Quick Thai Curry and Maple Granola

For some reason, I always seem to be craving curry, and so this recipe has quickly become my go to whenever the craving strikes. The great thing about this recipe is that it takes less than half an hour from the moment you think of it to sitting down and enjoying.

Quick Thai Curry with Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Green Beans

Taken from America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Simple Recipes

            I suggest this cookbook to everyone! The recipes are all done in 30 minutes or less, no scary techniques, and so far I haven’t found a single recipe that hasn’t been delicious.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons red curry paste

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

8 ounces sweet potatoes (about 1 large), peeled and cut into ¾ inch chunks

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb) cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices

6 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon lime juice

¾ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1)   Bring coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, curry paste, and sugar to boil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 5 minutes.
2)   Add potatoes and simmer, covered, until nearly tender, about 8 minutes.
3)   Add chicken and beans to pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes and beans are tender, about 5 minutes.
4)   Stir in lime juice and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

Notes:

Light coconut milk can be used, but the broth will be thinner. Trust me, use the full fat (besides, its cheaper!)

I’ve found both fish sauce and red curry paste at Schnucks.

The basil is easily left out. If you don’t have any, don’t worry about it!

This recipe is great as leftovers, but if you don’t feel like having the same meal for three days straight it’s very easy to halve the whole recipe. I often make the whole sauce amount and just throw in however much chicken, beans, and sweet potatoes I have.

~

One of my favorite snacks is granola. It’s the easiest thing to throw over a bowl of yogurt, with some milk for breakfast, or just grabbing it by the handful. But store-bought granola is full of all kinds of preservatives, ridiculous amounts of sugar, and ingredients I can’t pronounce. So I like to whip up this granola recipe, its easily customizable, takes only a few minutes to prepare and then your whole apartment smells amazing as it cooks! Plus it makes about 7 cups and stores at room temperature for weeks!

Big Cluster Maple Granola

Taken from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perleman

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

 ¼ cup toasted wheat germ (completely unnecessary, if you have it great! If not, no need)

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon coarse salt

½ cup maple syrup (can increase to 2/3 cup if you want a sweeter granola)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg white (creates those delicious clumps, if you don’t want granola chunks go ahead and leave out)

1 ½ cups dried cherries, diced if large pieces (or any dried fruit. I tend to leave this out completely)

Instructions

1)   Preheat your oven to 300 degrees
2)   Combine all ingredients but the egg white and dried fruit in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly.
3)   Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy and stir into granola mixture, distributing it throughout.
4)   Spread granola in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. About halfway through pull out and use a large spatula to turn over sections of the granola (ensures granola won’t burn). If it is baking unevenly rotate the pan.
5)   When evenly browned transfer from oven to cooling rack and let cool completely. Once cooled sprinkle in dried fruit and store (or eat!)

Notes:

If you don’t have parchment paper, line the baking sheet with tinfoil or just spray with PAM.