Lamb Curry

A few years ago Mom made lamb curry while we were in Wyoming. As the good daughter who I sometimes pretend to be, I said that it smelled good. She put apples in it and when I dished out my plate I avoided the apples like a plague. One apple chunk snuck on to my plate, and to my utter shock, it was great.

Then I revisited the curry pot and dished out a few more scoops of apples.

Last weekend I was a crazy cook, and we had this curry for Kevin's birthday on Sunday. It wasn't the meal he requested. But he did say that it was the best lamb curry he has ever tasted. (For whatever that is worth - seriously, how many times could he have possibly eaten lamb curry?)

Lamb Curry
1 lamb roast (about 2 cups chopped lamb)
1 T oil
1 onion, chopped
3 t curry
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 C water
1 t chicken bouillon
1/4 C cold water
2 T flour
salt and pepper to taste

Roast the lamb in the oven for 2 hours, until it reaches 170 degrees. Let cool slightly, then trim fat and shop into 3/4 inch cubes. In a skillet saute the onion. Add the lamb, onion, curry, apples, 3/4 C of water, and bouillon to a large skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir 1/4 C cold water and 2 T flour, then stir over medium heat until how and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste and then serve over hot rice or whole grains.

Artichoke Chicken on Whole Grains

This recipe comes straight from the FlyLady emails. It is one of our favorite meals, and we use it whenever company comes over because it makes us feel fancy. We usually bat our eyelashes as they say it looks good, then smile demurely and thank them for the wonderful compliment.

Never mind that we eat cold cereal just as often as a real dinner. Please don't let our secret out.

We get the jars of artichokes at Aldi's, and it comes with olives, pimento, and artichokes. We then leave out the red peppers and mushrooms. The sauce made out of the artichoke marinade is what makes it yummy, so we experiment with the other ingredients.

Artichoke Chicken

1 jar of marinated artichokes

3 chicken breasts

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 jar roasted red peppers, sliced

3/4 C chicken broth

1/2 C apple juice (or more chicken broth)

1 T cornstarch

2 cups barley, steamed like rice

Drain the artichokes into a skillet on medium high. Cube raw chicken with kitchen shears, then cook it in the liquid for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in mushrooms. Cook 4 more minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in artichokes and peppers.

In a medium bowl, combine apple juice and corn starch. Gradually stir into chicken mixture. Boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute until thickened. Put grains on your plate and top with chicken mixture.