Peanut Lemongrass Chicken

 Peanut Lemongrass Chicken

7-8 skinless chicken thighs
¾ cup fish sauce dressing (recipe below)
¼ cup peanut butter
4-5 garlic cloves (grated)
1 lemongrass stalk (grated or chopped)
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
juice from ½ lime

FISH SAUCE DRESSING: (This will last you a while.)

1 Cup Fish Sauce
1 1/4 Cup Vinegar
1 Cup Water
2 Cups Sugar

Put everything together and stir until sugar dissolves. I mix this in a liquid measuring cup with a spout and then just pour into an empty glass bottle.

CHICKEN:

1) whisk all ingredients together and add to chicken. Allow time to marinate if you can.

2) Grill medium high for 5-7 minutes then reduce heat to medium for another 20-25 minutes.

SCALLION OIL (to drizzle on top):

1-2 stalks of chopped scallions
2-3 tbsp olive oil/oil

Bring oil to a boil in a small sauce pan, add scallions and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

You can serve this with a rice salad: rice, greens, fresh slaw, fish sauce dressing and crushed peanuts. Or stir fry some rice noodles with garlic and scallions. Whatever you eat this with make sure you don't leave out cilantro, peanuts and fish sauce dressing.

Seafood Curry

Seafood Curry

Anytime there’s a football game, you can guarantee there will be food in the Garner home. I asked Dave what he wanted for the Skins game tonight and surprisingly he was craving curry! Well, you don’t have to twist my arm! Any type of curry is extremely simple and takes no more than 15-20 minutes to prep/cook. It’s even easier if you eat it with rice. Just put the rice in the cooker and have it ready when the curry is done.

2 tilapia fillets (about 8 oz)
1 dozen shrimp
8 oz salmon
1 onion (medium slices)
4 garlic cloves (minced/grated)
1 red pepper (sliced)
1 whole lemongrass stalk (2-3 inch diagonal slices)
¼ cup chopped basil
⅓ cup green curry paste (1/4 if you want a milder broth)
½ cup coconut milk (I use Thai Kitchen avail. most grocers. No preservatives)
1 cup whole milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar

GARNISH:

julienne cucumbers
bean sprouts
basil
crushed peanuts
Sweet Fish Sauce (1 Cup Fish Sauce, 1 1/4 Cup Vinegar, 1 Cup Water , 2 Cups Sugar)


1) Slice tilapia and salmon into 1 inch cubes or strips. Don’t slice too small or it will fall apart while cooking.

2) Mix the curry paste with the coconut milk, milk, fish sauce and sugar. Set aside.

3) Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet on 80% high. When hot, add onion, garlic, red pepper, lemongrass and seafood. Sear the seafood for about 15 seconds and stir. Do not over stir.

4) Add curry mix and basil to the skillet. Cover and reduce heat to medium low to simmer and allow seafood to finish cooking.

TO SERVE:

Pour over rice, rice noodles or pho noodles and add a generous amount of cucumbers, beans sprouts, crushed peanuts and fresh basil. Also keep some sweet fish sauce dressing on the side to drizzle on top! All you Thai lovers out there should just eat with your eyes closed it’s so good!

Creamy Seafood Saute w/ Basil Tomato Sauce & French Garlic Bread

 Creamy Seafood Saute w/ Basil Tomato Sauce 
 & French Garlic Bread

Made this for the boys for lunch today. It’s actually very easy and simple to make. I have to admit, everything was very good, but the garlic bread just kicked butt! Maybe it was because I haven't had any in forever. No butter. I just used olive oil and fresh garlic of course. You can use it to mop up leftover sauce too!

SEAFOOD SAUTE

3-4 cups frozen seafood mix (get ours from Sam’s Club)
3 garlic cloves minced/grated
½ onion (diced)
3 tsp salt or to taste
½ tbsp garlic powder
¼ cup red wine
⅛ cup cream or whole milk
⅛ cup vinegar

BASIL TOMATO SAUCE

1 whole onion (diced)
2-3 carrots (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
4-5 Roma tomatoes
4 garlic cloves (minced/grated)
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
⅓ cup chopped basil leaves
6 ½ cups tomato sauce

GARLIC BREAD

1 loaf french bread
olive oil
2 garlic cloves
garlic powder
salt
Italian seasoning

1) GARLIC BREAD: Preheat oven to 350. Slice bread in half lengthwise. Grate and spread garlic on both halves. Then generously drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Place on 2nd highest rack in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. (Very little work, yet divinely delicious!)

2) TOMATO SAUCE: Heat olive oil on medium high/high heat in an extra large skillet or pan. Stir in garlic, onion, carrots, red pepper and tomatoes. Add enough oil to prevent garlic from burning. Reduce heat and continue to stir veggies until they are soft. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil then simmer until you are ready to plate.

3) SEAFOOD: Add olive oil, garlic and onions to a skillet. Stir for 30 seconds then add frozen seafood and cook until juices are released. Add the rest of the ingredients along with ½ cup of tomato sauce and simmer for a few more minutes.

To serve, toss pasta with tomato sauce, place in a bowl then spoon seafood on top.  Garnish with basil slivers, crushed red peppers and Parmesan cheese. 

