My husband and I used to go to this amazing Thai restaurant in San Diego, Siamese Basil. Please go if you ever have the opportunity for you will be sure to get some of the best Thai food. Their green curry was unbeatable and that is when we really fell in love with the dish.
I have never really wanted to get into Thai cooking. I kind of stay away from certain ethnic cuisine just assuming it’s too complicated. Some things I just like to leave up to the restaurants. We were having a craving for curry and I thought I could at least try to use the prepared paste from the grocery store. It turned out surprisingly well. Of course not nearly as fabulous as our favorite restaurant, but considering I used the low fat coconut milk and fish to bump up the nutrition, we both really enjoyed it. Plus it was a snap to make. Bonus!
I used salmon because 1) we try to eat it weekly 2) we don’t have an elaborate fresh fish counter with white fish. Feel free to sub chicken, shrimp, beef or a different type of fish (a white fish would be nice). The sauce really masked the flavor of the normally strong-flavored salmon so it was actually a great and different way for us to enjoy our salmon.
What we loved about our ol’ favorite Thai restaurant was their amazing scale of spiciness. They had a 10 point scale so you really could pick what you wanted. They also ran on the spicy side where a 5-6 was ridiculously spicy. We never made it higher than that. I added two serrano peppers to this dish with seeds and membranes it was still not spicy enough to my liking. Feel free to adjust the pepper and/or substitute jalapenos if you need too.
Green curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce are all ingredients you can find at your local grocery store in their “Asian food” isle. They are all very affordable so this makes a fun dish to experiment with. Feel free to use any vegetables you like!
So here is my meal plan for the week. I am trying to save my strength for our party Saturday. I am finding that being almost 9 months pregnant, it’s hard to find the stamina to stand and cook long periods of time.
What are you planning this week? Leave me a comment- I’d love to hear!
Menu for the Week of September 25th
Sunday
Turkey Meatball Subs, Mixed Greens with Beets and Feta
Monday
Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce, Cilantro-Lime Slaw
Tuesday
Leftovers
Wednesday
Pasta Dish ??
Thursday
Hoisin Salmon, Coucous Salad, Asian Slaw
Friday
Take out
Saturday
Texas BBQ- Brisket, Pinto Beans, Coleslaw, Potato Salad, Pecan Pie (hosting a party for husband’s work)
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Green Curry in a Hurry
INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 to 1 cup diced eggplant
1 lb salmon (chicken, shrimp, beef or other white fish), removed from skin and cut into bite sized chunks
1 1/2 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch strips
2 serrano peppers, diced
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
2 Tablespoons prepared green curry paste
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 Tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
1. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil to large saute pan over medium heat. Saute onion & eggplant for 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Return pan to heat, add coconut milk, green curry paste, vegetable broth, sugar and fish sauce, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add salmon (or what ever protein you are using), green beans, bell peppers and serrano peppers. Simmer for 7 to 8 minutes. Salmon will be cooked through and vegetables crisp-tender.
3. Add the eggplant/onion mixture back to the pot and continue simmering for 2 more minutes. Stir in basil, cilantro leaves and lime juice. Serve over jasmine rice. Yield: 4 servings.
Recipe from Nutritious Eats
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Salmon and Hummus Buddha Bowl
Meal Prep 101
Easy Meal Prep Tips For Packing Healthy Lunches
Easy Green Curry with Chicken and Vegetables
Back in a flare….so will be taking it very easy this week.
Melanie, you MUST try Aarti Paarti’s recipe I made last week. We loved, loved, loved it. And I made a bag of chickpeas. Had enough cooked ones for the recipe, 2 batches of hummus, and bagged and froze 5 cans worth of cooked chick peas! Anyway, kinda goes against your leaving cuisines to the restaurant. But worth it if you try it!
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Luck may be making egg in the holes for the fam and a salad for me.
Tuesday: Rustic Italian pasta (with sausage for Greg and Lucky and kids) for Hokensons and us
Wednesday: Black bean and quinoa tacos (again, I know) They were SO amazing and easy and I still have taco shells for the fam I should use.
Thurs: Hummus wraps in Romaine for me and Luck (With kalamatas, tomatoes, and cabbage). Peanut butter wrapped in Romaine for the kids.
