Easy Chicken Thighs in Thai(ish) Peanut Sauce

Hi & Happy Tuesday!

Apologies for the serious delay in posting this recipe but I assure you that it's worth the wait. Before I begin, full disclosure, I actually came across this recipe on Pinterest by author Karina of Cafe Delights so I really can't take credit for this. While I did pretty much follow her recipe, which you can find HERE as a reference, I did make some changes to better suit my own taste and also based on the ingredients I already had at home.

It's a Thai-ish dish because even though the flavors are there, the method for making the Peanut Sauce (aka Satay Sauce) is so NOT authentic. Instead of sitting around pounding fresh peanuts, which is what my mom would do, this recipe suggests peanut butter as a quick and easy alternative. I think my mom would be horrified but honestly, I think it's genius because I mean, who the hell has time to sit around and make peanut sauce from scratch - NOT ME! Also, since this blog is all about quick and easy with big flavors, I had to give it a shot and I'm so glad that I did because it turned out wonderfully and I made it in less than an hour (including prep and 15 minutes of marinating time).

This, my friends, is such an easy and delicious meal to make. I don't think words can do it justice so you're just going to have to trust me, make it, and see for yourselves!

Ingredients (Serves 4):

Chicken Marinade:
- 4 tbs Coconut Milk (from a 400ml tin, preferably Chao Koh brand)
- 1.5 tbs Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1.5 tbs Thai Red Curry Paste
- 1 tbs Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tbs Sweet Soy Sauce
- 1 tbs Fish Sauce
- Pinch of Salt
- 2-3 tsp of Coconut Oil for frying

Peanut Sauce:
- Remaining Coconut Milk from tin
- 1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 tbs fish sauce
- 1 tbs sweet soy sauce
- 1 tbs Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tbs Thai Red Curry Paste
- 1 tbs Tamarind Concentrate
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/8 cup of freshly chopped Cilantro
- 3 Thai Birds Eye Chilies, sliced
- Pinch of Salt
- Freshly squeezed lime juice from half a lime
- Lime wedges to garnish

Directions:

- Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs then set aside. In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade until it's nice and smooth (no major peanut butter clumps). Completely drench the chicken thighs in this mixture allowing it to marinade in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.







2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Heat up the coconut oil in an oven-proof skillet on medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs skin down first onto the skillet and cook until both sides are nice and brown and the skin is a little crispy (but not burnt!). Feel free to adjust/lower the heat if necessary. Approximately 5 minutes on each side depending on the size of the chicken thighs.

4. Transfer skillet to the oven and allow it to cook for another 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (You can use a meat thermometer for this if you're not sure).

5. While the chicken continues to cook in the oven, grab a saucepan and combine all the ingredients for the peanut sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and thick. Right before you turn off the heat, throw in the chillies and allow it to cook for about 30 seconds. Then turn off the heat and mix in the lime juice and cilantro.

6. Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and pour the peanut sauce over the chicken. Let it simmer in the sauce for about a minute prior to serving.



7. Garnish with some more cilantro and lime wedges, and serve over white jasmine rice.

 

And there you have it! An easy, Double Yummy Too Much meal in under an hour.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Chokh Dee!

Stevie

Pan Seared Ribeye with Herbs

I love steak but for environmental, health, and cultural reasons, I try not to eat a lot of beef. Luckily, my husband, despite being a Texan, is on board and to thank him for his support I make it a point to make him a "double yummy too much" dish when I do cook with beef, especially when it comes to steak. And this, my friends, is out of this world delicious...like quite possibly "the-best-steak-we've-ever-had-in-our-lives" delicous. So if you haven't tried any of my recipes yet, please start with this one especially if you're a steak-lover. You will love it and then you will love me for it. I promise.

Now, in order to have a damn good steak dish, you have to start off with a superb cut of steak. For these babies, I went to the butcher counter at Whole Foods and got two pieces of grass-fed, thick-ass cuts of boneless Ribeye (I'm pretty sure they were at least an inch and a half thick). I absolutely love Ribeye - the meat is tender and the fat makes it so juicy and flavorful!

Also, I think it's important to mention that for the perfectly cooked and most flavorful steak, I highly recommend cooking them in a cast iron skillet - I really, really think this made a HUGE difference in how wonderfully they turned out. A good friend of ours recommended Lodge Cast Iron Skillets . I have the 10.25 inch one which retails for $26.75. I was actually going to order it online but lucked out when I found it randomly at Homegoods for only $10! So check out your local Homegoods store first, just in case, but if you can't find it there then just order it directly from their website. $26.75 is still incredibly affordable and it's so, so worth it.



Before we begin, please note that this dish doesn't take long to cook, but I do recommend taking the steaks out of the fridge about 45 minutes prior to eating so it has time to marinade in the herb mixture while getting to room temperature which will take about 20-30 minutes.

First off, here are the ingredients (for 2 steaks):

- Thick cuts of boneless Ribeye
- 1/8 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 sprig of fresh Rosemary, leaves removed from stem
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh Thyme, chopped (I didn't measure this but just pulled out a small handful and started chopping so this is just an estimate)
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- Sea Salt & fresh Ground Pepper to season
- 1.5 tbs of Salted Butter

Directions:

1. Remove steaks from refrigerator approximately 45 minutes to serving and place side by side on a big plate. Generously salt & pepper both sides of the steaks and set aside.

