Indian Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

From: Rochelle

I got this recipe from my friend Kate at a Favorite Things party. Wow! I can see why it is one of her favorite things! This actually tastes authentic. We LOVED it!! Yummy!

Marinade:

1 Cup	Plain Yogurt
1 Tablespoon	Lemon Juice
2 teaspoons	Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon	Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon	Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon	Black Pepper
2 teaspoon	Ground Ginger (I used fresh)
1 teaspoon	Salt
3	Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Combine all marinade ingredients, then pour over chicken and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Grill or cook chicken and discard marinade. Cut or shred chicken to prepare for sauce.

Sauce:

1 Tablespoon	Butter
1/2	Onion- Slivered
1 Clove	Garlic-Minced
2 teaspoons	Ground Cumin
2 teaspoons	Paprika
1/2 teaspoon	Salt
2 (8oz) Cans	Tomato Sauce
1 Pint	Cream
1/4 Cup	Cilantro-chopped
1	Jalapeño Pepper- finely chopped, if desired

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and caramelize until soft and brown. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add cumin, paprika, jalapeño, and salt and toast the spices for less than a minute. Stir in tomato sauce and cream while it is on low heat. Simmer on low until it thickens (about 20 minutes). Add cooked chicken and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro and add a little plane yogurt or sour cream. Serve over hot rice! Yum! 

Honey Mustard Chicken and Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin

From: Rochelle

I mentioned on my personal blog that this meal would probably put my foods teachers off because it does not meet the "color appeal" aspect of making meals look "pretty". BUT, it was what sounded good, and it was delish, SO . . I had to share. : ) This made a perfect Sunday dinner.

Honey-Mustard Crock-pot Chicken


3-5 Chicken breasts
1 C Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing (I made my own but you can buy it : )
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 C Water

Mix together the Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing, Cream of chicken soup, and water in a small bowl. Place the chicken breasts in the crock-pot and pour the mixture over the chicken. Cook on high for 6 hours.

*We served ours with cooked barley. I just threw it in my rice cooker and it turned out great. 2 parts water to 1 part barley. I also added some chicken broth to the water so it added a nice flavor.



Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin
Adapted from a william-sanoma cooking class

1 head of cauliflower (about 3 lbs.) chopped into small pieces and cored
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and Pepper
2 Tbs. Smart Balance (Butter)
2 Tbs. Flour
1 C Warm Milk (I used soy milk mixed with 1 t cornstarch)
1 C Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
Breadcrumbs (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Lay out the cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the cauliflower for about 10-15 min, stirring every 5 minutes until it is crisp-tender and starting to brown on the edges.

While the cauliflower is cooking, start on the sauce. In a saucepan, over low het, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and stir constantly until it makes a paste. Cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk while whisking to help it absorb. If you pour in the milk too fast your sauce will be clumpy. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 2 mins. Add the cayenne pepper and nutmeg and season with salt. Then add the cheese and stir until it is a smooth sauce.

Take the cauliflower from the oven and put it in a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower and coat. Sprinkle an even coat of breadcrumbs on top (optional). Bake until it is bubbly and the top is browned, about 20 min. Let cool about 5 min before serving.

Serves about 6.

*This recipe was Austin's favorite! He wanted more of this than of the chicken!

Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza

From: Rochelle

I already have posted on here a Chicken Alfredo Pizza, but I made this version and I had to share! I finely chopped up some spinach in my food processor and mixed it in with my alfredo sauce. Added some extra nutrients without anyone knowing. ; ) I also added turkey bacon on it which tasted heavenly! Just two modifications that really bumped up the YUMMY factor on this favorite!

Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza


Pizza Crust:
1 C All-Purpose Flour
2 C Whole-Wheat Flour
1 T Instant Yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
2 T Olive Oil
1 C (+ maybe 1/4 C if it is too dry) Warm Water

Mix ingredients together until well combined. You might have to add a little bit of water until it is a good moist dough. Add water 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5-6 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Roll out dough into the size of pizza you would like. Flour the top of the dough and fold in quarters. Transfer to a greased pizza pan and carefully unfold. Let rise in a warm oven for about 10 minutes (or until desired thickness). Bake the crust at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes. Take out from the oven, put on the sauce and toppings, and then put back in the oven for about 7-10 minutes. Let cool , cut and eat!

*Tip: If you don't have a pizza cutter, try using clean scissors to cut your pizza. It works BEAUTIFULLY!*

Toppings:
1/2 Jar Ragu Alfredo Sauce +1 large handful of spinach finally chopped- mix together
1 Chicken breast cooked and chopped to bite-sized pieces*
4 slices of turkey bacon cooked until crispy
1/2 Onion- sliced - (I sauteed them in the same pan as the bacon ; )
Your choice of cheese, grated for on top

*I baked mine in the oven with olive oil drizzled over it, salt, pepper, a little bit of poultry seasoning, and oregano at 400 degrees for about 1 hour covered with tin foil and it tasted wonderful!

Bombay House Chicken Saag

East Indian cuisine is one of our favorites! This recipe includes how to make your own garam masala spice mix! This is as tasty as being at the Bombay House. Yum, yum! Now all we need is some homemade mango ice-cream like any good Indian restaurant would serve. Enjoy!

Bombay House Chicken Saag

1 Onion, chopped fine
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
butter and oil for sautéing (butter for flavor, oil to keep the butter from burning easily)
2 handfuls of frozen spinach, drained (or can use fresh spinach)

2-3 cups white beans (this is my addition-not the Bombay's idea)
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
2 tsp garam masala (recipe below)
pinch of ground ginger 
pinch cayenne
1 tsp cumin
salt/pepper to taste
1-3 cups chicken stock (Bragg's Amino liquid or vegetable), depending on how soupy you want it.

