Quick Chicken Tikka Masala

Hey Ladies! It has been quite some time since my last post. But the recipe I made last night deserves recognition and to be shared with you lovely gals. It is "Quick Chicken Tikka Masala" courtesies of my new favorite recipe/food site eatingwell.com I have used the site in the past and to be honest, it is sometimes a hit or miss. Definitely look at the reviews before attempting a dish.

What I most love about the site is that it is health conscious and allows you to see the nutritional facts of the food you are cooking, allowing for a more transparent meal and healthier choices to be made on your part (if you should so choose =). With spring around the corner and summer approaching, I so choose the healthier option (at least for now ;).

Anywho, this recipe was super quick, easy, healthy and so delicious.

TIPS:

*If you cannot find chicken tenders, you can buy chicken stir fry or even just a pound of chicken breast, cut into smaller portions.

**I love flavor and following the recipe exactly will deliver a nice, yet mild flavor. I added more garam masala/tumeric and a lil salt/curry to taste.

Quick Chicken Tikka Masala (courtesy of www.eatingwell.com)

• 4 teaspoons garam masala (see Note)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound chicken tenders
• 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, undrained (I recommend buying crushed or already diced tomatoes)
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Stir together garam masala, salt and turmeric in a small dish. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the spice mixture and dredge in the flour. (Reserve the remaining spice mix and 1 tablespoon of the remaining flour.)
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the reserved spice mix and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Sprinkle with the reserved 1 tablespoon flour and stir until coated. Add tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a simmer, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring often, until thickened and the onion is tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Stir in cream. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

**I served the dish over a bed of brown rice**

Tricolor Salad

This recipe is also from one of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazines (LOVE THEM!). This salad is beautiful with the mixture of color, light, but yet hearty with the Parmesan.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

Salad

• 2 c. corn kernels (from 3 ears) - I just used 1 can of corn
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced into .25 in half-moons
• 1 small head of radicchio, cut into 1-in pieces

Dressing

• 2 TBS red-wine vinegar
• 1 TBS EVOO
• 2 TBS grated Parmesan
• 1 tsp honey

1. Mix all dressing ingredients together thoroughly
2. Mix all salad ingredients, and then toss with mixed dressing. You can prep everything up to a day before (be careful, as the water from the cucumber will come out) and then mix the salad and dressing together right before serving.

Nutrition:
122 cal; 5 g fat (1 g sat fat); 4 g protein; 18 g carb; 3 g fiber

Kettlecorn!

My recent obsession, inspired by SMT's groupons to KettlePop, is kettlecorn. Fortunately, kettlecorn is easy to make on the stovetop!

Original source: Allrecipes

Ingredients/tools:

• Stock pot with snugly-fitted lid
• 1/4 cup - popcorn kernels (these are cheapest in the natural food section-- just get about $1/worth)
• 1/4 cup - canola oil
• 1/4 cup - sugar (probably less-- just eyeball it)
• Salt

Steps:

1. Pour the oil in the pan and place on medium-high. Add in three kernels of corn.
2. When the kernels pop, the oil is hot enough. Add in the remaining popcorn kernels. Add in the 1/4 cup sugar, distributing in the sugar equally across the bottom of the pot. Place the top on the pot.
3. Immediately lift the pot about 1 inch above the stove and begin shaking the pot over the heat. The idea is that you don't want the kernels or sugar to crystalize in any one place on the pot. After about a minute, the kernels will begin to pop.
4. Be careful-- popcorn creates steam, so steam will try to escape the pot, particularly when you remove the top!
5. When the popping slows, remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle liberally with salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Veggie Frittata (Spinach, Tomato, Mushroom, Potato)

(Sorry if it doesn't look too appetizing in this photo :\ it's really good!)

I found the basis of this recipe on good ol' allrecipes.com but made some adjustments and made my own rendition of it. I simply used the recipe to understand the steps but then added some additional ingredients (just bc I liked the additional ingredients and who can say no to more veggies?!). In all honesty, whatever veggies you have on hand, add them in if you think they'll add to the flavor or if you just like them and would like to throw them in, Try it out! That's what cooking is all about! So here is my rendition below, feel free to check out the allrecipes.com version for the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-5 small red potatoes, sliced
• about 3 cups fresh spinach
• about 2 cups cremini mushrooms, chopped
  
• 1 medium-sized tomato, diced (feel free to use more or different types)
  
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 3 cubes of frozen basil from Trader Joe's (freezer section); feel free to use dry/fresh basil
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 3 eggs, and liquid egg whites to makeup 3 additional eggs
  
