Indian Butter Chicken

I recently dabbled into making curry. I don't know why, but for some reason, making Indian food seemed a little out of my reach. I don't know what changed my mind. I think I figured that if so many people like curries, they can't be that hard to make. I know that logic doesn't exactly follow, but go with it, OK?

Given that my husband has some different tastes than I do, I decided that Chicken Makhani, or Butter Chicken, was the safest bet for the two of us. Sort of as I suspected, I got mixed reviews. I thought it was great, but my husband thought it was OK, but had the same spicy/sweet combination he doesn't like in Chinese food. I think that's crazy, but to each his own, I guess. I didn't get that at all from this recipe, but if you do have those same issues with Chinese, this recipe may not be for you. If you don't have those issues, I suspect you'll love it, too.


Chicken Makhani
Recipe from FoodNetwork, adapted
Serves 4-5
Prep Time - 5 minutes
Cook Time - about 30 min

INGREDIENTS

Spice Blend
1 tsp garam masala seasoning*
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Sauce
3 TBSP butter
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP tomato paste
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 skinless rotisserie chicken, pulled & cut into small chunks**
1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup heavy cream

Hot basmati rice, for serving
warm Naan bread, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Spice Blend
Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Sauce
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add garlic, tomato paste, and spice blend, and cook about 1 minute. Stir constantly.

Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir well.

Add the chicken pieces and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is warmed through. Stir frequently.

Serve over hot, buttered basmati rice with warm naan bread.

*The original recipe calls for 1 TBSP of garam masala seasoning and 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon in addition to the spices listed. This smelled almost exclusively like cinnamon to me, so I omitted the cinnamon and reduced the amount of garam masala. I would do this again.

**I made a rotisserie spiced chicken in my crockpot. It was super simple and delicious. I will post that recipe soon.

Chicken in Tomato Sauce

Sometimes I decide what to cook for dinner based on what side dish I'm in the mood for. I was in the mood for garlic bread yesterday. That lead me to something in a tomato-based sauce. My husband is always in the mood for both. So, while he was outside playing tennis in the 95 degree heat, I thumbed through my recipe print-out book, and I settled on the unfortunately-named "Get Yo Man Chicken" from the Food Network show Down Home with the Neely's.

Stupid name aside, this dish is great. The Neelys are now three for three in our house. It reminded me a bit of chicken cacciatore, only without peppers and with rosemary. The flavors complimented each other perfectly. I recommend using fresh herbs instead of dried, if you can. I think fresh herbs give food a little extra something. I'd definitely make it again and would recommend it to anyone who wants a healthy, hearty dish (yes, I know that sounds contradictory). Enjoy!


Get Yo Man Chicken
Recipe by The Neely's
Serves 4-6 (I cut down the recipe for 2)

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP olive oil
6 chicken thighs, skinless (I used boneless thighs)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 tsp dried thyme (I used basil)
1/2 TBSP dried rosemary (I used fresh)
1 TBSP lemon-pepper
Hot buttered rice*
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper (I also used garlic powder). Brown the chicken, meat-side down first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve.

Pour off all but 1 TBSP of oil from the pan.

Add onion to the pan and saute until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the herbs and lemon pepper. Add the chicken thighs back in. Cover and cook on medium low for about 40 minutes.

Remove chicken from liquid and serve on hot buttered rice. Ladle the sauce on top and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

*I make this recipe exactly, except I omit the shallots and thyme.

Dirty Risotto

At work yesterday, I was thinking about making either Chicken Marsala or an Italian-style Paella for dinner. Then, I got home and remembered I had Italian sausage and pancetta in the fridge and a brand new box of arborio rice in the cupboard that was just dying to be used. So, with input from my husband, I decided to try my hand at Giada's Dirty Risotto.

I've never made risotto before. Well, I've never made it intentionally, that is. That time I sort of accidentally turned basmati rice into risotto doesn't exactly count. Coincidentally, I've also never made or even eaten dirty rice.

This recipe was really easy. I found it a little annoying to need to stand over the stove and stir constantly for about 25 minutes, but that was only a small issue. We both really liked this dish and I will definitely make it again, though probably on a less hot day, or when/if we finally get central air.


Dirty Risotto
Recipe by Giada de Laurentiis, adapted
Serves 4-6
Total Cook & Prep Time - about an hour

INGREDIENTS
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 TBSP butter
2 ounces pancetta, chopped
6 oz Italian turkey sausage
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (I used a mix of red & green)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 TBSP chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep warm over low heat. I'm not sure this was necessary, as I started with room-temperature broth.

In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sausage and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until tender, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the rice and stir to coat.

Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute.

Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 25 to 30 minutes total. Remove from the heat.

Stir in 3/4 of the Parmesan. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the parsley and remaining Parmesan and serve immediately.

Parmesan Chicken & Rice

Tonight was a simple night. A simple chicken & rice dish from Cooking Light was the ticket. I liked that when I was done cooking, I had one pan and one spoon.

Photo from www. cookinglight.com

Parmesan Chicken & Rice
From: Cooking Light
*Serves 4*

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms (I omitted)
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked instant rice
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, and mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add chicken; sauté 4 minutes or until the chicken is lightly browned. Add wine, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.

Stir in rice and broth. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in cheese and parsley.

Chicken With Rice

Last night I really wanted some comfort food. I also needed something pretty quick. So, I searched through my freezer and pantry and decided to try a little twist on my regular Chicken & Rice casserole recipe. It turned out pretty well.

*Note - this recipe calls for Cream of Chicken soup, so if you have an aversion, please stop reading*

Chicken with Wild Rice Casserole
12 oz uncooked wild rice (I used Uncle Ben's Fastcook - no seasonings)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use the low-fat, low-sodium variety)
1 packet dry onion soup mix
water

Cook rice according to directions and place in the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.

Place chicken breasts on top of the rice (For convenience and quickness, I grilled these first on the George Foreman grill).

Spoon cream of chicken soup over the top and sprinkle all with the onion soup mix.

If using fastcook rice, top with about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of water (It should form a very thinlayer at the top).

Bake for about 15 min.