Friday: Homemade pizza night…my fav. (though we use premade gf dough, so not really homemade!)
Sat:
We were on a good run of cooking nice dinners which included fish 2 times a week, but we are both tired of cooking elaborate dinners and sick of fish. Here’s our easy meal plan for the week:
Sunday – still undecided – probably salads from EZs after the boys are asleep!
Monday – chalupas or nachos (made with baked corn tortillas, fat free beans and “fake cheese” (aka Smart Beat cheese)
Tuesday – Pasta with turkey meatballs
Wednesday – Boca burgers and sweet potatoe fries
Thursday – Taco salads with ground turkey meat
Friday – take out – maybe sushi
I bought some hoisin sauce today to try that salmon recipe soon! Miss you, Mel!
I love green curry. I always forget that I can make it myself 😉 Thanks for the easy recipe. Your photos are gorgeous btw!
Sunday- I hosted a dinner party for neighbors tonight and made your pesto/parm. turkey burger (slider size) and your southwestern turkey sliders. Both were a GREAT HIT!! I referred the other ladies to your site when they asked for the recipes.
Monday-Santa Fe chicken in the crock pot, cliantro, lime rice, quesadillas
Tuesday- Chicken salad, side of seamed okra for mom and dad
Wednesday- Crock pot leftover
Thursday- frozen pizza because mama is going out
Friday- out to dinner (rehearsal dinner)
Melanie- just want to tell you that Sam is finally getting married this weekend. So we will be enjoying a weekend full of wedding festivities. He and his fiance own and operate a food trailer in Austin, they are “purveyors of gourmet sausages”. Next time you are going to be in Austin message me and I can tell you where to find him. Have a great week. How many more week till baby?
How exciting Dana- if you remember (which I don’t expect you to) tell him hello and Congrats! What a fun time for your family! I love the idea of combing the two turkey burger recipes for a dinner party. I am going to have to steal that idea from you! 🙂 Thanks for spreading the word re the blog!
P.S. Got about 5 weeks to go! So curious to see if he/she will be late like my other two or surprise me and come early. 🙂
Here is my meal plans for the week. I am on week two of my vegan experiment and I am enjoying it far more then I thought I would. Only struggled with it three times, overall not bad for the first week of a restrictive diet.
Sunday–Shedded beef tacos in the crock pot with the trimmings (this was a huge hit). Black beans, cilantro lime rice (which was my tacos), guac and watermelon
Monday–leftovers, I think I might make the left over beef into quesadillas for the fam. I will have left over vegan chili from Saturday with the left over rice.
Tuesday–Britt’s dinner
Wednesday–Baked potatoes with an assortment of toppings.
Thursday–blackbean nachos and tacos
Friday–Homemade Pizza night. I made a great ww crust recipe this week, finally one we all love. Cheese for greg and the kids. Veggies for me, I discovered I love vegan pizza! This WI girl will drastically reduce the cheese she loads on her pizza in the future.
Saturday–trying a crock pot lasagna recipe for the family ( I plan to add veggies so we will see what the kids think) not sure what I will eat. Maybe just sauce, veggies, and pasta.
Hi Mel, That Thai salmon curry recipe sounds great–will definitely try it when I open my kitchen again-has been closed for a few days:) My latest good dish was out chicken curry salad but added dried cranberries instead of grapes or apple and I really liked it. Have been enjoying it. Love all your great ideas and photos! Your upcoming party sounds like fun, lots of good Texan stuff–wish I were there to help you! About 4 more weeks till baby Flinn arrives–can’t believe it! Don’t work too hard honey. Love, Mimi–ps I just loved our St Louis get together–so much fun seeing you guys, shopping and eating great Italian food. I have the menu from La Russos on the counter to inspire me!
Sunday we had tacos, rice and beans
Monday- slow cooker pork chops with stuffing and asparagus
Tuesday- Baked Potatoes with pulled pork. The kids did not care for this last week so we will try again until the like it 🙂
Wednesday- Soccer practice, so it will be something easy or take out
Thursday- stuffed chicken breast, green beans and fruit
Friday- frozen pizza night
Sat- busy day, we will eat on the go