Thai Chicken and Broccoli Curry (Whole 30)

Let's take a walk down memory lane. My food photography is nowhere where I want it to be, but compared to this Thai Curry recipe from 2014, I'd say I've come along way. Now let's just keep that hidden in the archives and focus on this updated Thai Curry recipe. 

One of my roommates, Lindsay and I first made this curry during early fall and we were obsessed. Anything Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest makes is sure to be perfect. Thanks for the inspo HBH!!

I couldn't decide how I wanted to prepare this dish so I took to y'alls opinion. I polled you all on my Instagram story the other night to see if you were still geeking out over crock-pots or if they are old news. Results were 84% "YAS CROCK-POTS," 16% "Crock-Pots are so 2017." Well...I used my trump card and decided we were going old school and using a good old regular stovetop pot for this recipe. From start to finish this recipe takes makes 45 minutes. You can do it people, step away from the Crock-Pot. 

BONUS, this recipe is Whole 30 compliant for all you January Whole 30ers. I mentioned on my Instagram the other day that I am not participating in Whole 30 this month. Whole 30, like Crock-Pots, is also “so 2017,” in my opinion. But, I do love cooking Whole 30 style dishes and plan on posting some to give you all inspiration. 

Thai Chicken and Broccoli Curry (Whole 30)
yields 4-5 servings, adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, shredded
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
2 Tbsps. fish sauce
2, 14 ounce cans full fat coconut milk
1 bunch broccoli, chopped into small florets
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
packaged cauliflower rice for serving
chopped cashews, pomegranate arils, basil and lime wedges for serving

Directions:
In a heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Place chicken in pan and cook on both sides until cooked through. Remove from pan. Add chopped onion, minced garlic and chopped ginger to pan with the remaining oil and browned bits from the chicken. Sauté until onions are translucent. Stir in curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Shred chicken using two forks. Add shredded chicken and broccoli florets to curry. Simmer for 20 minutes until broccoli is softened and curry has thickened. Stir in chopped basil right before serving.

Serve each bowl with a helping of cauliflower rice*, a lime wedge, chopped cashews, pomegranate arils and a sprig of fresh basil.

*I let the heat of the curry soften the cauliflower rice. If you prefer to soften it before, just place in a microwave safe bowl with a splash of water, and steam in the microwave for 30 seconds to a 1 minute. 

P.S. I firmly believe the prettier your food is the better it tastes! All those toppings aren’t just for the gram. They help, but they also enhance the dish as a whole! So, invest in the pomegranate, cashew and lime toppings. #worthit

Disclosure: If you are in a loving relationship with your crock-pot, follow Tieghan's cooking method to prepare this dish.

  Annie

Visions of Sugar Plums and Cookies and Candy

Christmas is less than a week away, so let's cut to the chase and get baking. Whether you are making cookies for Santa, creating something to give as gifts or just wanting another excuse to eat all the Christmas treats possible, let me be your guide to some of my fave seasonal sweets.

My Signature Sugar Cookies were the first thing I remember learning how to bake. They get made for various events throughout the year, but always get made on Christmas Eve and set out for Santa. 

White Chocolate & Cranberry Christmas Cookies need I say more? Mom made these a couple weeks ago for a cookie exchange party and I'll go out on a limb and guess they were a hit;)

Peppermint Bark is so Christamsy and what I have made the past two years for co-worker gifts!

Cookie Butter Rice Krispies get a festive flair added to them by using red and green sprinkles to decorate. Also great for co-worker gifts or work pot-luck parties.

This post has me questioning why I haven't made my White Chocolate Dipped Oatmeal Ginger Cookies this season yet? These suckers are BOMB for lack of a better word.

Christmas Crack courtesy of my blogger bestie Molly! Need a last minute gift idea? Here you go, and yes it's crack. "Say crack again."

Dreaming of a white Christmas? These Snowball Cookies help make dreams come true!

Homemade Turtles are the least scary homemade candy you can make. Because when else, but at Christmas do you make homemade candy?

Merry Berry Scones are perfect for Christmas morning.

Lastly, Perfect CCCs - Christmafied! I made a massive batch this year to give as gifts! Packaged them in Chinese take-out boxes, and tied with a red bow! 

Merry Christmas from Take A Bite!

Annie

White Chocolate & Cranberry Christmas Cookies

December 1st means Christmas is officially acceptable to be celebrated in all entities! Which means bring on the Christmas cookies, hot chocolate and Christmas movies on every night. 

The idea for these cookies popped in my head last week and I immediately started doing research to craft the recipe. I love the signature cranberry and white chocolate combo and it's v festive. The dough base is similar to chocolate chip cookies but I added lots of cinnamon and nutmeg to give them a seasonal spice! 

Cranberry & White Chocolate Christmas Cookies
yields 2 dozen

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dried cranberries (reserving a little)
4 oz or 1 cup white chocolate bar, chopped (reserving a little)

Directions:
Preheat your over to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla until combined, scraping the sides as needed. In a large mixing bowl whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. 

