Can you go to the grocery store without a plan?

I can’t.

I have to have a list.

And to have a list I have to have a menu plan for the week.

Sometimes I can be too lazy to menu plan so I reach for the nearest cookbook or magazine. In this instance it was the January/February 2014 edition of Food Network Magazine. I looked at the photographic recipe index near the front of the magazine in search for a stir fry. I found Japanese Beef Curry.

It’s not really a fit for Stir Fry Day Friday though. The beef is thinly sliced and stir fried but the substance behind this dish is really the vegetable concoction – a side dish that reminded me so much of pot pie while it was simmering away that that’s exactly what I did with the leftovers the next night! I divided the leftovers into three ramekins (the smaller one was for the little man who loved the flavorful veggies), covered them with crescent roll dough, and baked them at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the crust is cooked through and the filling bubbly.

I don’t have curry powder so I looked up the components that typically go in curry powder and adjusted the amounts (as I didn’t need 10 C worth). If you have curry powder, feel free to substitute 2 tbsp for all starred ingredients in the recipe.

This was the first time either of us have had a turnip so I wanted to make sure I could pick it out – I diced the turnip smaller than the potatoes so I could tell the difference. I’m not sure I could really tell you what a turnip tastes like because there’s so much flavor in the “soup”, but I loved the smell of it when preparing it – a fresh and earthy scent.

The recipe below is only for the side dish. If desired, serve alongside stir fried steak and rice or turn into pot pies for a flavorful twist on comfort food.

Japanese Curry

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp butter, divided use
• 1 turnip, peeled and diced
• 2 Yukon gold potatoes, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbsp corriander*
• 1 tsp cumin*
• 1/2 tsp tumeric*
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
• 1/2 tsp pepper*
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger*
• pinch red pepper flakes*
• 1/4 tsp dried mustard*
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 C mixed frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn, etc)
• 1 tsp sugar

*If you have it, substitute 2 tbsp curry powder for asterisked ingredients

Steps:

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add turnips, potatoes, and onion. Season with salt. Cook until softened and remove to a plate.
2. In a small bowl combine asterisked ingredients.
3. Melt remaining butter in the same dutch oven used in Step 1. Whisk in spice mixture (or curry powder, if using) and flour until a paste is created. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until smooth. Return the veggies from Step 1 to the pot and add in the frozen veggies and sugar.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 minutes. Season to taste with S+P.