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Showing posts with label Snacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snacks. Show all posts

Spicy Sweet Potato Chips


     Have you ever tried to just eat one potato chip?  Well, I have never been successful at doing that because I love a good crunchy and salty snack.  I tried to make some "healthier" chips by substituting sweet potatoes for regular white potatoes. Unfortunately they fell shy of being truly healthy when I couldn't get my oven to cooperate with me so I could successfully bake them crispy the way I like.  Yes.. I did finally decide to take the plunge and deep fry them. Okay... they were a little healthy and a little guilty... but they still were fantastic. 

    Ingredients:
    4 sweet potatoes skinned and thinly sliced
    1 tsp of cumin powder
    red chili powder to taste
    1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
    lots of black pepper
    salt to taste (after frying)
    oil for frying

    Note: You will require the use of a mandolin slicer to give you thin even slices.  

    Directions:
    Slice and marinate the sweet potato slices with the spices. Heat canola oil to 350-375 degrees and deep fry until golden brown and crispy (2-4 minutes).  Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle sea salt while hot and serve. Enjoy



    Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Post Title

Spicy Sweet Potato Chips


Post URL

https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2012/04/spicy-sweet-potato-chips.html


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Homemade Energy Trail Mix

    Sometimes it's nice to have a good quality snack around in case the munchies strike.  Nuts are a great source of fiber and protein. You can simply eat a 1/4 cup of nuts and call it a day, but I find it lacking. I need something sweet to balance out the nuts. Dried fruit is a great energy source and it provides a nice sweetness.  Okay... so why are there M&Ms?  Well, you have to put something fun in the bag to make it interesting for the kids (me too!). Buying prepacked trail mix is pretty costly so why not make your own homemade trail mix and save pennies on the dollar.  Plus they always have one ingredient you don't care for and you have pick your way through the bag to avoid it. If you customize your own special blend it's as simple as gathering your ingredients (buy it in bulk) and making your trail mix once a week for a bunch of healthy snacks that are ready to go when you are instead of grabbing a bag of chips or candy bar.


     Ingredients:
    Nuts:  Dry roasted peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans etc...
    Dried fruit:  dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots, figs, dates etc..
    Dry Cereal:  Chex mix, Cheerios, etc..
    Snack favorites:  small pretzels, sunflower/pumpkin seeds (shelled), popcorn
    Chocolate:  M&Ms, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips,

    Directions:
    Mix the ratio of 2 parts nuts to 1 part each of extras.  Use a 1/4 measuring cup and measure out the correct serving size into a snack size ziploc bags.  Enjoy.

    My Mix:
    4 cups dry roasted peanuts
    1 cup M&M
    1 cup dried cranberries
    1 cup almond slivers (I know it's a nut, but I treated it like an extra because it was expensive )




    Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Post Title

Homemade Energy Trail Mix


Post URL

https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-energy-trail-mix.html


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Healthy Carrot Bread


    The New Year is around the corner and it's time to start thinking of healthy food again after indulging over the Christmas holidays these past few weeks.  After eating all the rich holiday foods and delicious Christmas baked goods who wants to eat just a pile of carrots.  This Healthy Carrot Bread is a great compromise because it satisfies that sweet tooth but is full of healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, carrots, applesauce and walnuts.  So whip up a this quick and easy bread for breakfast or snack time and start to feel good about eating sweet treats again. 

    Ingredients: 

    • 1 cup grated carrot
    • 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
      (to toast walnuts, bake in oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees)





    Wet Ingredients
    • 1 cup sugar (to lower the sugar content, I did use half a cup baking splenda and half a cup regular sugar)
    • 3/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    Mix together wet ingredients with a whisk.

    Dry ingredients:
    • 1 cup whole wheat flour
    • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
    • pinch of salt

     Directions:
     

    Mix all ingredients together well with a mixing spoon.





    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat loaf pan with vegetable spray and then dust with flour.  Pour into pan and bake for 50 minutes or until done.
    Slice and serve.  Enjoy the bread for breakfast, as a snack or even with a meal.


     Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. 

