New Twist on Chicken Soup Low Carb Thai Curry Coconut Soup

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#mindblown from this great Low Carb Thai Curry Coconut Soup found at twosleevers.com

This soup was easy to make, has a lot of flavor, and could be made vegetarian with a few substitutions. 

The name of this soup alone probably sounds good but check out the list of ingredients. Boneless chicken thighs, coconut milk, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, green onions, garlic, ginger, lime juice, cilantro, grape tomatoes, straw mushrooms, and Thai yellow curry paste.

All of that flavor comes out balanced and the broth stays light and fresh tasting. The coconut milk isn't heavy or dairy like but has a lot of flavor and is the base for everything else.

I didn't have time to get to the super market so I just went to a small unsuper market for some things.

Instead of a can of straw mushrooms I just used a small can of whole mushrooms.

Instead of grape (or cherry) tomatoes I just used a chopped up regular sized tomato. I bet with the grape tomatoes it would be even better.

The coconut milk at the store was the kind in the carton not the can. It was sweetened so I cut down on the honey in the recipe.

I ordered the Thai yellow curry paste online here. It is pretty hot in concentrate form and this calls for just 2 tablespoons in about 2 cups of liquid. I would say on a 1 to 10 scale this soup was at about a 3. Add more to make it hotter. It definitely adds a lot of flavor with the heat.

For the chicken I had some frozen boneless chicken thighs. I just dropped them in the Instant Pot with the other ingredients and used the "Soup" setting for 12 minutes. At Two Sleevers the recipe says the soup setting prevents the Instant Pot from getting too hot and boiling. That would be bad for the coconut milk and maybe everything else.

What a smart pot :)

I did use the Saute button after I released the pressure, shredded the chicken, and added the last group of ingredients. I let it heat back up and cook those ingredients just a little.

Total time to make this was about 25 minutes total with my Instant Pot. There are also notes for using a slow cooker (4 to 8 hours) and for cooking on the stove top.

If you are looking for a different chicken soup to make this might be it.

Two Sleevers Low Carb Thai Curry Coconut Soup

Wow So Good! Instant Pot Now and Later Keto Indian Butter Chicken

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Indian Butter Chicken is a world famous and much loved dish. When I got this Indian Instant Pot cookbook by food blogger Urvashi Pitre of Two Sleevers.com I knew I had to give it a try. It is a great cookbook with lots of food dishes I want to try. I've done a few now and they all have been very good.

I cook with my Instant Pot at least a few times a week. Sometimes a few times a day. I have a pretty high success rate. I really like Indian food but the recipes and ingredients are full of styles and names I have never used. Thanks to this cookbook and the Instant Pot that is all changing.

I am grating my ginger, making my garam masala, and adding turmeric, and coconut milk just like it says.

In the Instant Pot world this is kind of a famous recipe.

The end result? Really good! I like that she has you make more sauce than you need. When you are done take out half of it to freeze or keep in the refrigerator.

It is Gluten-Free, High Fat, High Protein, Keto, Low Carb friendly.

In the new world of Instant Pot cooking there are already a few "must have" cookbooks for me. I have given these as gifts to friends that are new to the Instant Pot world.

I like Great Food Fast : Bob Warden's Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes it is the one that got me started.

Hip Pressure Cooking: Fast, Fresh, and Flavorful has a lot of good ideas and a website with a lot of videos.

This Indian Butter Chicken recipe can be found in the Indian Instant Pot cookbook and online here.

It takes 10 minutes at pressure in the Instant Pot then another 10 minutes to wait as it cools off before you add the finishing touches. In under 30 minutes you can have some great chicken.

On the plate is some riced cauliflower with cranberries and a few other things and naan with peach chutney.

follow Urvashi here

Book on Amazon: http://bit.ly/IndianInstantPotCookbook 
WEBSITE: www.twosleevers.com
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By all means give this a try and just so you know what to shop for here is the ingredients list

1 14- ounce can diced tomatoes

5-6 cloves garlic

1-2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (or use breast, bone-in, or whatever works for you. If frozen, add 1-2 minutes to total time)

To finish

4 ounces butter cut into cubes (use coconut oil if dairy free)

4 ounces heavy cream (use full-fat coconut milk if dairy free)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Winner Winner Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Dinner

It's a good thing when your cooking looks at least a little like the cover.

