Indian Butter Chicken

I think a lot of the time when I love food in a restaurant there's always a desire for me to recreate it at home.  You probably noticed this if you read the slightly failed chile encrusted steak!  Unlike that recipe, this is definitely a success!  Hubby rated this a 5 tonight!  Woohoo!  I've been trying to make some of his favorites this week since it was his birthday yesterday, so I was pretty excited when it got his good reviews.  He really likes Indian food, so that was a great compliment!

I did a few things differently with this tonight than I usually do.  *One change made marinating everything much quicker.  +The second change made the flavor SO much richer.

I really think this rivals any restaurant Butter Chicken.  The sauce tonight was so good that if I was being totally gross I'd probably just eat the sauce like soup.  Hmm...that was probably too much information for you.  HA ha!!  I blame the baby.

Try this!!  You definitely won't regret it.  Though I'll warn you, it might ruin your experience of butter chicken at the next Indian Restaurant you try.  Ha ha! I'm a little too full of myself after eating this it was that good!  This is a pretty special occasion dish around here because it requires a few special ingredients that aren't usually in the kitchen like serrano chiles and heavy cream.  I didn't used to have garam masala or fresh ginger in my kitchen all the time, but I just learned to keep buying those.  This also requires a bit more planning because of the long marinating time.

Makhani Chicken (Indian Butter Chicken)
Adapted from THIS RECIPE on allrecipes.com

For marinating
1 1/2 pounds of meaty chicken pieces cut into chunks(I used cut up thighs tonight)
2tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp chili powder
1/4tsp salt

1 c plain yogurt
4 large cloves of garlic
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp chili powder
2inch chunk of ginger sliced
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4tsp salt

2 tbsp melted butter
Sauce1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp ginger minced
1 tbsp garlic minced
1 serrano chile minced
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
salt to taste
1/3 c water
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1 cup heavy cream

1.  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large container with a lid.  Set it aside and put the lid on while you work on the rest of the marinade.

2.  Combine the next 7 ingredients in a blender (I used my magic bullet) and blend until smooth.  *This was the first change I made.  I used to mince everything and mix it together, but I think this is so much faster and probably gives a better flavor.  Pour the blended marinade and the melted butter over the chicken in your container and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (I usually do overnight).

3.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

4.  Pull the chicken out of the marinade and bake on a tray in the oven for 45 minutes.  Set aside the marinade.

5.  While the chicken is baking heat the butter and garam masala in a heavy bottom pot until it starts to sizzle.  Add the ginger, garlic, and chiles and saute until soft.

6.  Add the tomato sauce, chile powder, salt, water, and the rest of the marinade (+adding the marinade was the second change I made to the recipe).  Bring to a boil on medium high for at least 5 minutes (this is important to kill off the bacteria!) stirring constantly.  Cover and bring the temperature to low and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add a little more water if your sauce starts to get too thick. 

7.  Add the honey and fenugreek and take off the heat.

 8.  Add the chicken and heavy cream.  

What my chicken pieces looked like when they came out of the oven.

 

Adding in the cream.


9.  Serve with hot naan or over rice!

It sounds like a lot of work at first, but you'll get the hang of it.  It's definitely worth the work!!  I don't really know where I'd find organic butter chicken in a restaurant either!


In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  we know that you provide everything for us and are always helping us toward holiness.  Please let us be content with what you have given us while always striving to do your will.  Amen.

Yucatan Lime Soup

Today is Jon's birthday!!  I am relatively sure that this is his favorite dish in my repertoire.  The first time we had this soup (well sort of) was on our honeymoon in Mexico almost 4 years ago.  It was our second to last day there and we went on a snorkeling excursion on the island of Cozumel.  After snorkeling, our excursion included lunch.  We headed over to a quaint traditional looking Mexican restaurant (I wish I remembered the name of it) and this soup was the starter.  Well it was something like this soup.  They served it with garlic bread and it paired so well.  The flavor of the garlic bread being flooded with lime soup was fantastic.  Mmmmm.

  When we got home, I was determined to try to replicate the soup because we liked it so much.  I spent a lot of time searching on the internet for the right recipe, and this seemed like it would come the closest and taste the best.  We were also honeymooning on the Yucatan Peninsula, so with the name I thought it would be a safe bet.  At least the region was right! 

Unfortunately I really can't remember what the original tasted like anymore, but this is so good.  I think it comes pretty close.  I was a little hesitant because I didn't think a food network recipe would be authentic, but it seems like it could be.  Maybe my Mexican friends can tell me if they try it.

I'm just going to post the recipe from the website.

Yucatan Lime Soup

I didn't make any real changes to it.  Well, okay I made a few changes.  Okay, well I made 7 changes.  But they're really small changes! 

1.  I used chicken thighs, not breasts because organic chicken breasts are ridiculously expensive and I didn't want to cut up a whole chicken today.  I also let the bones simmer with everything because bones in broth are supposed to be good for you.

