Indian Butter Chicken

Indian Butter Chicken

• 1/2 cup butter, 2 T which are used to saute onion and garlic
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used about 1/3 t. garlic powder)
  
• 1 can tomato sauce
  
• 1 12 oz. can skim or 2% evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk (or 2 %)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used just a sprinkle)
  
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (you find this in the spice aisle anywhere)
  
• 2-3 chicken breasts, thawed and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 T. curry powder
  

1. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a big skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook slowly until the onion is mostly translucent. Add chicken and heat until no longer pink, stirring regularly.
2. Turn heat to low and add remaining butter to the pan along with the tomato sauce, milks, salt, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and curry powder. Simmer on low until thickened.
   
3. Serve over rice with your choice of vegetables. We liked steamed peas and broccoli.

You just don't know what you're missing until you try this! I know people who think they don't like curry in general aren't going to be convinced, but this is an awesome meal. AWESOME. Even the kids like this one, and they aren't really fans of our other Indian dishes. This one is less spicy, unless you add more red pepper, and it it saucy and delicious with rice. The flavors are just so interesting and delectable! Really- give this one a try.

And here's a crock pot version we love just the same, if not more because pre-prep is wonderful!

Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

3 tablespoons butter 4 large skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used one breast) 1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon garam masala 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (I used one small can tomato sauce) 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk 1 cup plain yogurt salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, garam masala, and tomato paste until no lumps of tomato paste remain. Pour into a slow cooker, and stir in the coconut milk and yogurt. Season to taste with salt.
2.	Cook on High 4 to 6 hours, or on Low 6 to 8 hours until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced to your desired consistency. Shred chicken and serve.

Beef in your fajitas..

(I'll get a real picture next time)

Mexican Shredded Beef

• 3-4 Lbs. lean roast beef
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix
• 2-3 c. water
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 c. salsa

1. Lightly sear the roast on all sides.
   
2. Add to crock pot and sprinkle with onion soup mix and add 2 c. water.
   
3. Cook in crock pot on low for 8-9 hours, check every now and then to make sure the liquid remains. (wasn't a problem for me.)
   
4. After meat is cooked, drain juices, keeping about 1-2 cups for the gravy.
   
5. Shred the meat and toss out any excess fat. Saute onion in butter. When onions are clear, add flour and stir until smooth. Add 1-2 c. of the meat drippings, stirring or whisking constantly until it is a gravy-like consistency.
   
6. Return shredded meat to crock pot and add gravy mixture and salsa. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer. Meat should be moist and juicy.

We love our mexican nights! It's nice to change it up a bit with chicken, ground beef, and "real" beef. This is a really good recipe for roast, though, and we love it.

Such a great pound cake!

7-UP Pound Cake
(mine was Sprite cake I guess!)

• 3 sticks butter, softened (I used 2 sticks)
• 3 cups sugar (I cut 1/2 cup)
  
• 5 eggs (I cut 1 egg, added 1 T water)
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 3/4 cup 7-Up soda (I only had Sprite! Does it really matter?)

LEMON GLAZE

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 t. 7-Up
  

1. Cream together butter and sugar for 20 minutes. (20!?) I did mine in my KitchenAid for about 6 minutes on medium high- who has 20 minutes?)
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Add flour, mixing until combined.
4. Add lemon extract.
   
5. Fold in 7-Up.
6. Pour into well-greased bundt pan or tube pan. (12 cup).
   
7. Cook at 325 for about 50 minutes to an hour, or until top and sides look healthily browned. (Mine took about an hour and 5 minutes)
8. Cool, remove carefully from bundt pan by loosening with spatula first, pour on glaze, and eat.

We all LOVE this cake. It is a great snack cake. A piece here, a chunk there....it's light, refreshing, and delicious. The lemon flavor is not overpowering but wonderfully aromatic and flavorful. The glaze adds the right amount of interest to the cake. It is like pound cake in density, but it manages to be light. Yum.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala
**kids didn't like!**
(adapted from allrecipes.com, photo from flickr)


Marinade:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1 t. garam masala instead)
  
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (I used only a dash-it's already spicy enough!)
  
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (I cut half a teaspoon)
  
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I used a dash of ground ginger)
  
• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 long skewers (naah...though probably would taste great!)
  

Sauce:

• 1 jalepeno, chopped fine (I skipped)
  
• 1 T. butter
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1/2 t. garlic powder)
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 t. garam masala
• 1/2 t. salt
  
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 can coconut milk
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (we skipped)
  

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and ginger. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat a grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side (I put in the crock pot covered in above marinade to save time and loved it).
3. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute.
4. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and garam masala.
5. Stir in tomato sauce and coconut milk.
6. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
7. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with rice. Feeds 4 hungry adults.

This was a lot like the Crock Pot Indian Chicken I posted a few weeks ago but this is richer and creamier and just a bit longer to make. We had always thought curry was in all Indian food but not this one or the last one I made. Russell loved this, and I thought the flavors were exotic and fun too. But he loved it. He is definitely on a big Indian kick right now. I used the reviews on this recipe from allrecipes to create the right recipe for us, and we were pleased! I still love the Yellow Curry Chicken best, but Russell says this and the YCC both tie for 1st place.

Though the list of ingredients seem long, this really didn't take that long to make. The crock pot did the work, and the yogurt marinade made it really tender and flavorful.