Indian Butter Chicken (Chickan Makhani)

Sauce

1 T. oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/2 c. yellow onion, chopped

2 T. butter

2 t. lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 t. chili powder

1 t. cumin

1 t. garam masala

1 t. grated ginger

1/4 c. plain yogurt

1 c. whole milk

1 small can tomato sauce
1/4 t. cayenne pepper (optional)

black pepper
salt

Saute shallot and onion in oil. Stir in butter, lemon juice, garlic, and spices, cook 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in milk and yogurt. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

1 T. oil

1 lb boneless chicken, bite-sized pieces

3 potatoes, diced

1 t. garam masala
dash cayenne pepper

1 T. cornstarch

1/4 c. water

Heat oil in skillet. Cook potatoes in oil, evenly browning. Remove potatoes and add to sauce. Add chicken to oil and cook about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, season chicken. Stir in a few spoonfuls of sauce and simmer until liquid is reduced and chicken is no longer pink. Stir cooked chicken into sauce.

Mix together cornstarch and water, then stir into sauce. Cook or 5-10 minutes until thickened. Serve over rice.

Hummus

At John's request, I made hummus for the Pampered Chef party I had last night. I used this recipe (from Allrecipes) because I couldn't find tahini at my grocery store. I will admit that I haven't tried a lot of different hummus, but I thought this was pretty yummy. If you have a food processor, this sure is an easy appetizer to make. I served it with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and two kinds of crackers.

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
2 ounces fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced

In a blender or food processor, combine garbanzo beans, jalapeno, cumin, lemon juice, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the reserved bean liquid. Blend until smooth.

BBQ Chicken Pizza/Pizza Dough

Deliciousness in a pan: if you love BBQ chicken pizza and have a working oven, then nothing should be stopping you from making this at home. It is so easy and so good. I'm even including my no-fail pizza dough recipe in case you go all out on the from-scratch-ness.

2 T. olive oil
1/2 pound chicken
2/3 c. barbecue sauce
1 recipe pizza dough (or frozen, or premade)
3/4 c. shredded Gouda (I left this out and used 2 c. mozzarella instead)
1 c. shredded mozzarella
3/4 c. shredded parmesan
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice chicken to yield a little over 1 cup. In a small bowl, toss chicken with 2 T. barbecue sauce. Set aside.

On a floured surface roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle Gouda, mozzarella, Parmesan, onions and chicken over top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

I call this no-fail pizza dough because I've messed it up in countless ways and it still remains delicious. I've overcooked it, undercooked it, used bad yeast, you name it. Delicious. I think it's the garlic. Another great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to rise the dough if you are in a hurry. Just roll it on the pan and bake.

1 c. warm water
1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
2 T. oil
3 c. flour
2 t. crushed garlic
1 t. basil (I omit this for the BBQ chicken pizza)
1 t. salt

Dissolve yeast in a bowl with warm water. Add sugar, salt and oil and spices as desired. Mix well. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth.

Rising (optional): Place in greased bowl. Turn dough over to grease top; cover and let rise until double.

Divide dough in half for two medium pizzas, or roll out entire dough for 9x13 pan 1/4-1/2 in. thick. Cover with pizza sauce. Ad your choice of cheese and toppings. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Golden Graham S'mores

One of John's cousins made this for our Independence Day party and we all gave it lavish attention (before devouring it, of course). We have a Malt-o-Meal bag of this cereal, so I tried it out for our Sunday dessert. Yum.

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 (5.75 oz.) pkg milk chocolate chips

½ tsp. vanilla

4 cups Golden Grahams cereal

1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows

Butter 9” X 9” X 2” pan. Heat corn syrup & butter to boiling in 3 quart saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips & vanilla. Stir until chocolate is melted. Fold in cereal gradually until covered. Fold in marshmallows. Turn cereal mixture into pan & press with buttered back of spoon. Let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour. Cut into bars.

Spicy Oven Fried Potatoes

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but it was in my "recipes to try" section when I was looking for a side dish last night. I've never broiled potatoes before, but between that and making wedges rather than cubes, it came together a lot quicker than my usual potatoes.'

3 medium potatoes

2 T. margarine (I used olive oil)

1/2 t. dried basil or oregano

1/4 t. garlic salt

1/4 t. paprika

1/8 t. pepper

Preheat broiler. Scrub potatoes and cut into slices or wedges. Melt margarine. Place margarine and spices in large bowl or resealable bag. Place potatoes in single layer on cookie sheet. Broil potatoes about 5-10 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Coconut French Toast

I first saw this when several friends ordered it at a cafe in Costa Mesa. When I told John about it he insisted I try it, so I first made it for Valentine's Day a few years ago. It's now a standard favorite of ours. French toast, coconut, mango and raspberries.... four of John's favorite foods. What's not to love?

4 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. sugar
4 pieces of bread
1/2 c. flaked coconut

Soak bread in mixture for 1 minute each side. Coat both sides in coconut. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 475° for 5 minutes each side.

Serve with diced mango, raspberries and whipped topping.

Calypso Beans N Rice

I got this recipe from some frugal cookbook which calculates the cost per serving for each recipe (this was supposedly .42.) It was cheap to make with ingredients I nearly always have on hand. This can easily be made vegetarian. Maggie loves this too (I think she has a thing for curry). Very yummy and easy to make. Not a lot of hands on effort, but it does take a while for the rice to cook.

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, pressed

1 cup brown rice

2 cans chicken broth

1/4 c. water

1/2 t. curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne pepper

Combine the first three ingredients in medium bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. While the beans are marinating, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. add onion and garlic and saute until onion is soft. Add rice and stir. Add broth, water, curry powder and cayenne pepper and blend well. Bring everything to a boil stirring well. Reduct heat to medium and simmer until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes (REAL LIFE: this took almost an hour). Salt and pepper to taste and serve in bowls.