• about 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand. I had a Mexican blend on hand, so just used that and just enough to sprinkle on top of the frittata)
• Recommended: spices for potato (garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, Lawry's Seasoned Salt)
  

Recipe:

1. Take sliced potatoes and toss them around in a bowl with some oil, salt/pepper, and whatever spices you have on hand (I used garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and Lawry's Seasoned Salt)
2. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in the skillet, and cook about 10 minutes, until tender but firm. (Note: may take longer)
   
3. Add in chopped mushroom and cook until they have browned a bit, about 3-4 minutes (and if you're adding other veggies, add them to the mix in the order of longest time to cook to shortest time to cook).
4. Mix in spinach, tomatoes, garlic, basil. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.
   
5. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Pour into the skillet over the vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese on top. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until eggs are firm. (it took a while for my eggs to completely cook throughout the frittata. I ended up cutting it open to see if the insides were done, took longer than 5-7 minutes)

Turkey Sausage and Arugula Pasta

I found this recipe on Eatingwell.com when I was looking for a pasta that was light and not too heavy/creamy/unhealthy.

Just made it last night, and it came out very light, so if you're looking for a creamy dense pasta, this is not the winner!

Note: I didn't really follow the recipe word for word, but I don't think it makes that big of a difference since you just need to make sure the sausage and pasta are cooked. The rest is up to you. I may add in cremini mushrooms next time I make this to add some more veggies. My own commentary is in indigo.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces whole-wheat short pasta, such as shells or twists (I used rotini, whatever you have on hand)
  
• 8 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings (I used spicy chicken italian)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 8 cups arugula, or baby spinach (only had 6 cups. ohwell)
  
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (used 1 medium-sized chopped tomato)
  
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Pecorino Romano, or Parmesan cheese, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Recipe:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 9 to 11 minutes, or according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon (I was lazy and chopped up the sausages before cooking) , until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, arugula (or spinach) and tomatoes. Cook, stirring often, until the greens wilt and the tomatoes begin to break down, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and keep warm.
3. Combine 1/2 cup cheese, pepper and salt in a large bowl. Measure out 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid; drain the pasta. Whisk the cooking liquid and oil into the cheese mixture; add the pasta and toss to combine. Serve the pasta topped with the sausage mixture and an extra sprinkle of cheese, if desired.

Per serving (this makes 6 servings): 352 calories; 9 g fat ( 3 g sat , 2 g mono ); 26 mg cholesterol; 47 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 18 g protein; 6 g fiber; 382 mg sodium; 379 mg potassium.

Easy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

I unfortunately don't have a picture of the recent batch I made but I got this recipe from good ol' allrecipes.com


(picture credited to allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound ground turkey

2 (10.75 ounce) cans low sodium tomato soup (I use a box of the Smoked Roasted Tomato soup from TJ's)

2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 pinch ground allspice (never have this onhand, so I just throw in some cinnamon as a sub)

salt to taste

Instructions:

1.	Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place turkey in the skillet, and cook until evenly brown; drain.
2.	Coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray, and mix in turkey, tomato soup, kidney beans, black beans and onion. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, allspice and salt.
3.	Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High. OPTIONAL: Near the end, I sometimes will cut up some fresh veggies and add it in (like zucchini, or peppers. I've also added canned corn in before with the beans to add some other veggies).

Spanikopita Stuffed Chicken

I got this recipe from a WeightWatchers Blog called SkinnyTaste, but it's delicious AND HEALTHY!

Spinach pie filling stuffed inside a chicken breast, baked to perfection, oh my! This is one of my experiments gone better than expected. This makes 9 pieces of chicken, so you wind up with 4 1/2 servings.

• 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and juice squeezed out
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 cup (2.5 oz) fat free Feta cheese
• 1/3 cup fat free ricotta
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper
• 3 (1.25 lbs) chicken breast halves
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs (I used 4C and non whole wheat, whatever you have available. The italian breadcrumbs are delicious, too!)
• spray oil
• toothpicks

In a small sauté pan, heat oil. Add onions, garlic and scallions and sauté about 1 minute. Add spinach and parsley, salt and pepper and cook another minute. Remove from heat, add feta and ricotta cheese.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Slice chicken breast halves into 3 thin cutlets. Pound them to make them thinner. This helps when you wrap the cutlets. Season chicken with salt and pepper.



Place just under 1/4 cup of spinach mixture in the center of the chicken. Roll it and secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent filling from coming out. It's ok if it's not perfect. The egg wash and breadcrumbs keep everything in place.



Dip chicken into egg wash, then breadcrumbs.



