Thai Panang Curry

1 clove of garlic
1lb of pork, chicken or shrimp
1 can coconut milk
1 med onion
1 red pepper, sliced
1/2 frozen peas
1 - 2 Tbsp of peanut butter
1 - 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 lime
1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth (can be used to extend no. of servings
1 - 2 tsp. of red curry paste
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 - 2 Tbsp of peanut or vegetable oil
cilatro

Brown meat and set aside. Chop garlic into very small pieces and brown. Add chuncks of onion next and cook until almost translucent. Add sliced pepper and curry paste and stir. Add coconut milk and bring to a slow boil while stirring. Add meat and broth, peanut butter and brown sugar and stir. Add frozens peas, dash of fish sauce and lime juice and stir. Garnish with Cilantro or fresh Thai basil. Serve over Jasmine or Basmati rice.

He wrote this down kind of quickly, but I tried it and made my own adjustments and loved it. It was very soothing, like a twist on good ole chicken and rice. Kind of sweet...yummy yummy.

Creamy Rice Pudding

I had leftover rice after dinner tonight, so I found this rice pudding online at Allrecipes.com. It doesn't require baking and is absolutely delicious!!! (and easy!)

Creamy Rice Pudding SUBMITTED BY: Erica G.
"This is my mom's recipe for Rice Pudding. It's the best I've ever tasted and it gets rave reviews from everyone I serve it to. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon, if desired. For creamier pudding, use short or medium grain rice."

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup COOKED white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Chicken-and-Wild-Rice-Soup/Detail.aspx

my sister found this recipe a while back and has been raving about it, this past week I was at her house and she made it for me and it was possibly the best soup I've had ever. Def. top five. We ate it with Tuscan Panne (?) bread which went perfectly. She added carrots, celery that she boiled a little before putting them in and sauteed portabello mushrooms. She also cut some of the cream and replaced it with milk. Nummy Nummy!

Strawberry Cake

Another easy one. It's so good, I get requests from the kids teachers whenever they are in need of cupcakes. :)

1 White Cake Mix, plus ingredients listed on box
1 single serving strawberry yogurt (I like the fruit on the bottom one)

Mix cake mix according to box directions, blending in the yogurt last.
Bake according to box directions. You HAVE to have it with this frosting:

Cream Cheese Cool Whip Frosting
1 small box vanilla pudding
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8-12 ounces Cool Whip

Blend all ingredients together, blending the Cool Whip in last. I use the most Cool Whip to make the frosting go farther, especially when I make cupcakes. I use a pastry bag with a large icing tip to swirl it up, just like the ones in the store that mom's spend a fortune on ---okay I've bought them too in a pinch! :)
Anyway, top off your frosted cake with some of those sugar sweetened frozen sliced strawberries. Yum!
Oh, I use this frosting for other stuff too. It's the best for Fruit Pizza!

Banana Cake

If you have bananas you need to use and you're tired of banana bread, try this.

1 White Cake Mix plus the ingredients listed on the box
2-3 ripe bananas (I like bananas, so I use 3)

Mash bananas, set aside. In a separate bowl mix up the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Stir in bananas. Bake according to box directions (9x13, cupcakes, etc). Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. You can use canned frosting or here's a homemade one:

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter/margarine
1 (8-oz) block cream cheese
Cream all together til smooth.

I know someone who has done this recipe with a chocolate cake mix. I've never tried it but it sounds good.

Chess Bars

1 stick margarine (softened)
1 box yellow cake mix (or be creative and try your favorite cake mix, yellow is the one we like best)
1 egg
Stir and pat into a 13x9 inch pan
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese (softened)
1 box Powdered sugar
2 eggs
Mix until smooth. Spread over bottom layer and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool and then chill.

Taco Soup

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 package of ranch dressing mix
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

Tortilla Chips/Fritos
Sour Cream
Cheese

In large pot brown ground beef and onion. Drain off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer for 20-30 minutes. Top with chips, sour cream, and cheese.

Award Winning Chili

Here is a recipe from my sister's mother in law from Texas. I've tweaked it to adapt to my taste. It just won first place in a Chili cook off. Let me know how you like it!

3 cans of Red Kidney beans (dark or light...doesn't matter....drained)
1 can of S&W "Chili Makins" (Found at Stater Bros in the chili can aisle)
2 cans Mexican style diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 big can of tomato sauce (I use 1 jar of Ragu Spaghetti sauce)
2 bell peppers (chopped)
1 small white onion (finely diced)
2 tsp Lawry's seasoned pepper (comes in a blue spice container)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned salt
1 tbsp butter
2 cans of Kirkland roast beef (drained)

Saute the onion, pepper, and butter. Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cook for eight hours on low. (If you're a vegetarian, it tastes just as good in my opinion without the meat.)

(The next time I make it, I'll post a picture)