Shrimp Korma over White Rice

It seems that anytime I see a recipe these days for an Indian or Mediterranean dish, it immediately catches my eye. I don't know what it is that makes me gravitate towards the food of these two regions, but I am constantly craving it. I have yet to tire of nice, spicy curries, served on a bed of steaming hot rice; similarly, a plate of warm pita bread and hummus always sounds like heaven, day or night.

This dish is one that I read through briefly and then pretty much went straight to the kitchen to see if I had all the ingredients on hand to make. Turns out, I didn't have everything, but I gave you my variation on the dish below. My differences were slight; I put in ground ginger instead of fresh, and I omitted fresh tomato in favor of a bag of frozen veggies. In my opinion, this dish turned out wonderfully. It was comfort food at its spicy best. The shrimp and veggies absorb the brightly flavorful curry broth so nicely, and the rice is the perfect base layer to ground the dish. Best of all, the whole meal takes less than a half hour to put together. You could allow the pot to simmer longer to meld the flavors even more, but even with the quick prep I found it all very tasty. I love it when something so exotic is ridiculously easy, too!

Shrimp Korma over White Rice
adapted from Cooking Light
makes 6 servings

Ingredients
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp. hot curry powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 (16-oz.) frozen vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower)
1 lb. peeled and deveined large shrimp
4 cups hot, cooked white rice
fat-free plain yogurt, optional

Directions
1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion to pan; saute 2 minutes. Add flour and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder, ginger, garam masala, and 1/4 tsp. salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring.

2. Stir in broth and 1/3 cup water; bring to a boil. Stir in coconut milk and reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add peas, frozen veggies, shrimp, and the remaining salt; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done.

3. Spoon about 2/3 cup rice into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with about 1 cup shrimp mixture and, if desired, 2 tsp. yogurt.

CEIMB: Asian Noodle Bowl

This week we had the pleasure of making Ellie's Asian Noodle Bowl for Craving Ellie in My Belly. This was chosen by Margaret of Tea and Scones, and it was the absolute perfect weeknight meal for my family. I'm not sure how this recipe escaped my notice for so long, but I'm sure glad Margaret put it on my radar!

I love the ease and freshness of a stir fry. This is one of the first things I ever learned how to make, and we never seem to tire of them. This one, while similar to others I've made in the past, was different and delicious. I realized, this may be the first stir fry I've ever prepared without garlic! I have to say, we didn't really miss it all that much, but it would have been good in there, too.

The ingredients list included fresh broccoli florets, shiitake mushrooms (my first time using them), red bell pepper, canned baby corn, scallions, chicken, and soba noodles. Once everything is stir-frying away, you pour in some low-sodium soy sauce and chicken broth and let it all absorb. The dish is finished with a bit of sesame oil and a few reserved scallions on top.

I was faithful to this recipe, for the most part. I did add one jalapeno pepper to the ginger and scallions that are added to the skillet at the beginning of the recipe, and I was glad I did. It gave the dish just the right amount of heat. Also, I had just 5 oz. of mushrooms, instead of the 8 oz. that were called for, but I just added in extra broccoli and it all worked out okay. My husband called this dish "extra delightful," which I can only take to mean that this one was a big winner!

Thank you to Margaret for choosing this one; it's simple but so delicious! To view the recipe, you can click here. And to see the CEIMB blogroll, you can click here.

Meatless Mondays: Green Curry with Bok Choy

This past week, I prepared yet another "first" in the kitchen. I cooked tofu, something I'd never done before. In fact, I've only eaten tofu about three times total; this Green Curry with Bok Choy was the third. It's definitely not as scary as I thought it would be; in fact, it's actually pretty pleasant! It's especially good in dishes like this curry, since it just assumes the flavor of whatever it is in. This curry is packed with great, exotic flavor.

The "green" parts of this curry are plentiful. There's fresh broccoli and bok choy in this recipe, along with a heaping helping of fresh cilantro and a couple of serrano peppers. The cilantro and peppers are added to a few other ingredients and processed until they form a smooth paste. This paste becomes the base for the sauce of the dish. More green components, such as Kaffir lime leaves, basil, and mint are added as aromatics, making the dish smell heavenly and taste just as great. I wish that I had Kaffir lime at the time that I made this; I can see how it would have enhanced the dish so much more. It was still wonderful, but the lime leaves would probably have taken it over the top.

