Panang Curry with Pork

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that not only do they enjoy Thai food but one of their favorite dishes is Panang Curry. It made me realize that I hadn't made this dish in FOREVER! It's actually one of my dad's favorite dishes and I remember it being one of the first dishes my mom taught me how to make so that I could make it for him when she's back in Thailand.

Panang is a milder, sweeter curry compared to the Green Curry but with Chaokoh's Coconut Milk and Maesri's Panang Curry Paste readily available in any Asian Grocery Store, it's just as quick and easy to make. I made this in 20 minutes. And yes, you serve it with rice.

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lbs thinly sliced Pork
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 Jalapeno, de-seeded, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 Thai Eggplants, quartered
6 Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves, thinly sliced
1 can Choakoh Coconut Milk (Do Not Substitute)
1 4oz. can Maesri Panang Curry Paste (Do Not Substitute)
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Mushroom Soy Sauce or Light Soy Sauce
A few dashes of Maggie Sauce
1/2 tsp of Sugar

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized pot, bring the can of coconut milk to a boil, lower heat and while it's simmering, add the can of Maesri's Panang Curry Paste and stir until the two are well mixed.

2. Add the Thai Eggplants and cook for about 10 minutes on low before adding the sliced jalapeno and sliced kaffir lime leaves. Stir.

3. Increase heat to medium low and add the pork. Let sit for a few seconds before stirring to break up the pieces. Then add the fish sauce, soy sauce, Maggie sauce, and sugar. Stir well. Let the curry simmer on low until the pork is cooked through and 5 minutes before serving, add the sliced red pepper.

Serve and enjoy over rice!



Seriously so easy and a wonderful dish for these cold winter nights with or without company!

Have a great weekend and Chokh Dee!

Stevie

Creamy Parmesan Chicken with Bacon, Mushrooms and Spinach

Good Morning Culinary Friends!

Thank you for your patience and sorry for the slight delay in getting this recipe up, it was a busy weekend for the Hudson clan but as the saying goes, better late than never.

This has seriously become one of my favorite go-to meals and like everything else on my blog, it's so easy to make and super DYTM! I use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs for this but if you're a little more health-conscious than I am then feel free to substitute with skinless, boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast...or maybe even salmon! The great thing about this dish, aside from how tasty it is, is that there is very little prep and the whole dish is made in one big pan, which means very little clean up. That's a win, win, win in my book!

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

- 4 pcs skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 pkg Mushrooms (Shitake, Cremini, or White), sliced thin
- 4 thick slices of Bacon, cut into small pieces
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 cups Baby Spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley
- 1/2 cup of Chicken Stock
- 1/2 pint Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Pinch of ground Cayenne Pepper
- Pinch of Oregano
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken thighs and set aside.

2. Heat up a nice big pan and pour in some olive oil so that it coats the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken thighs (skin-down) into the pan. Cook on high for a few seconds, you want the skin to get a nice brown color and crispy. Reduce heat to medium-high or medium so that the skin doesn't burn. This is very important: Keep an eye on the chicken so that it doesn't burn and be sure to lower or adjust your heat accordingly. Once the skin side is done (approx. 3-4 minutes), flip it over and cook the other side of the chicken. Have it on medium-high heat so that side also gets the nice charred, golden brown color but then be sure to lower the heat to medium low or low so that the chicken can continue to cook through without burning. Do not cover the pan, it'll just make the skin soggy! You want the pieces to be cooked through and the skin to be a little crispy. Like this:

Please note that the amount of time it takes to cook the chicken will depend on the size and thickness of the chicken thighs. If you can't figure out whether or not they're done, poke it with a knife and take a look or use a meat thermometer. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from pan, set aside, and discard any left over oil.

3. In the same pan, turn the heat back up to medium and throw in the pieces of bacon. Cook the bacon for a few minutes or until they're close to being done (make sure not to burn the bacon!), then throw in the sliced mushrooms and minced garlic. Stir well and cook until mushrooms have softened.

