Week of March 21st

As many of you know, we have decided to do IVF to try to add to our family. This is the week when I finish up my shots and the eggs are ready to go. Therefore, the recipes this week will be quick, easy and things I love so I don't feel like scraping it all and going out to eat :)

Monday
African Peanut Stew with Rice

Tuesday (PALSS, Brian and Nora cook)
Pizza
Raw Veggies

Wednesday
Thai Veggie Curry with Rice

Thursday
Out to Eat

Friday
Shrimp and Veggie Tacos

African Chicken Peanut Stew Recipe

From www.simplyrecipes.com

Use chicken legs, thighs or wings for this recipe. They have more flavor and will hold up better with the flavors of the stew than breast meat.

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced
• A 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Method

1 Heat the vegetable oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat. Salt the chicken pieces well, pat them dry and brown them in the oil. Don't crowd the pot, so do this in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside as they brown.

2 Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and stir well to combine.

3 Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, coriander and cayenne and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and taste for salt, adding more if needed. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 90 minutes (check after an hour), or until the chicken meat easily falls off the bone and the sweet potatoes are tender.

4 Remove the chicken pieces and set them in a bowl to cool, until cool enough to touch. Remove and discard the skin if you want, or chop it and put it back into the pot. Shred the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot.

5 Adjust the seasonings for salt and cayenne, then add as much black pepper as you think you can stand—the stew should be peppery. Stir in the cilantro and serve by itself, or with simple steamed rice.

Yield: Serves 6-8

Thai Veggie Curry

For this I simply stir fry any veggies I have on hand (this week it will be zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, and onions) in light oil (not olive) along with a little ginger and garlic. Then I add the bottled Thai Red Curry sauce from Trader Joe's when the veggies are tender, but still crispy. I will serve it over brown rice...thank goodness for rice cookers!

Shrimp and Veggie Tacos

I have some frozen shrimp in the freezer, so I will defrost that while I saute onions, zucchini, and red bell pepper. I'll add some taco seasoning, a cup of water and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. In the last two minutes, I'll add the shrimp. I put the corn tortillas between two large plates and microwave them for 1 minute to soften them up. Sprinkle a little cilantro over the tacos and serve with sour cream and avocados. Yummy!