THAI CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE COZY, ONE-POT WEEKNIGHT DINNERS THAT WE USUALLY MAKE ONCE A MONTH, REGARDLESS OF THE SEASON. WITH LIME JUICE, FISH SAUCE, SOY SAUCE, AND FRESH HERBS, IT’S SPICY, FRESH, AND PERFECTLY SALTY!
If I could fill a pool with anything in the world, it would probably be coffee or some type of melted cheese. However, if both of those options were unavailable, then I think my third choice would have to be peanut sauce. I would float on rafts made out of spring rolls, and the pool noodles would be actual noodles. It would be kind of gross, but in the best kind of way. Thai food is one of my all-time favorites, and I think the peanut sauce might be like, 80% of that reason. One of my favorite Thai restaurants in town serves it with pretty much everything on their menu from chicken satay to salads, and I am here for it. My favorite thing to eat it with is the curry puffs, which is essentially a Thai samosa. I could honestly eat three or four plates to myself. They serve all their dishes with some marinated cucumbers, and the combo of sweet, salty, tangy, and crunchy haunts my dreams. Continue reading “Coconut Curry Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce”
PSA: Please be nice to college students, we are in the midst of midterms and life is a lot to deal with right now!!!!!!!
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been a giant ball of college-related anxiety which has led me to staying up into the early hours of the morning working on business plans and marketing research studies while living off of scrambled eggs with toast. I’ve also been fighting the early stages of a cold by popping obscene amounts of Vitamin C and drinking Immune Boosting Tea. The cabin fever is getting to a Jack Nicholson-level that makes me dream of hiking and Tahoe beaches and weekend roadtrips to San Fran.
In times like these, I find the only cure is to take a couple of hours to indulge comfort food, a sleeve of Milanos, and a lighthearted tween movie, normally of the Disney variety, although that is not required. My choice of the moment is Princess Diaries. But I digress. What I’m really here to talk about is the comfort food component.
Today, we have chicken pot pie that has been deconstructed, because there’s less time between preparation and consumption, and also puff pastry is the jam. I developed the recipe randomly one weekend with ingredients I had sitting around in my fridge, and I will never look back. As far as I’m concerned, chicken pot pie is the best food to cure sadness, and also it’s the best way to say goodbye to the winter season. While this is not necessarily a “traditional” pot pie, it has all of the components. Chicken, veggies, thyme, crust, warmth, happiness. And you’re probably eating it snuggled up in a blanket while watching a movie. I *highly suggest* making this one last time before BBQ season officially hits.
This is a very easy pot pie recipe! It’s one of my favorites for the weekend, because it only takes like, an hour total. I prefer to make little mini chicken pot pie cocottes, but it’s not necessary. You can also make this a one-pot deconstructed chicken pot pie if you feel so inclined! You just have to boil the chicken and potatoes, saute the veggies, and thicken the sauce. After, top it with buttery puff pastry! And then dig in while it’s way too hot, burn your lip, and have the *ultimate* chicken pot pie situation.
Also, this recipe is easy to switch up! Use whatever veggies you have laying around. You could do broccoli or green beans or mushrooms if you’d like. I kind of think mushrooms have the texture of a slug, so I avoid them. But do you!
And speaking of mushrooms, you could totally make this recipe vegetarian by subbing chicken for mushrooms and using veggie broth! Super easy. Have fun. Get creative. Go crazy, girl.
(On another note, if you know anyone interested in funding a coffee shop/bakery or a weekend vacation, or you have some secret knowledge that I’m a princess and therefore deserve to be in the far away land of Genovia wearing pretty ballgowns and living in a castle instead of studying my brains out in college, you know where to find me).
Notes: This will feed six people if you have other sides involved. If you have big eaters, this will probably only feed four.
Make it vegetarian by subbing the chicken for mushrooms and using veggie broth!
You can also use regular pie dough if you prefer that over puff pastry.
You can use ramekins or cocottes. I like Staub and Le Creuset. These are the cocottes I used for this recipe.
