Chicken Leaky Mufasa?

A lot of times around our house food conversations get a little convoluted.

M "What are we having for dinner?"
Me "Chicken cacciatore"
M "Oh, okay sounds good"

...Weeks later...

Me "What do you want for dinner this week?"
M "How about chicken catch a tory?"
Me "What are you trying to say?"
M "You know, the chicken dish we had a few weeks ago."
Me "Chicken cacciatore?"
M "Ya, isn't that what I said?"

No. No that is not what you said.  This happens on a regular basis in our house meringue has been murang and this week Chicken Tikka Masala turned into Chicken Leaky Mufasa.  Even though it can be confusing at times, I have to say, it adds to Mike's charm.  When he says something funny, he'll just grin and say, "I don't know the name, I just know whatever you made is good!" One of the many reasons I love that man.

Surprise of all surprises, today's recipe is Chicken Tikka Masala

I first had this dish in Japan of all places at an Indian restaurant.  It is a wonderful and warm blend of spices, chicken, and rice.  The secret to this delicious chicken is all in how you cook it.

You cook the chicken in yogurt of all things.  Sounds disgusting right?  Well I dare you to make the chicken and not love it. The first time I made it, I nearly ate all of the chicken before making the sauce - so there's your word of warning.  It is truly a warm hearty winter dish!

Chicken Tikka Masala
Adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Chicken

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup plain yogurt (I used greek, but use what you have/like)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced fine 

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 serrano chile, minced (ribs and seeds removed)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

To prep the chicken: Mix the cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over both sides of the chicken.  Put the chicken on a plate, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.  Whisk the yogurt, vegetable oil, garlic and ginger together in a wide bowl.  You'll use this to coat the chicken later before cooking - set aside for now.

Meanwhile, pour the oil into a large Dutch oven set over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic, ginger, serrano chile, tomato paste and garam malasa.  Cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes, stirring almost constantly.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes, sugar and salt then bring the sauce to a boil.  Reduce the heat so your sauce is simmering and cover the pan.  Let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring a few times.  Add the heavy cream, stir to combine and bring the sauce back to a simmer (uncovered).  Take the pan off of the heat and cover to keep warm.  (You can also make the sauce ahead - just refrigerate it once it cools slightly then rewarm when you want to serve.)

To cook the chicken:  Position an oven rack about 6 inches from your broiler and preheat the broiler.  Set a wire rack inside of a foil-lined baking sheet.  Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and dip each piece in the yogurt mixture.  You want a relatively thick layer coating the chicken.  Transfer the chicken to the wire rack.  Broil the chicken until it is cooked through (to an internal temperature of 160 F), about 10-18 minutes, flipping the chicken over halfway through the cooking time.  (The cooking time will depend in large part on the thickness of your chicken pieces.)  Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then cut it into 1-inch pieces and add to the warm sauce.  Add the cilantro to the sauce as well and season to taste before serving.

BONUS! 

Anyone notice I didn't post Monday?  Well, I did anyway - completely escaped me.  So as an apology, here are some cute puppy-in-the-snow pictures.  Enjoy!

Snow Way! Christmas Card Hanger and Happenings of Late.

Here's a couple things that have been happening lately (to catch you all up) and of course something fun to create.  This will be a picture intensive post - I know, there's much rejoicing that i won't be typing much.

First, it snowed yesterday before my first final.  Snowed people.  People are stupid here when it snows. So there's that.  Oh yeah, I also finished my first final! Woo-hoo! Now only if three weren't three others to take...

Kora remains herself as always, cute and playful. We found out yesterday that she LOVES snow. I mean LOVES. She tried to snort it up her nose and then barked at it.  Just normal stuff ya know.

And Mike remains the same as always, cute and playful. Woops! That was the dog.  Mike did no-shave November and this is him finally shaving it off bit by bit.   There was much rejoicing on my side but I think his face misses the warmth.

Oklahoma State beat trounced OU.

But lost out on a national championship.

And somehow amidst all the finals craziness, I made this lovely. I have to brag because I kinda made it up my self. (Yes, I am patting myself on the back.)

It was super easy.  It might have taken me thirty minutes to make.  I used:
Yard stick (mine had handy holes at each end for hanging, but you cold always drill your own if they're missing).
Ribbon
Clothespins
Scrapbook paper
Glue
Mod Podge

Basically, I glued the ribbon to the yard stick.  It did leave some little discolored spots so if you don't like that I would recommend double stick tape.  I didn't think of that, so learn from my mistakes people.  I cut the ribbon a couple inches longer than the yardstick to wrap around to the back; it hides the edges that I'm sure will fray eventually.  Just glue them securely.

Clothespins were the easiest thing I've ever done.  I had a TON just hanging around from a previous project.  I cut out a piece of scrapbook paper a little larger than the surface of the pin (you can pick either side or do both if you wish!).  Mod podge it onto the clothespin.  Wait till the surface of the paper is dry. (By the time I finished mod podging my last pin, the first one was dry - works out perfect!) Then cut away the excess.

Voila! Christmas card hanger.  If you'll notice I only have one. card. Someone please send me some cards!

