Comfort Foods

Curry Couscous Salad

November 12, 2019

I’ve been making Curry Couscous Salad for about 12 years now and it’s a perfect side dish to bring to a potluck or gathering. I love curry and if you’re like me you will love this dish! It makes a size for larger groups or if you are food prepping for the week you can eat some every day!

Place the couscous and butter in a medium bowl. Pour the boiling water over the top and stir until the butter has melted. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let set for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine olive oil, yogurt, red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon curry paste and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric. Whisk until smooth.
Fluff couscous with a fork and pour in yogurt sauce. Stir until couscous is evenly coated. Mix in carrots, cranberries, almonds, red onions, and scallions. Serve at room temperature.

Dish up the curry couscous and dig in! This stores great in the fridge for up to a week.

Enjoy!!!

Curry Couscous Salad

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Curry Couscous Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

2 cups couscous
1 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp curry paste or more if you want it spicy
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup red onions finely chopped
3 scallions finely chopped

Instructions

Place the couscous and butter in a medium bowl. Pour the boiling water over the top and stir until the butter has melted. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let set for 5 minutes.
In a separate small bowl combine olive oil, yogurt, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, curry paste and turmeric. Whisk until smooth.
Fluff couscous with a fork and pour in yogurt sauce. Stir until couscous is evenly coated. Mix in carrots, cranberries, almonds, red onions, and scallions.
Serve at room temperature. Store in fridge for up to a week.

Tomato Soup

November 12, 2019

It’s soup season and I especially love Tomato Soup! This tomato soup is really easy to make. You will thank me on these chilly days cause this tomato soup will warm you right up!

Only a few simple and delicious ingredients make this soup possible.

In large pot add oil, carrots, yellow onion and garlic. Saute for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are very tender. Add the tomato paste. Stir for a few minutes until the tomato paste starts to brown and caramelize. Add the flour and stir for a minute.

Pour the tomatoes and the juices in a separate bowl. Crush up the whole tomatoes with a fork or spoon. Add the tomatoes and juice to the pot. Add the broth, thyme and bay leaf to the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove pot from the stove and use a hand blender to puree the soup. If you don’t have a hand blender you can use a blender. If you use the blender let the soup cool first, then return to stove and simmer until hot.

Serve with croutons, cheese, cream or even a grilled cheese sandwich!!!! Choose a topping that you desire or keep it plain and eat it right out of the pot. You will not be disappointed with this tomato soup.

Enjoy!!!

Tomato Soup

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 carrots chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
8 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour
8 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaf
2 28 - ounce can whole tomatoes

Instructions

Add the oil, carrots, onion, and garlic to the soup pot. Saute for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Add the tomato paste – stir for a few minutes until the tomato paste starts to brown and caramelize. Add the flour and stir for a minute.
Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a bowl and crush them a fork or spoon. Add the broth, thyme, bay leaf, and tomatoes to the soup pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove pot from the stove and use a hand blender to puree the soup. If you don't have a hand blender you can use a blender. If you use the blender let the soup cool first then return to stove and let simmer until hot.
Serve with croutons, cheese or cream (if desired).

Banana Bread

August 14, 2019

If you know me then you know I love bananas! I recently had a birthday and one of my girlfriends decided to buy me a large bunch of bananas as a gag gift. It was perfect, but I couldn’t eat them fast enough so I got to make Banana Bread! Over ripe bananas are perfect for this easy to make banana bread.

All you need is a bowl and a mixer to whip this banana bread right up! Grab the butter, sugar, eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla, flour and baking soda.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla and then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just until combined.

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour (or till toothpick comes out clean). If the bread is not done place tin foil over bread and cook in 5 minute increments until done. Remove from pan and let cool, store in refrigerator or freeze.

Slice up the bread and serve it warm. Top with butter if desired. Eating this banana bread warm with a cup of coffee could make for one of the best mornings ever!

Dig in! Enjoy!!!

Banana Bread

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword Banana Bread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas about 3 bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flower
1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x5 inch pan.
Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla and then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just until combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour (or till toothpick comes out clean). If you need to cook longer than an hour place tin foil over bread and bake in 5 minute increments. Remove from pan and let cool, store in refrigerator or freeze.

Caramel Popcorn with Almonds

April 8, 2019

It’s baseball season and it reminds me of caramel popcorn at the ball park! I had left over caramel sauce from my Marshmallow Caramel Rice Krispie Treats so I decided to pop some popcorn to finish off the sauce. The sauce worked perfectly with popcorn and I threw in some almonds. Caramel popcorn with almonds is a great little sweet snack!

Get your air popper out and grab those kernels and pop away! Fresh air popped popcorn is my favorite, but you can also use microwave popcorn.

Instead of paying $10 per bag at the ballpark, you can make your own for a lot less and it makes a lot more! You can sit on your couch and watch the game and eat this yummy treat and be just as happy.

If you’re not a fan of baseball, grab your favorite movie and devour this caramel popcorn with almonds. It will go quick!

Enjoy!!!

Caramel Popcorn with Almonds

Course Appetizer, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Caramel Popcorn with Almonds

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

1 cup popcorn
6 ounces caramels (wrapped)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup almonds
salt (to taste)

Instructions

Grab a bowl or large pot. Pop the popcorn over the stove or use an air popper (you can use microwave popcorn as well). Add the almonds to the popcorn.
In a medium saucepan place the unwrapped caramels, heavy cream and butter. Over medium heat stir constantly until creamy.
Let the caramel sauce cool (about 10 minutes) then pour all over popcorn. Stir with a wooden spoon until covered evenly. Sprinkle salt over caramel popcorn if desired.