Our Valentines Day Dinner

This was what my husband came home to:

I know he loves Indian cuisine. I’m not the biggest fan, but I do enjoy it…especially when it’s vegetarian. (Note: the Dahl recipe calls for butter. If you use oil, like I did, then it’s a completely vegan meal!)

The recipes came from More-With-Less Cookbook. I love this cookbook!

Garden Vegetable Curry
8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 T vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 T curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 3 carrots, diced
• 4 small potatoes, unpeeled and in 3/4″ cubes
• 3 cups green beans
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 T lemon juice

Method:

1. Heat oil in 3-4 quart saucepan on medium heat.
2. Add onions and garlic. Sauté lightly until soft.
3. Add curry, turmeric, and cumin. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes. Cook until it becomes a thick sauce.
5. Add cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and green beans. Stir until all are covered by sauce.
6. Add salt.
7. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes. Add water any time sauce is below 2/3 depth of vegetables.
8. 15 minutes before serving, add lemon juice.

Dahl (Curried Split Peas)
8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried split peas
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 T butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• 10 whole cloves
• 5 whole black peppercorns

Method:

1. Soak peas in water for 3-4 hours.
2. Add turmeric, cayenne, and salt.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce hear, cover partially, and simmer 20-30 minutes. Peas should be tender. Add additional water if needed to maintain thick gravy consistency.
4. In a small frying pan, sauté butter, onion, cumin, cloves, and peppercorns. Fry until onions are browned (10-12 minutes).
5. Add onion mixture to cooked peas.

Tomato Chutney
8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped tomato
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 T lemon juice
• 2 T vinegar
• 1 T sugar
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Garnish with fresh coriander.

On to dessert! I told Booty a few days ago that our dessert wasn’t really going to match our dinner. (He had no idea what was for dinner or dessert.) I had decided that dessert needed to be light in order to counterbalance the heaviness of dinner. I came across this recipe from Rachael Ray:

I added chocolate-coated tangelos since we have a ton of them!

Devilish Angel Cake with Wine-Soaked Berries
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup dry Italian red wine
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• A few grinds black pepper
• 1/2 pint strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 pint blackberries
• 1 store bought angel food cake
• Whipped cream, canister
• Finely chopped fresh mint leaves or orange zest, for garnish

Method:

1. Combine wine, sugar, and pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Add berries and soak 20 minutes.
3. Cut the cake into thick slices.
4. Serve wedges doused with wine soaked berries then garnish with whipped cream and fresh mint or orange zest.

Derby Day

We had some friends over to enjoy all that is the Kentucky Derby. My plan was to serve traditional food, so I did some research. I figured I wanted everything to be bite-sized…because the race itself lasts 2 minutes!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures of any food…except one! As soon as they hit the table, they were gobbled up!

I got some recipes from the Kentucky Derby website (with links):

Brie Delight
Benedictine Spread
The Early Times Mint Julep

Then there were the easy foods:
Fruit tray w/ cream cheese dip
Veggie cups w/ Ranch dressing
Chicken Salad (a friend’s recipe)
Banana Nut Bread (from a box…shh!)
Sweet Tea
Bloody Marys

The ONE thing I got a picture of:

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped strawberries
1/4 cup sugar, divided
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup Cool Whip Lite
30 Mini Fillo Shells

Method:
1. In a container, combine strawberries and 1/8 cup sugar. Stir well. Cover container and set in fridge.
2. In a bowl, add cream cheese, remaining 1/8 cup sugar, and vanilla.
3. With a hand mixer, beat on low until mixture is smooth.
4. Add Cool Whip and mix until well blended.
5. Fill shells with mixture and set in fridge for an hour.
6. Before serving, top with strawberries.

I’m pretty sure that was all the food we had!

For entertainment, we had a horse raffle: put in $5, randomly select a horse’s name out of a cup, the winner gets the money!

I won! (Even though my husband drew the most favored horse!)

We all enjoyed the race even more since we were financially involved! There was lots of yelling and jumping! Mostly from my husband because his horse was in the lead the whole time…until my horse came up from the pack!

I think we’ll keep the raffle a tradition from now on!

I’ve added The Kentucky Derby to my bucket list…but not necessarily the $1000 Mint Julep

Congrats to “I’ll Have Another” and his owners and jockey! It’s great to see a debut horse win!

Cheesy Green Beans

This is the last recipe off my phone!!!  Yay!!!

I went to the farmers’ market last week and loaded up on green beans.  I love fresh green beans.  The crunchiness is the best!

I had a couple cups left, so I decided to mix it with cheese.  I mean, cheese goes great on any vegetable, right?!?!  Right!

Cheesy Green Beans
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cut green beans
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese

Method:

1. In 2-quart saucepan, cook beans until soft. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until garlic becomes fragrant.
4. Reduce to low heat.
5. Add cooked green beans and toss to coat.
6. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve warm.

Memorial Day BBQ

For Memorial Day, we had our families over to our new house to use our new BBQ.  My husband grilled up some cedar-planked salmon, hot dogs and hamburgers.

I made all the sides!

Quick Fruit Salsa

Makes about 2.5 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz) mixed fruit, drained
• 1/2 cup red onion, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1.5 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Before serving, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, or refrigerate up to 6 hours.

Vegetarian Baked Beans

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 28oz vegetarian baked beans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp dry mustard
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, combine beans, onion, molasses, ketchup and dry mustard.
2. Heat over medium-high heat until bubbling, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Before serving, stir in cider vinegar.

Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups wild rice & long grain rice mix
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped tarragon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper

Method:

1. Cook rice according to package.
2. Spread rice on large rimmed baking sheet and place in refrigerator.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Spread pine nuts on baking pan and toast 6-8 minutes.
5. Place rice in large bowl. Fold in pine nuts, parsley, tarragon, oil, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper.
6. Serve.

Radish and Snap Pea Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Spring Mix salad mix
• 1 bunch radishes, cut into thin wedges
• 1/2 lb snap peas

Method:

1. In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar and salt & pepper (to taste).
2. Whisk until blended, set aside.
3. In a large salad bowl, combine salad mix, radishes and peas.
4. Pour dressing over salad mix.
5. Toss to coat and serve.

Mongolian Style Shrimp Bowl

I came up with this recipe after having a Moms Night Out at Genghis Grill.  I love stir fry!  I love the combination of different flavors…sweet, citrus, fresh and salty.  That describes this meal in a nutshell – or a bowl, rather!

Mongolian Style Shrimp Bowls

Ingredients:

• 14 shrimp per serving, shelled
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped in 1-inch pieces
• 1 can of chopped pineapple, drained
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2 Tbsp minced cilantro
• Zest of 1 orange (about 2 Tbsp)
• 1 tsp sliced green onions
• 2 Tbsp Ponzu
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

1. Combine shrimp, bell pepper, asparagus, pineapple, almonds, cilantro, orange zest, ginger and green onions in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Cook until shrimp is pink and vegetables are tender.
3. In a small bowl, combine ponzu, honey, sesame oil, vegetable oil and salt and pepper.
4. Pour sauce into wok/skillet and toss with shrimp and vegetables until coated.
5. Serve over bed of rice.