Thai Food!

I know it's been a while since I posted. It doesn't mean I haven't been creative in the kitchen, and it doesn't mean my kids haven't eaten well. (believe me, they are definitely doing fine) It just means that life takes over sometimes and I just don't even remember that my blog exists sometimes.

This week on Tuesday night my husband and I went to a Thai restaurant. Our favorite. Upon leaving the restaurant I asked myself "Why couldn't I make Thai soup and Pad See Ew?" So.. I found a few recipes that looked good and picked up the ingredients to try them.

First on the menu was the Tom Ka Gai soup. I followed the recipe exactly except for my own variations. Because I was not too brilliant and didn't end up having any chicken I substituted shrimp. I also added portobello mushrooms (because face it... Walmart just doesn't carry Shitake mushrooms) I also dropped the amount of Cayenne pepper in it to 1/8 of a tsp because I knew my kids wouldn't like it if it was too spicy. Of course there was no guarantee they would love it if it wasn't but you want to at least try to set yourself up for success when feeding children, not failure.

Halana and Bodan are my best little helpers and did much of the stirring and pouring. Much to their dismay they thought that the fish sauce smelled a little bit funny. I was happy to say that each child did at least taste the soup and they didn't hate it. I'm thinking that the next time I make it they will like it just a little bit more. The key to getting kids to eat everything is to keep feeding it to them and never assume they won't like something.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tom-Ka-Gai-Coconut-Chicken-Soup/Detail.aspx

We also made the main dish of Pad See Ew. I did have to make a few variations to this recipe, the main one being the rice noodles. Because of the limitations of having to pick up food while at work (I give away samples at Walmart-don't laugh) I had to just get the box mix of rice noodles. So, they came out a little soggier than I'd like and didn't quite have the perfect "fried" taste. The kids all ate it up though! I only used 1/8 of a tsp of cayenne instead of 1/4 tsp and I'm glad I did. Even with less cayenne pepper, the Pad See Ew still had a bit of a kick to it. It was just right. The kids all ate their whole serving!

Here is the link :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tom-Ka-Gai-Coconut-Chicken-Soup/Detail.aspx

Since I was going to also be serving my rice loving Colombian brother in law, I also made some rice in the rice cooker. With the leftover rice I sliced up some mangoes, squeezed some La Lechera (sweetened condensed milk in a squeeze bottle) over the rice and microwaved it for 30 seconds! I just felt like it completed the Thai meal night... I thought it was really yummy, and I will definitely have mango rice for dessert again.

My friend Kristins' Cheesy Corn and Potato Chowder

This chowder tastes way better than the one we had this week so I have to share it.

Cheesy Corn and Potato Chowder

(with my alerations) (Kristin's alterations, I followed them exactly and this soup rocked!)

This makes a LARGE batch...


4-5 strips of bacon, raw, chopped
4-5 stalks celery
1 large onion, chopped
5 C. Chicken broth
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cans of creamed corn
1 (4oz.) can diced green chiles (can use the 7oz. can if you really like chiles)
1 (2.5oz.) package country style white gravy (I use the peppered one)
2 c. milk and/or cream (I end up doing half nonfat milk and half 1/2 & 1/2 to make it a little healthier)
1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (depending on your taste)

1) cook bacon till the fat is rendered, add onion and celery. Cook till tender (I make sure it is very soft before I move on so it will desolve and the kids don't find it)

2) add the chicken broth, bring to a boil. Add potatoes, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. (I cook it till the potatoes are falling apart, I like the texture in the end when you cook it this long, more chowder like)

3) stir in corn and chiles, do not drain the corn. Return to a boil. Dissolve gravy mix in milk/cream, stir into boiling mixture, reduce to a simmer.

4) If you feel it is too thin, add another gravy package to the soup. Add cheese to pot, cook until it is melted and blended in.

That's it.

Day 4

I'd have to say this week has been a success. On the 2nd day I made a Betty Crocker Potato Corn Chowder recipe that turned out ok. I kind of messed it up though because I put uncooked potatoes in the crockpot when it called for the hashbrown type. I had meant to boil them for about 5-10 minutes first then put them in the crockpot but I forgot. http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/slow-cooker-potato-and-double-corn-chowder/70d24388-4552-473e-96ae-7b9295cbb1e0

I served the Potato Corn Chowder with some ciabatta rolls I had picked up at Aldi that day. I'll have to share a recipe for potato corn chowder that I've made before that was much yummier. (I can't find it right now)

Day 3 I determined was leftover day. Since I grew up cooking for my 10 younger siblings I have never mastered the art of not making huge amounts of food! Wednesday we had a birthday party to go to directly after my older two kids got off the bus and Awanas that evening. Leftover night was a perfect option.

Now we are at Day 4. I'm feeling pretty accomplished and like I should have a happy well-fed husband and children. I have bacon wrapped cornish hens in the crockpot. I would share a recipe but I ended up not having the right spices so I just made up my own recipe. If it's a success I will share. I'm going to serve the hens with sweet potato fries and rice.

Hoping for a success! I will have to post how it turns out.

We're attending a birthday party tomorrow evening and if I remember right they are serving pizza so that will be a nice break from worrying about food. I am working Saturday and Sunday too though so I need to plan what's for dinner those days.

Day 1

I have a new goal. It's to feed my family without waiting to decide at 6:15pm what to feed them. Too often we end up eating whatever assortment of random items one can throw together in 30 minutes before my husband gets home from work.

A successful day of this would be one where I'm not stressed about dinner, the kids eat well and everyone all around is happy. I also plan to let my kids help me with the food prep as much as possible. It's a great way to teach fractions and let them feel proud of what they helped me create.

I haven't grocery shopped in a couple of weeks so I've run out of things I would normally have. We are out of all meats except ground beef so I couldn't be as creative as I would have liked.

We had enchiliadas. They are just an Old El Paso box mix that I add more tortillas and enchilada sauce to to stretch it further. I actually remembered to get the ground beef out of the freezer in plenty of time to make it without having to do the fast dethaw in the microwave.

My kids did help. My oldest is 6 1/2 and she grated the cheese and helped fill the tortillas with the meat.

I however tried a new peanut butter cookie recipe and that's when everything got a bit stressful in the kitchen. Imagine 3 kids trying to do the job of 1 person in the space of one person. 2 chairs pulled up to the counter and 3 kids complaining about the others pushing them or something. My decision to allow them to help changed at that moment and I sent them all running from the kitchen. I finished the cookies in peace.

Tomorrow night the plan is to make some potato corn chowder that a friend shared the recipe for.