Chicken Curry in a Hurry

Almost as good as going out for Thai food....

Chicken Curry in a Hurry
1- 2 Diced chicken breast or dark meat if you prefer
One medium onion diced
4 T of oil olive or coconut
1 Can of coconut milk
Curry powder
Salt to preference
Raisins optional
Almond slivers optional


In a large sauté pan use oil to cook onions. Remove and set aside. More oil in pan and stir fry chicken. Salt and add a little sprinkle of curry powder (more if you like it spicy). Once you brown chicken, add milk, onions and optional items into pan . Let simmer for at least 5 minutes.Can also add other cooked veggies like left over potatoes or carrots or even frozen peas.Serve over rice.

Serves 4-6

Kerri's Sesame Chicken Kabobs

My sister in law, Kerri, is an amazing cook. She loves spending time in the kitchen making wonderful food for people. She grows her own vegetables, bakes her own bread and makes her own noodles for pastas. For Christmas last year she compiled all of her favorite recipes and put them in a beautiful book for all her family and friends. I have thoroughly enjoyed making food from her book. This is one particular recipe that my family has loved eating...

- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
- 1/3 c teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 c soy sauce
- 2 T sesame seeds
- 3 T canola oil
- 2 T dark sesame oil
Place chicken in large ziplock bag. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Seal and marinade in fridge for at least 3 hours turning occasionally.

- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 yellow bell peppers
- 2 yellow onions
Cut into 1" pieces. Remove chicken from marinade and reserve liquid in saucepan. Bring to boil and set aside. Thread chicken and veggies on skewers. Grill over medium hot coals (350-400 degrees) for 3-5 minutes on each side till done, basting twice with reserved marinade.

(To freeze for a meal swap, I would suggest freezing the chicken in the marinade, and freezing the cut up vegetables in a separate bag. Each family can thread the food onto the skewers after it has been defrosted. I froze the food put together on the skewers and the skewers poked holes in the bags!)

Keslyn's Chicken Pot Pie

I am pretty sure everyone LOVED this meal prepared by Keslyn! My hubby doesn't generally like pot pies, but he actually enjoyed this one. Keslyn got the recipe from the blog Life As A Mom. Very good stuff.

Chicken Pot Pie

Makes 1 pie serving 4-6

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup cooked, diced carrots
1/2 cup cooked, diced potatoes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
double pie crust

Combine chicken breast, peas, carrots, and potatoes in a bowl; set aside. In medium saucepan, melt butter. Sauté onion until clear. Whisk in flour and cook until bubbly. Whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Stir in seasonings. Pour over chicken-vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Cool completely if preparing for freezer. Line pie plate with bottom crust. Pour in filling. Position top crust, crimp edges,* and bake at 375° for one hour or until crust is brown and filling bubbles.

If you want to make this ahead and freeze. Simply wrap with foil at the asterisk*, label, and freeze. To serve: Vent top and brush with milk. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes and then reduce heat and bake at 375° until crust is browned and filling bubbles, about one hour more.

• Mixed, frozen vegetables may be substituted for the peas, carrots, and potatoes.
• This is also delicious made with cooked turkey.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

My mom is an incredible cook. Wes and I talk about it all the time. When I told her I was involved in a meal swap, she started compiling recipes for me to try. She sent me to "the sisters cafe" blog, and I found this meal, asked her what she thought, and she gave me the go ahead. Wes and I ate our portion last night before this morning's swap to make sure it was decent, and it sure is a comfort food. We served it with steamed veggies.

2 Packages reduced sodium Stuffing mix

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 cup sliced deli ham, cut into 1 inch strips

1 cup swiss cheese shredded

2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

2 cups cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)

Prepare stuffing mixes according to directions on box. Meanwhile in a bowl, combine soup and milk. Put chicken in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper. Layer with ham, swiss cheese and 1 cups of cheddar cheese, soup mixture ans stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. At this point you can freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer.