XO SaraLynn
*Song of the Day: Maps by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Happy back to school for most college students/students in general!
And if you’re one of the lucky bastards that doesn’t start classes again until September…you can just keep quiet in the back there.
Just kidding (mostly), but I am super jealous and I hope you’re having a wonderful summer break.
Anyways, I started school on Monday so RIP to my brain. In just a few short weeks, I won’t be able to talk about anything but balance sheets and the 4 P’s. But until then, let’s just enjoy the semi-normal Sara Lynn that loves to cook and dress up and talk about music and is successful in getting a post up on her blog on an almost-weekly basis, yeah?
Since I am back in school now, it means I can’t use the “…but I’m on summer break” excuse anymore. That’s when I eat whatever I want/don’t work out/avoid paying off my credit card for one more day/don’t bother getting the mail for 2 months/avoid all adult responsibilities/etc. because I’m on summer break and I want to hike or lay in bed and watch How I Met Your Mother. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I really only get to be a lazy college kid for a couple more years, so let’s just not worry about it.
Anyways, now that I’m waking up for class every morning, it also means that I’m eating chicken, brown rice, and veggies and working out 3-4 times a week.
If you have similar eating habits, you probably know how boring chicken and brown rice and veggies really are. And that’s why food blogs exist. To break the mundane and try out new recipes and gain the trust of our readers so that, they too, can have more exciting eating experiences.
I promise that this chicken is really delicious and tastes like lemon and rosemary–and is not boring at all. I had it with a Greek salad only, but I think next time I’ll make lemon-sage rice because that would make it even better.
I’ll leave you with the recipe and hope you’re happy knowing you can eat healthy and have really, really amazing food.
It’s a wonderful feeling.
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
1/4 c. olive oil
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar*
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bamboo or metal skewers**
*Red wine vinegar would also be good, and have more of a Mediterranean flavor. I just ran out and used what I had in the cupboard!
** If using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them in water so that they do not burst into flames while grilling.
In a bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the chicken. Place cubed chicken in a plastic Ziploc bag, and pour marinade over the chicken being sure it is completely covered. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat the grill to a medium high heat.
Remove chicken from marinade and discard leftover marinade. Thread the chicken onto the skewers.
Spray the grill with a cooking spray to prevent sticking. Place skewers on the grill and cook, turning every few minutes, for about 15 minutes, or until juices run clear.
Serves 4.
In non-chicken related news, I have started an Instagram page for all of my posts! Just follow serendipitybysaralynn, like my posts, tag me if you make my recipes, etc.! I love reading your comments and talking to my readers, so please share with your friends so I can talk to even more people!
(See. I did at least one productive thing during my summer! Go Instagram!)
Have a wonderful fall semester, college students.
Have a wonderful fall, everybody else.
*Song of the Day: Coffee and Pie, oh my! by Brightside*
*A new band I’ve been really into lately! Not all of their music is on Spotify, so check out their bandcamp: https://brightsidepgh.bandcamp.com/
Hello my wonderful readers!
I’m back home in Reno (although I’m still dreaming of London), but I’ve had a wonderful summer and it’s time to get back to business. Before I came home, I went to my parents’ cabin for the first time in two years which is where I used to spend my childhood weekends hiking, fishing, and riding quads.
It was also my getaway for watching movies and reading countless books which I did not always have time to do with all of my extracurriculars. I cannot even tell you how many times I blew through the HP series up there. 7 books and 8 movies were no match when I had a good two weeks of lounging on the porch swing with an iced tea in my hand.
Some of my best memories from growing up were at my cabin, and I wish more than anything that I could make it up more. Luckily, I have Tahoe just a short 30 minutes away, but there’s nothing like (vacation) home, right?
Anyways, I had a really amazing time with my family hiking, white water rafting, and of course, reading. We also had some really great food.
Cue fondue.
Before I share with you our delicious dipping recipes and whatnot, let me first disclose that all of the pictures posted today were taken by my baby brother (except for the fondue pic taken above, which was posted by my mom). He’s the guy in the maroon striped sweater. He’s only 17 and far more talented than I will ever be. So thank you to Garrett (and mom!) for the beautiful pictures shared today.