The tofu is cut into cubes and added to the sauce to simmer. A can of coconut milk (light, since this is a Cooking Light dish), fresh lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil round out the sauce, and after a brief thickening period, the pre-cooked veggies are thrown in to warm through. The curry is served on top of rice, and garnished with the basil and mint. I loved the ease of preparation here; the whole thing maybe took me half an hour. I couldn't tell you for sure, since I made this in different steps throughout the day, but each step was quick and simple. The dish tasted fresh, flavorful, slightly spicy, and just interesting enough to be deemed fancy. We really loved it. It just goes to show you that a fast dinner with a global flair really can be thrown together in the comfort of your own home!

Green Curry with Bok Choy
adapted from Cooking Light
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped, peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 small serrano chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 large shallots, coarsely chopped (I used 1/2 an onion)
4 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets (about 1 head)
2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices baby bok choy
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
4 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. lower-sodium soy sauce
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 Kaffir lime leaves (I omitted)
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
1 (14-ounce) package water-packed organic firm tofu, drained and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 cups hot, cooked, long-grain white rice (I used brown jasmine rice)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint (I omitted)

Directions
1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside.

2. Cook broccoli florets in boiling water in a Dutch oven for 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove broccoli from water with a slotted spoon; drain and rinse with cold water. Return water to a boil. Add baby bok choy to Dutch oven; cook 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water; set aside.

3. Drain water from Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add cilantro mixture to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add sugar and next 4 ingredients (through coconut milk) to pan; bring to a boil. Add tofu; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until slightly thick. Add broccoli, bok choy, and juice; cook 1 minute or until heated through, tossing to combine. Discard lime leaves (if using). Place 1/2 cup rice in each of four bowls; spoon 1 1/2 cups tofu mixture over each serving. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. basil and 1 1/2 tsp. mint over each serving.

Meatless Mondays: Macaroni and Four Cheeses

This Macaroni and Four Cheeses recipe was one of the very first Ellie Krieger dishes to ever catch my eye. I watched her make it on her show several years ago. She takes the classic, delicious, but insanely unhealthy mac and cheese and converts it to something much easier on the waistline. The secret ingredient here is frozen winter squash. Its bright, yellow-orange color is similar to that of Cheddar cheese, and its texture is virtually undetectable in the dish because the squash is pureed before it is frozen. A blend of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, ricotta, and Parmesan cheeses are added to the mix (the Parmesan is actually added to the bread crumb topping, rather than to the rest of the cheeses) to create a dish that is still plenty cheesy, but much, much lower in calories and fat.

Despite my fascination with the dish, the first time I ever saw it I thought, "Well, there's no way I'm ever going to make that!" For one thing, back then I had never tried squash. The idea of blending it into the mac and cheese was just scary. Besides this, the reviews on Food Network's website for this one are very polarized. People seem to feel very strongly about this one; they either really love it or really hate it. So add that fact to my skepticism about it, and I put this one to the back of my mind.



But times, they have changed. These days, I am much more willing to try things than I was a few years ago, or even just a year ago. I've eaten squash, and lived to tell about it. I'm still constantly trying to find ways to healthify dishes that my family enjoys. Mac and cheese ranks among my five year-old's very favorite dishes, so I thought I would try to put one over on him and give this one a shot. I made it even more nutritious by throwing in a couple different veggies, fresh spinach and broccoli, for added heft and bulk. I think this may have been a mistake, at least where my son was concerned. There was no hiding the big, green vegetables from him; they were right out there in the open! So he decided he didn't like this mac and cheese, simply based on appearances. Oh, well. We can't win them all, especially with picky kids.

As for the adults in the house, you can place us in the camp of huge fans of this meal! I only used one box of the frozen squash (Ellie uses two) because I was a bit wary, but I'm sure I could have gotten away with two. I really didn't notice its flavor too much, and as far as lowfat mac and cheese go, this one is pretty generous. You get plenty of cheesiness per serving, as well as the homey, yummy bread crumb topping we all expect from scratch-made mac and cheese. Color me converted!



Macaroni and Four Cheeses
adapted from Foodnetwork.com
makes 8 servings

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 (12-ounce) box frozen pureed winter squash (Ellie uses 2 boxes, 10 ounces each)
2 cups 2% milk
4 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. powdered mustard
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1-2 cups cooked broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
3-4 cups fresh spinach, wilted
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp. olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and the milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and add the Cheddar, Jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard, and cayenne pepper.

3. Stir the cooked broccoli and spinach into the pasta, then pour the cheese mixture over the pasta and vegetables. Stir to combine, then transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.

4. Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Switch the oven to the broil setting and broil the macaroni and cheese for 3 minutes, until the top is crisp and nicely browned.