2. In a food processor, throw in the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and olive oil. With a spoon or brush, apply half of the marinade to one side of the steaks then the remainder of the marinade on the other side.



4. Cover the plate with a plastic wrap and let them sit for about 20-30 minutes (I did 30 minutes for these).

5. When you're ready to start, preheat oven to 500 degrees.

6. Place the cast iron skillet in the oven for about 5 minutes without the steaks so it can heat up on it's own.

7. Turn the stove on high and throw in half of the butter. Push the butter around the skillet so it covers the entire surface area of the pan, then place both steaks into the skillet and sear for 45 seconds. Flip the steaks over and repeat the 45 seconds sear on the other side.





8. Once both sides of the steaks have been seared for 45 seconds, immediately place the cast iron skillet into the oven and cook the steaks on each side for 2 minutes. This will produce a lovely steak that's medium-rare. If you prefer a more well-done steak, then extend it's time on each side in the oven by 1 minute.

9. Remove cast iron skillet with steaks from the oven and remove from the pan. Allow it to cool off for about a minute prior to plating and serving. With a spoon, be sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet for the crispy garlic and herbs, garnishing the top of the steaks with it as well as a sprig of fresh rosemary.



Serve with some mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus - or whatever the heck you want.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you have a fantastic week!

Chokh Dee!

Stevie

The Best Ever, Super Moist Blueberry Banana Bread

I'm a really big fan of this bread - The sweetness of the bananas with the tartness of the blueberries...mmm...mmm...mmmm! Plus, I always get both bananas and blueberries from the store and they ALWAYS go bad before I'm able to finish them so this is a great way to utilize both without force feeding yourself - or your baby - ripe bananas (gross - I prefer my bananas newly yellow with a hint of green thank you very much) or feeling guilty about tossing out a half eaten box of shriveled up blueberries.

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf):
- 2 Cups of Flour
- 1 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 (8 tbs) Stick of Salted Butter, Melted
- 2 Large Eggs, beaten
- 2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
- 1 Cup of Fresh Blueberries
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbs Milk
- 1 tbs Whole Milk Plain Yogurt

Directions:

1. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs then mix in the sugar followed by melted butter, the Vanilla Extract, Milk, Yogurt, and the Mashed Bananas. Mix well until smooth and creamy.

3. In a separate bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon). Then slowly add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix well (but don't over mix - just until the flour is well combined). Lastly, fold in the blueberries and gently stir until batter is well mixed.

4. Transfer batter from large bowl into loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Let the bread cool off for about 20-30 minutes before removing from the pan and make sure it has completely cooled prior to slicing.

....And that's it! Easy-peasy! Enjoy toasted with a little bit of butter or as is with a cup of coffee or hot tea!

Thanks and Happy Hump Day!

Chokh Dee,

Stevie

Spicy Chili with Black Beans, Sweet Corn, & Shitake Mushrooms

Chili has become one of my all-time favorite, go-to meals and my Mother-In-Law (MIL) makes THE BEST chili. She doesn't cook a lot so I'm not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised and I was even more surprised at how easy it is to make once my MIL shared with me her "secret weapon."

I suppose I could've left her recipe untouched but I decided to go ahead and add a few other ingredients that I feel make her chili heartier, chunkier, and spicier (because nothing is ever spicy enough for me). Now I'm not going to lie, this is not a "from scratch" recipe in the sense that I don't bother with getting, measuring, and putting all the seasonings together - Why? Because the "secret weapon" here is French's Chili-O Mix! So yes, for this recipe I cheat with French's Chili-O Mix and I am so not ashamed because it is so freaking Double Yummy Too Much.

Oh and just FYI - this recipe is for A LOT of chili because I wanted to have leftovers for the week since I don't always have time to cook so if you're not trying to have chili for days then feel free to cut everything below in half, which should give you about 4-6 servings.

Ingredients (serving size...A LOT and then some)

2lbs ground Beef (I use 80% lean)
2 pkgs French's Chili-O Mix
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 White Onion, diced
1 13oz pkg of Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 can of Reduced Sodium Black Beans
3/4 can of Whole Kernel Corn
1 fresh Jalapeno, cut into small pieces (I don't deseed mine)
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can Stewed Tomatoes
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 tsp Brown Sugar
A few splashes of Maggie Seasoning Sauce (if you have it, if not no biggie)
Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a pan with some olive oil. Salt and pepper the meat then drain the fat.

2. In a separate medium-sized pot, drizzle some olive oil and brown the garlic, onions, and Shitake mushrooms.

3. Add the ground beef and Chili-O Mix to the pot. Stir well.

4. Add the bay leaves, can of diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, corn, black beans, and jalapeno. Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes then reduce heat to simmer. Add the brown sugar and a few splashes of Maggie Seasoning Sauce, if you have it.

5. Serve with a bit of sour cream or Stonyfield's Smooth & Creamy Organic Whole Plain Yogurt, which is my preference.



This would also be great with rice (obvi), corn bread, or if you really want to go all out then slap some of this on a hot dog for THE BEST chili dog ever. YUM!

Thanks and hope everyone's having a good week so far.

Chokh Dee!

Stevie