Deviled Eggs - No Mayo

I wanted to make deviled eggs for Easter, but I don't have access to good mayonaise in Korea. So I decided to substitue plain yogurt instead. Some people told me you can't make deviled eggs with out mayo so I said "watch me." So here they are.

12 Hard boiled eggs
1 cup plain white yogurt
2 tablespoons Creamy Sweet Mustard (I found one with relish in it)
Season Salt to taste

After you have hard boiled your eggs, peel them, cut them in half and remove the yokes. Place the yokes in a quart size ziplock sandwich bag.

Close the bag leave a space about the size of your finger unzipped. Mash all of the yokes. Add the yogurt. mustard and season salt. Mix inside the bag.

When the mix is throughly mixed seal the bag completely and cut a slit in to one of the bottom corners. You can now use the bag like a pastry bag and fill each egg with the mix.

Chris’ Coconut, Butter Chicken Curry

Chris’ Coconut, Butter Chicken Curry

This is a combination of two different curry recipes that I have modified and tweaked repeatedly until I have a dish that is so good all I want to do is eat it all day.  Happily, I do have more self control than that!   In some cases there may be better ingredients (like pureed tomatoes instead of canned ones that you puree yourself), but in Korea you learn to make do with what you can find.  It should take about 40-60 minutes to cook.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut into small pieces

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp curry powder

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1-2 large sweet potatoes, diced into small pieces (1/2” or smaller)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger root (I chop the whole thing up and freeze what I don’t use)

4 small hot peppers, sliced into small pieces (optional) (I use the Korean Kkwari gochu which are very hot)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp curry powder

Pepper (to taste)

1 tsp salt (or more/less to taste)

2 tbsp butter

14.5 oz canned tomatoes (pureed in a blender)

½ can tomato paste (8 oz I think)

1 large can pineapple

2 14oz cans coconut milk

1 cup cream

In a medium bowl, place chicken pieces, lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tsp curry powder.  Mix well and let marinate.

In a heavy skillet or wok, cook onion, garlic, sweet potatoes and ginger in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Add curry powder, pepper, salt, tomato puree, tomato paste, butter, and pineapple with juice and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in marinated chicken and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 11-15 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Stir in the coconut milk and cream.  Cook on low heat until well heated, but do not bring to a boil.  Serve over hot cooked rice.

French Silk Pie

French Silk Pie

6 Servings Prep: 40 min. Cook: 10 min. + chilling

Ingredients

1 precooked pie shell

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon instant coffee

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

4 teaspoons sugar

Whipped cream and chocolate curls, optional

Directions

Prebake your pie shell (Click here for recipe). It should be room temperature when you add the filling.  In a sauce pan mix the sugar and eggs until blended. Cook over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture is 160 degrees or coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat. Add the cocoa powder, olive oil, coffee, and vanilla. Mix until smooth then let cool to room temperature (About 90 degrees), stirring occasionally.

In another bowl, cream the butter and add the chocolate mixture. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes. In a blender mix the cream and sugar. Beat on high until the cream is firm. You will hear a difference in the blender when it reaches this consistency.  Fold the cream mixture into the chocolate mixture. Pour into pie shell. Chill for at least 6 hours.

Buttermilk Biscuits

There is no need to buy those refrigerator biscuits when you can make them at home just as quickly. Since I am only cooking for two people I make a full batch of biscuits, then I bake the ones I want to serve and freeze the rest. When I  want biscuits I pull the dough out the night before and store it in the refrigerator. In the morning they will bake in 10 minutes and will be nice and fresh.

2 cups of flour
2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of flax seed (Optional)
1/3 cup of butter, softened*
3/4 cup of buttermilk**

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix all of the dry dry ingredients together. Add the softened butter. Mix it together with a fork until it looks like the texture of cornmeal. Then add the buttermilk until moistened. Drop the biscuits onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

*If you forget to remove the butter from the refrigerator, that is okay. Just pull out the amount you need. Cut it in small slices onto a plate and let it sit out while you are making the dry part of your biscuits. By the time you need the butter it should be soft.

**I buy powdered buttermilk. I add 3 tablespoons of the powder to the dry ingredients and add the water after I mix in the butter. It is not as healthy because it is more processed, so use fresh butter milk whenever you can. I am trying to move away from eating processed foods so eventually I will ween myself off of dry buttermilk.

