Chicken Tikka Masala

I was in the mood for Indian food a couple weeks ago so I decided to give it a go. Too bad my kids didn't like any of it. On the other hand, the hubby and I were pleasantly surprised at my first-attempts at Indian. I took this recipe and added some more spice (you know I like it spicy).

Ingredients:

• 1 T. butter
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 T. fresh ginger, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 4 oz fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup fat-free half & half
• 1 T. cumin
• 2 T. garam masala
• 1 t. turmeric
• 1 t. chili powder
• 1 t. cayenne
• salt to taste
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 tbsp fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Saute the onions in butter until golden.

2. Add the crushed ginger, stir for a few minutes then add the garlic and cook another minute.
3. Add cumin, garam masala, turmeric, chili powder, cayenne, and salt; mix well until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4. Stir in tomatoes, yogurt, half & half, and chicken and simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Add a generous amount of chopped cilantro and serve

Easy Garlic Chicken

I was a tiny bit disappointed by this recipe. Not because it wasn't good, but because I had heard rave reviews about it. It was supposed to be fantastic, amazing, blow-your-socks-off good. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, but not as amazing as I expected. Still, it was fast & easy, so I'm sure I'll make it again.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
4 T. brown sugar
2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In a small sauce pot, cook onion & garlic in olive oil over low until tender & sweet.
3. Stir in brown sugar & butter. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
4. Pour mixture over chicken and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken).

Terrific Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey

2 onions, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

1 head garlic, minced

2 (16 oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies

3 (16 oz) cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed

3 c. chicken stock

1 T. dried parsley

1 T. cumin

3 T. chili powder

1 T. dried oregano

2 T. brown sugar

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Brown turkey in a large dutch oven. Add onion & bell pepper and cook until tender

2. Add garlic, parsley, cumin, chili powder, oregano, brown sugar. Cook one minute.

3. Add all canned ingredients, and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

(Better than PF Chang's) Lettuce Wraps

I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of PF Chang's. Every time I go they are super slow, and the food is not that good. It's either too salty or too flavorless. But that's my opinion. I know lots of people that love that place. To each his own I guess. Regardless of your stance, this knock-off from Iowa Girl Eats is fabulous.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey or chicken
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, cleaned & chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled & grated
1 T. sesame oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 T. water
1 T. peanut butter
1 T. honey or agave
2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. chili garlic sauce
Pinch of black pepper
1 bunch green onions
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped
1/4 c. peanuts, chopped
Lettuce for wrapping

Directions:
1. In a large skillet cook the chicken/turkey until nearly done.
2. Add the onion & bell pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the mushroom and garlic. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, water, pb, honey, vinegar, chili sauce & pepper. Microwave for 30 seconds & stir until smooth. Add to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Stur in the green onion and water chestnuts and cook for 1 minute until heated through.
6. Top with chopped peanuts & serve with cold lettuce leaves.

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

I made this for dinner tonight. Wow! Talk about moist & delicious! Serve it up with some brown rice & steamed veggies and your family will love you.

6 frozen chicken breast halves (boneless & skinless)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 1/2 teaspoons cold water
Hot cooked long grain rice

Place chicken in a 4 qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Place liquid in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. Serve over chicken.

30 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup

I love soup. My husband loves soup. My kids love soup. What I don't always love about soup is how time consuming it can be sometimes. A really good bowl of chicken noodle often requires hours of cooking. Well my friends, welcome to fast & easy, not to mention super tasty, chicken noodle soup! My sister taught me this trick & now it's the only way to go! Also, I've changed some of the "traditional" soup ingredients. Omitting celery and adding zucchini & sweet potato. Don't knock it til you've tried it!

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken (pick up a pre-cooked one from the grocery store)
6 c. water
1 qt. low-sodium chicken stock (I prefer the boxed kind)
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
8 oz. home style egg noodles (I like the Country Pasta brand)
1 sweet potato, peeled & diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 c. peas
1 t. salt (approximately, really to taste)
1 T. parsley

Directions:
1. Bring home your roasted chicken & take all the meat off the bones. Set the meat aside & place the carcass in a large pot with the water. Boil for 15 minutes. Remove all bones/skin/etc.
2. Add boxed stock to the chicken "stock" that you just made. Add onion & carrots. Boil for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add noodles & sweet potatoes. Boil for 10 minutes more.
4. Add zucchini and cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Turn off heat & stir in peas, salt & parsley just before serving.

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
2 lb. chicken breasts
3-4 T. all-purpose flour
Salt & Pepper
1 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. parmesan
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
3 oz. pine nuts, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
4 oz. shredded mozzarella

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lay out 3 large, flat bowls for dipping. Clean & dry chicken breasts.
3. In the first bowl, season flour with salt & pepper.
4. In the second bowl, beat the eggs.
5. In the third bowl, mix together bread crumbs, parmesan, red pepper, garlic & pine nuts.
6. Dip chicken in seasoned flour, then eggs, then bread crumb mixture.
7. Pan fry in olive oil over medium heat until browned (3-4 min. on each side).
8. Cover with marinara sauce & mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.

