Ohn-No Khao Swe

This is the Burmese version of Sadia's Khausay recipe. Ohn-No Khao Swe means something along the lines of coconut milk noodles and is a big deal is Burmese cuisine, so big in fact, it was adopted by and became a very popular dish in Thailand and even the Memons of India and Pakistan (hence Sadia's Khausay recipe). This, of course, is my adaptation of the recipe. (Because I can't just leave well enough alone. And because I always try to simplify recipes so that I don't have to use multiple steps or multiple pots and pans :-P)

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken, cut into small chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 green chili, sliced lengthwise
2 tbsp gram flour/chickpea flour/besan, mixed with cold water to form a thick liquid
pinch of haldi/turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp chili paste or crushed red pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp fish sauce
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 can coconut milk

Boiled spaghetti

chopped onion
fried onion
boiled eggs, chopped
chopped cilantro
minced green chili
lime wedges
crushed potato chips

Heat oil and saute the onion until they just begin to turn brown. Add ginger garlic paste, haldi, chili paste/flakes and chili powder and the green chili and saute for a minute. Add the chicken and saute until no longer pink. Add the gram flour slurry, fish sauce, paprika, and crushed chicken bouillon cube and stir. Add a half cup of water and reduce to simmering. After a minute or two, the sauce should thicken up. Add the coconut milk and salt to taste (or more fish sauce).

Pour the sauce over some pasta and garnish with the chopped onion, cilantro, fried onion, lime juice, green chili, boiled egg and potato chips.

jalapeno cream cheese rolls

These are so easy but were a big hit at an iftaar I hosted.

Ingredients:

8 oz. Package of cream cheese
1 can pillsbury crescent sheets (make sure you get crescent sheets not rolls)
1 can jalapenos or 1 jar pickeled jalapenos

The original recipe called for 2 ounces of jalapenos but I used at least 4. Chop the jalapenos into tiny chunks. Mix into the cream cheese. Unroll the crescent sheet, spread the cream cheese mixture on the crescent sheet. Roll it back up and slice into about 3/4 inch slices. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden Brown.

Stuffed Peppers

I made these with ground beef and quinoa for a slightly healthier meal. I fully cooked the quinoa and it came out slightly mushy once it baked with the meat and sauce mixture so I would recommend cooking the grains

3/4 of the way initially.

Ingredients:

green, yellow or red bell peppers (I like using the smaller ones)

1/2 lb of ground meat (beef, turkey or chicken)

1 cup of rice, brown rice, or quinoa

1 chopped onion

1 chopped tomato

1 tbsp tomato paste

3-4 minced garlic cloves

chicken broth or bouillon cube

seasonings such as salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, basil, paprika, cumin, etc You can pretty much throw in any seasonings you like and it works great.

you can also add various chopped veggies (mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, beans, peas, spinach, etc)

Marinara sauce or just some tomato paste mixed with water and seasonings.

Cook the rice, brown rice or quinoa with the chicken broth or bouillon cube dissolved in water, but use a little less liquid than you'd usually use so it comes out "al dente".

Saute onions in olive oil until they just start to turn golden brown. Add garlic. Add ground meat and cook until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and the seasonings. Try to over season just a bit because the grains and peppers will take away from the seasoning a bit. When the meat is cooked and the tomatoes are broken down, add tomato paste and a little water until it thickens. Mix in the cooked grains.

Wash the peppers and slice off the tops trying not to cut off too much of the pepper. You can either fill the peppers this way, or slice them in half and fill them up as"boats". Remove the seeds from the center. lightly coat the outside with olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Fill the peppers generously with the grain/meat mixture and place on an oiled baking dish. Top with half of the tomato sauce/marinara sauce. Bake uncovered at 375 for about 20-30 minutes until the pepper is tender. Add more sauce upon serving.