly Specials, just click on the link for Weekly Specials.  It's that easy and as a busy Mom rushing around trying to get breakfast, lunch and dinner on the table seven days a week, I like that it's easy to use. 

Another great feature on the website is that with just one click of my mouse I can load coupons right to my Food Lion MVP card from their coupon hub. Now that's so much better than cutting all those coupons out every day. 

My favorite feature about the site is the recipes.  Now I can look at the circular to see what is on sale and easily use the  Food Lion Recipe Portal to make my weekly menu plan.  There are hundreds of recipes on the site to inspire you to cook amazing meals for your family. You can choose from breakfast, lunch, dinner, holiday, snacks to lifestyle meals like diabetic, Paleo, gluten-free and vegan recipe options. 

Since I am a food blogger and a total cooking enthusiast, I had to come up with a recipe to share on the Food Lion Recipe Portal.  It's a long hot summer so I wanted to make a cool and hearty salad for you today.  Here is my Asian Grilled Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing.


This salad is perfect for lunch or dinner and it's easily made diabetic friendly by just omitting the chow mien noodles.  I love the crunch they give, but they are just a garnish for the recipe and a totally optional ingredient.  

I wrote down my recipe and headed on over to my local Food Lion with my grocery list and my MVP store card.  The Food Lion is only a couple of miles down the road and I was excited the whole way to gather all my ingredients to make my salad.  I love my local Food Lion.  It is always so clean, well-stocked and full of friendly Food Lion employees.  



I love the wide aisles and the layout of my store.  My favorite section has to be the produce department.  I can spend a lot of time going through all the greens, fruits and veggies.  I soon headed to the international food aisle that has loads of Asian ingredients like stir fry sauces, dips, and condiments to help me make my Spicy Asian Dressing.    

Now my husband and son are meat eaters so if I was making a salad for dinner it better have some kind of meat to make it hearty.  My next stop while shopping was to head on over to the meat and seafood departments.  I thought about making a steak or shrimp salad, but I decided chicken would make a better addition to this Asian salad. 

Of course while I was already at the Food Lion, I had to check out all the rest of the aisles and left with my shopping cart full of future meals, snacks and desserts to be enjoyed by entire family.


After I made my recipe I was eager to post it on the Food Lion Recipe Portal.  The recipe portal is so easy to use and you can easily post a recipe by following the simple prompts and instructions.  Do you have a recipe that you would love to share?  Why not head on over to the Food Lion Recipe Portal and post it? 

If you would like to check out my recipe for the Asian Grilled Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing here is the link:  
https://www.foodlion.com/recipes/asian-grilled-chicken-salad-with-spicy-peanut-dressing/








I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Greek Tomato and Feta Salad

Yum

Tomatoes are in season and it's such a beautiful thing!  I love growing them and even buying the varieties that I don't grow for such great prices.  

My daughter is holding a handful of tomatoes we grew and a few that we bought in the photo here. 

I wanted to come up with a fresh and tasty recipe to really highlight these tomatoes so I came up with this Greek Tomato and Feta Salad.    The tomatoes are so sweet and bursting with juice so the salty feta cheese made a great contrast.  

Of course I had to add some olives and jalapenos --two of my favorite salad ingredients!    The dressing is a creamy and tangy so it clings to each ingredient perfectly.  You can eat this salad as a side with any sandwich like a gyro, grilled meat or simply on it's own as a snack.  



Ingredients:
1 pound quartered tomatoes (any small variety of small tomatoes work great)
1/2 red onion finely diced
1/2 cup Greek olives (black, green and/or kalamata)
1 cucumber diced

1 jalapeno finely diced
1/2 cup of feta cheese crumbled


 

Creamy Greek Style Dressing
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup  Fresh lemon juice
1-2 cloves of grated garlic
1 Tbs of honey
2 Tbs of mayonnaise
1-2 tsp of red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper to taste


 Directions:  Prepare all salad ingredients.  Mix salad dressing. Pour enough dressing to coat all the salad ingredients.  Serve immediately or chill in the fridge.  I like it at room temperatures for the most flavor. Store remaining dressing in the fridge for use on salads later.  Enjoy.  



Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Peach Lassi

Yum


The weather outside is HOT!  When it's hot like this we drink a lot of lassi type drinks to cool us off.  It's actually a great snack to tide my family over around 3pm when we are craving a snack.  
 
The mid-afternoon is always snack time at our house because it is well past lunch and a long way from dinner.  A smoothie or lassi is perfect to satisfy that gnawing in your tummy for something to eat. The fact that this is healthy and ready in 2 minutes is also perfect.

