Chicken Mango Curry

Anyone who knows me knows I love curries.  They are aromatic and spicy, and just plain delicious.  I found this recipe here, it is so easy and didn't require any adaptations.  I did, however, have changes, based on what I had in the house, so I didn't add red peppers and I used regular coconut milk not reduced-fat.  I'm putting the recipe below, but all credit goes to Reader's Digest.  It was incredibly delicious, and once again I totally forgot to take a picture, so you'll just have to imagine how good it looks. :)

Mango Chicken Curry

1/2 cup finely chopped onion'
1-2 T canola oil
1-2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts,  cut into 1 inch pieces
1 T curry powder
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it hotter)
1 large mango, peeled and chopped
3/4 C coconut milk (such as Thai Kitchen)
2 T tomato paste

Directions
In a large skillet, saute onion in oil for 2-4 minutes, add chicken curry, ginger, garlic, salt, and cayenne.  Cook and stir for about 5 minutes.

Stir in mango, coconut milk, and tomato paste; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve over basmati rice.

Caramel and Caramel Sauce

Okay, this recipe isn't perfect.  The caramel turned out more like sugar daddy's, so a caramel sucker, than soft chewy caramels.  But, my boys couldn't stop eating them, so I figured it was still a hit.  I cooked the caramel to about 240 degrees (the soft ball stage on my thermometer), but I think if you don't cook it as long it will turn out much softer.  I did however make a really yummy caramel sauce using half of the caramels I made, I have the recipe for that below as well.

Caramels (adapted from BHG)
1  cup dairy free (soy free, if needed) margarine
2 1/4 cups packed  brown sugar
1  cup dairy-free sweetened condensed milk
1  cup  light-color corn syrup
1  teaspoon  vanilla

Directions
Line an 8x8" or 9x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Generously grease the foil. Set pan aside.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add brown sugar, milk, and corn syrup; mix well. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently, until the thermometer registers 240°F (takes about 20 minutes or less). (Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a steady boil and watch temperature carefully during the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking as temperature can increase quickly at the end.)
Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Stir in vanilla. Quickly pour mixture into prepared pan. Let stand about 2 hours or until firm. When firm, use foil to lift it out of pan. Use a buttered knife to cut into 1-inch squares. Wrap each piece in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Store at room temperature.

Caramel Sauce
1/2 batch caramels (from above)
1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk

Directions
In a double boiler melt caramels and milk together until smooth.  Store in a airtight container in fridge. (My boys absolutely loved this sauce with apples).  

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Okay, I"m in the process of putting up my caramel recipe, which I'm sure I'll modify over time, but my family has more than enjoyed it, so even though it may need tweaking, it's definitely a winner how it is, as well.  So, in the process I thought I would post this recipe on making dairy-free sweetened condensed mil, I found it here, but used my trusty So Delicious Coconut Milk and didn't add vanilla or salt.  It's easy, just takes time.

Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk or other dairy free milk
½ cup White Sugar

Directions:
Add the milk and the sugar to a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until volume is reduced to 1 cup (it took me a couple of hours). Cool before using.  May be stored in the refrigerator.

Udi's Review

I am so incredibly behind on reviews, but this one, no matter how behind I get, really needs to be done.  I LOVE UDI'S!  They saved us when I changed my older son's diet, he has been the pickiest with the gf breads, and Udi's has allowed him to enjoy PB&J's again.

I recently got the opportunity to become a community ambassador for Udi's.  This means I get to share the love at Gluten-free meetings and at in-store demos, etc.  I'm not bound to only love Udi's, so I can still try and review other products, but I chose to affiliate myself with this company because of how they have helped us on our gluten-free journey.

Being an ambassador, I got to try everything in the product lineup: (1) Udi's Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread, (2) Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread, (3) Cinnamon Raisin Bread, (4) Udi's Gluten Free Plain Bagels, (5) Whole Grain Bagels, (6) Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, (7) Udi's Gluten Free Pizza Crust, (8) Udi's Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls, (9) Udi's Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins, (10) Udi's Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins, (11) Udi's Gluten Free Lemon Streusel Muffins, (12) Udi's Gluten Free Granola, Au Naturel, (13) Udi's Gluten Free Granola, Cranberry, (14) Udi's Gluten Free Granola, Vanilla, and (15)Udi's Gluten Free Granola, Original.


Fifteen products, and they all have been amazing.  When I conveniently switched my boys bread from their white sandwich bread (which they love!) to the whole grain, they didn't even notice.  What mom can say that about switching from white to whole wheat?!?!  So, yes, we are now big fans of the whole grain bread.  I already am a huge fan of their plain bagels, and their whole grain and cinnamon raisin do not disappoint.  My older son is loving bagels now, too.  I don't think he ever really ate bagels before our diet change, but he definitely does now.  I have to say with both the cinnamon raisin bagels, and the cinnamon raisin bread.  That option was always taken for granted.  I chose so many other types of bagels over cinnamon raisin back in my gluten days, but really I almost cried when I ate the cinnamon raisin bagel for the first time.  Being able to have an option at all, meant more than I could imagine.

The muffins are amazingly good, they are like those jumbo bakery muffins that I used to indulge in, I love them.  I've already raved about the double chocolate muffins, which by the way, I never get to eat, because my boys down them too fast.  But the blueberry ones are like eating fresh blueberries, they are so good.  But, I think my favorite is the lemon streusel, I love lemon and they have just the right amount in the muffin, with just the right amount of chewiness.  It's simply heavenly.

I think my boys two favorite things, beyond what they already have as regular favorites, were the cinnamon rolls and the pizza crust.  My older one begged me for cinnamon rolls for days when we tried them for the first time.  And the pizza crust is our new regular.  The first time we had it, my older son ate the crusts off of everyone's plate....he never eats the crusts!!!  It is a thin crust, and we usually go for thicker crusts, but they were so incredibly easy and so tasty, it definitely is a new regular in the house.

Now for the granola, can a just say how happy I am that I can snack on granola again...and how amazing it is that their original granola has pistachios, I love it!  All of their granola is really tasty, and I find myself looking for ways to add granola to everything, just so I have an excuse to eat it. :)

Quite simply put, all of Udi's gluten-free products get 10 out of 10 from me and my family, they have given us back some of that normalcy and convenience we have been missing.  Once again:  I LOVE UDI'S!!!

Another Book Review...Amazing Indian Food

As I said in a previous post, I've gotten a few new cookbooks and have been enjoying them.  I tested out The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes. Anupy Singla was done the impossible, and has taken recipes that I love and converted them to the crockpot.  I've made her cauliflower and potatoes and rice pudding, and both were amazing.  What I love about Indian food, besides the amazing aromas and tastes, is the fact that it's naturally gluten-free and very easily converted to dairy-free when necessary (it's also basically soy-free, too).  It makes dinner so much easier when I don't have to convert things, so I am very grateful to the cultures around the world that do not use gluten containing foods...thank you for your diversity and sharing that with us!