Let me know what you think! Stay warm wherever you are!

Spooktacular: A Bootiful Wreath!

I have an obsession with holiday themed wreaths - which makes Mike roll his eyes.  I'm not sure what really began this obsession but it has taken over; I'm currently up to five wreaths and have evil plans to make more Mwah ha ha ha! That being said, I give you the Halloween wreath!

No, its not anything super exciting or scary, but that's okay with me - I'm not a big fan of scary...at all!

Basically what I did was wrapped a styrofoam wreath in yarn (duh! Tell you something you don't know right?) and made some cute little bunting.  Don't know how to make bunting? Easy; I'll tell you!

Draw a diamond like this: Draw a two inch horizontal line. Draw a dot in the middle of that line.  Measure two inches down from the middle point and two inches up from the middle point.  Connect the lines to make a diamond. Repeat for desired amount and cut out. Presto! You've got yourself some bunting! 

So attach that to your wreath after you glue it onto some kind of string.  I found those cute little pumpkins at Hob Lob and attached those babies right on! The end!

You've got yourself a boo-tiful wreath to hang on yo' house!  

I thought I'd also share with you what Kora did while I was making this.  She pretended that she was a cat and played with the yarn first and then she did this...

Yep.  She got herself stuck in the chair.  Hope you enjoyed the daily life at our household! Have a great weekend! 

Spooktacular: Ghosts Galore!

To continue Spooktacular I'm sharing a great way to decorate your house or party with a quick decoration - the floating ghost!

I would sarcastically say, "Spooky right?" but these actually did scare me the morning after I hung them up! *Note to self, remember what you decorate with* Of course, it also helps that I am very easily frightened - shock.  So here are the steps to making these floating fiends.

Idea came from here.

1. Assemble the essentials:
       Cheesecloth
       Balloons (any color)
       Plastic Cups (you know, the infamous red ones)
       Heavy starch - don't worry, you won't be ironing anything!
       Black felt for eyes
       Glue
       Scissors
       Thread, twine, floss - some sort of hanging device that fits through those tiny holes
       A sharp object for popping, or for terrorizing your dog with
2.  Blow up your balloon to desired size.  I liked mine at about 6-8 inches big.  Once you've done that chase your dog around with the balloon like a crazy.  Kora was not a happy person and will probably forever be frightened by balloons; that poor dog.
3. Put your balloon in your plastic cup and drape about an 8 inch square of cheesecloth over the balloon.  The cheesecloth doesn't have to be spot on; you can eyeball it.  I kind of think the more imperfect the better. After all, ghosts are like snowflakes right? Everyone's unique? Just me? Ya I did just make that up.  Spread the word though; that's how these things get started right?
4. Spray the cheesecloth with a generous portion of starch and let them dry.
5. In the meantime, cut out little scraps of felt for eyes.  I just freehanded them with the thought the more crazy the scarier.  I think my thought process was pretty spot on.
6.  When the cheesecloth is dry, glue on the eyes.  Allow the eyes to dry a bit and then pop with your sharp object.
7.  Get your hanging device.  In case you can't tell from the photos, I used blue thread and believe it or not, its really not too noticeable.  Run the twine through the holes of the cheesecloth and hang with horror!

   
Check back tomorrow for some other treats and have a "spooktacular" Friday!

An ode to Kora...

Like I said in my first post, we have a dog Kora who thinks she's human.  No really, I'm pretty sure she thinks she's our kid, but that's okay with me because not only is she entertaining (I mean come one, she runs into doors and walls!) but she is also really cute - and I mean award winning cute.

Exhibit A:

This is puppy Kora that we got in May when she just slept all the time.  Soon after this she entered into the "Must destroy everything!!" phase and shocked herself by chewing on a power chord.  Yes, PETA and the ASPCA will probably be knocking on our door any day now for animal cruelty.
Check out Exhibit B:

This is sailor Kora, aka the time we found out Kora hates swimming when we threw her into the lake.  This so called "lab-chow mix" does not enjoy being in the water, even if she is in a life jacket. However, good things did come of this: she placed 2nd in the law school's cutest pet photo contest - she's still trying to figure out exactly what that means though.

And finally, exhibit C:

This Kora currently - she's in the "must destroy sticks and dig holes in yard" phase.  Other than that, she's a pretty good dog.  That's why I decided to make her some dog treats and I thought I'd share the recipe with you.  Hope you bestow some lovin' from the oven on your little furry friend.

Apple Peanut Butter Dog Treats

1 apple, cored with skin on
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown rice flour*
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Place cored apple into food processor and pulse into small bits.  Combine apple bits, peanut butter, egg and flour in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer until homogenous.  At this point, you can knead and shape with a cookie cutter or you can do what I did and use a cookie scoop.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.  Cookies will be slightly sticky; allow to cool before feeding to man's best friend.  Store in an airtight container for other times your pet has been particularly good.

*If you've never made your own rice flour - it can be a pain; it may also burn up your food processor.  If you think you'll use rice flour a lot, just buy a bag; if not, borrow some from a friend.