**Start the pasta first and have it cooking while you work on the rest of the meal.

Grilled Lobster w/ Muenster Mash, Stir Fried Veggies & Watercress Salad

Grilled Lobster w/ Muenster Mash, Stir Fried Veggies & Watercress Salad

Here’s a nice dinner we made during our stay in Hilton Head, SC. While there may seem to be a lot of components to this dish, it’s really simple to make. You can do the sauces first just to get them out of the way. I like to grill the lobster and boil the potatoes at the same time, since it takes the longest time to cook. Meanwhile, you can chop and saute the red peppers and onions for the mash. When you do this often, you can have 2-3 things going at once. But if you’re not comfortable with this, you can just follow the list in order. Have fun making this!


WATERCRESS SALAD

1 bunch or bag of watercress
1 tomato (diced)
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar
⅛ cup olive oil
crushed red pepper or black pepper

Make the sauce and chill until you are ready to eat. When you are ready to plate, toss with watercress and tomatoes. Place this on top of the lobster as an edible garnish.


TOMATO WHITE WINE DIPPING SAUCE:

1 tomato (diced)
½ onion (diced)
1-2 garlic cloves (grated)
⅓ cup white wine
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup olive oil
crushed red pepper
basil slivers

Mix white wine, vinegar, olive oil with sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Heat ⅛ cup olive oil in a skillet to 80% high. Add tomato, and onion. Stir to blend with the oil and leave it alone for 1 minute or so to allow the tomato and onion to caramelize. Add the garlic during the last minute of cooking. Remove from heat. When cooled, combine with the white wine mix and add basil and crushed red pepper according to your preference.



MUENSTER MASH:

red potatoes (about 3-4 per person)
1 onion (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
3 garlic cloves (grated)
½ tbsp garlic powder
milk (add enough to bring the mashed potatoes to the right consistency)
4 slices of muenster cheese (The best cheese ever!!! It’s like mozzarella & swiss combined!)
olive oil
salt

Bring water in a large pot to boil. Add a couple tbsp of salt and potatoes then cover. Cook long enough for it to feel extremely tender (almost mushy) when you insert a fork. While the potatoes are cooking, chop onions and red peppers and saute with 1 tsp salt, olive oil, garlic powder and garlic until soft. When the potatoes are done, drain and return to pot. Using a masher or a metal spatula, mash the potatoes according to your desired preference. (We like ours mainly smooth with some lumps.) Add the red pepper, onions, milk , some salt and stir. Finally, add cheese and stir to melt.


LOBSTERS:

Rinse and pat dry lobster tails. Coat with olive oil and grill on medium high for the first few minutes then medium for the remainder of the time. It should take about 20-25 minutes depending on the weight. Let it sit for a few minutes before you plate. Use a pair of kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut a slit lengthwise down the body to make it easier to pry open the lobster. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty during the meal, you can remove the meat prior to plating.


STIR FRIED VEGGIES:

green beans
red peppers
onions
1 garlic clove (grated)
salt
olive oil

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high. Add veggies, garlic and salt and stir fry for 5-8 minutes until cooked but still crispy.

(can also use snap peas, mushrooms, zucchini, squash)

Cinna-tella Belgian Waffles w/ Berry Syrup

 Cinna-tella Belgian Waffles w/ Berry Syrup

Nutella + Cinnamon + Belgian Waffle = Big Smiley Face! We were all smiles in the Garner house this morning! This is an insanely easy breakfast. I don’t think it even took me 15 minutes.

(Makes 2 large Belgian Waffles)

2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tbsp Nutella
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon

BERRY SYRUP:

1 cup frozen berries (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vinegar


1) Whisk eggs, milk, Nutella, and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2) Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir until well blended.
3) Add batter to heated waffle maker.
4) Place berries, sugar and vinegar in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 -1 ½ minute.

This is superb as a dessert as well! Just add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with berry syrup!

Kung Pao Spring Rolls (Vegetarian)

Kung Pao Spring Rolls (Vegetarian)

SPRING ROLLS:

1 pack of rice paper wraps
shredded red/green cabbage
thin red pepper strips
cilantro
edamame
1 pack of extra firm tofu (marinate with hoisin or sweet chili spring roll sauce)
mixed greens or green leaf lettuce

KUNG PAO SAUCE:

½ cup hoisin
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup water
3-4 scallion stalks (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
½-1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp crushed red pepper


1) TOFU: Drain and pat dry tofu. Cut horizontally into ¼ -⅓ of an inch slices. Pat dry again. Sprinkle with salt and marinate with chopped scallions, minced garlic and either a hoisin or sweet chili sauce. Add oil to a non-stick pan and pan fry on medium high until the tofu caramelizes on both sides. Allow to cool then slice into strips.

2) SAUCE: Add a couple tbsps of olive oil to a non-stick pan and heat on medium high. Add garlic, ginger and scallions and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the remainder of the ingredients and stir until completely blended. Remove from heat to cool. You can also add crushed peanuts to the sauce. It adds great texture and flavor.

3) SPRING ROLLS: Combine all the greens into one large bowl. Fill a large pot or bowl with water to dip the rice paper in. Quickly wet the rice paper in the bowl and shake off excess water. Place it on a chopping board or clean counter. Add a small handful of greens, strips of tofu and edamame to the side nearest you and start rolling away from you. When you’re half way through the wrap, fold the left and right sides in and finish rolling.