This lassi is also great for breakfast or even with a hot and spicy curry meal to cool off all that spice in your mouth. So it's perfect for any time of day... just grab your blender and make a lassi today. 


Ingredients:
1 cup frozen or fresh peaches
2 cups of peach juice/nectar
1 cup low-fat yogurt
ice if needed
honey or agave syrup to taste
pinch of cardamom powder or cinnamon powder (optional)


Directions:
Throw all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately while chilled.  Enjoy. 

 


Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Yum

 I love this time of year... Strawberries are everywhere in the grocery store and they are ripe and delicious.  My kids and I love strawberries and we can eat a whole cartoon of them and not feel an ounce of guilt.  
As much as I love fresh strawberries, the warm weather is upon us and a frozen treat is very much welcome to cool us off.  This is such an easy recipe and you can actually have immediate gratification if you use frozen strawberries because it  whips up into a soft serve ice cream texture.   If you desire a firmer texture, then you can freeze it for a couple of hours and enjoy it then.  
I also love mixing in the fresh strawberries into the frozen yogurt because it gives you a chance to enjoy both fresh and frozen strawberries and I never complain about there being too many strawberries in my dessert.  This is one frozen treat I think my family and I will enjoy many, many times this warm weather season.


 Ingredients:
1lb frozen strawberries
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1/4  cup sugar (or diabetic friendly sugar substitute like splenda)
1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 Tbs lemon juice




 Directions:
Place all ingredients into blender (except for fresh strawberries) and blend until smooth.  The texture should be that of soft serve ice cream.  Mix in fresh strawberries and serve right away for soft serve ice cream or for firmer ice cream, put into freezer for several hours.  Enjoy.
 




Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Mango Pineapple Granita

Yum
 
What do you get when you have ripe mangoes and hot weather?  In my house.. you get granita.  I had two kids clamoring for a sweet treat to enjoy as they deal with the "dog days of summer".   All this heat has taken it's toll on me too... I'm tired.  
Keeping them entertained and their minds working (so they are not playing video games all day) has me on over-drive.  I am looking forward to that school bell ringing so we can get into the routine of school again. :)

In the mean time, I made this mango pineapple granita to enjoy.  They loved it and it was so easy to make.  The only work is taking it out of the freezer a couple of times to fork and flake apart so it doesn't form into a sold ice block.  

As much as I am looking forward to those autumn breezes... the flavors of summer are pretty awesome.





Ingredients:
3 ripe mangoes peeled and cut into small chunks
4 cups pineapple 100% juice
2-3 tsp lemon or lime juice
1 tsp lemon or lime zest (optional)
agave or sweetener (sugar, splenda etc..) to taste

Directions: 
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  Place in a freezer save bowl and freeze for 4-6 hours.  Make sure to take it out and scrape and flake with fork 2-3 times to form granita.




Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Spicy Roasted Tomatillo and Tomato Salsa

Yum
 

 
Have you ever tried a tomatillo?  These tart little green fruits look like green tomatoes, but come with a papery skin that needs to be peeled off before you can use it.  They are very popular in Mexican cuisine so I decided to roast the tomatillos with onions, tomatoes and chilies to make a beautifully spicy salsa.  We ate this salsa with tacos and woooohoo.. they were amazing!  They were some of the best tacos I have ever eaten.


 
   Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs cleaned tomatillos (quartered)
1lb sweet tomatoes (I picked yellow)
4-8 serrano chilies (to taste)
6-10 cloves of garlic (depending on size)
1 medium onion cut into chunks
salt and black pepper to taste
2-3Tbs canola oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2-3 Tbs water
salt to taste

 

 Directions:
Prep vegetables for roasting.
Roast in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.

Place all roasted vegetables, cumin and  water into food processor.  Blend to your desired texture.. either chunky or smooth.  Add salt to taste.  If you like you can add some lime juice as well.   Serve at room temperature or chilled with chips or on tacos.  Enjoy. 



 

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Spicy Peach Chutney

Yum
Peaches are in season and that always makes me happy.  My local grocery store had locally grown peaches on sale for 55cents a pound.  What a bargain!  I bought some so I could make my spicy peach chutney. 

I love chutneys because they go great with a rice and curry meal or you can even eat it with sandwiches and grilled meats.  Actually, it even makes a great appetizer with cream cheese and grilled bread. 

This peach chutney always gets complimented by my mother so I know it's a good one.