Asian Sloppy Joe's

Back when I was still a Frost, the Walker family invited me to the North Carolina beach with them every summer. They still invite me now whenever we can find a year to go, but I think it's neat they started loving me a long time ago. Anyways, each night a different couple was in charge of the meal, and the mom of the other family we meet at the beach made these fabulous Asian Sloppy Joe's one night. She's an incredible cook, and she always makes the most delicious healthy meals.

1 lb. ground turkey

1 cup chili sauce (I use Thai Sweet Chili Sauce)

3 T. hoisin sauce

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. rice wine (or rice wine vinegar)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Salt & red & black pepper to taste

Brown turkey in skillet with Lawry's salt and red & black pepper. Combine all other ingredients and stir into turkey. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. (Freeze here.) Serve with scallion slices on top of buns spread with mayonnaise.

Sarah's Chicken Tacos

Sarah has made this several times for swap and my kids always love it! She's tweaked the recipe a few times, but this is the basic gist of it...

- Boil chicken breasts (3-4) until fully cooked
- Shred the chicken
- Saute the chicken with butter (2T) and onion (Sarah uses onion flakes; I have used frozen, pre-chopped onions)
- add bottle of Ortega Original Taco Sauce to the chicken mixture
- add one packet of taco seasoning mix
- a little water if it's too thick
- add 1-2 cans of drained and rinsed black beans
- add a little less than one packages of frozen sweet corn
- simmer

Serves about 8.

Serve with tortillas, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce...whatever you like!

Pork Chop Marinade

This is a tasty marinade for pork chops. It's been a hit for meal swaps in the past, and it's great b/c you can have most of the ingredients already in your frig.

1 T soy sauce
2 T vegetable oil
1 T worchestershire sauce
1 t lemon juice
2 T brown sugar
2 T ketchup
6 pork chops

I usually dump this all in a bag and let it marinade for at least a couple hours, and then grill. Of course you can throw it in the freezer too, and it will marinade when it defrosts.

Skinny Tortilla Soup

The is a yummy soup that is made of things you can keep on hand. I usually make this for people when they've had a baby or are sick, and they generally ask for the recipe after they've eaten it. It's easy to make and kids seem to like it too.

1 can (16oz) fat free refried beans

1 can (15oz) black beans; rinsed and dried

1 can (14.5oz) chicken broth

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

3/4 cups salsa

3/4 cup cubed or shredded chicken

1/2 cup water

2 cups cheese

In a large pan, combine the first 7 ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over tortilla chips and top with cheese. Serves about 8.

(To make this for multiple families, I usually get a whole chicken and boil it for an hour or so. I use the broth from the boiled chicken to make the soup and shred the chicken. You can also use already cooked fajita chicken or regular chicken breasts. When freezing, I go ahead and add the cheese to the soup. ) 

What am I going to cook for dinner tonight???

The idea started several years ago to do a meal swap. A friend mentioned the idea, and I was skeptical, I am not going to lie. Would we like the food? Would it be worth the day in the kitchen preparing the food? Well, let me tell you...it was a genius idea, and I haven't missed but one swap in three years. (I had just had a baby - good excuse, right?!)

The premise: each mom would make one (or two) recipes for multiple families and then swap with other moms. This allowed one day of cooking and a full freezer of different meals. Suddenly the dreaded thought of "what am I going to cook for dinner tonight" became much more simple! Pull something out of the freezer and have some sides. Wonderful!

For the most part we do two meals each, and during the summer one of those meals is usually a grilling option. Those are wonderful b/c most of us love to grill out and the meal is really easy to make. (plop a meat in a marinade and you're done) Currently we're doing one organic meal (to the best of our ability) and one non-organic. It helps keep the cost down, and quite frankly it's rather hard finding organic options here in WalMart land...

Through the years we've had a few flops, but for the most part we've had some amazing meals! We decided it would be nice to compile the recipes for quick reference...hence the starting of this blog!