Stir in the dried cranberries and white chocolate. Make sure and reserve a little bit of the cranberries and white chocolate. I'll explain why. Form golf ball size balls of dough and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Don't over crowd the pan. I got 8 on each sheet. 

Now for the reserved cranberries and chocolate. The key to a pretty cookie is topping them with a few of the ingredients inside the cookie. I chopped up the cranberries and topped each ball of dough with a few pieces of each. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are just lightly browned. 

I'm headed to Dallas later today for the OU vs. TCU Big XII championship game. These are name Christmas cookies, but there crimson and creme esthetic are making them a perfect game day treat too!

Boomer Sooner & Merry Christmas!  

Annie  

Lite Bite: Crock-Pot Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes

Back with a quicky "lite bite" post!

This was a go to meal for my mom growing up and still is for she and my dad. I've now translated it over to my everyday recipe book. Super simple pork chops and sweet potatoes pair perfectly together for a simple but comforting fall or winter dinner. #TBT to when I used to eat this meal and fix my sweet potato up with equal parts 5 Tbsp. butter to 5 Tbsp. brown sugar...

Crock-Pot Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes
yields 4 servings

Ingredients: 
1-1 1/2 lbs. pork chops (account for one pork chop per serving)
4 good size size sweet potatoes
1 cup chicken, veggie, beef stock (whatever you have) 
1 Tbsp. Oregano or Italian Seasoning  
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions: 
Heat a little bit of oil in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Season pork chops with salt, pepper and oregano on both sides. Place your pork chops in the pan, and sear on both sides. About 1 minute per side. You are not cooking the pork chops yet you just want to get them browned. Once seared, take out of pan and place in crockpot. Pour a little pit of chicken stock in the hot pan to deglaze it and get all the browned bits off the bottom. Pour over the pork chops in the crock-pot. Add a little more stock (1 cup or so) to moisten. 

Wrap your sweet potatoes in foil and place right on top of the pork chops. Put your lid on and cook on low all day (6-8 hours). Pork chops and sweet potatoes should be very tender when done.

I keep it simple and serve a pork chop with a plain sweet potato. I love mustard, so sometimes dip my pork chop in whatever fancy mustard I have in the fridge. Loving this right now. You could also do a nut butter or brown sugar on your sweet potato. 

Annie

Easy Holiday Cheese Board

So I was annoyingly stressed out these past two weeks thinking about all the holiday events coming up and all the things going on at work to get prepared for the holiday season that I didn't even want to do Friendsgiving. GASP! Friendsgiving is one of my favorite traditions of the past couple years. First headache was gone when my sweet friend Lexy said she would host. Second headache was gone when I decided to bring the easiest cheese board thanks to Hickory Farms! 

Quick story time. Me and Hickory Farms go way back. Every year growing up, one of my dad's co-workers would gift his fellow employees with a Hickory Farms gift box. My sister's and I would anxiously await the evening when my dad would come home with the coveted Hickory Farms gift box. We would rip open the box, fight over who got to eat the little strawberry hard candies and then start sampling every meat, cheese and spicy mustard, completely ruining our dinner. 

I'm often asked what my favorite food is, and struggle to muster up an answer. I could never answer that question with just one thing, but recently I've really been trying to nail down at least my top five favorite foods. So far chili has been put on my list, and after making this epic holiday meat and cheese board for Friendsgiving, it became apparent that cheese boards are also in my top five favorite foods. 

Not only do I love eating meat and cheese boards, I also love making them. But, I will admit going to the store and wandering the cheese aisle can be super daunting. With a million options, textures, colors, names etc. it's overwhelming deciding what cheese and meats to pair. With Hickory Farms Signature Party Planning Gift Box  the stress is gone. Cue the "easy" part of this holiday cheese board.

Hickory Farms perfectly curates their boxes to make for a perfect holiday cheese board. The Signature Party Planning box consists of four cheeses, three meats and assorted mixed nuts. Exactly what I would purchase if going at it by myself at the store. These amounts will serve about 12 people. Or 10 hungry 20-something girls at Friendsgiving...oops!

My cheese board assembly tips:
-Cut each cheese a different way. Cubes, triangles, slices, crumbles...
-Bring in different textures such as mixed nuts, fruit, crackers, olives or pickles
-Be colorful. Use cheese and meats of different color to keep it visually pleasing.
-Get your greens in. Some kind of fresh herb to contrast all the orange and cream. I used bay leaves because they were on hand. 
-Include some kind of mustard, jam or spread

Take a slight bit of the holiday stress off buy purchasing a Hickory Farms gift box for your next holiday gathering. Wow your friends and fam with this easy (and epic) cheese board when you show up for Thanksgiving. P.S. If you are last minute and don't have time to order something, and you are local to the OKC area, I know for a fact there is a Hickory Farms kiosk set up right now in Penn Square Mall. It is stocked with tons of meats, cheeses, mustards and pre-selected gift boxes. Cough Thanksgiving is in less than a week cough cough.

Happy holidays from my easy cheese board to yours!

Annie

Thank you to Hickory Farms for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.