About fondue: Fondue is really really fun. Like, really fun guys. Although I did this with my family, I’m totally considering getting a fondue pot to have parties with my friends. Especially since I learned some good tips and tricks from this experience. We actually did an Italian version of fondue called bagna cauda which is a method of cooking the food in hot oil.
Some tips for a fondue (bagna cauda) party:
1. No more than 4 people should be at the fondue pot at any given time. Just trust me on this.
2. Wear clothes you won’t be totally sad about ruining. I don’t think I ended up dripping anything on myself, but there’s always a risk.
3. Lay down a black garbage bag or old table cloth. There will definitely be some drippage action there.
4. Have plenty of dipping options.
5. Consider having some small appetizers or a nice side salad to munch on. Although fondue is very fun, it’s also time consuming, so you’re waiting a few minutes between each bite.
Are you ready for some kick-ass dipping sauce recipes and also some wonderfully safe cooking instructions?!
You bet you are, champ.
*Recipes and instructions courtesy of Pillsbury. Some recipes adapted slightly.*
Bagna Cauda Ingredients:
4 cups peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled (optional)
Cubed beef tenderloin, Cubed chicken breast, Cubed squash, Mushrooms, Cheese cubes (coat with melted butter and bread crumbs beforehand), Shrimp, Cubed pork tenderloin, etc.
Pour oil into a fondue pot. Add garlic, if using. Heat until 350* F. Place setting on warm to maintain heat. Remove garlic, if using. To cook ingredients, place 1-2 items on fondue sticks. Place in oil and cook until desired doneness. Dip in favorite sauces.
Garlic Basil Aioli
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt, to taste
Curry Dip
3/4 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Salt, to taste
Horseradish Sauce
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. sour cream
1 Tbs. prepared horseradish
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
Directions for all sauces: Whisk all ingredients in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
*We also used A-1 steak sauce as a dipping sauce*.
In addition to bagna cauda, we enjoyed the sunset, had a lovely campfire where we looked at the stars, and I got to play with my puppy. All in all, it was an amazing weekend.
Song of the Day: Suicide Saturday–Hippo Campus
It’s happened, guys. I finished my first summer class, and now my brain = alskbxlzkjcgqergldknblddzweksdjclxdssalskdj.
As in, I cannot find the motivation to do anything more than lay in bed watching Gossip Girl and drinking insane amounts of green tea. For the whole entire week. (Also, don’t judge the GG. It’s officially my guilty pleasure).
It is also this resignation of my cranium that has put me in a dark, uncharacteristic succession of intense procrastination that I cannot seem to shake off no matter how acute my anxiety becomes.
Side effects of my procrastination have resulted in me putting off shopping and packing for London until yesterday afternoon (I leave tomorrow) as well as clicking multiple “Read More” links on posts concerning Zodiac signs and guitar tuning (I don’t play guitar). (Yet).
Luckily, I was able to force myself into packing and getting my shit together yesterday/today, and I’m (almost) ready to leave for London tomorrow! Yay!
My new goal is to motivate myself for the two more summer classes I start in London on Monday.
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a sort of Mexican food kick lately. First it was Chinese food, and now it’s cilantro lime shredded chicken and burrito bowls.
As it turns out, I need to get as much Mexican food into my body as I can in the next day, because Europe has no authentic Mexican food.
There are many European people that have never even had real Mexican (or Tex-Mex for that matter).
It’s the sad truth, and I’m not quite sure what to do with my life except console myself with Indian food and conversations with cute British boys.
(Life is so hard, right?)
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 c. olive oil
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 tsp. onion powder (to taste)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. oregano
Tabasco, to taste
1 lime, juiced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Place chicken strips, peppers, and onions in a zipper plastic bag or plastic bowl with a lid. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
Pour marinade over chicken, peppers, and onions. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24.
