Thai Chicken Vegetable Soup

I made this soup a few months ago and it was amazing!  It's incredibly easy and quick to make thanks to using Swanson broth.  It's good when it's first made, but is even better warmed up.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 2" matchstick-thin strips
1 medium red pepper, cut into 2" matchstick-think strips
1 cup sliced mushrooms (shitake, oyster, cremini), optional
1 carton (32 oz) Swanson Thai Ginger Flavor Infused Broth
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can (about 14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1.  Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add carrot and pepper, cook for 5 minutes or until tender-crisp.  Stir in mushrooms, if using.

2.  Add broth to saucepan and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Stir in chicken, cook 5 minutes or until chicken is hot.

3.  Stir in coconut milk and cook until mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Serves 5 (about 1 1/2 cups per serving)

Chicken Stir Fry

My son and I had this for dinner tonight and we really liked it.  I was super pleased with the way it cooked up.  It is very easy to prepare and quite tasty.  And I'll admit, I was trying to finish up laundry so instead of stir frying the veggies properly, I stirred them long enough to coat them with the sesame oil to give them the proper taste and then threw a small amount of water in the pan and put the lid on and let them steam a bit while I took care of the laundry.  Maybe it's cheating, but when you're the only one doing every bit of the housework for two humans and four animals, shortcuts become a way of life.

2 cups white rice
4 cups water
2/3 cups soy sauce (I used reduced sodium soy sauce, but either works fine.)
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch (If you don’t have cornstarch, 2 tablespoons flour will work.)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (If you don’t have fresh ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger will work.)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon sesame oil, divided
1 green bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1 can (8oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 head broccoli, cut into florets (If you don’t have fresh, 3 ½ cups frozen florets will work.)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 onion, cut into large chunks

1. Prepare rice according to package directions. I like to put a bit of sesame oil in the water.

2. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir or whisk until smooth. Mix ginger, garlic, and red pepper into sauce; coat chicken with marinade and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir bell pepper, water chestnuts, broccoli, carrots, and onion until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove vegetables from skillet and keep warm.

4. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving liquid. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chicken until slightly pink on the inside, about 2 minutes per side; return vegetables and reserved marinade to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and vegetables are tender, 5-7 minutes. Serve over rice.

**Try adding bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, snap peas or any other of your favorite veggies. You can also serve over noodles.**

Serves 6

Brazilian Chicken Curry

My son and I really enjoyed this tonight.  My son does not particularly care for curries of any type, so I was surprised when he went back for seconds and ended up finishing off everything I made.

1 1/2 cups yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups red bell pepper (or any color bell pepper available),
  coarsely chopped
1 cup baking potato, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound), cut into bite-size pieces
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup regular rice, uncooked
1/2 cup light (can also use regular) coconut milk*
1 tablespoon tomato paste*
2 teaspoons minced garlic*
     *I doubled this part of the recipe and would recommend doing so when you make this meal.*

1.  Prepare rice according to package directions.  After I had turned my rice to low to cook, I threw the leftover coconut milk into the rice rather than throw it out.  I did not alter the amount of water used, I simply added the coconut milk (approx. 1 cup) to the rice.

2.  Preheat large nonstick saute pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes.  Coat vegetables with cooking spray, then place peppers, onions, and potatoes in pan; cook 3-4 minutes or until browned.  (Instead of spraying my veggies with cooking spray I simply heated up some olive oil in my pan.)

3.  Coat chicken with cooking spray, then season with salt, pepper, and curry powder.  Add chicken to vegetables; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until chicken has browned on all sides.

4.  Whisk coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, and garlic until smooth.  Reduce heat to low , add sauce to chicken, and cover; simmer and stir 3-4 minutes or until potatoes are tender and chicken is done. 

5.  Serve over rice and sprinkle with cilantro just before serving.

Serves 4
Calories:  310
Fat:  5 grams
Cholesterol:  65 mg
Sodium:  250 mg
Carbs:  39 grams
Fiber:  4 grams
Protein:  28 grams
Vitamin A:  40%
Vitamin C:  170%
Calcium:  6%
Iron:  10%
*Obviously these values change if you alter the recipe as I did.*