Tasty Tuesday – Spicy Chicken Curry

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PEOPLE  it is Tasty Tuesday!  What are you making for dinner tonight?  Last week I love made some spicy chicken curry for the hubby.  This take on chicken curry is definitely A LOT healthier than what you would get from a restaurant.  If you don’t like spicy stuff I suggest not using any (or as much) jalapeno and use all regular curry powder instead of the hot madras curry powder.  This recipe can totally be tweaked to fit your pallet and is pretty forgiving!

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 jalapeno, chopped
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoons hot madras curry powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup condensed milk (Fat Free will taste just as good as full fat)
5 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Kosher salt
Steamed broccoli
Steamed white rice, for serving

Chop the onion, garlic cloves and jalapeno.  Get out all your spices so you have them ready to use.

In a food processor combine the onion, garlic, jalapeno, garam masala, cumin, and cloves. Process to make a chunky paste.  Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion mixture, curry powder, and 1/4 cup water. Let fry 4 to 5 minutes.

Add another 1/2 a cup of water as well as the 1/2 a cup of condensed milk.

I like to precook the chicken on my grill pan, however you don’t have to.  Precooking the chicken adds a pan to clean, but also speeds up the overall cooking time.

Add chicken pieces and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.  If you precooked the chicken I would say about 10 minutes instead of thirty.  Add the steamed broccoli to the mixture.  Serve over rice – makes about 5 servings.

Bon Appetit!!

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Recipe: Garlic Chicken with Couscous

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I really like watching the Food Network cooking shows.  One of the chefs I really like is Anne Burrell.  She make some great recipes, but also I just love her level on energy on the show.  In any event, a while a go I watched the show where she makes garlic chicken with Israeli couscous.  Last night I was craving Israeli couscous so I looked up Chef Burrell’s recipe for inspiration.  Israeli couscous is more fluffy and pasta like than “regular” couscous.  If you’ve never had it before it’s definitely worth a try.

After figuring out what I had in the house I decided to make a simpler version of the recipe while trying to get the same type of flavors in my chicken breasts.  I am happy with how it came out and will be adding this recipe to the dinner rotation.

Garlic Chicken Ingredients:

~ 1 lb Chicken Breasts
1 whole garlic bulb
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the garlic bulb straight on the oven rack and roast it is soft when squeezed, about 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool.

While garlic is roasting, prep the chicken by removing any fat and cutting into large chunks (about 6).

In a bowl combine the lemon zest, juice, thyme, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt then set aside.

When the garlic bulbs are cool, slice the tops off.

Squeeze out the roasted garlic into the bowl.  Add a little olive oil and mash the mixture into a loose paste. Combine with the chicken pieces and let sit for at least 1 hour.

Once the chicken has marinated grill, bake or stove top cook it.

Couscous Ingredients: 

1 cup of Israeli Couscous
1 and 1/4 cups of Chicken Broth
2 Scallions/Green Onions

Bring a chicken broth to a boil over.  Add the couscous, reduce to a simmer and cover for about 8-10 minutes.  watch the couscous closely as sometimes the water boils out too quickly.  You can also completely shut the heat off and cover it.

Cut all of the green onion into thin slices.  Once the couscous is cooked mix in the green onions.

I like to serve it in shallow bowl. Add the couscous/onion mixture and then place the cooked chicken on top.  This recipe makes 3-4 servings.

Looks so pretty and it’s yummy too!

Happy Cooking!

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Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

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My friend at work has been doing this slow carb / four hour body diet.  Now I am not going to speak to the diet, however I did decide to try a couple of the recipes from the PDF she sent me!  My favorites are the meatballs and the creamy chicken tortilla soup!!!  I’ve made a couple of minor changes to the soup, however the recipe is based on the Four Hour Body diet recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 6 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 can of refried beans (fat free)
  • 1 can of Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can of Fire Roasted tomatoes
  • 1 can of black beans
  • 1 can of Mexican or southwest corn (drained)
  • 1 tsp hot sauce (omit if you don’t like any kick to your soup)
  • Cajun seasoning (to taste)
  • 1 rotisserie chicken chopped up, skin removed and bones removed

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup | Life's Tidbits

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup | Life's Tidbits

I doubled the recipe so yours won’t look like as much in a big pot.  The chickens were on sale for $3 … yes $3 crazy, right?  So I just couldn’t resist buying two.  Also this soup tastes fabulous if you freeze it and then let it defrost on your desk at work in the morning.  Who doesn’t like easy lunches?? Okay onto the cooking portion of this blog.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil and whisk with refried beans.  Add all the ingredients (except the chicken) and stir together.

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup | 4 Hour Body | Healthy and Easy Dinner | Life's Tidbits

Make sure the chicken is broken into bite size pieces. It makes the soup easier to eat.  Then add to the pot.

Heat thoroughly on stove for at least 5-10 minutes, which also allows the flavors to develop.

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup | 4 Hour Body | Healthy and Easy Dinner | Life's Tidbits

It will make 6-8 servings or 12-16 if you double the recipe like me.  Serve immediately or put in containers to freeze!!

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup | 4 Hour Body | Healthy and Easy Dinner | Life's Tidbits

It is super yummy!  The husband and I are big fans and it is very much a recipe made weekly at our house as of late.

Happy Cooking!

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Chicken Tikka Masala

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The husband and I go to this fantastic Indian place in Adams Morgan.  One time we really wanted Indian, but didn’t feel like venturing out of the house.  Enter the beautiful world of online recipes. I combined a few different recipes and came up with the following Chicken Tikka Masala recipe which is inspired by our favorite meal at the Indian restaurant.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)

Marinade-

1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (minced)
2 teaspoons salt (or less, to taste)

Sauce-

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
2 garlic clove (minced)
1/2 jalapeño pepper (finely chopped)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tsp of coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (or I like to substitute fat free condenced milk)

In a large bowl mix yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger, and salt. Add chicken bits and mix well, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.


Lightly oil and pre-heat the grill pan to high heat. Put chicken onto the grill and cook until juices run clear. Discard the extra marinade.

In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeño peppers and sauté for 3 minutes.

Add spices and mix well. Stir in tomato sauce and heavy cream  (or condensed milk). Bring to a boil while stirring reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Add grilled chicken to the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve on top of white rice.

You can also serve this meal with naan bread, which can be find at any Indian Restaurant or sometimes places like Harris Teeter or Whole Foods carry it.

Happy Cooking!

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Recipe: Greek Yogurt Chicken with a Middle Eastern Flair

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Last up on my oh so yummy (the opinion of my guests and myself hehehe) middle eastern inspired meal is the Greek Yogurt Chicken.

I realized I neglected to remind you in the other posts to purchase pita bread from the store.  Right before you are ready to eat pop it in the toaster for a minute or two to warm it up.  Leave it in the toaster a little longer if you want the bread to be a little crunchy.

Okay, back to the chicken …

Ingredients:

1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 lemon juiced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts

In a large bowl, mix yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper, ground cardamom and cayenne. Add the chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat your grill or grill pan. Remove excess marinade and place chicken in your grill pan. Grill the chicken breasts over moderate heat, until they are browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board and slice the chicken into strips and serve.

So now you’ve got the chicken, tzatziki sauce, tabbouleh, hummus and pita bread  all prepared and you are ready to go.  Don’t forget to set the table, grab a bottle of wine and maybe light some candles…

Then the BEST part … dig in and enjoy the meal!!!

Happy cooking!!!

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