Sucky Paws

RECIPE POST: If you've followed notes of my on Facebook, you'll know that we have a family phrase, no tradition, on the weekends when Big Mama refuses to cook (well okay, I do cook but its thrown together stuff, last minute, no effort) called Sucky Paws. Sucky Paws is the incredibly descriptive image of someone standing, hungry, in front of the fridge sucking their "paws" while they try and find something, anything, to EAT!!!!

Its Friday night. Its been a long week. I didn't go grocery shopping so the larder, while not bear, was looking kinda sad. So, I gathered up a bunch of loose ends, scraps and this and thats and made a silk purse out of a sow's ear (a tofu sow, naturally)!

Here's what I had
1/2 a chicken cooked
Some Onions, cauliflower, a few sweet potatoes that were headed towards the end of their natural lives, a few baking potatoes, some peas, a piece of ginger, garlic.
Barbeque sauce
A pizza crust
A can of Lite Coconut Milk
The last little bit of a jar of Pataks Mild Red Curry Paste
The heel of a bar of smoked cheddar cheese.
A box of vegetable stock (yeah I said it, despite lecturing you earlier for using boxed, I had one on hand - I'm sure some evil kitchen troll slipped it in the pantry!)
1/2 box of couscous

PRESTO CHANGO! Here's what it became and everyone was happppppppy!

Barbeque'd Chicken Pizza
2 big onions, sliced
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken chopped into big pieces (it was the breast and the thigh)
2 TB Olive Oil
1/2 -3/4 cup approximately barbeque sauce
1 TB dried Basil
Already made Pizza crust
4 oz, grated smoked cheddar cheese.

Caramelize the onions in the olive oil. Don't make me mad - by now you know the drill. Put the onions in the oil, LEAVE THEM ALONE, as they brown stir them occasionally and then leave them alone again. When they are all nice and browned, add the barbeque sauce and basil. Cook to thicken. Depending on your pizza crust, follow the directions folks, preheat the oven. Spread the onion mixture on the crust, top with the chicken, then the smoked cheddar and bake according to directions! This is REALLY Good - or so I was told - and a great use of leftover chicken!!!

Curry in a Hurry
1 onion, diced, When I buy onions, I come home and dice them then freeze them so they are ready when I need them. I don't use frozen ones when I need to caramelize onions as they have too much water in them to brown. So I used maybe two big handfuls of the frozen.)
4 sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
3 baking potatoes, cubed (I didn't bother skinning them, no one was offended.)
1/2 head of cauliflower cut into florets
1/4 cup garlic, if using fresh back it down
1 2in piece of ginger minced
2 TB olive oil
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 32 oz box veggie stock
1 can lite coconut milk
1/3 cup Pataks Mild Curry Paste
Salt to taste. It needed it which is a big admission for me as I am extremely light handed with the salt.

Saute the onions, ginger and garlic in the oil. Add the potatoes and stir to cook for a bit. They will tend to stick so be careful. As they start to soften, add the cauliflower cook for a few minutes. Add the stock and simmer until the veggies are done. Add the coconut milk, curry paste and peas and cook for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

I served it over couscous,because it was fast but I think I'd rather have it on rice. You could also up the liquids with maybe another 1/2 can of coconut milk and serve it as a stew with some nan for dipping and slurping!

Anytime I have one of these nights, sucky paws will be the blog title. Also, if you want to tell me what you have in your pantry, I'll see if I can put something together for you.