Curry Shrimp and Noodle Soup

I've almost burned myself out on Italian and Mexican. Almost. I'm not sure if it's possible for me to overdo pizza and tacos. Yesterday, when agonizing over what to make for dinner, I decided I needed to spice up my life, literally, and go for Asian. More specifically Thai.

I've tried Asian-esque before (to sound fancy I'll call it Asian fusion), but it's not typically authentic. For example, Korean tacos. They were delicious, but I'm not sure the addition of soy sauce and sesame seeds really counts. You should definitely still make them though. 

Trader Joe's really brought it with the quality of the frozen shrimp.

This soup combines Thai flavors of curry and chilies cooled down by creamy coconut milk. We're starting to get warmer. Add some zesty lime and cilantro, and I'm picturing myself on a tropical island in southeast Asia. Another bonus: this soup takes much less time than my typical soup takes.

I suggest you get out of your weeknight pizza and pasta rut, and make this ASAP.

Artsy Filter

Curry Shrimp and Noodle Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (uncooked and thawed if frozen)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 yellow onion (chopped finely)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup diced green onions and 1 jalapeno (garnish)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 can light coconut milk 
1 tbsp red curry paste (I used the Thai Kitchen brand found in the Asian section of my Safeway.)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 tbsp fresh lime juice 
6 ounces rice noodles
1 tsp Sriracha

Directions:

In large stock pot, saute minced garlic and onion in 1 tablespoon of oil (your choice) for 3-4 minutes. Add minced carrots and continue cooking until carrots are soft.

Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Most only need to be soaked in hot water, but mine were fresh and required boiling for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add broth, curry paste, and ginger to vegetables. Once boiling, lower heat to medium. Add shrimp and cook 4 minutes. Add lime juice, coconut milk, curry powder, cilantro, and Sriracha. Add noddles and continue cooking on medium for an additional 5-7 minutes until soup is hot. (Do not over cook or the shrimp will be chewy.)

Serve soup hot and garnish with green onions, jalapenos, a lime wedge and extra cilantro. 

[Recipe adapted from The Lovely Cupboard]

Fat Tuesday Jambalaya

What a great week for holidays. I love celebrating for any reason so Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day in one week is good news for me. Added bonus: both holidays center around food (at least in my book). I have never tried to make jambalaya before, and to be honest, it kind of intimidated me. I thought it was like chili where everyone has their fave recipe, which requires hours of cook time. False. With a little help from my girl Martha, I whipped up a quick and authentic tasting jambalaya. I'm not claiming to be John Besh, but it was delicious.

Healthy?

Start by seasoning your chicken breasts with salt and pepper and heating the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Don't be scared by the amount of oil. You're basically poaching the chicken breasts and using the leftover oil for your veggies. Yum. While the chicken is cooking, cut the veggies.

Magic

Remove the chicken breasts from the pot, and cut into bite-sized chunks. Add the veggies, sausage and garlic to the pot (specific cooking times below). If you have never used a garlic mincer it will save your life. The pre-minced stuff in the jar just doesn't do it for me and getting such a fine texture chopping by hand is exhausting. Problem solved.

Starting to smell gooood

Stir in the stock, Old Bay, tomatoes and water, and bring to a boil. Add the rice and chicken, simmer for a little bit, and remove from the heat. Martha said you 

should have jambalaya in 30-35 minutes, but I found my rice took closer to an hour to cook all the way. Just keep an eye on it.

Voila!

Fat Tuesday Jambalaya
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

• 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

• 3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

• 1 can (14 ounces) crushed tomatoes with juice

• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 
  

Directions:

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Cut into 3/4-inch pieces; set aside.

Add vegetables to pot. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add sausage; cook 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in stock, Old Bay, tomatoes and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Add rice and chicken. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, 45 to 60 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce of your choice.

[Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart]

Don't forget the dessert!

Soup Sundays: White Chicken Chili

Lotssss of soup!

I'll admit that I didn't make this for the Super Bowl last night. I should have. This white chicken chili would have added some much needed veggies to our spread and left me not feeling like I was going to explode.

This was made a while back on a Soup Sunday. To explain, I've been finding myself making lots of soup on winter Sundays (sometimes Soup Mondays if I'm being lazy) especially with the addition of the slow cooker and blender to our tiny kitchen. Since I'm huge on leftovers, I love making a big batch that I can bring to work for lunch for the rest of the week or freeze for a quick meal later.

Sunday nights are generally when the scarys kick in. My anxiety will be through the roof due to poor food and lifestyle decisions made over the last couple days. One way to fix this is to eat a healthy meal. I rarely use cream or thickeners in soups so they are a healthy way for me to pack in the veggies.

Try this for your next binge weekend detox.

To calm your Sunday Scarys

White Chicken Chili

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds ground chicken

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons chili powder

3 tablespoons flour

2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained

1 pound frozen kale, thawed

11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

Greek yogurt, your hot sauce of choice and grated white cheddar for serving.

Directions:

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. 

Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, kale, corn, and chicken stock. 

Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for at least an hour (two would be better!) until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve with dollops of Greek yogurt, shredded cheddar and hot sauce (I used chipotle).

[Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' White Bean and Chicken Chili]