Chicken Curry in a Hurry

This is not, by any means, an authentic curry recipe. I do love Thai and Indian curries but have been unsuccessful making them at home. If you have any tried-and-true recipes for those, please share them with me in the comments! Until then, we really like this version and it's super easy to make. It comes from Simply Recipes and she got it from Mark Bittman. He is a food writer for the New York Times (The Minimalist) and also wrote "How To Cook Everything". He is a little arrogant but I happen to like his no-nonsense approach to cooking. He keeps his recipes really simple. I added a couple of steps and ingredients so I hope you enjoy my version.

All Day Chili

I mentioned our annual chili cook-off in my Quick Chili post and am finally getting around to sharing that recipe. We actually had a tie this year which was a first in Kruger v. Kruger history! Going into it, we both thought each other's chili was really good so I was glad it turned out a tie. I'm sharing my "recipe" here but in all honesty, I didn't write it down so this is probably not very precise. Hopefully you can get an idea though of what makes an all-day chili truly worth the effort. Hope you enjoy!

Sauteed Broccolini

I've cooked broccolini a few times in the past and haven't been crazy about it. I realized that you have to make sure the stems cook all the way through or else they'll be tough. This method, which I also use for regular broccoli, works really well. I think broccolini has just a touch more bitterness than broccoli so it's nice for a change.

Oven Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks

I love barbecue chicken. My favorite recipe is this one I cook on the grill with homemade BBQ sauce but there is not always time for a recipe that takes an hour and a half. Enter the recipe I'm sharing today, which is one I pulled from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine a few years ago and I've made many times since. There's still a homemade BBQ sauce but it's really quick to make while the chicken cooks. Hope you enjoy!

Baked Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard is a relatively new veggie for me and I love it! It has looked beautiful at the grocery store lately too so it must be in season in the winter. My favorite is the red chard but you could probably do this same recipe with green or rainbow chard. As with all greens, the leftovers are yummy for lunch with a fried egg on top. I got this recipe from the Beyond Salmon blog. Hope you enjoy!

Mini Turkey Meatloaf

My mom texted me with a question about this recipe the other day and I was kind of shocked I hadn't blogged about it yet! This is one of our favorite recipes and has been in the rotation probably since we first got married. The original recipe is from Barefoot Contessa, who is one of my favorite Food Network chefs. Her recipe is for a giant meatloaf though so I've pared it down to make it easier. I also added the glaze on top which isn't totally necessary but is really yummy I think. Sometimes turkey meatloaf can be a little dry or tough but Ina has solved that by sauteing the veggies first and adding a little bit of chicken broth. You might consider this "healthy" meatloaf but we actually prefer this version over the traditional veal, beef, pork mix. Hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Potato Casserole

This is a super-simple recipe that I found in Gourmet magazine a few years ago. I was surprised how great it was with so few ingredients and no cheese or heavy cream but it's really a winner. It's much easier than a potato gratin and possibly a little bit healthier (though butter is involved). It's a really flavorful and decadent way to cook potatoes so I usually serve it with a lean protein like chicken breasts or pork tenderloin. I always use a mandoline to slice my potatoes for this but you could also use a food processor. The dish takes a while to cook but once you have it in the oven it doesn't need much attention so it's great to make when you've got a lot going on the stove with your main dish and/or veggies. Enjoy!