EASY Thai Recipes - a la VSLane

Photo Credit. Craving Thai Food anybody?
Ok I do have a motive, I'm making Thai for my girlfriend Kymry tonight, as she is visiting for dinner. BUT I have some "shortcuts" I use for making Thai food, and I thought what the heck I will share. I am all about EASY cooking.
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Thai - Coconut Soup
1 Can Coconut Milk (lowfat if possible)
1/2 of a bag Kroger, frozen Asian Vegetables (should contain mushrooms, slivered green beans, onions, etc.)
1 Ginger Tea Bag (aka raw ginger in a tea bag - can get this at Trader Joe's usually)
1 Can of Chicken Broth (or Veggie broth if you are vegetarian)
1 healthy spoonful of Thai Curry Paste (I use Green Chili Paste - can find at Kroger, Publix, etc. Usually in the aisle with the Asian sauces etc.)
Soy Sauce (low sodium version to taste)
Lime Juice (to taste)
MEAT (if desired - 1 can tuna, or 1 can chicken, or just leave vegetarian- your choice)

Instructions: Put all the above ingredients into a saucepan (I usually let the ginger teabag hang into the pan, but tie it to the handl eof the pan, so it steeps like regular tea), and simmer on the stove, stirring every so often (to ensure no boiling or burning occurs, you are cooking with MILK afterall - for about 15-20 mins. I like mine thoroughly heated.
WHY is this recipe easier than others? no hunting for real lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, etc. All the lemongrass/lime leaves/garlic/cardamom/spice/etc is in the Thai Curry paste already. Also, many recipes call for "fish sauce" which is just another version of Soy Sauce anyway. Also since Kroger has all the veggies in one frozen bag anyway, it's easier than cutting them all up from scratch. And who the heck knows the difference anyway? it will taste fresh, since it's frozen and simmers into your soup. I love it!
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Thai Curry over Rice (Quinoa can be used instead of rice)
1 Cup of cooked rice (or more if you want a lot)
1 Can Coconut Milk (lowfat if possible)
1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
MEAT (if desired - 1 can tuna, or 1 can chicken, pre-cooked chicken cubes, or just leave vegetarian- your choice)
Veggies (I use frozen veggies, or a mix of canned and frozen - again your choice - but if you use raw veggies you may want to precook them so they are soft and not too hard)
2 Tbsp Thai CurryPaste (your choice as to which kind - I like to try different ones with different veggies)
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Instructions: Cook rice or quinoa as normal. Set aside but keep warm (or if you can handle it, cook this at the same time as the curry mixture). In large skillet (preferably one that has a lid), add olive oil, then curry paste and meat, cook the paste and meat together in the olive oil for a few minutes on low heat. Do not heat too high, oil will spatter (ug). Gradually, add coconut milk and stir gently. After thoroughly mixed, start adding frozen veggies. Simmer mixture on low heat with lid on (or lid slightly off center to allow some air to escape), until veggies are cooked/hot but firm, etc.
Serve Curry mixture atop rice/quinoa. voila. Tastes just like the restaurant versions.
Abbie's Fave combos:
1) Panang Curry paste with veggie mix of Red & Green bell peppers, baby carrots or carrot slices, spinach leaves or fresh basil leaves, etc.
2) Massaman Curry Paste with veggie mix of potatoes, cashew nuts, avocado slices, spinach leaves, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc.
3) Yellow Curry Paste with green beans, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, etc.
4) Green Curry Paste - green beans, bamboo shoots (can find these canned usually), water chestnuts, etc.
WHY is this recipe easier than others? no hunting for all the ingredients individually that are in the Curry Paste already. Most all the veggies can be found via frozen bag or canned goods anyway, it's easier than cutting them all up from scratch. I love it!
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Thai Iced-Tea
Thai Tea Leaves (or Red Rooibos Chai Tea bags)
Evaporated Milk (or combo of Heavy Whipping Cream & Sugar/Splenda)
Honey
Stevia (or other sugar substitute)

Instructions: Steep tea in saucepan. Sweeten with Stevia & Honey to taste. AKA pretend you're making good old southern sweet tea. Put tea in pitcher or large jar and cover. Refridgerate until cold (aka 2 hrs). I like to leave the teabags IN the tea even while refridgerating.
When ready to serve, pour tea mixture into a glass of ice cubes, and pour healthy serving of Cream or Evaporated Milk over top of the tea. Stir. Add more Stevia if desired.
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Everything turned out great, but I wanted to let you know some things I did in variation:
1) I added Vanilla Caramel Sugar Free Creamer powder into my Thai Tea to get some more vanilla flavor.
2) Discovered that the "Thai Kitchen" brand curry paste is very WEAK compared with the kind I normally buy at the Farmer's Market Store here in Atlanta. So we added a LOT of curry to the food I made for Kymry.
3) I admit I did cook the veggies in the curry mixture too long, so they were softer than I wanted, but the meal overall tasted great. Just texture preference on my part I suppose.
4) For the Coconut soup I didn't have chicken broth or veggie broth, so I just used water, but the soup was a little bit weaker than I would have liked. I will do that next time.