SITS Spring Fling & Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

The SITS Spring Fling is today! 

For those of you living under a rock who don't know by now, that stands for The Secret's In the Sauce, a blogging community dedicated to supporting one another in the way of comment love. Today, SITS is hosting a major giveaway carnival where there will be prizes every hour. Everyone in the SITStahood is also hosting a giveaway on their site. Visit HERE to see details.

{For my giveaway, I thought it would be appropriate to give away some cookbooks. While a couple hold a special place in my heart, I am willing to part with them for a fun cause. For one entry, just tell me what your favorite dish is (not something from my blog). For two entries, put me on your blogroll.

The winner will be randomly selected & I WILL CONTACT YOU Thursday! I will also make a variation of the dish you mentioned & link to you when I do. Giveaway closes 11:59 PM EST. } 

The Cowboy's Cookbook - I had to have it, how else could I know how to make Son of a Bitch Stew & Texas Longhorn Chili.

On to more love............

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RED CURRY SHRIMP

I am just loving Thai more than ever lately & when the urge hits, there's nothing I can do but give in. This dish was so easy to throw together & so delicious. Even if you don't like yellow curry, you may find you love red curry. Such different flavors. I like it spicy so I added in a bit more red curry paste to my coconut milk. 

1 (14 oz.) can lite coconut milk, divided 
1 1⁄2 tblsp red curry paste
1 tblsp brown sugar
2 kaffir lime leaves, minced (optional)
1 lb. large shrimp, shelled & deveined
2 tblsp fish sauce (or soy sauce) 
1⁄4 cup basil, chopped (I used dried)
Jasmine Rice

In a wok or heavy skillet heat half a can of the coconut milk. Stir in red curry paste & cook until well blended. Add the remaining coconut milk, brown sugar & kaffir lime leaves & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer for 5 minutes. Add shrimp & cook until shrimp are orange-pink in color, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in fish sauce & chopped basil. Serve with Jasmine rice. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

{My Thoughts}

I did not use fresh basil for this which is just fine. Remember when substituting dried in place of fresh, to use 1/3 of the recipe amount for fresh. Also, I did not use kaffir lime leaves. If you have an aversion to fish sauce you can use soy sauce instead.  But I promise, you can't tell it's in there, it just contributes to the overall flavor.

{Click Here to Print Recipe}

For More Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, please visit Lisa at Blessed with Grace.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup - Not So Fat Fridays

I found this recipe in Cooking Light & it was love at first sight & I loved it even more when I tasted it. Thai has become one of my favorite foods & I find that I enjoy the curry flavor in Thai food more than any other cuisine. Even if you don't enjoy curry I highly recommend this soup. 

The red curry paste adds such an amazing flavor & is different from the yellow powder. Also, don't be taken back by the fish sauce. It's not something you taste in the soup but I am sure contributes to the overall excellence!!!!!!!

This is perfect for lunch, dinner, weeknight family or special occasion for company!!!!!

{Picture taken from Cooking Light. My picture will not load right now}

4 cups water
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed & cut in half crosswise
1 (5 3/4-ounce) package pad thai noodles (wide rice stick noodles)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
7 lime wedges

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach & peas to pan; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes. Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.

2. Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots & the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, & bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, & simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar & fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl. Stir in cilantro & chiles. Serve with lime wedges.

{My Thoughts}

You can find the red curry paste & fish sauce in the ethnic section of your market. The red curry has such an excellent taste. I could not find the pad thai noodles individually so I had to buy an 8oz package which had a sauce packet in it (in ethnic section as well) & reserved the sauce for another use. 

I used rotisserie chicken, dried cilantro instead of fresh & used the red pepper flakes instead of red chiles. I also didn't serve with the lime wedges. This was not a spicy soup but did have a nice subtle kick. I wouldn't change a thing.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!!!

Thai One On

We love Thai food. Just went out for it last night actually in our quaint little downtown area. But a couple of weekends ago, these 2 recipes from 2 ladies made for a very nice dinner at home. Thai Turkey Tacos from Newlyweds & Spicy Cucumber Salad with Peanuts from Pam at For the Love of Cooking. These were simple & quick enough even for a weeknight meal & the tastes can be adjusted easily whether or not you're looking for a little more heat.

SPICY CUCUMBER SALAD WITH PEANUTS

2 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise & seeds removed
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup of water
3 tblsp sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tblsp minced sweet yellow onion or red onion
1 tblsp chopped dry roasted peanuts

Peel the cucumber then cut in half lengthwise. Take a small spoon & scoop out the seeds from the cucumber. Cut into bite size pieces & place in a colander, sprinkle with salt & toss well. Drain 1 hour. Rinse & pat dry on paper towels.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar & pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to 1/3 cut (about 10 minutes). Remove vinegar reduction from heat; cool. Stir in onion. Combine cucumbers & vinegar deduction in a medium bowl; toss well. Sprinkle with peanuts.

My Thoughts:

I didn't have much time so I didn't drain the cucumbers for that long & I also didn't rinse them. I did just pat them a bit to get off any excess salt. But the idea is that the salt draws out the excess water in the cukes & then you want to rinse them & pat them dry. I do this with zucchini when I am making stuffed zucchini boats. I also added a tad more crushed red pepper & peanuts because Terry likes it with a little heat.

Click Here to Print Recipe

THAI TURKEY TACOS

1 lb. ground turkey
2 T grated ginger or ¼ tsp dry ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
16oz pkg coleslaw mix with carrots
Cilantro for garnish
Thai Cooking Sauce below
Combine: 2 tsp sesame oil, 6 tblsp of soy sauce, 4 tblsp of lime juice, 2 tblsp of honey, 1 tsp of crushed red pepper, 1 tblsp of ground coriander or cumin

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add turkey; cook, crumble & stir until meat is no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, onion & slaw mix; stir-fry with meat for 2 minutes until vegetables are wilted. Add Thai cooking sauce, stirring constantly to blend all ingredients, about one minute. Serve on warm tortillas & garnish with cilantro.

My Thoughts:

We really enjoyed this for a healthy meal but there needs to be more texture to the filling, more of a crunch. So, next time I plan to add some more slaw mix once everything has been combined so it doesn't become wilted. And definitely a dollop of sour cream & perhaps some diced tomatoes.

Click Here to Print Recipe

For more Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays visit

Lisa at Blessed with Grace