Crock Pot Red Curry Potatoes and Vegetables

Happy Halloween!  This is a great Autumnal dish, with it's rich orangey color!

I absolutely LOVE coconut curry dishes!  I love Indian inspired, Thai inspired, or simply yellow curry style dishes!!  I've made curry many different ways- and they are ALL so good!  I think it's close to impossible to make a bad dish mixing coconut milk, and curry!

Today I made a substantial crock pot curry dish, using potatoes, and other veggies I just had on hand.  That's the beauty, you can use what you have, you can use what you love!  This is the chop and dump recipe I made today. Here is another EASY CROCK POT RECIPE!

Crock Pot Red Curry Potatoes and Vegetables

1- 14oz. can of coconut milk

5 small potatoes, cubed

1 medium onion chopped

2 carrots, cubed

1 lg. tomato, chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1/4 cabbage, chopped

5 garlic cloves minced

1/2 Tbl ginger paste (or grated fresh ginger)

2 Tbl red curry paste (or more to taste)

2 Tbl palm sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tsp soy sauce



Put coconut milk, garlic, ginger, red curry paste, and palm sugar in bottom of 5 quart crock pot, and whisk until ingredients are incorporated.  Then add potato, carrot, tomato and onion in the crock and mix gently.  Next add the red pepper, and cabbage,(do not mix in, but leave on top) and gently press down to allow the liquid to rise as far as it will go.
Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or on low for 8-10.  The times do vary, because crock pots unfortunately cook at different temps.  My crock cooks high, so I do the lesser times.
Mix towards the end of cooking time.  You can add a Tbl cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch, in a little water, and mix into the crock during the last 1/2 hour if you like a thicker sauce. 

- If you like it much saucier, add an extra can of coconut milk, and double the last 5 ingredients.
- If you'd like to make this a soup, add a quart of vegetable stock, or chicken stock if you'd like, and double the last 5 ingredients.
- If you'd like to make this a chicken dish, do so, by adding 4 boneless chicken thighs- whole or cubed.
- I used Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk, as it has the most coconut cream compared to other brands!
- I used Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
- You can use a  1/2 can of chopped tomatoes if you don't have fresh.
- This dish is excellent with sweet potato in addition to the regular potato. ( I just didn't have any today.)
- If you use softer vegetables like zucchini, or eggplant, add in the last hour of cooking time. If you won't be home until after the entire cooking time, put those softer vegetables on the top of everything else and do not submerse in liquid.

This can be served as is, in a bowl, or you can serve this with brown rice, soba noodles, or even quinoa pasta.  I like to serve curry dishes with black rice!  I found black rice at a local Vietnamese store.  I had never heard of black rice, and was excited to try it.  It is purple after cooking, and is super nutritious!!  If you find it, try it!

This dish is excellent topped with cilantro and cashew nuts!

Thai inspired heaven in a bowl- and I seriously could eat this every, single day!

Yours in health,
Natalie

Chocolate Banana Oat Nut Muffins

Hi y'all!

Just mixin' it up with an existing recipe I created: Oatmeal Banana Nut Muffins.  I decided to try to make them chocolate this time, to make them more "Halloweenish" as the holiday is this weekend!  However, a chocolaty treat is welcomed at my house anytime!

So what we have here is a muffin, that tasted more like a cupcake, and is a healthy TREAT!

Chocolate Banana Oat Nut Muffins!

In addition to the first recipe seen HERE!

sub agave nectar for brown sugar

add 1/4 C cocoa powder

add 1/4 C bittersweet chocolate chips

Add agave as you would the brown sugar, to the wet ingredients.
Add the cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
Fold in the chocolate chips when you do the nuts.

Bake approx. 5 minutes more, if you sub with the agave, as it is a wetter batter with the agave!

Welcome to chocolaty heaven!!

Yours in health,
Natalie

Easy Lentil Crock Pot Soup

This recipe could certainly be made stove top- but I LOVE the chop and dump ease of the crock pot!  If you are looking for an easy, substantial soup recipe, look no further.  As with any soup the variations are endless!  This is just one way to make an easy, nutritious, slow-cooked-all-day, super delicious soup!