When ready to cook, heat 2 Tbs. cooking oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Remove chicken, peppers, and onions, and add to saute pan. Discard marinade.
Cook until chicken is cooked through and peppers and onions are soft, about 8 minutes.
Serve with tortillas, and other taco toppings.
Serves 4.
I <3 u Mexican food.
I’ll see you in a month.
Make sure to check in for my London posts in the coming weeks!
And while I’m gone, make sure to indulge in some tacos and cheeseburgers for me.
Song of the Day: Bear–The Antlers
Remember when I promised you guys this recipe when I posted cilantro lime shredded chicken a couple weeks ago?
Well…here it is.
I did it.
*claps for you Sara*
This recipe is essentially a play on the burrito bowls from Qdoba, Chipotle, etc. etc. I’m normally a big fan of these places because I can get a decent fast-food meal without actually eating fast food.
Not that I don’t ever eat fast food, because I think we’re all guilty of doing that sometimes, but if I want to still feel good about myself at the end of the meal, I choose Qdoba (mostly because it’s on the way home).
Although, I’m still a little bitter that there are NO Cafe Rios in Reno. Whywhywhywhywhy??
I literally crave their pork barbacoa.
I’ve had dreams about it before.
Yeah. Really.
However, I still really love Qdoba and Chipotle.
One of my favorite nights from last semester actually happened in Qdoba. My friends and I randomly ended up there one night (probably way too late in the first place). Luckily for us Reno college kids, there’s a late night Qdoba stop approximately five minutes away from campus, so it’s always a no-brainer on where to go if nothing else is open or will let you in.
Anyways, we essentially ended up at Qdoba until 1 a.m. eating chips and salsa and laughing manically over each others’ weird family stories.
For the sake of privacy, I will not get too far into these family stories, but just know nothing is more fun than watching your friend practically choke on a burrito because she’s laughing so hard at a horrifying incident somebody experienced at Disneyland.
Trust me.
Ingredients
Rice
1 1/2 c. brown rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c. water
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Onion powder, to taste
1 chicken bouillon cube
Corn Avocado Salsa
1 c. corn
1/2 avocado, cubed
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Lime juice, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Toppings
Beans, cheese, salsa, tortilla strips, cilantro, lettuce, etc. etc.
For the rice: Heat about a tablespoon of cooking oil over medium heat. Add brown rice and coat in oil. Stir constantly until rice is browned (but not burnt!). Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add water, lime zest, lime juice, onion powder, and chicken bouillon cube. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Add cilantro and more lime juice right before serving.
For the salsa: Heat oven to 350* F. Spread corn evenly on a greased baking sheet. Drizzle corn with a little olive oil and salt. Toss to coat. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until corn is slightly browned. Let corn cool for about 10 minutes.
Mix corn, avocado, jalapeno, garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasonings as needed.
To assemble: Place a couple scoops of rice in a bowl. Top with chicken, salsa, and other chosen toppings. Serves 4.
These could be made with beef, pork, seafood, etc. To change it up, you could add a bunch of salad ingredients and make it a burrito bowl salad. (Also, if you don’t want to roast the corn, you can make the salsa with plain corn).
I won’t tell.
Song of the Day: Forced to Love–Broken Social Scene
I can never really seem to keep up with the holidays.
AKA if I actually write a holiday-themed post before said holiday actually occurs, I’m pretty on top of my game.
Unfortunately, that oftentimes does not happen, and I lay in bed drinking caffeinated tea on a Thursday night at 11:30 p.m. writing a post on chicken. (In other words: Happy Cinco de Mayo).
Plus, it’s finals week(s). Also known as the week where I actually think that my brain is going to shut down in a quite literal sense and I will have to spend the rest of my life lying in bed petting a dog.
But that remains to be seen…
It’s weeks like this that make me have an actual mental breakdown including, but not limited to: crying, hyperventilation, having weird dreams about people, and panic attacks with symptoms that make me think I’m having a heart attack.
(And regardless of your age or health status, having a heart attack is a total logical solution when you’re in the midst of a stress-induced episode).
