Thursday Recipe - Massaman Curry

I made this by mistake. Honest. It started out as Chicken Satay, but by the time I was done with it, it was Massaman Curry. And very tasty. I think curry is the watchagot stew of India, just like minestrone is the watchagot stew of Italy. Feel free to mix this up however you want, the sauce is what makes it massaman curry.

Massaman Curry

Sauce:
3 T. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. lime juice
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. curry powder (use this one if you like)
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 t. jalapeno hot sauce, or tabasco sauce

Mix everything, beat with a whisk until smooth.

Curry:
3 chicken breasts, about 2/3 lb., cut into bite-size chunks
1 c. thin sliced zucchini
1/2 c. finely diced sweet bell peppers
1 c. cooked acorn squash

Cook chicken in a large frying pan until no longer pink. Pour sauce over chicken. Stir in zucchini, peppers, and squash. Cook and stir until hot through. Serve over rice.

Feel free to swap out the vegetables or add others such as sliced carrots, cubed potatoes, sliced onions, sliced daikon, or whatever you have on hand that needs used. Any cooked veggies would work in this dish.

Thursday Recipe - Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Our grocery store does this wonderful thing called Manager's Specials. They mark down all sorts of items that they just want to go away fast. My kids are starting to believe that groceries need that big yellow and orange price sticker or something must be wrong with it. Yeah, I admit I'm a bargain/clearance bin shopper.

Today they had lots of markdown produce. It needed used as soon as possible. I ended up with eight lovely bell peppers, mostly yellow and red with only one green one. But they aren't going to keep. I chopped up most of them and chucked them into the freezer for future stir fries and other dishes that need cooked peppers. (I also did this with the celery leaves and green onions. I've still got lots of sweet potatoes that are roasted and just waiting to be peeled and frozen. Like I said, lots of great deals on produce that was just a little past its prime.)

I enjoy stuffed peppers every once in a while, but it's a bit too much pepper for my kids so we tried this out instead. It makes an easy casserole that's pretty much a full meal by itself.

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped bell pepper, whatever color you want
4 c. cooked rice
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 t. dried parsley
1 t. oregano
paprika for garnish

Brown beef and onions together until meat is cooked. Drain off grease. Mix beef mix, peppers, rice, tomatoes, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano. Spoon into 9x13 casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Serve hot.

You can sprinkle it with a cup of shredded cheese for the last five minutes if you like.