Post Title

Healthy Carrot Bread


Post URL

https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/12/healthy-carrot-bread.html


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Masala Potato Croquettes

     I was very happy when the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program sent me coupons to try Simply Potatoes.   I have used their products in the past and they are a great help when you need to get dinner on the table quickly.  Simply Potatoes is a line of refrigerated prepared potato dishes. You can choose from several varieties of mash potatoes, hash browns, wedges and sliced potatoes.   I used my coupons to get two of the Country-style mash potatoes. The first package was eaten upon arriving home from the store because I needed to make lunch fast.  I paired the Simply Potatoes Mashed Potatoes with some rotisserie chicken and lunch was on the table in a few minutes.  The 2nd package of mashed potatoes was waiting for me to make something extra special out of them.  I was excited to make these Masala Potato Croquettes.  These spicy croquettes are breaded with an extra crispy coating on the outside and the inside is filled with  fluffy spicy potato, onion and green chilies.  It's always a hit with my family and they were waiting for me to hurry up and take my pictures so they could dive in and enjoy.  My kids and husband devoured the entire plate of potato croquettes with some mango chutney leaving me only some crumbs behind. I guess I should be happy they loved it some much, but they could have left me some.  Good thing I ate a few to taste test right out of the fryer.. it's good to be the cook sometimes.:)


     Ingredients:
    1 package of Country Style Mashed Potatoes
    1/2 medium onion chopped finely
    2-3 green chilies chopped finely (seeded)
    1 Tbs of minced curry leaves
    1/2 Tbs of minced fresh mint leaves
    1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder
    1Tbs ginger/garlic paste
    red chili flakes to taste
    1/2 tsp of cumin seeds ground by hand
    salt to taste and a lot of black pepper
    1-2 tsp of fresh lime juice
    1 egg for coating
    favorite style bread crumbs for coating (I used Panko)

    Directions:
    Take your cumin seeds and grind it into a coarse grind.  I like using a mortar and pestle for this step.






     Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add 2-3 tsp of oil and bloom your cumin seeds for a few seconds (careful not to burn)
     Then add your ginger/garlic paste, onions, green chilies, mint and curry leaves.
     Once the onions begin to soften, add your garam masala powder, red chili flakes, salt and pepper.  Lower the heat to medium-low and allow all the ingredients to cook down for a few minutes.

    Next add your prepared mash potatoes.  It's easy with the use of Simply Potatoes. No need to boil potatoes or clean potatoes.  I just opened up the package and put it into my pan.. Now these are not like using dehydrated boxed instant potatoes.. they are real mashed potatoes.  :)

     



    Mix the mash potatoes with all the ingredients.  Then add your fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon at a time and taste if you like the flavor.  I used both teaspoons of lime juice in the end.  Taste for seasoning and then turn off the stove.  You need to allow this mixture to really cool down.  I let it sit on the stove for a little while and then put it in the fridge for almost a hour to chill.  Cold potatoes are easier to make into the balls shapes.  


     Make your potato balls about the size of walnuts.
     Then dip them into a well beaten egg and coat the outside.
     Roll them in bread crumbs.  I wanted the outside extra crispy so I used panko breadcrumbs (Extra fluffy Japanese breadcrumbs).
    Deep fry in oil for a minute until golden brown. Do no have your oil too hot (about 350 degrees) is best.  
     Drain on a paper towel and then serve.








     I served it with some spicy and sweet mango chutney that complimented the spicy croquettes well.  Enjoy.


    Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Post Title

Masala Potato Croquettes


Post URL

https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/12/masala-potato-croquettes.html


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Savory Asian Egg Rolls

     I enjoy getting Chinese take out when I am in no mood to cook, but the one thing I never order are egg rolls.  I find by the time they get home the egg rolls are soggy, oily and usually too bland for my taste.  So I wanted to find a good egg roll recipe and I came across this food blog called Steamy Kitchen, by Jaden Hair.  Her blog is amazing and full of gorgeous Asian recipes.  I found her Mother's Famous Chinese Rolls and I knew I had to give them a try.  I did make a few changes, but I was so very pleased at the end result.  These were some amazing egg rolls.  