Pasta Bake

3 cups pasta 

1 cup cooked ground beef 

1 medium zucchini, diced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and cook pasta until just slightly firmer than al dente. Do not overcook pasta, as it will continue cooking in the oven. Drain pasta. Return strained pasta to stockpot and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, onion, and zucchini. Sauté just until zucchini is just slightly firmer than al dente. Add precooked ground beef and combine well. Remove from heat.

Add spaghetti sauce to the stockpot with the cooked pasta. Then add the meat mixture to the stockpot and combine well. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into baking dish. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake uncovered for approximately 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through. Serves 4-5. Enjoy!

Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie

Meat, veggies, and bread. This is a whole meal in one. I love the fluffy biscuits on top and Chris loves the hearty filling. This is a great way to get a lot of vegetables into one meal.

Ingredients:

Filling:
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 lbs mushrooms
Salt and Pepper
2 lbs ground beef
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas

Biscuit Topping:
2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon of baking powder
6 tablespoons of  butter
12 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup of milk


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cook all vegetables until soft in 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add ground beef, thyme, and rosemary. Cook on med. high heat until the meat is no longer pink and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup of flour and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the milk and broth. Simmer until it thickens about 5 minutes.

Stir in salt and pepper and place in 9 x 13 baking dish.

Biscuit Topping:

In another bowl add the flour and cut in the butter until it resembles corn meal. Add the cheddar cheese. Stir in milk.
Place the dough in mounds over the meat and veggie mixture.

Bake for 40 minutes. If you have a broiler (we do not) you can broil the dish for 1 minute to brown the biscuits. Let the pot pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Grape Juice

Last summer we were given 16 lbs of grapes. That is a lot of grapes and we had limited fridge and freezer space. We decided to make grape juice out of them. 

Rinse 3 lbs of grapes. It is okay to leave in the seeds. Place them in a crock pot. You can fill it to the top with grapes. Add 1/2 cup of water and let simmer for 8 hours. Then drain all of the pulp out the pot and drain the juice into another bowl. Let the juice cool, then pour it into plastic bottles. This juice is delicious and will last in the fridge for about a week. Throw it out when it starts to taste like wine. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Chris and I do our shopping on Sundays after church. I have found that often on Saturday I have a bunch of left over vegetables from the week that are about to expire. So I make what I call "Saturday Soup." I just throw all the vegetables in the Crockpot and hope it turns out well. Chris calls it "Wife Soup." Well one weekend I found that I had a whole lot of left over mushrooms and not much of anything else. So what do you do with a whole lot of mushrooms, some onions, a lemon and 1/2 cup of cream. I made cream of mushroom soup.  The really long vegetable in the picture is green onions. For some reason they are sold really big here and we usually have to fold them in half to make them fit in the vegetable drawer.

4 small green onions or 1 large, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tsp thyme

1/4 cup of butter

2 lbs mushrooms, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup of cream

Cook the onions, garlic, lemon and thyme in the melted butter until the garlic is golden, about 1 minute. 

Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are soft about 2 minutes. 

Add the flour and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat and add the broth. Return to the heat and cook on low for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Wisk in the cream, heat until warm. Do not let it boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve. 

Roast Chicken

The flavor in this chicken was amazing. I didn't have fresh herbs so I used dried and it still came out great. 

Ingredients

1 roasting chicken

Salt

Black pepper

2 tablespoons dried thyme or 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs

1 lemon, halved

6 pieces of garlic

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks

2 tables spoons dried fennel or 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges

Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with ½ the thyme, lemon, and garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. 

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large Acorn Squash
4 cloves of garlic
1 med onion, chopped
1 lb hamburger
1 lb mushrooms
1 med zucchini
1/2 cup red peppers, diced
1 (15oz) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon curry
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a 9x9 pan add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Place squash skin side up. I sliced off a thin layer of the bottom of my squash so that it would sit flat when I stuffed it. Add 1 inch of water. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Stuffing:
While the squash is baking brown hamburger with garlic and onions.  When the hamburger is brown and the onions are translucent, add peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, thyme, curry and nutmeg. Cook down then add diced tomatoes.

When the squash is done, turn them face side up and stuff with stuffing. Place back in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the squash and vegetables are soft and ready to eat.

If you have left overs of the stuffing it is great over pasta for a second meal.