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!

Don’t forget to leave your tidbit by commenting below :)

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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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Super Bowl Sunday 2012!

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It’s Super Bowl Sunday PEOPLE!  WOOT WOO! Annnnddd it’s also Rebecca’s very first time guest blogging for Life’s Tidbits. 

This picture was taken at FedEx field when the Pats played the Redskins during preseason in 2009.

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The Patriots are back in the game, hoping for a different outcome than 4 years ago  and awaiting the championship trophy. From Brady to Welker to Gronk to Wilfork, the Pats should be unstoppable! While I’ve been a Patriots fan my entire life and have been to some very exciting games, the one thing that stays constant for each Super Bowl (and every other football Sunday) is the munchies.

From the pregame show through the trophy ceremony there is a non-stop spread of food and drinks – or as my siblings and I labeled it – The “Ultimate” Snack.

While it can be any combination of snack foods, I prefer all finger foods. This is the most convenient way to eat on your lap in front of the television and not miss a minute of the game or commercials. The foods have been changed over the years, but the staples are cheese, pesto, hummus, French onion dip, guacamole, nuts, carrots and many more. Don’t forget the chips and crackers to get these delicious snacks from the coffee table to your mouth.

Cheese

You can never go wrong with cheese, but we like a good mix. After all, you are eating for hours, so moods and cravings can change. The variety can be by animal: cow, sheep, and goat or by texture: hard, soft. Some of my favorites are Pecorino, Gouda and my new obsession Boursin.

Hummus

Use the Hummus recipe from the blog last week!

Guacamole

Avocados are a relatively new addition to the spread. While they have been around forever, we did not truly discover their potential until a few years ago. They are so versatile and are actually good for you (in the correct quantities, of course). For game days, I like to use them as part of guacamole.

What you’ll need:
2 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsps of lemon juice
1 tomato, chopped (optional)
Sprinkle of salt & pepper

You know the avocados are ready when they are slightly soft to the touch, but you do not want them too mushy. Cut the avocado in half and scoop out all of the green up to the skin. Smash the avocado until most of the chunks are gone. Tip: If you keep one of the pits and put it with the finished guacamole, it will delay the browning process. Use a zester or garlic press to shave the garlic and add it to the mixture. Pour in the lemon juice. If you like tomato, they add good texture to the guacamole, but they are not necessary for the great taste. Sprinkle on some salt & pepper to enhance the flavor and refrigerate until game time.

Once done, invite some friends over, sit back, relax and enjoy the game! Go Pats!

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Thanks Rebecca for contributing to Life’s Tidbits! I’m pumped for the game … see you in a couple hours :)

What are you favorite game day snacks??  We are making pig n’ a blanket, cheese/artichoke dip, buffalo chicken bites and some Guinness Stout Brownie Pretzel Bars for our super bowl party.  More on all those yummy treats later this week.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

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Recipe: Tzatziki

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In case you missed it my middle eastern inspired meal started with hummus and tabbouleh!  Now we are ready to make some yummy tzatziki sauce!

Although tzatziki is technically Greek we decided to make the sauce anyways to go with our middle eastern themed dinner.  It complimented everything perfectly and didn’t seem out of place in the meal at all.  Even our guest who isn’t a cucumber lover enjoyed the sauce!!

Tzatziki is super easy to make.  The key part is extracting as much water as possible from the cucumbers so they don’t make the sauce runny or watery.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups of nonfat Greek yogurt
2 cucumbers
1 heaping tablespoons
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the seeds of the cucumber. Use a spoon (or if you are my husband your thumb apparently works) to scrape out seeds.  Cut the cucumbers into slices and place them in a colander in the sink. Let them for at least 1/2 and hour.

Tip:  Sprinkle a little salt on the cucumbers to help release water. 

Roughly chop the dill and garlic

Place dill, garlic, cucumbers, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in the Cuisinart and process.  Be careful taking the lid off … it is runny!!

Add the Greek yogurt into the Cuisinart and process for a few second until it’s fully blended.  This doesn’t take very long and you don’t want to over process it – so process just until it’s mixed well.  Pour the tzatziki into a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to give the flavors a chance to develop.

**We only had 30-45 minutes before dinner so it didn’t sit for the full two hours and it was still DELICIOUS**

Last item to make for the middle eastern themed dinner party is the Greek Yogurt Chicken.  Stay tuned!! :)

Happy Cooking!

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Recipe: Tabbouleh

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My friend and I go to Skewers a lot and I LOVE, love, love their lighter side menu options. I was having friends over for dinner and craving middle eastern / mediterranean food. So this dinner menu was inspired by my lovely girly dinners at Skewers. 

My dinner party menu consisted of chicken, tabbouleh, hummus, tzatziki and pita bread.  I’ve already blogged about my hummus recipe, check it out and then come back to this recipe.  

The tabbouleh is a little more time intensive then the hummus, but it is super easy to make.  So without further ado here is how I make the tabbouleh.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bulgur
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 medium tomato diced tomatoes
1/2 medium onion chopped
2-3 tablespoons of roughly chopped mint leaves
1/2 lemon juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Soak the bulgur in boiling water, cover and let it stand for about 2 hours.  Drain the excess water using a colander and then squeeze out any remaining water from bulghur using your hands or paper towel.  (I am a bad blogger and forgot to take a picture. Sorry!)

Dice the tomato and onion.  Place them in a bowl.

Chop the curley parsley and mint.

Mix the bulgur, tomatoes, onion, parsley and mint in a bowl.  Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well.  

Your tabbouleh is complete!!

Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.  I prefer to have it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so all the flavors can develop.

Coming up next for our middle eastern inspired meal is the tzatziki sauce and then the chicken.

Happy Cooking!

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