sweet potato fries

sweet potato fries are one of the best things you ever eat. They are sweet and good for you too and if they are not dripping with oil thats another great thing to add to the list.


Sweet Potato Fries

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1. 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fries 1/2 inch thick sticks about 3 inches long
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. Oil for spraying on the baking sheet
4. 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray. Add the sweet potato fried to the tray and sprinkle with half of the salt and bake in the middle rack for 20 minutes.

Take out, flip the fries, sprinkle the rest of the salt and bake on the bottom rack for 10 minutes. Turn the oven off. Sprinkle the sugar if using and leave it in the oven for 5 more minutes. Cool the fries for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Chicken with Celery and Almonds

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts  cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally
4. 1/2 medium white onion sliced
5. 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar
6. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, grated garlic
7. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8. 1/2 teaspoon numbing peppers (optional)
9. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10. 1/4 cup roasted salted almonds (optional)
11. 3 scallions, thinly sliced white and green, separated

Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, corn starch and ginger for atleast 30 minu.tes
Mix the soy sauce and white vinegar in a medium bowl, set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet. Add the chicken and fry for 8-10 minutes until done. Drain and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, the celery and onions. Fry for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and add the soysauce and vinegar and mix well.
Give it a taste taste and adjust the salt and add the almonds and scallions and serve immediately. Enjoy

Salmon curry with Eggplant and Okra

This is one of the most delicious fish curries there is. I have always liked fish with eggplant/Brinjal. My mom and my grandma were excellent cooks and their fish curries were the best.

The curry I made today may have some Malaysian roots to it. But it is my own version and is super delicious.

Salmon curry with Eggplant and Okra (Salmon cooked with spices in a coconut based gravy)

Salmon curry with Eggplant and Okra

Ingredients:

1. 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2. 1 medium small onion chopped fine
3. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
4. 1 inch ginger (julienned) (30g)
5. 1 can coconut milk
6. 1 teaspoon each of Salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder
7. 2 cups American egg plan, peeled and chopped fine
8. 1 cup okra trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
9. 2 salmon fillets without skin and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the eggplant on high heat for 5 minutes. Add okra and onions and fry for 5 more minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and stir and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add all the spices and mix well. Add the coconut milk and stir and reduce the heat to simmer. Add the salmon pieces and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with steamed rice or Methi thepla

Crab Fried Rice

Fried rice is a super hit dish at my house.  The one I usually make is Easy fried rice or Fried rice with ground meat.

This recipe from thewoksoflife is pretty unique and I think I am going to add this to my favorites' list.

Crab Fried Rice

Crab Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 tablespoons oil
2. 1 tablespoon each of grated ginger, minced garlic
3. 2 cups white rice cooked
4. 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas thawed
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, white pepper
6. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
7. 2 eggs (beaten)
8. 1 cup cooked lump crab meat 
9. 2 scallions chopped
10. Cilantro chopped

Heat the cooking oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the ginger and fry stirring for 30 seconds. Then add the garlic. Add the peas and stir well. Add the cooked rice, stir fry the rice for 3 minutes. Now add the white pepper and soy sauce, to the rice.  Add salt to taste. Stir to combine all together.

Using your spatula, spread the rice out into an even layer. Pour the beaten egg evenly over the rice. Stir the rice until all of the egg is cooked and incorporated.

Before adding the crab, use your spatula to once more spread the rice evenly. Add the crab to the rice and stir thoroughly. When the crab is warmed through, add the scallion and cilantro and stir well. Enjoy with Roasted Cauliflower

Tuna casserole

I have made this many times before and its super and delicious, but I never posted it here...for posterity...and in case aliens come looking for any recipes for one pit dinners :)

Tuna Casserole 

Tuna Casserol

Ingredient:

1. 2 cups dry egg noodles 
2. 10 ounces canned tuna in water drained and flaked
3. 1 cup milk warm
4. 1/2 cup water
5. 2 tablespoons flour
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8. 1/2 cup each of frozen peas, chopped carrots
9. 1 cup bread crumbs
10. 1/4 cup onions
11. 1 teaspoon garlic minced
12. 2 tablespoon melted better

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Cook the noodles according to package instructions.

In a pan heat the butter and fry the onions and carrots for 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Move the onions and garlic to a corner and add the flour and stir for 2 minutes. Add warm milk and water and stir until there are no lumps. Add salt and pepper and tuna and stir together. Then stir in the peas and the cooked noodles.

Add to the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and some butter

Bake for 20 minutes.  Enjoy

Egg stuffed sour cream biscuits

My dear brother was here for Thanksgiving and while getting ready to cook thanksgiving feast, I realized I was missing sour cream... for my most popular  Dill Sour cream mashed potato. As my brother was going out I asked him to get a "small size" pack of sour cream but not the "Smallest size"...Guess what size he got for me. THE 3LB TUB OF SOUR CREAM. I used about 1 lb of it and I have about 2/3 of the sour cream tub which I am trying to find ways to use.

And this sour cream biscuit recipe is one of the recipes for the mission. I have made biscuits before but they were not very fluffy. These are great. I made a couple of changes to the original recipe . I filled my biscuits with onion scrambled eggs.


Egg stuffed sour cream biscuits 

Egg stuffed sour cream biscuits

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 2 tablespoons sugar
3. 21/2 teaspoons baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda
5. 1 cup sour cream
6. 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Ingredients for onion scrambled eggs:

1. 2 large or 3 medium eggs
2. 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder

In a pan heat the oil and cook the onions till translucent. In a bowl add 1/2 tablespoon water and mix salt, pepper and garlic powder. Break the eggs into it and beat the eggs. Add this to the pan over the onions and scramble them. Let them cool.

Preheat oven to 400° (for dark pan or 425 for lighter pans). 

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir in the butter and sour cream just until moistened. If the dough is too dry add 1 tablespoon of water at a time 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8-10 times. DO  NOT OVER KNEAD.

Divide the dough into 8 parts. Take a part of dough into you palm and spread it into a circle 3-4 inches wide. Place about 1 tablespoon scrambled egg and close the dough like a dumpling. Place 1 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Brush biscuits with butter; Enjoy yummy breakfast biscuits.

To reheat...wrap in a paper towel and microwave for 40-45 seconds and enjoy on a busy morning

Orange Cranberry Butter Cookies

These are the most delicious and easy to make cookies, I have ever made.  This recipe first appeared int the "Southern Living" magazine. The original recipe called for 1.5 cups of butter. But I used only 1 cup better and the cookies were awesome.

Orange Cranberry Butter Cookies

Orange Cranberry Butter cookies

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup butter softened
2. 1.5 cup cups powdered sugar
3. 1 cup dried cranberries chopped
4. Zest from 2 oranges
5. 3 cups all purpose flour
6. sprinkling sugar of your choice color...I choose golden
7. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt
9. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat the butter for 2 minutes and add the powdered sugar and mix well. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder and add it into the butter and mix well. Add the cranberries and orange zest and stir to combine. Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll into 2 square logs and wrap in plastic and refridgerate for 2 hrs.

Roll the logs in sprinkling sugar and cut them into 1/4 inch pieces. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Set the cookies on a parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes until the edges turn slightly brown.

Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy