Fall Excursions

This has been a season of traveling for me.  Over the past couple of months I’ve been meeting up with friends and family everywhere including: Vegas, Charleston, Charlotte, Florida, and Baltimore.  It has been great, but exhausting!  Now, my whirlwind has concluded just in time for the holidays and I’m ready to settle in for winter at my wonderful house.   A few photos of my excursions…. (which just makes me realize how horrible I am with my camera, note to self- take more photos!)

I totally hate this photo, but it is one of two photos that Jon and I took together in Vegas (can you imagine there is actually a worse photo of us than this!)  Anyways, this was taken at Sushi Samba where we were dining with Scotty and the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Kney.  Amazing meal and company, we had such a great time!

 Only my family is on a girls vacation and takes NO photos of all of us.  I wanted/tried to have a photo taken of the five of us at dinner our first night but was shut down, told it was not the appropriate place, like the staff at Peninsula Grille aren't used to people asking to have photos taken (read sarcasm).  But had people not shot me down, I would have an actual family photo to display.  Instead, all I have is this photo of Erin with her new best friend.  After dinner, we met this couple celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary at a wine bar.  We became fast friends, best friends.  The kind of friends that are made over several bottles of wine.  This lady LOVED Erin, and Erin may have loved her back just a little bit!

 While in Charleston, I was able to meet up with college friends!!!!  Marc, Rebecca, and I met at Poogan's Porch for brunch and did a minor bar crawl from Vendue to Griffon's....had a great time!

 On to Palm Coast, Florida where I met up with all of my college roommates.  The four of us hadn't been together in 2 years so it was so great to see them.  We had such an amazing time, special shout out to Dr. and Mrs. Sticca for letting us stay in their home.  I swear I never laugh as much as I do with these girls and hope to see them much sooner than 2 years from now!

  And finally, on to Baltimore....this trip was a last minute decision.  The King and Harris family are spending a week in Baltimore and I wanted to see the kids before the summer of 2012.  The only downside was that Jon was unable to come with me.  But here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend...Alexa, always making me laugh

 Grandma and some of her girls...

 and Happy Birthday to Alexa and Isla!

I unfortunately have no photos from Charlotte because I didn't have my camera.  I may have figured out my New Years resolution early this year!

We are curry people...

So I was thinking about the last post/meal I cooked and realized how strange people may find it that I will constantly be posting curry recipes.  We love curry.  And I've found, there are alot of curry recipes out there.  So realizing this, I've decided I've got to get my best curry recipe out of the way.  I just can't keep it quiet, I know that all others won't compare.  This is probably our favorite recipe, I ALWAYS keep all incredients on hand so that we can have some CHICKEN CURRY(compliments of my fav...Cooking Light of course)...enjoy

1 T. canola oil
3 (6 oz) chicken breast ( I use 2 chicken breast for Jon & I)
1/2 t. salt
2 C. green bell pepper strips
2 T. fresh lime juice (do not feel you can cut the acid....it is a must!!!  Really makes the dish)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. red curry paste
1 t. sugar
1 (14 oz) can light coconut milk 
3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice  (Basmati...I'm a believer)
Lime Wedge (optional, aka only when entertaining)

1.  Heat large skillet over med-high heat.  Add oil to pan;  Sprinkle chicken evenly w/salt.  Add chicken to pan; cook 6 min or until browned, turning once.
2.  Add bell pepper; saute 4 min, stirring occasionally.
3.  Remove chicken mixture from pan. 
4.  Combine juice, soy sauce, curry paste, & sugar in a small bowl, stirring w/whisk.  Add juice mixture & coconut milk to pan; bring to a boil.  Cook 12 minutes or until slightly thick.
5.  Return chicken mixture to pan; cook 2 min or until thoroughly heated.  Serve over rice.  Garnish w/lime wedge, if desired. 

Yields 4 servings, but like I said...2 chicken breast for Jon & I.  Trust, this is fabulous.

PS...shopping tip, always shake the can when buying coconut milk.  I've gotten one too many cans that were solid when I opened it.  Listen for the liquid!

I vote for good food!

I was beyond thrilled to have today off for Election Day and excited to use some of my free time today for cooking.  It’s not often during the week that I can put two hours in to preparing dinner (let’s be honest, I’m slow at prep work, so we are really talking two and a half hours). Regardless, I wanted to take advantage of the time today.  While the weather wasn’t exactly chilly, I still wanted to make some comfort food so I decided on a dish we haven’t had since last winter, Sweet Potato Chicken Curry.  While it is time consuming, it’s tasty and pretty good for you.  I found the recipe in the November 2009 issue of Cooking Light (a favorite magazine of mine).  I’ve shared this recipe in the past and it was met with good reviews.  I like to serve it over Basmati rice, enjoy!

2 t. curry powder
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground turmeric
1/2 t salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 t. olive oil
1 1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 c. vertically sliced onion
1 1/2 t. minced fresh ginger (which I actually leave out alot b/c I rarely am willing to spend $ on ginger)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 c. (1/2 inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
3/4 c. canned chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/2 c. frozen green peas
1 t. fresh lemon juice

1.  Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, & bay leaf in small bowl
2.  Heat oil in large Dutch oven over med-high heat.  Add chicken to pan; saute 5 min or until browned, stirring occasionally.  Remove chick from pan.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Increase heat to med-high; return chicken to pan.  Cook 1 minute.  Stir in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute stirring constantly.
3.  Stir in curry powder mixture.  Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.
4.  Stir in potato and chickpeas.  Cook, uncovered 30 minutes.  Add peas; cook 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.

Bon appetit!

For My #1 Fan...

This one's for you Julie, as promised years ago....Garlic Shrimp from Southern Living.  It's a staple in the Lilley household: fast, easy, and always good! 

2 dozen large, unpeeled raw shirmp
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teas dried crushed red pepper
1/4 teas pepper
1/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c French breadcrumbs (homemade), toasted
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Peel shrimp, (leave tails on or off); devein.  Arrange shrimp in an 11x7 baking dish; pour oil over shrimp.  Combine parsley and next 3 ingredients; sprinkle over shrimp.  Cover and bake at 300 for 15 minutes.

Turn shrimp over; drizzle w/butter, and sprinkle w/breadcrumbs & cheese.  Bake, uncovered, 5 to 10 more minutes.

Makes 2 servings

I like to toast up the rest of the French bread to get all the garlic & oil!  Bon Appetit!

Look at me, I'm a blogger!

So I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for awhile now, but have had nothing to talk about. I still really don't have much to contribute, but I'm no longer going to let that stop me!

Having long work days/tough hours can be stressful and one of my favorite things to do to unwind is to cook. I like listening to music, having some wine and putting a meal together. It's funny because I used to find cooking itself to be stressful and now it's just what I need to take my mind off my day. It helps me forget about every annoyance that occurred throughout my day and at the end, I get to feel I did at least something right that day when my husband smiles and tells me how great everything is. During every meal, I just wait to hear it...no pressure Jon!

In my never-ending quest for affirmations I'm always on the lookout for new recipes. When I find the good ones that become staples for my little family, I want to share with others but always seem to forget. So, this seems like the perfect outlet to do so. Share the success, find the humor in the failed attempts, and maybe have another outlet for stress relief!