3/4 cup plain yogurt
1-2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (boil frozen or thawed for about 30 mins., then shred with a fork)

Garam Masala recipe: 1 T. cumin, 1 1/2 tsp. coriander, cardamom & pepper, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. clove powder & nutmeg.

Saute onions and garlic ’til translucent and sweet; add spinach and tomato sauce, simmering until spinach is tender. Add seasonings. Take about 1 cup sauce out of pan and mix yogurt with it, then pour back into pan. Add cooked chicken, beans and mix in. Reheat. Enjoy! Great over brown rice.

Lemon Chicken and Chicken Tacos

From: Rochelle

My cousin, Natalie gave me this recipe and both Austin and I loved it!! We cooked lots of the chicken on Sunday, and used leftover in chicken tacos the next day! It was perfect!

Lemon Chicken 

Cooking oil

2-3 Chicken Breasts

4 large or 6 small lemons

Olive oil

Rosemary, dried and crushed (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sprinkle the bottom of a 9 x 13 in pan with cooking oil to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan. Cut the chicken into smaller pieces ( I usually cut each breast into 4 pieces) and place in the pan. Grate the rinds of the lemons, then juice them. Pour the juice and grated rind over the chicken. (You can vary the number of lemons you use by how lemony you want your chicken to taste.) Add water until the chicken is covered with liquid. Sprinkle with olive oil, rosemary (if desired), salt, and pepper to taste. Optional: Scrape out the white membranes of the squeezed lemons, quarter thepeels, and place them in the pan and bake with the chicken. 

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is done. 

Then add some lettuce, onions, and other toppings with sliced lemon chicken, wrap it up in a tortilla, and you have another meal! 

How to Saute' Chicken

From: Rochelle

Okay, this seems like a simple thing. Everyone has probably done it, right? But last week at this conference I went to, we learned from a chef a way to saute' your chicken the "professional" way. I thought I would share. I tried it and it tastes dang good!

How to Saute' Chicken

Step 1: Thaw chicken breasts.

Step 2: Pound your chicken to one even thickness.

Put your chicken breasts between layers of plastic wrap. Get a hammer or you can get a meat hammer and pound the chicken to one even thickness. This makes it so that the chicken will cook evenly and be done at the same time. It will also help keep it juicy and tender.

Put between layers of plastic wrap.

Pounded chicken breasts.

 Step 3. Coat with seasoned flour.

Put about 1/2-1 cup of flour on a plate and sprinkle some salt and pepper in it. Lightly coat the chicken breasts in the flour. This will help give the chicken a light "crust" which reminds me of the chicken you would find a Olive Garden.

Coat chicken breast in seasoned flour. 

 Step 4: Heat pan and put a few tablespoons of butter in it.

I know, butter, so much for being healthy right. But I used Smart Balance if that is worth anything. It really makes a big difference to the flavor. Oh my goodness, I think it is worth it.

Step 5: Place chicken breasts skin side down (the smoother side).

If you place the skin side down, it will help keep your chicken tender. Don't flip your chicken until it is browned. You can tell when it is ready to flip when the chicken starts turning white around the edges.

Brown skin-side first

  Step 6: Flip the chicken breasts.

You might need to add a little bit more butter to the pan. Keep chicken on this side until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. The less you cut or prick your chicken the more tender it will be because the juices will not leak out.

Step 7: Let Chicken rest for a few minutes.

Letting the chicken rest also help it to retain it's juices. This is true with any meat. If you cut your meat right after it has been cooked, all of the juices will flow out. If you let it sit, those juices will be absorbed back into the meat making it juicier.

Let chicken rest for a few minutes.

 You can eat this chicken as is, OR you can cut it up and add it to your favorite salad, pasta dish, etc.  You can also deglaze the pan with chicken stock, add some flour and butter, then add more chicken stock and seasonings and make a pan sauce to put over the chicken.

The few extra steps are worth it, I think, because I love how the chicken has a little crust to it and it is to juicy! I few tips to take the basics up a notch.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo-Pesto Pizza

From: Rochelle

If you asked me what my favorite food was when I was younger, I would tell you pasta with Alfredo sauce. I LOVED it. If you ask me what one of my favorite foods now is, I would tell you Pesto. AH, I love it! Tonight my favorite flavors of a lifetime melded into this beautifully tasty pizza.  I give you Creamy Chicken Alfredo-Pesto Pizza.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo-Pesto Pizza


This is my favorite whole-wheat pizza dough recipe! Love it!

Rochelle's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 1/2 C	All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 C	Whole-Wheat Flour
1 pkg	Active Dry Yeast
1/2 t	Salt
1 C	Warm Water
2 T	Cooking Oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups for the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixture on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Busing a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead enoug

h remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Cover, let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out into the size of your pizza pan lightly flour the whole crust. Fold into fourths and transfer to pizza pan; unfold. Let rise for 5 minutes in warm oven.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Put toppings on, and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes. 

Toppings:

The sauce was just 1/2-3/4 of a jar of Roasted Garlic Ragu Alfredo Sauce mixed with 1-2 Tablespoons of fresh pesto. After you bake the pizza crust for a little bit, spread the sauce on. Then we added our toppings which were:

• Cooked Chicken-chopped
• Green Onions
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Sun Dried Tomatoes (optional)
• Spinach or sliced tomatoes might also be good on this pizza.

Then, just cook the pizza for 6 minutes or so. If you want your cheese brown and bubbly, you can put it under the broiler. I also like putting the cheese on last because it "tacks" down all of the other toppings. 

This pizza was just delightful!  This pizza is fairly healthy because it has a whole-wheat pizza crust, uses chicken instead of pepperoni, and half of the cheese is low-fat cheese. Just add a yummy salad and you've got a meal in about 20 minutes. It also taste great cold! Yum!