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If you have an Instant Pot get this book!*

I made Chicken Tikka Masala from this Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre of the Two Sleevers cooking blog. She has a lot of "low-carb appetizers, soups, and dinner recipes big on taste and short on calories. From Stove Top to Instant Pot, these recipes are fast, varied and most importantly...delicious."

It was really good and I got a passing grade from an experienced Indian food connoisseur.

There are a lot of ingredients I have never used and it does take some prep time but it was worth it. When you make the recipe you will make extra sauce. It can be used for a lot of things. I also made a coconut tomato soup from this book as a first course. It also tasted great.

I can't wait to make more from this cookbook.

Here is the recipe link and here is the ingredients list
she does include a garam masala recipe in the book

Marinate the chicken
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken (breast or thighs), cut into large pieces
½ cups Greek yogurt
4 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger minced
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika for color and a slightly smoky taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (omit if unavailable)

For the sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 carrot, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon minced ginger minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin

To finish
4 ounce half and half (use full-fat coconut milk if dairy free)
1 teaspoon garam masala
¼-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

*Amazon Smile link supports the ALS Association Golden West Chapter

Instant Pot Turkey Stock and Hammers Turtilla Soup

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I made some stock with post Thanksgiving and post Thanksgiving leftovers with what was left of a turkey breast. The ingredients included onions, celery, garlic, and more. It spent 45 minutes under pressure in my Instant Pot and came out great. Find the recipe at DadCooksDinner.com

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Now that I had the stock I wanted to make Tortilla Soup. It is pretty easy to make and you can add things to it based on what you like. In my case the peppers didn't go in the soup but were added after it was done as not everybody wanted it spicy.

I used the recipe in Bob Warden's "Great Food Fast" a cookbook I really like for the Instant Pot. I like making his food and it is all well explained for pressure cooking. It took about 7 minutes under pressure.

This was very tasty. Éxito! 

On Facebook my friend Chuck Hammers said they did the same thing with the turkey leftover leftovers and they call it they call it "Turtilla Soup" so Hammers Turtilla Soup it is! :)

Making beef stew for dinner on a Friday night

This is by far my favorite beef stew recipe I've ever made. Now understand I haven't made a lot so maybe that doesn't count as much as for some people.

It's actually a Vietnamese beef stew and some of the trickier ingredients include lemongrass, star anise, some Chinese five-spice and some other things that you can find at most large grocery stores around.

You can make it in a slow cooker or in a pot I made mine in my Instant Pot. It took 20 minutes of cooking time + little bit extra because when you add the carrots you cook them in the pan first and then you add them to the stew when it's done cooking and you kind of let it reduce and soften up the carrots to your liking.

Of course one of the great things about beef stew is you can also add ingredients that you like and to give it a little bit of a personalized twist.

I made some mushrooms at the very end and I put some scallions in the pan to cook down and put of that on top of the beef stew and it worked out really well. Give it a try I'll put the link down here below and also there's a video on how to make it.

recipe link
Vietnamese Beef Stew - Bò kho

video

Vietnamese Beef Stew - Bò kho

 

Helen's Recipes (Vietnamese Food)

The woman that does these is named Helen and she has a whole bunch of really great videos. This happens to be the one that I've tried. Some of the others might be kind of intimidating for me but you might want to give it a go. She's really good I really enjoyed the video and this beef stew always comes out extremely well serve with some sourdough bread or whatever you like on the side.

If you want to serve some wine you gotta have something big and bold. Don't be afraid to step it up a little bit there's a lot of flavors in this beef stew. I decided to reach for a bottle of Petite Sirah from Chateau Montelena in Calistoga. It's a 2010 and it's got a ton of flavor so it worked out really well. Just pick your favorite big red wine and enjoy the great meal.