Easy Lentil Crock Pot Soup!

4 C water
4 C vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
2 C lentils
1 chopped onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
2 coarsely chopped carrots
2 coarsely chopped stalks of celery
1 lg. potato cubed

1/4 head of chopped cabbage (or use kale here)

1 14oz.can of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp. cumin

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. salt

ground pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne (or more)

1 Tbl balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 piece Kombu (optional)

Rinse lentils well.  Put all ingredients into the crock pot, except the salt and balsamic vinegar.  Salt will make the lentils harder, so wait to salt at the very end of cooking!  Stir well, and that's it! Walk away!  Cook on high for 4-6 hours, cook and low 8-10 hours.

For best results, soak lentils for hours, to overnight if you are going for the high 4-6 hours.  I never do, but they will be more tender if you do!

 I know these times sound very different, but I find crock pots cook at different temps.  My crock cooks hot/fast.  So, I go the lesser times stated.

If you use kale instead of the cabbage, put in at the end of cooking time.  On the low temp, put in the last 30 mins., on high put in the last 15 mins. or so.

I used some delicious "porchini mushroom salt" I bought on an afternoon out with my friend Jeanne.  It was a fun day thanks to St. Anthony... but my husband added much Tabasco sauce, subscribing  to the " I put that sh*t on everything", as did Madeline, and Julia and I added literally drops/drips of Shriracha sauce...

The options are endless!
Yours in health,
Natalie

Oatmeal Banana Nut Muffins

It's fall, and time to start the baking!  My girls love muffins... which are ultimately cupcakes without the frosting.  I try to use ingredients to make them much healthier than what you can find at the store.  As you know, baking it tricky business, as it is more science than is cooking!  I've had hits, and many misses with my trial and error "healthy" baking.  Here is a delicious, gluten free*, dairy free, of COURSE partially hydrogenated oil free, and corn syrup free... AND genetically modified free!  Here's an oatmeal breakfast, minus the bowl!  These muffins are great as a breakfast, snack, a treat, excellent with a cup of tea!  What a great way to alternate your grains using oatmeal for baking. What is AWESOME here- no fancy, tricky, gluten free flours, or hard to find ingredients! So easy.  Oatmeal has many benefits, including lowering your cholesterol, adding lots of fiber, and little known fact, that oats nourish your nervous system. Who can't use that?

Oatmeal Banana Nut Muffins

1 1/2 C oatmeal flour*



Okay, so I couldn't wait! Soooo good warm!



1 1/4 C oats

1/2 C organic brown sugar*

1 C coconut, rice, almond, or soy milk

1 Tbl apple cider vinegar

1 organic egg

1/3 cold pressed organic oil

2 ripe medium bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp pumkin pie spice (or cinnamon only)


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Add the Tbl vinegar to 1 cup milk, mix and allow to sit for a few minutes.  This creates a faux buttermilk.  Put oats and milk mixture into a bowl, and allow to soak for 10 minutes.  Mix the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in another bowl.  In a third bowl, beat the egg, add the bananas and mash, add the brown sugar, blend well.  Add the oatmeal and milk mixture and blend.  Next, add the dry ingredients and fold in, do not over mix.  I allow the batter to rest a little while- 5 minutes or so.

Fill muffin tins nearly full.  Either oil the muffin tin, or use cupcake liners.  Should make approx. 12 muffins.  Bake for approx. 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

* I make my own oat flour, by simply blending oatmeal in my blender.

* To be certain this recipe is gluten free, use an oatmeal that says it is gluten free.  Oats are naturally gluten free, however, most brands are processed in a facility that also processes wheat- so those brands may have traces of gluten.

* I used organic brown sugar a.) organic is void the chemicals from regular processing, b.) brown sugar retains more of the nutrients, as is has some of the molasses in tact.

These are awesome plain, but extra good with some Smart Balance spread slathered on them when they are warm!  Healthy oatmeal, minus the bowl y'all!

Yours in health,

Natalie