Curry! My favorite last minute meal...

I wanted to try and at least post one thing today, so here it is, a quick and easy meal that everyone loves... even picky kids!

There are many different curry recipes out there. This one started with my husband's mission in Japan, and has evolved over time, so I think of it as Jorgensen Curry :-).

You can seriously use any vegetables you have on hand (a couple of weeks ago I set out to make it and realized I had NOTHING I normally use, so in went a bag of mixed veggies from the freezer), but for simplicity, this is usually what I do:

Jorgensen Curry:

-3-4 red potatoes (depending on their size)

-baby carrots (because it makes things even easier, but you can definitely get the bigger ones and chop away),

-bell pepper and onion frozen mix (again for ease, but is just as good fresh.)

-Vermont or S&B Curry (Basically a bouillon of sorts. Pictures are at the end)

-First saute the onions and bell peppers in a little bit of olive oil.

-Then add cubed potatoes... here is where I eyeball how many are going in since I don't want it to be too overpowered by potatoes.

-Then I toss in carrots... maybe half to 3/4 bag or so?, and let those saute with everything else for a little bit. I let these sit on medium-ish heat while I stir every now and then for a few minutes.

-Then you'll add enough water to cover the vegetables and let them boil for about 10-15 minutes, then check a potatoes to see if it's soft enough for your taste. You may need to add more water.

-When the potatoes are soft you'll add the curry. If you're using Vermont Curry you'll only need one packet (there's two in a box). You'll open it and break into squares (which are pre-marked). Just toss it into the vegetables and let it dissolve. You can stir it around a little bit here. The biggest thing will be to watch the texture of your curry. The sauce mix will be thickening everything up, so you will probably need to add more water to thin it out... but not too thin... then you'll have to let it sit on the burner to thicken up again.

That's all there is to curry really. Saute vegetables, boil them, then add the sauce mix.

Start to finish it's about 20-30 minutes depending on what you're having to chop etc. I usually don't cut my potatoes until the onions/peppers are cooking... saves me time? I don't know. It's just one of those quirky things I do.

This dish is best served over sticky rice. I HIGHLY suggest a rice cooker... they make this meal even easier because you just throw the rice in and it cooks perfectly all by itself and is done about the same time as the curry. Additionally, it really is handy for other things... steaming vegetables, making soups... I know my cookers have always come with quite the impressive recipe book, just a thought!

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Assembly:

Rice

Curry

Cheese

Sauce (when we were first married we used Ranch... now we love to put on homemade Thousand Island, again, easy! Mayo, Ketchup, and Dill Relish all mixed together. -You can save money by buying a jar of hamburger chips and chopping them up. Viola! Dill Relish at a fraction of the cost and you have pickles for anything else you want.- Make the mixture a light pink, and add some pickle juice if you think it's too thick.)

*The S&B brand can literally be found everywhere. I've seen it in every single grocery store I've been to in their "Asian" aisle, we're even talking about Walmart... it's everywhere!

*Vermont Curry is by far my favorite, but you will need to acquire that at an Asian market because I haven't seen it anywhere else. It's honestly worth looking for! So yummy, and from that one box you'll have enough for two meals. Trust me, try the S&B stuff because you want to get your feet wet with a quick easy meal, but definitely hunt down the Vermont stuff.

-All of these brands have different hotness to them, the milds are very mild. I've even taken medium-hot to friends with kids who've never tried it and were leery, and have yet to hear a single complaint! We take this to church functions in a big pot, or have friends over that have never had it, and have yet to meet anyone that has turned it down... even on down to the sauce. It's a winner! If you're passing through Texas in the next few weeks or are going through New Mexico soon we'd be happy to have you over to try some!