    You will need:
    One bunch green onions chopped
    2 carrots finely grated
    2 cups shredded cabbage ** see note below
    1 tbs of grated ginger
    2 cloves of garlic minced

    ** here is a quick tip for the cabbage: get help from the store by buying a bag of pre-cut coleslaw

     
     Egg Roll wrappers. This was the only kind of egg roll wrappers available in my local grocery store.

    Next time I will go to the Asian Market and get the frozen wrappers that are thinner and crispier that Jaden recommends.  But these are still good in my opinion.


    One pound of lean ground pork.  You will need to marinated the pork for 10 minutes in:
    1 Tbs of soy sauce
    1 tsp cornstarch
    1/4 tsp sugar
    black pepper

     Heat a wok or large saute pan over high heat. In one Tbs of oil saute' pork until no longer pink

    For the filling you will need to prepare the following sauce:

    1Tbs Chinese rice wine
    1 tsp rice wine vinegar
    1/4 tsp sugar
    1/2 tsp salt
    1 Tbs soy sauce
    1 tsp sesame oil
    pepper



     Add vegetables and sauce. Stir fry for a few minutes until vegetables are tender.



    You must cool the filling before proceeding to make the egg rolls. A great tip Jaden gives is to put it on a baking sheet and spread it out then tilted the cookie sheet so if there was any liquid in the filling it would drain out. I luckily had no liquid in my filling. But if you do, discard the liquid because you don't want liquid to make the egg rolls soggy.

    Step one: fill wrapper with one teaspoon of filling.

    Step 2:  fold corner over and roll tightly












    Step 3: Fold sides over  


    Step 4:  Roll tightly and seal the edge with water.
    Have all egg rolls done before frying.  Do not lay on top of each other so they don't stick together.


    Fry each egg roll until golden brown. You want your oil hot (about 350 degrees), but not scorching hot.

    Serve and Enjoy.  
    To see Jaden's Recipe please visit: My mothers-famous-chinese-egg-rolls-



    Copyright: All content (otherwise mentioned), photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission

Post Title

Savory Asian Egg Rolls


Post URL

https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/11/savory-asian-egg-rolls.html


Visit Jessica Dorrell for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Thai Lettuce Wraps

    The first time I tried Lettuce Wraps was at a popular Chinese restaurant.  I could not believe how simple the dish was, but it was still so flavorful and delicious.  I tried to come up with my own version of lettuce wraps, but with my favorite Thai flavors.

    Brown 1lb of lean ground meat.  You can use any kind you like (Chicken, Beef, Turkey).  I used pork.  Once meat is brown then add:
    2 Tbs of grated ginger
    1 Tbs of grated garlic
    1 small can of water chestnuts chopped
    2 jalapenos (seeded) chopped
    scallions chopped **white part only
    Cook 3-4 minutes.

    Note:  Reserve the green part of the scallions for garnish to be used later.


    Now add a handful each of fresh mint leaves and Thai Basil chopped.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes.






    The Sauce:
    1 Tbs of Chili Sambal (or red pepper flakes to taste)
    1 tsp of Sesame Oil
    2 Tbs of Fish Sauce
    2 Tbs of Soy Sauce
    2 Tbs of Rice Vinegar
    2 Tbs of Chinese cooking wine or dry Sherry
    1/2 tsp brown sugar

    Note:  Soy Sauce and Fish Sauce are used as salt in Thai and Chinese cooking.  So if you are not a fan of salt adjust your dish accordingly.

    Add the sauce to the meat and stir fry 5 minutes.  You don't want too much liquid left in the pan otherwise you will have soggy lettuce wraps.



    Wash and dry your favorite lettuce.  I used Bib Lettuce because it comes in a nice "cup" shape.  You can use Iceberg, Romaine etc...






    You can place about 1-2 Tbs of meat filling on each lettuce leaf.  Garnish with green scallions and chopped peanuts.
    Enjoy as an appetizer to any Asian style meal.  This is also a great snack.

Post Title

Thai Lettuce Wraps


Post URL

https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/05/thai-lettuce-wraps.html


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