4. Stirring the ingredients continuously, pour in the heavy cream, chicken stock, and then Parmesan cheese. Allow the sauce to bubble for a sec but then be sure to turn the heat down to low so that it's just simmering. Add a pinch of oregano and then a pinch of ground cayenne pepper. Throw in the parsley.

5. 10 minutes prior to serving, throw in the spinach. Let it cook down and if you want to add more spinach, you can. 5 minutes prior to serving, return the chicken thighs to the pan and cover it with the sauce. Let the chicken cook in the sauce for a few minutes and then turn off the heat, serve over rice, pasta or with a side of roasted asparagus, and ENJOY!

I really hope you'll give this dish a try. It's so good! If you do decide to try it, please let me know what you think and if you take a picture, please don't forget to tag me on Instagram and/or Facebook with the hashtag #doubleyummytoomuch!

Chokh Dee!

Stevie

Slow Cooker Sweet & Spicy Baby Back Ribs

Good Morning and Happy MLK Day!

Every Sunday I make our family a really special home-cooked meal. It's special for me because I get to spend all day doing what I love (cooking!), it's special for my husband because he usually gets to pick the menu, and it's special for both of us because we make it a point to turn off our cell phones, sit at the table, and talk...and laugh...it's a time we carve out especially for one another and it is without a doubt our most treasured tradition.

Prior to having our baby, our Sunday dinners used to be pretty elaborate! Often times, they would turn into three to five course meals with leftovers for days (I guess that's also kind of the point), and sometimes I'd end up making so much food that we'd end up calling friends and neighbors over to join us! Obviously, our Sunday dinners are a little different now with Surisa. Since she takes priority over all things, cooking all day just isn't possible anymore but because I'm determined to keep the tradition alive - and continuing it without added stress - I've focused my attention more on finding (or asking my husband to find) delicious, crave-worthy meals that require little to no effort. Hence, crock-pot meals.

Now, full disclosure: I can't take credit for this recipe. A close friend of mine recently made this for us and it's a recipe she found on Tasty's Facebook page, but we fell in love with it and since this blog is all about easy and "double yummy too much" recipes, I just had to make it and share it. Plus, if you're not into watching the Tasty video a hundred times just to catch a glimpse of the ingredients then....you're welcome.

Please note, all you'll need to make this are the ingredients below, a crock-pot, and patience - this baby takes 8 hours to cook.

Ingredients:
3lbs Baby Back Ribs
2 Cups Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
4 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbs Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 tbs Chili Powder
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 tsp Oregano
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper both sides of the Baby Back Ribs (depending on the size, you may have to cut the rack of ribs in half so that it'll fit in the crock-pot).

2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

3. Place ribs into crock pot and pour the barbecue mixture over them. Spread the barbecue sauce around in the crock-pot so that all sides of the ribs get a good amount of the sauce on them. If you had to cut the rack in half then obviously the lower rack will probably be somewhat submerged in the liquid while the top one is only half-submerged. That's okay, you can go back and switch them every couple of hours or just once half way through.

4. Cover the crock-pot and set to 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on Low and 2 hours on High. We've had it both ways and while the taste does not disappoint either way, I did find that the meat was just a little more tender cooked at 8 hours on Low.

Serve and enjoy! We ate ours with corn bread...because my husband's from Texas. DYTM!



Thanks for stopping by and Chokh Dee!

Stevie

Thai Green Curry with Chicken Thighs Cooked in Garlic & Butter

First I have to be honest and say that while I love most, if not all, Thai foods I've never been a huge fan of curry. My mom really only made it for my dad and I really only make it for my husband, upon request. At least that's what I always tell myself and others, but then I make it and I'm like, "This is so EFFING GOOD!!! Why don't I make this more often???" And then when we eat it all I go back to saying I don't like curry. I don't get it; it makes no sense <insert eye roll emoji here>.

