Easy Weeknight Curry

Curries are one of my favorite foods. They are so full of flavor and color and aroma I just can't resist. Curries can also be very involved or very simple. The other night I made a very easy 30 minute curry and I wanted to share with you all. I did this as more of a coconut korma style with the addition of coconut milk and it turned out so creamy and delicious. These were all ingredients we had on hand in our kitchen and the recipe just formed as I cooked, so there are not really any exact measurements.

Lessa's Wednesday Night Chicken Curry (feeds 4, or 2 with leftovers)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. mustard seed (I used brown for a more pungent flavor)
1 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. coriander seed
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, cubed
1 can drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 c. blanched unsalted peanuts 
1/2 tsp Kosher salt


3 Tbsp. curry powder (red or yellow, I used yellow madras curry powder)
1 can lite coconut milk

In a large saute or sauce pan heat the oil over medium heat. When shimmering add the seeds and toast lightly. When the cumin seeds start to pop, add the diced onion. Cook until soft then add the chicken, garlic, ginger  and chickpeas. When the chicken is no longer pink add the salt, peanuts and curry powder. Stir to incorporate the curry powder. Add the whole can of coconut milk, stir and let simmer for 20 minutes.

I suggest serving over Basmati or Jasmine rice and with naan, if you have it. It's kind of monochromatic so a side salad would complement it well.
I love Indian food. Looks like vomit, tastes like heaven.

Not your Mama's fried chicken

I was Stumbling around teh interwebz one day and happened upon an amazingly simple, absolutely delicious looking fried chicken recipe. No, not the "extra crispy or original" kind, more like the chicken nuggets kind. Not the crappy pre-formed processed nuggets you are thinking about, but fresh, hand cut, hand seasoned little strips of joy.
I have kept this recipe among my bookmarks for months now and decided to break it out the other day when I realized we had very little to make for dinner. Of course I couldn't leave the recipe alone, first of all we don't have one of the ingredients, and one of the other ingredients seemed a bit off to me, so I left it out. If you know me, you know I like things spicy, so I kicked up the heat index using serrano peppers instead of jalapenos.
In addition to fried chicken for dinner, I made tempura fried green beans to use up the fresh green beans we had in the fridge. The only thing missing for those was a tasty dipping sauce
Frying on a midsummer's night when your A/C is giving up is not always a great idea, I was dripping by the time all the food was ready.
 This chicken recipe is GLUTEN FREE for any of my friends who may be gluten sensitive. You may even be able to make it vegetarian by using seitan or firm tofu, squeezed and pressed

The original recipe can be found here: Spiced Lime Fried Chicken

Jamaican Jerk Fried Chicken

2 egg whites

1½ tsp toasted sesame oil

1½ tsp Jamaican Jerk spice

2 TBSP corn starch

1½ tsp Kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2lbs), cut into thin long strips

2 cups canola oil

1 lime, cut into eights

2 serrano peppers, seeded and thinly sliced cross sections

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites, sesame oil, jerk spice, corn starch, salt, ground pepper and red pepper flakes until the egg whites have loosened.

Stir in the thinly sliced chicken breast into the bowl until the chicken is completely coated. Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

In a large saucepan or wok over medium high heat, heat canola oil until it shimmers (about 325˚).

Being careful not to over crowd the pan, cook chicken strips until they are light-golden brown and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Let each batch drain on a rack or paper towel.

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly toss chicken, lime and serrano slices in a bowl (keep in mind the longer you toss the jalapeno and chicken, the spicier it gets). Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Tempura  Green Beans

Tempura batter:

1 egg

1 cup ICE water

1 cup all purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients until all the flour is wet. The batter will be a little lumpy. Now dip whatever vegetable you wish to fry. This night we happened to have fresh green beans, but broccoli, sweet potato and sweet onions all make excellent tempura veggies. Make sure to let the oil come back up to temperature between batches or your veggies will be soggy and greasy. Also have a splatter screen handy, frying is dangerous business!

Drain on a rack or paper towels and serve while still warm. 

Not fancy, but wonderful anyway. Kinda like me

Hello world, Alessa here tonight. Big sister Karin is working on her Weight Watcher's lesson so I took the initiative and made dinner myself. We wanted something quick and easy, but still delicious and nutritious. Working off what we had in the fridge I spotted the Parmesan we had left from our Mac and 5 Cheese adventure last Saturday. Combine that with some chicken from the freezer and the leftover pasta sauce from dinner last Tuesday and we have...Chicken Parmesan!
Also in the fridge we had a can of Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent rolls that I decided to get creative with. Here is what I did:

Garlic and Olive Oil Muffin Rolls
1 can (8 ct) refrigerated reduced fat crescent rolls
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp virgin olive oil
Rosemary or other favorite herb

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, 350 for a dark pan.
Mince the garlic and mix in a small dish with the olive oil. Set aside.
Prepare a muffin pan with a little baking spray or more olive oil. You will only need 8 of the cups, so fill the other 4 with a bit of water to prevent scorching.
Roll out the crescent rolls and separate. BEFORE rolling into croissants spread a touch of the garlic and olive oil on the dough. Roll loosely into croissants. This will be messy from the olive oil squeezing out, but it's ok.
Lay the crescent rolls into the muffin cups, they will form cute rounded rolls. Karin suggested topping the rolls with some rosemary, of which we had fresh sprigs in the fridge. I did that and they looked great.

Now just follow the baking directions on the roll package. I put mine in the oven for 14 minutes at 375. Just before they were finished I sprinkled some extra Parmesan on top and baked until the cheese was golden. They came out smelling marvelous and looking great.

While the rolls were baking I got the chicken ready. I figured that we could snack on the rolls while the chicken was baking. We also snacked on some wonderful Colavita Crushed Green Olives I got at work today. Oil packed with Italian herbs and seasoning these olives had a very robust flavor

Tuesday Night Chicken Parmesan

1 Large Chicken Breast (or two small, flattened)
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tsp Rosemary (or whatever herb floats your boat)
about 1 cup of jarred pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mine was still hot from the rolls so it didn't take long at all.

I sliced one very large chicken breast in half (I am convinced Harmon's chicken breasts come from freak chickens, always enormous.)You could use two small breasts pounded a bit flat as well. After prepping the chicken WASH YOUR HANDS. No cross contamination in my kitchen!
I mixed about 2 Tablespoons of the Parmesan with my Delallo bread crumbs and spread that in a shallow dish. Make sure your chicken is damp (could use an egg wash, I just use water) and dip one side in the bread crumb mixture. To reduce some fat and carbs I only breaded one side of the chicken, but you could do both.
Lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet and sprinkle the top with some more Rosemary or whatever herbs or seasoning you choose. Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

After the timer rings sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top of the chicken and continue baking until cheese is melted and golden brown. The chicken should be done at this time if it was thin enough. Thicker breasts may need more cooking time so use your best judgment.
After about 14 minutes of total baking time our chicken was still juicy, but completely cooked. Perfect!

We topped our chicken with Muir Glen Vodka Sauce (also from work) and served it with the Garlic Rolls and Green Giant Immunity Blend frozen veggies and some more of those delicious olives.

This took maybe 30 minutes to prepare and was an easy, but tasty, Tuesday night dinner. The chicken was perfectly done and the garlic rolls turned out great. *Sniff, sniff* I can smell the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies Karin decided to make, I think they are calling my name! See y'all next time we decide to get creative.