Turkey Chili (for 200)

This recipe comes to you courtesy of the Soup Hags, a group of moms at one of the local elementary schools who take turns making soup for the whole campus once a week. It might be useful also for a family reunion or other large gathering.

3 onions, chopped
6 pounds ground turkey
3 #10 cans chopped tomatoes
2 #10 cans tomato sauce
3 #10 cans pinto beans
1 #10 can corn (optional)
1 1/4 cups chili powder
3 T garlic powder
5 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 #10 cans water

Brown the turkey thoroughly, sauté onions, add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil, stirring continually. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve (with optional corn chips, cheese, or other toppings).

Honey Lime Enchiladas

HONEY LIME ENCHILADAS
3/4 cup honey
juice from 2 limes
1 T chili powder
1 /2 tsp garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
1 tsp cumin
1 pound chicken breast or tender, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (optional) I have never used it and they are still the best!!!
Mix first 5 ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Pour about 1/2 C enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Fill tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 C cheese to sprinkle on top. Mix remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min. uncovered until brown and crispy on top.

Turkish Lamb & Rice

We have this little Mediterranean cookbook that we found on the bargain shelf at the bookstore. It only cost $4.00, but it has provided us with many tasty recipes.

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
10 oz. long grain rice
2 c. chicken stock
1 lb. ground lamb
1/2 t. allspice
2 T. olive oil, extra
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
3 T. pistachios, chopped
2 T. currants or raisins
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:
1. Saute onion in olive oil for 2-3 min, until soft. Stir in 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. cumin & 1/2 t. coriander.
2. Stir in rice and add stock. Bring to boil, reduce & simmer, covered for 15 min.
3. Season lamb with allspice, and remaining cumin, cinnamon & coriander. Roll into walnut-size balls.
4. Heat the extra oil and fry mealballs for 5 min over medium heat. Add tomato & cook 3 min more.
5. Combine rice with meatballs. Stir in pistachios & currants. Garnish with cilantro.

Thai Chicken Salad

This is a recipe that I sort of just made up. I had something like this somewhere, and I loved it, so I came home and experimented until I ended up with this super tasty salad.

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 head romaine, shredded
2 carrots, grated
1 bell pepper, julienne
1 c. snow peas, julienne
5 scallions, chopped
1 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 c. cubed cooked chicken

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. fresh ginger
1 t. chile garlic sauce
2 T. peanut sauce (I use House of Tsang brand)
1 T. creamy peanut butter
1 T. tahini
2 T. brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Canola oil (thin out to right consistency)

I know that it's a lot of ingredients, and you may not have them all in your pantry, so go ahead and substitute! Use any hot sauce for the chile garlic sauce, and a little extra peanut butter & lime for the peanut sauce. I hope you'll try it, because you'll love it!

Easy Kabobs

So I wanted to post a super easy, no hassle, kid friendly recipe. I made this for my sis-in-law & her family (4 kids) & they all loved it. Here's what I do:

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Breasts, cubed
1/4 bottle A1 Marinade (New Orleans Cajun)
2 Small Zucchini
1 Onion
2 Red Bell Peppers
1 Carton of Mushrooms
1/4. c. Zesty Italian Dressing (Fat Free)

Directions:
Clean & cube all the veggies & marinade them in Zesty Italian Dressing. Cube up the chicken & marinade in A1 Marinade. Let everything marinade for at least 30 min. Skewer everything onto kabobs, alternating chicken with a few veggies & grill them up.

**This makes 12 HUGE kabobs. It fed 4 adults & 5 kids, so you can half the recipe if your family isn't quite that big.

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

This is one of our new favorite recipes. I make this at least every other week. We like to eat it like lettuce wraps with brown rice, fresh bean sprouts, sliced scallions & julienned cucumbers, & wedges of lime. And the best part is that we get to eat "exotic" food made with traditional ingredients that come from the pantry!

Marinade:
2 lbs. chicken tenders
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 T. ketchup
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. Tabasco
4 scallions, sliced thin

Mix all the ingredients above & marinade the chicken for 30 min. Then you can broil them for 8 min. (flipping once), or grill them. Serve with peanut sauce.

Spicy Peanut Sauce:
1/2 c. peanut butter, creamy or chunky
1/4 c. hot water
3 T. lime juice
2 T. ketchup
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. cilantro, minced
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 1/2 t. Tabasco
1 garlic clove, minced
**If you don't like spicy food, just reduce (or omit) the Tabasco.