GIVEAWAY The Sweet Lollipop Mystery Box

Are you ready for another Giveaway?

I am so excited about this one! Louise from The Sweet Lollipop Shop is offering one of my readers a mystery pack of lollipops!

Now, these are not your regular, sugar-filled, grocery-store lollipops. These are handmade crystal barley hard candy lollipops. I've ordered (and tasted) many of her flavors and they are all delicious! My kids get so excited whenever we get a box from Louise. The different shapes keep them busy for hours.

The pops are even endorsed by Santa Claus- he put them in all of my kids stockings this year! Imagine my surprise!
I also know that the Valentine's Cupids endorses this product!


From Sweet Lollipop's website:
"Barley Candy originated in the United Kingdom in the 17th century and became popular during the Victorian era as a Christmas stocking treat where it was poured into heavy metal molds forming 3D toys called Barley Sugar Clear Toys.

Our candy contains no nuts, wheat, sodium and is fat free and free from preservatives, sugar being a natural preservative. We create flavored and totally natural candy made from all natural ingredients, which also come in bite size crystal jewels, perfect for settling the stomach and easing sore throats whilst tasting delightfully delicious."


How to Enter:
Giveaway ends on February 10th!
Mandatory: Go to Sweet Lollipop Shop and tell me your favorite shape or flavor.

Extra Entries: Please leave a separate comment for each entry!
1. Follow this blog
2. Put my button on your blog
3. Tweet this giveaway- make sure you put @ddsweets in the message so I will see it
4. Follow Sweet Lollipop's Blog
5. Follow Sweet Lollipop on Facebook or on Twitter
6. For an extra 5 entries: order for The Sweet Lollipop!

Fragrant Thai Chicken Curry

This dish takes a little more time and effort, but is well worth it. It is great to serve at a party, because the chicken and sauce can be prepared in advance and combined and heated at the last minute. This is one of my families personal favorite Thai dishes.

I wish I had a picture for you, but my camera is broken!! I'll try to download a scan of the book.

Again, see my Thai Tips post if you need help explaining the different Thai ingredients! The * indicates ingredients that are best found at an Asian grocery store.

Fragrant Thai Chicken Curry

3 TB oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 TB Thai red curry paste *
4 cups coconut milk (roughly 3-4 cans)
2 lemon grass stalks, coarsely chopped
6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
2/3 cup Greek or Plain yogurt
2 TB apricot jam (I've made this w/out the jam, as no one eats the rest of the jar!)
3 lb cooked chicken breasts
2 TB cilantro
salt and ground black pepper
Kaffir lime leaves, shredded, toasted coconut, and fresh cilantro to garnish
Cooked Jasmine Rice to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic, and cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until soft.
Stir in the red curry paste. Cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk, then add the lemon grass, lime leaves, yogurt, and apricot jam. Stir well. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. In the meantime start cooking your rice, following the directions on the package. See tips for cooking jasmine rice here.

2. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow to cool slightly. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and process to a smooth puree. Rinse out your pan. Strain the mixture back into the pan, pressing as much of the pureed mixture as possible through the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. Discard what is left in the sieve. Set aside while you prepare the chicken.

3. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the sauce.

4. Bring the sauce back to simmering. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve in warm bowls; garnishing with extra lime leaves, shredded coconut, and cilantro. Serve over Rice.

Enjoy the burst of flavor that is Thai cuisine.

Week 9 Meal Plan

Here we go again! I picked some easier meals for you this week. I've added some more side dishes, and one desert! Enjoy!



Monday: Quick Chicken Quesadillas
Tuesday: Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers with Green beans and Shaved Asiago
Wednesday: Roasted Veggie and Pesto Pasta with bread or rolls
Thursday: Spinach Salad with Fruit
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Chicken and wild rice soup (Can use leftover coconut chicken) with Spinach dip Crostini
Sunday: French Dip Sandwiches with Sunny Lime Fruit Salad
Desert: Paradise Pineapple

The Menu, Recipes, and Shopping List are available to download!

Roasted Garlic and Asiago Cream Sauce

We went out to dinner a few weeks ago, and this sauce caught my eye on the menu. I didn't try it there, but knew that I had to make it at home. Nothing is better than roasted garlic! (Chocolate doesn't count...)

I wish I had pictures for you, but our camera has broken. This picture is from my basic Alfredo Sauce.

I used my basic Alfredo Sauce recipe, and adjusted it to make a super creamy, tasty sauce.

I served it over baked herb chicken, with a side of wild rice and roasted asparagus. It would also be wonderful on noodles or vegetables.

Roasted Garlic and Asiago Cream Sauce

1 clove Roasted Garlic (see instructions below)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Sauce:
1 block Cream Cheese (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup of milk
1 cup grated Asiago Cheese
Roasted garlic cloves (I used 5 or 6; use what you are comfortable with)
1 TB Basil
Pepper to taste

To roast garlic:

Set oven to 325.
Peel the outer layers of the garlic clove away- leaving enough layer to hold the cloves together.
Cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch off of the top of the garlic head to reveal individual cloves.
Set the cloves on a square of foil, and drizzle with 1 teaspoon Olive Oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Fold foil up around garlic, enclosing completely.
Put foil packets in a shallow baking dish, and bake for 40-50 minutes. The garlic is done when a fork pierces them easily.

Allow to cool, then squeeze the cloves out of the skin. Mash them slightly before adding to sauce.

Sauce:
Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan, and heat on medium until melted and combined. Stir frequently to make a smooth sauce.

Serve immediately!

Tangy Chicken Thai Salad

This Thai salad has a lot of "specialty" items in it. You will need to shop at an Asian store to find most of them. Those ingredients are marked with a *. However, the shopping and prep time required for this is all worth it!

Here are some pictures of ingredients not previously mentioned in the Thai Tips post.


Kaffir Lime Leaves (can freeze)


Galangal- looks like Ginger, but has a very different taste. I actually made this dish without the Galangal and it was fine!

Tangy Chicken Thai Salad

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 TB soy sauce
2 TB vegetable oil
1/2 cup coconut cream*
2 TB fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
2 TB brown sugar
1/2 cup water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted and finely chopped
4 shallots, thinly sliced *
4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced *
1 lemon grass stalk, thinly sliced *
1 teas chopped fresh galangal *
1 large red chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
10-12 mint leaves, torn
lettuce, to serve

Spinach leaves to serve

1. Place the chicken in a large dish. Rub with the garlic, soy sauce, and 1 TB of oil. Cover and marinate for 1-2 hours.

2. Heat the remaining oil in a wok or frying pan and stir-fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until cooked. Remove and set aside to cool.

3. In a pan, heat the coconut cream, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved; set aside. This is your salad dressing!

4. Assemble the salad: Prepare a bed of lettuce. Shred the cooked chicken and add the water chestnuts, cashew nuts, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, red chili, spring onions and mint leaves.

5. Pour the coconut dressing over the mixture and toss well.

Week 8 Meal Plan

Happy Monday! Here is another week of meals planned just for you! I'm personally trying some new recipes this week, and hope to add them to my main recipe list.

Tonight's recipe is simple, but will need some shopping. I tried to make it easy, since I'm posting this later than usual. Good Eating!


Monday: Rueban Sandwiches with Chips and Salsa
Tuesday: Teriyaki Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Wednesday: Thai Omelet Soup
Thursday: Pancakes with Eggs and Bacon
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Slow cooker chicken stacks
Sunday: Penne Pasta with Sausage

Desert: Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

As always, download the menu, recipes, and shopping list for your cooking ease!