Spray cookie sheet with oil and place chicken on cookie sheet. Lightly spray chicken with oil and bake about 25 minutes, until cooked through. Remove toothpicks and serve.

Nutrition:
Calories: 205
Fat: 3.8 g
Protein: 32.0 g
Carb: 10.6 g
Fiber: 2.6 g

A Smitten Feast

Last week?...Two weeks ago? (whoa, time flies) I put together an impromptu dinner party with some close friends. The dinner party sort of snowballed from my impulse to make these two dishes that I have been eying for quite some time. The problem was that I could not consume these two dishes by my lonesome. I take that back. I definitely COULD consume these two dishes by my lonesome, but I really shouldn't and definitely not in one sitting. Henceforth, The Impromptu Dinner Party was born! Problem was, however, after inviting a few friends, I figured I will have to make MORE food. Well, not so much a problem, because I love to cook but a conundrum because I want to make sure that there is enough food to fill everyone, but not SO much food that I could have TWO impromptu dinner parties. Overall, I think it was a success! It was my first dinner that I have every hosted by myself and cooked every dish. Sort of a mini-challenge. At one point I had to make a timeline of when I would begin each dish so that most of everything would be ready to consume when the party-goers arrived.

I pulled all of the recipes, minus one, from www.smittenkitchen.com. (hence, the name of the post =) I love this blog and I always highly recommend it! Because of the many recipes I used for the party, I will just post the links to each recipe and then add comments if I changed anything.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/chicken-with-forty-cloves-of-garlic/

*So incredibly good. The chicken turned out so moist and the juices from the chicken/garlic made an awesome gravy over the dish. I recommend using even MORE than 40 cloves of garlic.

White Bean Roasted Red Pepper Dip: http://sm

ittenkitchen.com/2007/08/dorkalicious/

*A great and easy-peasy dip recipe. PLEASE drain the juices from the roasted red peppers. If not, it will make the dip very liquidy. This happened to me, so I added extra can of beans, which thickened it up nicely. Also recommend adding Hot Sauce/Chihula sauce to your taste. Adds a nice kick!

Pearl Couscous w/Olives & Roasted Tomatoes: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/pearly-whites/

*One of my favorite go to recipes on this blog. Although it's easy and quite h

ands off, it does take a while to roast the tomatoes (which you can do ahead of time) and cook/cool the couscous. Highly recommend for a potluck dish cause you serve it cold and can be made ahead of time.

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/12/garlic-butter-roasted-

mushrooms/

*Probably the biggest hit of the night. Again, a super easy and very hands off recipe. You don't even need to chop the mushrooms. Oh, I bought a jar of ready-to-use minced garlic, cause it is one of my pet peeves to chop/mince garlic. Seriously saves my sanity when cooking. If I possessed foresight I would have doubled this recipe because it was that good. Use bread to dip in the sauce.

Barley Risotto w/Butternut Squash: http://gastronomyblog.com/2011/01/14/barley-risotto-with-butternut-squash-and-fried-sage/

*I love risotto and I love butternut squash so this was the perfect combination. I didn't make the fried sage leaves...seemed too time consuming for such a small accent to the dish. Next time I would have roasted the butternut squash pieces for less time cause mine started to caramelize (which isn't bad at all!), but for this recipe I would have preferred just soft cubes. I love barely because it has more a bite to it than using arborio rice in a traditional risotto. I'd like to think that this is a slightly healthier version of risotto.

Vanilla Roasted Pears w/Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/12/vanilla-roasted-pears/

*I've wanted to try roasted pears for quite some time because it seems so easy. It was easy, but I was sort of underwhelmed by the flavor. It seemed to lack a balance between the vanilla flavor and the pears. More pear-y than vanilla-y. And the pears didn't soften up that much even though I kept them in the oven for quite some time. I think I would recommend making them in a small baking dish or using more pears so that they almost touch when they are baking. Would have used a little more butter and vanilla in order to hike up the flavor and increase the sauce.

Gotta admit, it was exhausting to cook all this food but I would love to host another dinner party...in the far...far...future =) Well, maybe this month =)

Soup for the Sick

I've been home for the past couple of days trying to get over whatever sickness I have caught. Nevertheless, being ill will not thwart my cooking efforts. I'm a big proponent for feeding your illness, so I decided to concoct a hearty and healthy soup for the sick. It's a slightly different take on chicken noodle soup, which many Jewish grandmothers and mothers recommend for the ill. I like this recipe because any cook can adapt it to their tastes by taking out or throwing in additional ingredients. Enjoy!

