Corinn’s Definitely Not Traditional Chicken Curry

Corinn’s Definitely Not Traditional Chicken Curry

Nutrition facts for two generous servings

4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed

1 large yellow or white onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapeno chilies, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced finely

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

3 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp Korean red pepper flakes (if you cannot find it in your neighborhood, look for it online as the flavor is essential to Korean cooking!)

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

1 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar

1 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 cups of chicken stock (low sodium type, or make your own)

Squeeze of lime juice

Fresh diced tomato, fresh chopped coriander to garnish

Corinn's Pizza Soup

Corinn’s Pizza Soup

Love the flavor of pizza but trying to not eat so much of the crust? Make pizza soup!

Use whatever ingredients you enjoy on pizza – make it all veggie, or all the meats!

Pizza Soup

The nutrition facts for four large servings were analyzed at About.com

2 t olive or vegetable oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, deseeded and chopped

1 cup sliced black olives, sliced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cloves minced garlic

1 14.5oz cans of tomato sauce*

1 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes*

½ lb Italian sausage, crumbled

1/4  lb spicy pepperoni or salami, sliced crosswise

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 t dry Italian seasoning blend*

kosher salt to taste

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup white wine

Optional garnish: grated part-skim, low-moisture mozzarella, pinch of minced fresh basil, or garlic croutons

*or use 1 (32 oz) jar chunky marinara sauce - but it won't taste as good.

Directions:

Slice yellow, red onion, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, olives, mushrooms into equally-sized pieces; mince the garlic.

On high heat, add vegetable oil and begin browning the crumbled sausage and pepperoni or salami.

After a few minutes, add sliced vegetables and minced garlic. Lower the heat to medium-high, add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning blend. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften and the onions turn translucent.

Add the wine and the tin of diced tomatoes (do not drain) and stir into the vegetable mixture, using the liquid to deglaze the pan. Cook for another few minutes until the liquid reduces.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, and butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer the mixture for ten minutes; add water as needed if it starts getting too thick to be considered soup.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Remove from heat, spoon into bowls and top with garlic croutons, grated mozzerella cheese and fresh basil.

Serve as soup, in a bowl with a side of bread or toss onto pasta!

Corinn's Spicy Hamburgers

The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count!

Corinn's Spicy Hamburgers 

Burger patties:

1 pound ground beef 80/20 (not any leaner than that)

1 minced shallot or 1/4 of a minced purple onion

2 cloves minced or crushed garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 egg

1/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

Garnishes (all are optional and not included in the nutrition facts):

Green leaf lettuce or arugula

Sliced purple onion

Sliced dill or bread n' butter pickles

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced avocado

Sliced cheese of your choice (I find Havarti, baby Swiss and sharp cheddar to be my favorites)

Strips of cooked pork belly bacon

A fried egg

Good quality sandwich rolls

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl place the pound of ground beef, the egg, the seasonings, the minced or crushed garlic and the minced shallots or purple onion. Add the bread crumbs and mix to combine but be careful not to over-mix and mush up the meat. When mixing is complete, if the mixture is too wet, add more panko to dry it out. It should have a slightly wetter consistency than the raw ground beef alone and should easily form into dense patties. Heat an iron skillet (or any pan with high heat conductivity) to temperature; you'll know it's ready when a drop of water skitters across the surface. Use a small piece of the meat mixture as a "test" for seasoning; cook it through and taste it, then adjust salt and heat levels accordingly.

Once the burger mix is appropriately seasoned, cook on high heat on both sides until nicely browned (if medium doneness is desired). If you want well-done burgers, cook them on medium-high heat for a longer period of time. When the burgers are just a hair away from finished, place a slice of cheese of your choice on top and cut off the heat, allowing residual heat from the pan to finish the burgers themselves and melt the cheese. Allow the burgers to rest for 10 minutes before eating--this is a good time to prepare any garnishes or toast your buns.

After the burgers rest, plate up with your favorite garnishes or buns, french fries, coleslaw, potato chips or any side dish of your choice and enjoy. :)

Corinn’s Katsu Curry

The nutrition facts for this delicious Japanese curry were made at Calorie Count!

Corinn’s Katsu Curry

Ingredients:

The Tonkatsu:

8 thin-cut pork chops, boneless

Panko bread crumbs

All-purpose flour

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp shichimi togarash (seven-flavor pepper powder) (you can sub cayenne pepper for this, but reduce to 1/2 tsp)

2 eggs diluted with milk or water

The Veggies:

8 red-skin potatoes or new potatoes (waxy potatoes work best), diced into large-ish cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 small sweet onion, sliced

2 carrots, sliced thinly on the bias

3 green onions, chopped finely

1 red hot chili pepper, sliced very thinly (optional if you like heat)

Splash of soy sauce (in the boiling water)

The Sauce:

3 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin, just regular olive oil)

1 tbsp butter

All-purpose flour (to thicken, amount used varies based on desired thickness)

3 tbsp good-quality yellow curry powder (get this from an Indian grocer if you can, the quality difference is HUGE)

1 tbsp shichimi togarash

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1/4 cup soy sauce

Water to your desired consistency

Directions to make the curry:

First, you want to get the veggies boiled off. Cut up the potatoes and carrots, since they need to be boiled first. Put them in a pot and boil them with a splash of soy sauce. While this is going on, you can start breading and frying your pork chops.

Set up a breading station with a dish of flour (seasoned with garlic powder, pepper, salt and shichimi togarash), a bowl with the egg and milk mixture and a dish with plain panko breadcrumbs. Bread the pork chops normally and fry off in vegetable oil until crisp and golden brown. Store these in the oven, wrapped in foil, to keep them warm.

By this time your veg should be done; remove from heat and strain off. Start making the sauce. In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and butter and melt it down. Add the onion and bell pepper (and chili peppers if you want it spicy) and cook them until the onions are translucent. Add curry powder, shichimi togarash,  garlic, ginger and (if necessary) more butter. Add the flour and cook it off to make a roux. Add cold water and whisk vigorously, cooking until thickened. Add boiled potatoes and carrots to the sauce; reduce heat to low and cook slowly for another five minutes.

Remove from heat and add finely chopped green onions.

To plate:

Slice two breaded pork chops into long, thin strips and arrange on a mound of white or brown rice in a shallow bowl. Ladle a few spoons of sauce over the top; garnish with pickled ginger and a sprinkling of shichimi togarash.  Serve immediately. Feeds four-six rather hungry individuals.