Chicken Tikka Masala

	Sorry for the crap picture, I couldn't find my camera. I topped mine with sour cream and chopped scallions. Marinade ( the day before): 1lb chicken breast cut into chunks** 1/2c sour cream 1/4t each of ground: cinnamon, coriander,  turmeric,  cardamom, chili powder, chili flakes, nutmeg, pepper & salt. 1t fresh garlic, minced/paste/whatever 1/2t fresh grated ginger I mixed everything in a baggy and set in fridge in a dish (in case something happened so raw chicken juices didn't leak everywhere. ** My trick with chicken for slicing into chunks is to let it freeze completely then thaw in the fridge over night so it is just crystallized and MUCH easier to slice than the completely raw chicken. Next Day!: Marinated chicken Broccoli florets Cauliflower florets Snap peas Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger Sprinkle/dash of each: cinnamon, coriander,  turmeric,  cardamom, chili powder, chili flakes, nutmeg, One 35-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved, or could use crushed tomatoes or diced Pinch of sugar 1 cup heavy cream  1/2c sour cream OPTIONAL: RICE. Cook according to directions and serve with the chicken tikka masala once finished. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the spices , chile powder and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken and fully cook. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the cream and  cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Check seasonings. Steam the veggies in the microwave, like 5 min or so. Stir in the steamed veggies; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.  I added more spices than what my recipe says because I wanted more of a kick so add your spices to your liking. I did not serve with rice because I can't have it but it would be delicious served with it. The nutrition facts I have tho do not include the rice and this is for about a cup and a half serving. Calories: 363 Carbs: 21 Fat: 22 Protein: 24

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

I did the exact same recipe as this lady.

Recipe:

Crust:

1 & 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

5 T. butter, melted

2/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cookie Dough:

5 T. butter, room temp.

1/3 c. packed light brown sugar

3 T. sugar

1/4 t. coarse salt

1 ts. vanilla extract

3/4 c. flour

1 c. chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:

10 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

As you can see I had a few issues spreading the stuff...

Topping:

1/3 c. chocolate chips

1 t. shortening

Preheat oven to 325°.

For the crust:

Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil and grease it well.

Crush graham crackers into crumbs to make 1 & 1/2 cups. Add to butter and stir until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press crust mixture into bottom of pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

For cookie dough:

Using mixer and the paddle attachment, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Adjust mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

For cheesecake:

Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.

Pour batter into cooled, baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling. The dough is crumbly and you'll have to squeeze/roll it if you want balls. I put in as many dough balls as I could, then just crumbled the rest over the top. It seems like a ton of cookie dough, but it is just so good, so go ahead and use it!

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Place in the refrigerator to chill several hours.

For the topping:

Combine the chocolate chips and shortening and melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals at 50% power. Stir after each interval; repeat until melted.

Drizzle over the bars before serving. Note: Bars will look better if you cut before drizzling - I found that if you drizzle over the whole thing, chill, then cut, the topping breaks and doesn't stay where it belongs very well. 

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I actually mixed all this stuff up in a ziplock baggy. Worked alright. I also didn't have an egg for the cheesecake part so I just added a little milk. My cookie dough batter was too dry (I didn't exactly measure) so I added a little milk, so now the top of the cookie dough looks like raw cookie dough BUT IT'S STILL DELICIOUS AND I'M SURE IT'LL HARDEN UP OVER NIGHT. :D

Savory Dill Pancakes & Potato Latkes

SAVORY DILL PANCAKES:

1 1/4c ap flour

1t cumin

2t baking powder

1c (or a little more depending on thickness) milk

1/2c cucumbers

Scallions- I used white onion cause it's what I had on hand.

Fresh dill

1t Salt 

pinch of pepper

Make 6hrs ahead before need & keep in fridge.

Little olive oil in the pan, 2" around. Fry until the little bubbles pop.
 Serve alone or with the Gravlax. I topped mine with sour cream.

POTATO LATKES:

4 large peeled baking potatoes

2 large eggs

1 large onion

3 tablespoons potato starch (I just used flour)

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes in a food processor. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible (I put portions of the shreds in a kitchen towel and squeeze until they are practically dry). Place the shreds in a bowl. Immediately mix the eggs in (this helps keep the potatoes from browning). Add the potato starch, salt, pepper and baking powder. Heat about 1/4” vegetable oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Shape latkes by hand, squeezing liquid out if there is any, and place them in the hot oil, leaving space between each one so that they brown well and become crispy (if they are too close they will “steam” and become soggy). Press down on the latkes to keep them evenly shaped. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until the pancakes are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Makes 12-15

I had some dill leftover from the salmon so I used that in it too.  I forgot to squeeze out the liquid so they didn't fry quite properly but that was my issue. :P I served it with sour cream and applesauce. Delicious!