Really, it’s charming.
Luckily, I have been doing fairly well at keeping my shit together considering I always spend a good two weeks stressing about finals/studying until my eyes sting from exhaustion only to ace my exams and realize I could have slept at least twice as long as I did.
SOS. Please tell me you all do this too. (If you tell me you’re one of those people that can just pass a test without studying or trying, I’ll scream).
Anyways…
It’s these weeks where I really have to find my happiness in the little ways. Luckily for me, I find very great joy in small things like good coffee, hearing an old song I haven’t heard in a long time, and coming home to a crockpot filled with cilantro lime shredded chicken (because let me tell you…it smells amazing).
I’ve made this chicken two weeks in a row, so you know it’s good. I’ve used it for tacos and burrito bowls, but you could also do enchiladas, tostadas, nachos, etc. Whatever shredded chicken treat your little heart desires <3
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ceyenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
Spray a crockpot with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Stir to cover chicken with spices. Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
If you need me, I’ll be stuffing my face with chicken tacos to ease my worries. So far, it has seemed to work.
Except for the weird dreams about people. Those are (apparently) here to stay. On a side note: many people get uncomfortable when you tell them the details of your strange dreams involving them.
So maybe that’s something I’ll work on next.
But probably not.
Song of the Day: The Moon Song–Karen O and Ezra Koenig
(seriously though, best musical combo ever)
I’m going to apologize now for keeping this recipe from you guys for approximately 2 months.
It’s really a crime and I’m so so so sorry.
The truth is that I thought I had blogged about it, and then looking into it realized that I never did. The recipe is so good that I guess I just thought that I had already talked about it…?
Or something…?
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Anyways…..
This is an incredibly important recipe you should make very soon. It’s the kind of recipe you make when you meet your boyfriend’s parents, or feel like listening to jazz music (I recommend Miles Davis, George Gershwin, and Ray Charles). It also deserves a good Sauvignon Blanc if that’s your thing.
Just make this when you feel *fancy*.
It has some of the best ingredients including prosciutto, mozzarella, lemons, and unreasonable amounts of butter. Also it has some capers in it. The other day, I was reading my Bon Appetit at my favorite coffee place (the usual) and they described capers as “tiny explosions of salty goodness”. They’re totally right.
Bee Tee Dubbs, this is a very rustic meal that deserves to be served with an unpolished silver spoon fork thing spork.
Just kidding, I didn’t serve it with that.
But unpolished silver rocks (in my personal opinion).
This recipe was inspired by the veal salimbocca at Buca di Beppo, and also the veal saltimbocca from Tomasso’s in San Francisco (which is one of the best restaurants in the world, in case you’re wondering).
So I basically just melded the two recipes together and played it by ear. And it totally worked!
Which doesn’t always happen, so it’s super awesome when you totally nail a recipe on the first try!
Now it’s your turn….
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/2 c. flour
2 Tbs. dried sage
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 cloves garlic
2 drops Tobasco
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 stick butter
1/2 lb. prosciutto
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. capers
Olive oil
Rigatoni, butter, and parmesan, to serve
Combine flour, sage, salt, and pepper on a plate. Coat chicken breasts in flour and wrap in prosciutto. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan, and sear prosciutto wrapped chicken breasts in olive oil until crispy, but not cooked through. Set aside.
In the same pan, saute the garlic until fragrant. Add white wine, chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, Tobasco, heavy cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Stir together. Add prosciutto wrapped chicken back into the sauce. Simmer until chicken chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
The last 4 minutes, place sliced Mozzarella on top of the chicken. Cover with a lid to melt. Sprinkle with capers right before serving. Serve over buttered rigatoni with parmesan.
If you haven’t figured it out already, I’m pretty stoked about this recipe.
So much that I completely devoted a post to this recipe alone. No crazy Sara-antics for you today.
But maybe I’ll have an interesting/somewhat-funny/embarrassing story for you next post.
Just depends how this week goes.
*Song of the Day: Rhapsody in Blue–George Gershwin