Anyway, this is a spectacularly delicious, easy, and impressive meal to make when you're trying to impress yourself and others. It's melt-in-your-mouth, creamy, comforting goodness, especially during the winter when you want something flavorful, a little heartier and with a kick. You can make this with whatever meat you choose and serve it with either rice or vermicelli noodles.

In this recipe, I use chicken thighs and while the curry itself has an authentic Thai flavor, I added a little twist when cooking the chicken. Normally, the chicken is cooked with the curry but in this recipe, I cook the chicken thighs separately in garlic and butter before adding it to the curry a few minutes prior to serving. It's an added step which means a little more time but it's so worth it. However,  if you're pressed for time, don't feel bad about just throwing the chicken in with the curry. It'll still come out Double Yummy Too Much.



Ingredients (Serves 4-6):
5-6 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Thighs
1 Red Pepper - Rinsed and sliced into long, thin pieces
10 Baby/"Finger" Potatoes - Rinsed and Scrubbed (no need to peel)
2 cans Chaokoh Coconut Milk (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE)
1 can Maesri Green Curry Paste (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE)
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 tbs Fish Sauce
1 tsp Mushroom Soy Sauce/Light Soy Sauce
Few drops of Maggie Sauce
2 tbs of Salted Butter
2 Garlic, mined
Salt & Pepper





Directions:

1. In a decent size pot (I use a 4 1/2 QT. Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven for all of my soups and curries), turn stove to medium heat. After vigorously shaking the cans, pour in the 2 cans of Chaokoh Coconut Milk into pot. Bring to a boil then lower the heat so it's just simmering. Add in the can of Maesri Green Curry Paste. Stir well. Bring to a boil again, stirring continuously until their are no lumps and you get a nice creamy looking, smooth broth. Add 1 cup of Chicken Stock then lower heat again so curry is just simmering.

2. Add mini potatoes, Fish Sauce, Mushroom Soy Sauce/Light Soy Sauce, and a few shakes/drops of the Maggie Sauce. Stir and cover 3/4 of the pot with the lid, allowing the curry to simmer.

3. While the potatoes are cooking, add some salt and pepper to both sides of the chicken thighs. Heat up a large non-stick pan and once it's warm, throw in the butter. Once the butter has melted and you've evenly coated the bottom of the pan with it, add the minced garlic making sure to disperse it evenly before adding the chicken thighs. Once the garlic has slightly browned, throw in the chicken thighs. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side, or until the chicken has a nice brown, slightly charred look to it. DO NOT cook the chicken all the way through so that it can finish cooking in the curry.

4. Turn off heat to the pan and transfer chicken thighs onto cutting board. Slice each chicken thigh into smaller pieces then add to the curry. After all the chicken has been added to the curry, pour in the remaining butter and garlic in the pan into the curry. Stir well then continue to let the curry simmer so that it finishes cooking the chicken and the potatoes.

5. After a few minutes, with a fork, poke one of the potatoes to see whether or not they're done. Potatoes should be tender and easy to poke. When the potatoes are ready and you're about 10 minutes away from serving, throw in the red peppers (if the potatoes are ready but you're not ready to eat, wait to add the red peppers...no one likes mushy veggies).

....and that's pretty much it. Easy-peasy. As long as you don't substitute the brand of coconut milk or green curry paste, and you keep an eye on the curry so that it's not boiling over but continuously cooking on lower heat (and also not burning the chicken!!!), you'll have yourself a pretty tasty meal. You can serve this with rice or vermicelli noodles. If you decide to go with vermicelli noodles, garnish with some fresh bean sprouts for an added crunch. So yum.

If you decide to make this, please let me know what you think and how it turns out! As always, please tag @doubleyummytoomuch either on Facebook or Instagram.

Thanks so much and Happy Cooking!

Chokh Dee!

Stevie