Chicken Pepper Soup

Introduction

I used up leftovers in the fridge. Turned out delicious and very flavorful!

Number of Servings: 10

Ingredients

2# boneless, skinless chicken breast
1c green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 large pepper)
1c red bell pepper, chopped
2 small white onions (or whichever onions you prefer), diced
1 can/box of chicken broth
3c water
1/2t Italian herb seasoning
1/2t basil flakes
1 "dash" of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t onion powder
1t sea salt
1/4t black pepper

Tips

I did this in my crock pot and added the noodles half an hour before I was ready to eat.

Directions

Put raw chicken breast in pot with box of broth and enough extra water to cover chicken. And add all seasonings.
Boil until cooked thru.
Chop all of your vegetables.
Dice or shred chicken.
Since I boiled the chicken in the broth I used a mesh strainer to get out the boiled up fat and gross bits.
Put all veggies, chicken, strained broth into the pot. Check seasonings.
Cook until vegetables are tender, add the noodles Cook until they are tender.
Serve.

Serving Size: Makes 10 1-cup servings

Nutrition Info:

• Servings Per Recipe: 10
• Amount Per Servin: 1c
• Calories: 82.6

• Total Fat: 1.4 g
• Cholesterol: 29.8 mg
• Sodium: 376.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 5.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g
• Protein: 11.7 g

Garbage/Jambalaya Soup

As I think about it, this reminds me of the jambalaya I make. So maybe I should call it jambalaya soup. lol.

1# chicken breast, cut into small chunks

3 bell peppers, I used red, green, & yellow, small dice

2 stalks of celery, small dice

1 small white onion, small dice

1T chopped garlic (or 2-3 cloves)

1/3c chopped cilantro

1/4t nutmeg

1/2t garlic powder

1/2t onion powder

1/4t chili powder

1t red pepper flakes

1t black pepper 

2t salt

1 box of chicken broth

I also added in my leftover tomato & leek casserole about a cup.

1. Sautee everything but chicken (and the casserole) for about 10 minutes.
2. Then add the chicken.
3. Simmer on low for awhile.
4. The end.

Would be good with kielbasa if not on this diet. Rice would be really delicious too!

Tomato & Leek Casserole.

Please read my notes for additional/better ideas.

Ingredients:

• 4 leeks, cleaned, sliced into narrow rings (white part and light green part only)
• 3 – 5 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 tsp of Italian herb blend
• 2 Tbl of crushed crumbs from breadsticks or crackers
• A light dusting of cayenne (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil the bottom of a 9 X 13” heat-proof pan with olive oil spray. Spread ½ of the leeks in the bottom.  Top with half of the tomato slices.  Dust on the tsp of Italian herb blend.  Layer with the other half of the leeks and the other half of the tomatoes.   If you are going to put on the cayenne for zip, dust it on now.  It won’t take much.  Be careful.

Sprinkle on crumbs.  Spray one more time with olive oil spray and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crumbs begin to brown. Ready to serve.

This dish will re-heat just fine in a microwave or oven if you’re taking it to work or another event.

MY NOTES:

I sliced the (did about 6 large) tomatoes into wedges and shredded the leeks (about 8 all diff sizes) in food processor.

Mixed in salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, italian seasoning mixed all together. Let sit  1 1/2 days. Drain off the excess juices.

Just before cooking added 1 pint of heavy cream and topped with breadcrumbs.

Cooked for over an hour, DELICIOUS.

Brad said it would be good with italian sausage in it. Mom suggested parmesan cheese and chicken. Honestly, this would probably be pretty good served leftover with scrambled eggs!

Easy Way To Juice A Pomegranate.

1. Really great technique is to:  
2. Roll it around on the counter until you get all of the jewels popped. 
3. Make a small incision and squeeze over a container getting as much as you can out. 
4. Cut the pom open and hold the pom under water and get the jewels out, the membrane will float and the jewels sink. 
5. Get as much of the membrane from the water as possible and put the jewels in a mesh strainer. 
6. Put your container on a plate or bigger bowl to catch extra juice but just squeeze the jewels as they pop and release juice! 
7. Throw out the jewels that now lost their liquid ruby juice and is now in a cup to be put in the fridge. 

Oh yeah. Pomegranates are great. They are going on my xmas list.