Ingredients:
1lb ripe peaches peeled and chopped into small pieces.
1 small onion finely chopped
2 green chilies seeded and finely chopped
1 small piece of cinnamon
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of vinegar
1/4 tsp of turmeric

1/2Tbs grated ginger
1/2 Tbs grated garlic
1 tsp of red chili/cayenne  powder (or to taste)
salt to taste


Directions:

Step 1: You will need to skin the peaches.  To do this very easily, you must bring some water to boil in a large pan.  Then lightly cut an "X" on the bottom of each peach skin.  Once the water is boiling turn off the stove and place your fresh peaches into the hot water for about 2 minutes.  Take the peaches out of the water and allow to cool off so they can be peeled. The skin should peel away very easily when you start where you made the "X".   Chop up the peaches and place pan with  any juice that the have and continue on with the next step. 

Step 2: Place all the ingredients listed with the peaches and allow to simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Make sure to stir periodically so the chutney does not stick to the pan.  Once the chutney is done cooking allow to cool well.  I suggest allowing the flavors to develop in the fridge overnight before you serve it for best results.  Enjoy.
 



Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Taco Pasta with Chorizo

Yum

My  kids love pasta and they also love tacos. When I asked them what they wanted for dinner, they could not decide on the two.  So I decided to combine both these great meals into one.  That's just what I did with this Taco Pasta with Chorizo. 

I used fresh Mexican chorizo sausage that is full of flavor as my meat base.  Now if you cannot find chorizo sausage, you can use any ground meat of your choice and add a little more taco seasoning and spices to taste.

I also used a large tube style pasta in the dish.  I like using this style of pasta because all the taco sauces and flavors go inside the tubes and you get a real flavor punch with each bite. 

We ate this with a nice green salad to complete the meal.  My kids loved this combination meal!  It will definitely be returning again to our dinner table soon.  




Ingredients:  
1 pound of pasta like ziti, rigatoni or penne
1lb chorizo sausage (lean beef or pork can be substituted)
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium jalapeno sliced (remove seeds for less heat)
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 Tbs of taco seasoning
1 tsp of ground cumin
red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 cup of your favorite jar salsa 
1/2 cup of pasta water (reserved from cooking pasta)
juice of half a lime
1/2 cup of sour cream
8oz of Mexican Cheese blend 


Directions:
Step 1: Prepare pasta per package instructions.  Reserve pasta water before draining pasta.
Step 2: Brown the chorizo sausage and add the onion, jalapeno and garlic.  
Step 3: Then season with the taco seasoning, ground cumin and red pepper flakes.  
Step 4:  Next add the salsa, water and lime juice.  Simmer for a few minutes.
Step 5: Mix the cooked pasta with the taco meat mixture. 1/2 the shredded cheese and a 1/2 cup of sour cream.  
Step 6: Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and fill with your cooked pasta.  
Step7: Cover pasta with remaining shredded Mexican cheese.
Step 8: Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with green onion for garnish.  Enjoy.




Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Beef and Chickpea Curry

Yum

I recently made my mother's homemade curry powder.  I could not wait to come up with a recipe so I could try it out.  I bought a little package of beef and was planning on making a simple beef and potato curry to eat with rice and lentils. 

Now my daughter is not a big meat eater, so I had to come up with a good protein for her to eat with lunch.  Instead of making two separate dishes, I decided to swap out the potatoes in the beef and potato curry and add some cans of chickpeas instead.

This curry came out better than even I expected.  My daughter loved the curried chickpeas with her meal and I was happy to see her getting a good helping of healthy protein.  

My son and husband, the house carnivores, loved the cubes of beef in the curry.  It was a delicious protein packed curry that everyone was able to enjoy.  I also loved that I could combine it into one pot saving me some time from cooking two different curries to satisfy everyone in my family. 

The curry powder was perfect and I can't wait to play around with it for all many meals to come. 



 Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean beef cut into bite-size cubes 
2 can chickpeas (drained)
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 jalapeno sliced 
10-12 curry leaves
1 pandan leaf
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 small cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 (15oz) can diced tomato (with chilies preferred) 
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs grated fresh garlic
red chili powder (or cayenne) to taste
2 Tbs curry powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup water

Directions:
Heat 2-3 Tbs canola oil on medium high heat in a large pan and add the curry leaves, pandan leaves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves and fenugreek seeds.  Fry for 30 seconds.  Then add onion and green chili with some salt to season and fry for several minutes.


Next add the ginger and garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Then add the cubes of beef and some salt and brown with all the other ingredients.


Then add the curry powder, chili powder, turmeric powder and black pepper.  Saute spices with beef for 1-2 minutes.  Next add the diced tomato can and water.  Lower heat to a simmer (medium low) and cook for 20 minutes.
Next add the two cans of drained chickpeas and cook for another 10 minutes.  Finally add the can of coconut milk and taste for salt and seasoning.  Serve hot with rice or with roti or naan.  Enjoy.

 


Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.