oops.

last week i made chicken curry for my small group. it was the first time i had made it in awhile, and i thought i would post the recipe on here. but then i realized i already had done that. oops. here it is again anyway.

monday meals: sausage and squash stew*

last week i just kind of threw some ingredients together and out came a lovely fall dish full of all kinds of colors - orange, red, purple, green, to name a few. (i should start taking pictures to post.) here we go.

ingredients:
1lb package of italian sausage
1 acorn squash
2 15-oz cans of white beans
1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of fresh baby spinach
1/4 c small red onion, chopped
salt, pepper, & ground cumin

directions:
heat the oven to 350. cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. lay the two halves cut-side down in a small pan with a little bit of water. bake the squash for about 30-45 minutes, until soft.

while the squash is cooking, cook the sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until the meat is cooked through and the onions are translucent. add the beans, tomatoes, and spinach and let it stew for about 10 minutes.

when the squash is done, dice it and mix it in with all the other ingredients. add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.

*i'm sure there are better names for this dish, but i can't think of anything. suggestions welcome.

monday meals: chicken curry

five years ago, my friend melissa went to sri lanka for a couple weeks and came back with this recipe.

ingredients:
2 lb chicken breasts, diced
3 tsp salt
1/2 c oil
1 1/2 c finely chopped onions
1 tbs minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger (fresh)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 c water
1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbs fresh lemon juice

directions:
springle chicken with 2 tsp of the salt. in a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. add chicken in batches, browning on both sides. transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

add onions, garlic, and ginger to the remaining oil. saute for 8 minutes over medium-high heat. stir in cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne, 1 tbs of water. stir well for 1 minute. add tomatoes, 1 tbs cilantro, yogurt, and remaining salt (1 tbs).

add chicken and any accumulated juices. pour in remaining water. bring to a boil, turning chicken about to coat with sauce. sprinkle with garam masala and remaining cilantro. cover skillet and simmer for 20 minutes.

serve over white rice.

monday meals: white chili

this is so easy. and good. are you ready?

ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
3 15-ounce cans of great northern (white) beans
1 15-ounce can of black beans
1 jar of salsa
1/3 block of pepper jack cheese
1/3 block of monterrey jack cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper

directions:
cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and cook in a skillet over medium heat until they're no longer pink. throw all the ingredients into a crock pot and let it cook for a couple hours. the end.

monday meals: chickpea pasta salad

this recipe is the result of a late afternoon trip to the grocery store sans shopping list, and me trying to throw random things together with what i already had at home. it ended up making a lot of food - i ate off it for a week, which made it that much cheaper.

the ingredients in this can easily be altered, which i think makes it even better. throw in whatever you have lying around the house. for example, i think peas and water chestnuts would be awesome, but i didn't have any.

ingredients:
1 15-oz package of whole wheat pasta (i used rotini)
1 can of chickpeas
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
salt to taste
1/2 c black olives, chopped
1/3 c raisins
1/3 c sliced almonds
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
balsamic vinaigrette

directions:
cook the pasta according to directions on package. meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. drain the can of chickpeas, and sautee with the salt, basil, and oregano for 20 minutes. when the pasta is done, drain the water and pour the pasta into a large bowl. mix in the chickpeas, olives, raisins, almonds, and apple cider vinegar. chill over night.

just before serving, add in a bit of balsamic vinaigrette for some extra flavor.

monday meals: pumpkin spice granola

i love pumpkin. y'all know that by now. i've also been on a kick lately of having granola for breakfast, so i decided to make my own and to make it pumpkiny. this is so easy and so tasty.

ingredients:
2 cups oats
2 tablespoons pumpkin butter
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup raisins

preheat oven to 350*. in a medium sized bowl, mix the oats, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. in a small saucepan, mix together the pumpkin butter, pumpkin puree, honey, and brown sugar over low heat until warm. pour the pumpkin/honey/sugar mixture over the oats and mix well. spread the mixture into a 9x13 baking pan (lining it with aluminum foil & cooking spray makes it super easy to clean up). bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and adding the almonds and raisins in for the last 5 minutes. cool before serving/storing.

monday meals: pumpkin turkey chili

yeah. kind of weird. that's what i thought when i first saw this recipe over at allrecipes.com but i love everything about fall, including both pumpkin and chili, and i'm pretty brave when it comes to trying food, so i figured worst case scenario, it would be disgusting and i'd make something else for dinner. well, it was far from disgusting. the first thing you taste is sweet, and then the heat from the spices. a very interesting combination indeed, i was pleasantly surprised. i will be making this again. i also made some jiffy cornbread in the cast iron skillet - another fall favorite, and i paired it with some winzerwald schweizer spice wine, or as they refer to it, "liquid pumpkin pie". unfortunately for me, this wine is not available in nashville. i have one bottle to last me through the fall, and i will treasure it.

i adapted the original recipe (linked above). this is my version:

ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 large can of libby's pumpkin pie mix

seasonings (i didn't measure these, but let's just say that i like it hot) :
chili powder
salt
ground black pepper
cayenne pepper
ground cumin
allspice

directions:
heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute onions and peppers until onions are near-translucent. add the ground turkey and brown evenly. drain the excess grease. add the tomatoes (drained) and pumpkin, as well as the seasonings. stir and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

easy, quick, delicious, and definitely unique. and all things autumn. :)

monday meals: sausage risotto

this recipe is so yum. so so yum. f'real. (bed intruder reference, anyone?)

and not only is it yum, it's easy. so here you go.

ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
16 ounces of sausage (my favorite is trader joe's chicken sausage)
1 clove of garlic
1 1/4 cup of arborio rice (risotto)
1 cup dry white wine
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup parmasan cheese


directions:

-heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. add sausage (sliced or diced) and cook for about 3 minutes. add the garlic clove and sautee for about 1 minute.
-add the rice and the wine and heat until the wine is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
-add the water and simmer until it's absorbed, about 10-15 mintues, stirring occasionally.
-add peas and cheese, heat for about 2 more minutes
-add seasonings to taste and enjoy.

i didn't list seasonings in the ingredients, because i feel like you can be creative here. my favorite to add to this is salt, pepper, and tony's.