Chicken Broccoli Curry

This is not a "real" curry, but it's still very good. It's one of my favorite casseroles and it reheats well.

Fay and James Thomas
Servings: 8

6 chicken breasts or 2 whole chickens
2 bunches fresh broccoli chopped or 2 packages frozen broccoli (14 oz each)
2 cans Campbells Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp. curry powder (McCormic Gourmet Collection recommended)
4 oz (1/2 can) cornbread stuffing mix (not herbed)
1/2 stick butter (not softened)

Boil the chicken in a large stock pot until fully cooked and remove with a slotted spoon. Chop the meat into medium to small pieces. Heat up the broccoli in the leftover chicken stock till it's no longer crunchy. Drain and set the cooked broccoli aside.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, soups, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and curry powder, mixing well after each addition.

Put the broccoli into a 9x13 baking dish and top with chicken sauce mixture. Sprinkle the cornbread stuffing on top. Slice the butter into about 6 pieces, and place these on top of the cornbread stuffing.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

French Onion Soup

This is a recipe that I originally got from copykat.com. I added more flour to thicken it up.

Serves 6 to 8

3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. spreadable butter (e.g. country crock)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 lbs. medium yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste
1 tbsp. flour + (1/4) cup
8 C. beef stock (or 7 cans Campbells beef consomme)
2 C. dry white wine (e.g. Chardonnay)
1 tsp. beef bouillon
Freshly ground black pepper
4 hamburger buns
8 slices of provolone cheese

Over medium heat melt the regular butter and the olive oil in a large stock pot. Add onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent. Uncover and increase heat to high. Add sugar and salt. Saute, stirring often, until onions are a deep golden brown. Reduce heat to medium and mix in 1 tbsp. flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add about 2 cups of stock and stir to blend, then add the remaining stock and wine. With a fork, mix together the remaining 1/4 cup flour with 2 cups of the soup in a small bowl until smooth. Add this to the soup. Add the bouillon. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush hamburger buns with the spreadable butter and brown in the oven. In small oven proof bowls, put in one bun half, and then fill bowl with soup. Add one slice of provolone to the top, and place bowls in a baking dish, and place into oven. Remove and serve when the cheese has toasted.

Broccoli Soup

This is a fine recipe from my mom that I edited a bit.

1 bunch fresh broccoli
3 stalks celery chopped
1 medium onion chopped
3 carrots chopped fine
8 oz. fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt. milk 2%
1/2 lb. velveeta cheese sliced
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese sliced

Chop broccoli into small pieces. In a large stock pot, melt butter and sauté onion, celery, carrots, & mushrooms over high heat. When onion starts to become clear, add broccoli and sauté for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir, lowering the heat. Add chicken broth, milk, & cheese. Cook over very low heat, stirring frequently since this burns very easily. Serve when the cheese has melted.

Alternatively, after stirring in the flour, transfer everything to a slow cooker (3 qt. or larger). Then add broth, milk and cheese and cook covered on high until the cheese has melted (about an hour).

Brownies

This is the very first thing I learned to cook on my own, and I still make it from time to time. If I remember correctly, this recipe is from Margaret Chevallier of Monroe, LA.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (softened)
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cup sugar
1+(1/3) cup flour
2 tsp. vanillia
1 cup nuts (optional)
4 eggs

Mix all ingrediants in bowl and pour in a 9x13 greased and floured pan. Bake at 400 for 20-30 min. (Bake at 350 if you use margarine instead of butter)

Boiled Shrimp

In response to Ray's comment, I'm planning to post more recipies and cooking related things to this blog. Last night Steph and I had a shrimp boil.

The most important thing is to not overcook the shrimp. They cook very quickly and are not very good if overdone. Five minutes is enough if you drop room temperature shrimp into boiling water. Icing them down allows the shrimp to soak up more spice without overcooking and may make them easier to peel. If you use more or less water, adjust the spices accordingly. To cook veggies like corn or potatoes, boil them first since they will take much longer, then just use the same spicy water for the shrimp.

If you have leftover shrimp, it can be refrigerated for a few days and is still quite tasty when cold.

Serves 2 to 3

4 lbs fresh gulf shrimp, head on (if you can't get head on shrimp, use 3 lbs head off)
2 qt water
1/2 cup Zatarains Crab & Shrimp Boil (dry)
2 Tbsp. Zatarains Concentrated Shrimp & Crab Boil (liquid)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
8 cups ice

Put the water in a large stock pot and add the seasonings and lemon juice. (This will have a very strong "sinus clearing" type smell, so I suggest using a vent hood if you're cooking this indoors.) Bring to a boil and put in the shrimp for 3 to 5 minutes. If you're worried about undercooking, take out a single large shrimp and inspect for doneness. Drain about half of the water out and then ice it down. Let the shrimp soak about 10 minutes or until they are spicy enough. Drain with a collender and serve.

Garlic butter:
Melt 1 stick of butter melted with 1 tsp. garlic powder.

Tartar sauce:
Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.


This goes great with texas garlic toast and cold beer.

Thai Crispy Chili Fish

1 can (14 oz) Thai Kitchen coconut milk
1/2 tsp. Thai Kitchen red curry paste (more for spicer sauce)
1 small carrot sliced
1 bell pepper chopped large
1/4 cucumber sliced thin
1 tbsp. Thai Kitchen fish sauce
1 cup rice (uncooked)
2 catfish fillets

With a fork, mix together 2 tbsp. of the coconut milk with the curry paste in a small bowl until smooth. Add this to the rest of the coconut milk in a small sauce pan. Add veggies and fish sauce and warm over low heat, stirring often. Continue warming until just boiling.

Fry fish however you like to fry fish. Cook rice however you like to cook rice.

Layer: rice then fish then sauce.