Chicken tiki masala

guys...oh. my. heck. this is hands down, my favorite meal of all time. just talking about it makes me salivate. our friends introduced us to it a couple months ago and they so kindly gave us their favorite recipe last weekend. and because i love you all so much, i'm going to share it with you too!

the original recipe can be found at allrecipes.com. it was super heavy on the salt and we didn't use a barbecue, so i've kind of tailored this recipe to what we did:

ingredients:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream

directions:

1. in a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. heat a large frying pan on medium heat.
3. pour the marinated chicken {marinade and all} in the frying pan and cook the chicken until no longer pink inside.
4. transfer chicken to a strainer and drain all marinade; set aside.
5. melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt.
6. stir in tomato sauce and cream. simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
7. add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes.

now for the naan. naan is an indian flatbread and goes perfectly with chicken tikka masala. the recipe we used is from allrecipes.com as well. again, we didn't use a grill, so i've changed it to what we did:

ingredients:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

directions:

1. in a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. punch down dough, and knead in garlic. pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. roll into balls, and place on a tray {i usually get 12-14 balls out of it}. cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. during the second rising, preheat griddle to medium high heat.
4. roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. lightly grease griddle. place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Homemade Baked Potato Chips 

Recipe found at http://www.homecookingadventure.com/recipes/homemade-baked-potato-chips

Prep time 15 mins

Cook time 20 mins

Total time 35 mins

 

Ingredients

• 3 medium red potatoes, peeled
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• garlic
• 3 tbsp oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230 C (450 F). Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the potatoes in 1/8-inch thick round slices. 
2. In a pot of boiling water cook the potato slices for 3-5 minute. Drain well and combine with oil, salt, pepper and spices (garlic, oregano, basil, etc) in a large bowl.
3. Place potato slices on prepared baking sheet in one layer. Bake for about 15 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Gently remove the chips and place on parchment paper; let dry for few minutes and they are ready to serve.

 

Cool Desert Nights Raspberry Crisp
from  http://www.food.com/recipe/raspberry-crisp-32646

Total Time:35 min
Prep Time:10 min
Cook Time:25 min
Servings: 9

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh raspberries, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups quick oats
1 cup flour 1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter


 Directions:
1 Crush 1 cup berries; add enough water to measure 1 cup.
2 In saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch; stir in raspberry mixture.
3 Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
4 Remove from heat, stir in remaining berries.
5 Cool.
6 In bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar and baking soda.
7 Cut in butter to make crumbs.
8 Press half into a greased 9x9 baking dish.
9 Spread with berries.
10 Sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
11 Bake at 350* for 25 minutes.

Polynesian Chicken

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Chinese pea pods(stem ends and strings removed)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
8 ounces skinned and boned cooked chicken sliced
1 teaspoon teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup canned pineapple chunks, no sugar added, drain and reserve juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Dash each salt and pepper

Heat oil in skillet; add garlic and saute. Add carrot, green pepper, mushrooms and pea pods; stir-fry 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, scallions, teriyaki and soy sauces; cook just until heated through. Add broth and bring to a boil; stir in pineapple. Dissolve cornstarch in reserved pineapple juice; add to skillet and cook, stirring consistently until mixture thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

*This recipe is from Weight Watchers 365-Day Menu Cookbook

Korean Beef (You might want to ask an actual Korean about this)

KOREAN BEEF
Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 scallions, white and 2 inches of the green parts, finely chopped, plus additional chopped scallions for garnish
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 1/2 tablespoons Asian toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds skirt steak, in two pieces
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying the noodles plus 3 tablespoons for sautéing the beef
1 1/2 ounces cellophane noodles (bean threads)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, scallions, sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and pepper flakes in a bowl. Whisk well to blend. Reserve 1/4 cup and set aside. Pour the rest into a plastic bag with a reseal-able closure. Add the skirt steak and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator, turning the bag often, for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Fill a large deep saucepan to a depth of about 2 inches with vegetable oil. Heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fat thermometer reads 375 degrees F. (Alternatively, use an electric deep-fat fryer) Pull apart the clusters of noodles into clumps of about 10 strands each. Working in batches, fry the noodles, turning once, until they puff up and turn white, about 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or a spider (a slotted spoon designed like a spider's web used for deep-frying) to transfer to paper towels to drain.

Remove the skirt steak from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. (The drier the beef, the better it will sear.) Working in batches, heat half the oil in a large skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Place in the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook until seared on the outside and rare to medium-rare on the inside, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining oil and skirt steak. Cut into very thin slices, holding the knife at an angle and cutting against the grain. Toss with the reserved 1/4 cup sauce in a large bowl until well coated.

Crumble the fried noodles and mound on individual serving plates. Top with equal portions of the beef and garnish with chopped scallions

Spicy Cheese Tamales

These tamales are simple because you don't have to labor over cooking meat for two hours. Made with cotija cheese and peppers, this easy spin on a traditional favorite will have you belting out your own Mexican grita.

1. Start by prepping your chilis to go inside your tamales. Take 3 fresh pasilla chilis and char them in a pan and then place in a ziplock bag for a few minutes. Then take the skin off of the chilis and cut them into strips. Set aside.

2. Slice about 12 pieces of cotija cheese the size of your pinky. Set aside

3. Soak 12 corn husks or 24 corn husks (if you are going to wrap them like Viv) in water for three minutes and rinse well. Set aside

4. Make the masa for the tamales:

Mix 2 cups Maseca for tamales (found in the Hispanic foods aisle)
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup melted butter
1/2 tablespoon cumin or more to taste
1 tablespoon granulated garlic

5. Spread about two tablespoons of the stirred masa mix on the inner third of the husk. You Tube this process.

6. Place a chili and a piece of cotija in the center, roll and fold or as Viv does roll it, plack another husk over the top and tie a corn husk not on each end with raffi size pieces of torn husks.

7. Steam in a tamale steamer for 2 hours.

8. Serve with Abuelitas hot chocolate and hot sauce like Cholula :)

"Written by the guerra Sarah Not Viv"-Viv

Zesty Lemon pasta

Ingredients
nocoupons
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream
3 lemons
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound dried fettucini pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of common arugula, leaves cut in thirds)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest from 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in florets and discard the stem. Cook the florets in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4-inch thick crosswise, and add it to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.