Please don't let the long list of ingredients deter you from making this soup. It has a rich flavor and a nice kick from the pepper flakes.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 glugs of olive oil
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, halved and quartered
• 2 celery stalks, halved and chopped
• 2 tsp of dried oregano
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1/2 tsp of dried red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups of vegetable broth (low sodium)
• 6 cups of chicken broth (low sodium)
• 1 cup of grilled chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces (I used pre-grilled chicken breasts pieces from Costco and then chopped them into small bites)
• half of a head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped in to small florets
• 2 handfuls of small spinach.
• 6 oz of partially cooked egg noodles (for 5-6 minutes so they don't get overcooked once you add them to the soup)
• handful of green onions, chopped for garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan on the stove top and add the salt. Once the oil is hot (but not steaming), add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot and saute for 10 minutes. Then add the oregano, paprika, red pepper flakes, thyme and garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vegetable and chicken broth, and cook until a boil and then reduce heat to medium low, so that it simmers. Let soup simmer for 15 minutes. After it simmers, add the chicken, cauliflower, and broccoli and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Taste the broth and add whatever additional spices you desire. Right before you think the soup is done, stir in the spinach for a minute until wilted, and then add the noodles. Make sure to cook the noodles for only a minute or two in the soup and then turn down the heat to low or off in order to not over cook the noodles. Ladle into soup bowls and add green onions for garnish. ENJOY! =)

Brussels sprout salad w/ mustard vinaigrette

My first addition to this blog is a brussels sprouts salad that I made over my winter break for a friend's Christmas party/potluck. It was very well-received. This winter season is the first time I've started eating brussel sprouts after hearing so much about them from my friends. They are very nutritious (high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid and fiber) and as long as you don't cook them for too long, they are delicious! Most people think they taste funny, but this is because they usually cook them for too long. Cooking them for too long releases glucosinolate sinigrin, which has a sulfurous odor. Trader Joe's sells brussels sprout stalks quite cheaply, and I believe they are still in season right now.

The recipe I am sharing below was featured in the LA Times. They adapted the recipe from La Grande Orange Café in Pasadena. I adapted the mustard vinaigrette from another recipe I found instead of using the one they recommended. I also think Song-My's mustard vinaigrette's recipe would work great as well! (and may be simpler to make)

Mustard Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• kosher salt and cracked black pepper
• maple syrup (honey/agave would work well too i think)

Salad

• 1 pound brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon dried blueberries
• 2 tablespoons whole almonds, toasted (preferably California or Spanish Marcona)
• 1 ounce Manchego cheese, shaved using a peeler (Trader Joe's sells Manchego)

Directions

1. Put the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and mustard into a small mason jar, along with the salt and pepper. Put on the lid and shake that jar until the vinaigrette has come together. Add maple syrup and shake again. Keep adding maple syrup until it tastes good!
2. Peel the leaves from the Brussels sprouts until you reach the core. This is an excruciatingly slow process, but the presentation is beautiful. (Although you can discard the core, I saved the brussels sprouts core and later chopped them up and stir-fried them with bacon.)
3. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the Brussels sprouts leaves just until they are a vibrant (beautiful) green and barely tender. Drain immediately and place in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and dry well. You should have 3 cups of leaves.
   
4. In a large bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts leaves, cranberries, blueberries, almonds and just enough vinaigrette to lightly moisten. (Side tip: Alice Waters says that the best way to dress a salad is to use your hands, and to dress each ingredient separately so that the dressing gets dispersed throughout the salad and through each ingredient's texture. I follow this religiously.)
5. Mound the salad on a plate, and top with the cheese shavings. Serve and savor immediately... :)

Quinoa and Black Beans

I found this dish on Allrecipes.com (AMAZING place to find recipes). Great, healthier substitute for beans and rice. Enjoy! VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp veg oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled/chopped
• 3/4 c. uncooked quinoa
• 1.5 c. vegetable broth
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like spicyyyy)
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 c. frozen corn kernels (canned is fine, too)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained (it calls for 2 cans but 1 is plenty)
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and stir in vegetable broth. Add cumin, cayenne pepper, salt/pepper.
   
3. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 min.
4. Stir frozen corn into saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 more min until corn is heated through.
5. Add black beans and cilantro. (Add corn last with black beans if using canned version).
6. Fluff with a fork and enjoy!

Optional, I've also added some other veggies, like bell peppers to make a more colorful/veggie variation. Add it in when adding the onion.

Nutritional values per serving: (Makes 10 servings)
Calories: 142
Total Fat: 1.7 g
Cholesterol: o mg
Sodium: 467 mg
Total Carbs: 25.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 6.9 g