Tag: dinner winners

Creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup

Creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup: this recipe is a must-make on a cold or wet night.

I’m a Minnesota girl who loves the heat of spicy foods. I’m so comforted by creamy soups, especially in the winter months.

For many of my go-to creations I use sweet potatoes or cauliflower and steam them first. It could me my imagination, but the texture seems more “velvety” than when I roast them. (Hint: I remove the leaves and use the entire head, including the stalks.)

This creamy curried cauliflower soup is a soup-er easy recipe. I throw everything, minus the coconut milk, into a big pot, i.e., the cauliflower, broth, onion, and spices.

Creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup 2

Then I just crank up the heat and let it stew. In 10-15 minutes, once the onions are soft, I whip out my immersion blender and let it work its magic.  That tool is an essential one for me. This way, you don’t have to transfer it to a food processor or blender.

This is a party size recipe, so know you can feed a large group with it or eat what you want and freeze the leftovers. Search for soup or stew on our site here to find more recipes like this.

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

 

Savory Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies

Next time a flavor craving for “buffalo chicken wings” hits you, make these Savory Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies.

They are basically baby-sized savory pies packed with diced chicken, cheddar cheese, and spicy red hot sauce. A bleu cheese crumble topping and celery garnish bring home the buffalo chicken theme. You can tailor them to your preferred heat level with how much sauce you use. You can also easily make these gluten-free by using Gluten-Free Bisquick.

Savory Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies – Step by Step

The recipe comes from Betty Crocker. Thank you BETTY! Here’s how incredibly and impossibly easy they are to make. Get your ingredients set out. Mix the chicken, buffalo sauce, and ground pepper.

Savory Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies Step 1 - Impossibly Easy Recipe

Add the cheese.

Impossibly Easy Recipe Step 2

Mix it up and set it aside. You’ll use this “filling” in a few seconds.

Impossibly Easy Recipe Step 3

In a separate medium bowl, combine Bisquick, milk, and eggs.

Impossibly Easy Recipe Step 4

Take a muffin pan prepped with cooking spray. Spoon a tablespoon of batter into each cup.

Impossibly Easy Recipe Step 5

Add 1/4 cup chicken mixture to each cup.

Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies Step 6

Add another tablespoon of batter to each cup.

Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies Step 7

Bake them in a pre-heated 375-degree F oven for about 25-30 minutes. The tip of inserting a toothpick in the center applies here. If it comes out clean, it’s fully baked.

Savory Buffalo Chicken Mini Pies 2

Once your savory buffalo chicken mini pies are out of the oven, add your finishing touches (like bleu cheese and celery), and you have a fantastic party food on your hands.

On a closing note, we ran a Bisquick recipe contest many years back. Thanks to that, we have numerous award-winning Bisquick recipes on our site. One of my favorites is this savory pie. Want more? Simply search for Bisquick in the search bar, from anywhere on our site. You’ll find fun recipes ranging from savory crackers and biscuits, to hand pies and zucchini fries. Wow! You will want to try all of them.

-Cyndi

 

Best Tasting Thai Coconut Soup

Making the best tasting Thai Coconut Soup is within reach with this delicious Tom Kha recipe. Use the essential ingredients plus your favorite protein, like chicken, shrimp, or tofu and this dish will taste authentic, with complex, memorable flavors, like it came out of a restaurant kitchen.

Tom Kha Gai (the chicken version) was the first Thai food I ever had. This creamy dish is rich, but somehow light at the same time, and is spiked with more than just a hint of lime. Its taste blew me away. I’m forever a fan of Thai food simply because of this dish.

Best Tasting Thai Coconut Soup Close Up

What’s In it?

The soup’s essential ingredients are coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, Asian ginger root (galangal), and fish sauce. I use chicken broth and will often vary the vegetables, or add to them. Red bell peppers, peas and edamame work well as additions.

I’ve tweaked this recipe over the past decade and compared it to many restaurants here in the states and in Thailand. This best tasting Thai coconut soup is my “go to” version now and I’m excited to share it with you here. I often make it with different types of mushrooms as their unique texture as you chew is unmistakable. And I almost always serve it over white or brown rice. I  like it because it makes a big batch.

The other great thing about this dish? The flavors meld and blossom the longer it sits, so it works great to make ahead of time, or have as leftovers.

Best Tasting Thai Coconut Soup Overhead

Find Your New Favorite Asian Grocery Store

I’m in Minneapolis. My favorite Asian grocery store is United Noodle. That’s where I always get this dish’s essential ingredients. If you haven’t been, be sure to check them out. Or find your own favorite Asian grocery store. I can’t recall what I did the first times I tried to make this dish at home. They were far from blue ribbon status. Maybe because I used water, versus chicken broth? Ginger vs. galangal? Who knows?! It wasn’t until I used the kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and galangal, altogether, that the dish truly tasted like it came out of a Thai restaurant kitchen. Be sure to use the essential ingredients for an authentic taste.

Thai Soup Essential Ingredients

Change It Up

You can easily make this soup vegetarian by using mushroom or vegetable broth versus chicken broth, tofu versus chicken as the protein, and an alternate to fish sauce, such as soy sauce. Changing up the heat level is easy too, because you can just adjust the amount of Thai chilies or paste you use.

The garnishes of red chili oil, cilantro, and fresh lime not only give the soup pops of color, but they also add another dimension of deliciousness to it.

Make it soon and enjoy! If you want another good chicken dish, be sure to check out my Chicken Satay recipe.

Cyndi

Closeup Bowl-Thai Coconut Soup