2.  I let everything simmer for an hour before adding the lime right before serving.  That way the lime taste is still bright and fresh.  I used the juice of 1 1/2 limes.

3.  I didn't want to buy an avocado because organic avocados are really expensive.

4.  I fried the tortilla separately while the soup was simmering.

5.  I don't ever use vegetable (soybean) oil.  I used organic canola oil to fry the tortillas.

6.  I used 4 cloves of garlic, I think I have a garlic problem. 

7.  I added another dash of cumin when the chicken was sauteeing.

Don't substitue the fresh fried tortilla for bagged tortilla chips.  The freshly fried tortilla chips make such a huge difference!



Saute the onions and cajun seasoning (Emeril's essence).



Add chicken, garlic, chiles, and tomatoes.

Saute everything for a few minutes.



Add the chicken broth!

Oh and tonight I found that if you use homemade chicken broth it tastes SOOOOO much better.  I had previously store bought boxed chicken broth and it just doesn't compare.



Add the lime juice, garnish with tortilla strips, cilantro and a slice of lime!  Yum!



Tonight's attempt was the best I've ever done so far.  I think it was the broth!  Jon said, "Wow that's really good" three times during dinner!!  Woohoo!  That spells birthday dinner success in my books.

Try it out and let me know what you think!  I love reading comments!!

Birthday man also got a mini cherry pie for dessert, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post that recipe.  It's his mom's.  I'll have to ask!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
  thank you so much for my amazing husband!  Please continue to bless him with health and holiness and help him to continue to be a wonderful husband to me and father to Clare and Mikey.  Amen.

Pesto Meatballs

This recipe came about because I wanted meatballs, and I wanted them with pasta, but I didn't want them with tomato sauce.   (I can't remember if I was pregnant when I concoted this recipe, but that sounds like a pregnant train of thought.  The fact that I can't remember also lends a compelling argument for the timing of this recipe creation.  Ha ha!)  I figured meatballs with alfredo sauce would be too weird, so by process of elimination, pesto was left!  Honestly, I was pretty skeptical that this would turn out okay because I don't think I had ever heard of a peso meatball before.  At that point I hadn't looked for a recipe on the internet.  In fact, I didn't actually look for pesto meatballs until the ones I made had already been eaten.  I did find some recipes for them, so I'm not that orginal (darn!).

So if you google pesto meatball recipe I'm sure you'll be able to find other recipes for this.  They might be better, I don't honestly know.  I do know that we like these, and I make them every other time I buy a huge container of basil. 

Pesto Meatballs

Ingredients

1lb ground beef

1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup onions minced
1/3 cup pesto sauce RECIPE HERE
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp black pepper
1tsp salt

Method
1.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.  I think it's best when you mix with your hands, but a wooden spoon should work as well.



All ready to go into the oven!



 2.  Form the meat mixture into balls.  The ones I made were probably 2 inches in diameter, maybe a bit larger. 

3.  Bake the meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until there is no more pink inside. 

Serve with pasta and more pesto sauce! 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
  please bless the father of my friend Cory.  Bring him healing and bring comfort to his family.  Amen.

BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs

Tonight's dinner was tres easy.  I made the ribs, Jon made the garlic bread and peas and corn.  I love making dinners that don't require me to think too hard and yet seem to satisfying and fool proof.  Ahh...bake and slather with BBQ sauce.  What could be easier?

I think I started mixing my own BBQ sauce in college.  Back then the ingredients included ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder and pepper.  Not too much has changed.  A few months ago a priest friend of mine who joined us for dinner quite regularly mentioned that his family used molasses in their BBQ sauce, so I gave it a whirl.  Now the BBQ sauce I make has less sodium in it because I stopped using soy sauce and only use molasses.  Did you know that Molasses (at least organic molasses) is a good source of potassium, calcium, and iron?  Cool huh?  So hey, my BBQ sauce has some vitamins in it.  Cool.

There's not much to the prep for these baby back ribs, just lots of sprinkling.  I'll be honest, I don't really know how much of any one powder I used in the process, so you'll just have to be satisfied with a "good sprinkling" as a guideline.



I almost forgot to take a picture!  I was literally about to cut into my hunk of ribs and dropped my utensils when I remembered that I was going to blog about tonight's dinner!  Sorry I didn't get a shot of the whole set of ribs!



BBQ  Baby Back Pork Ribs

(I made this up and looked up temperature and timings in the Better Homes and Gardens checkered book)

Ingredients

For the ribs:

2lbs baby back ribs (please make sure they are completely thawed when you start)
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper

For the sauce:
1/4c ketchup
2tbsp molasses (organic and unsulphured!)
1tbsp honey
2tsp spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard
1tsp brown sugar

1tbsp garlic powder

2tsp freshly cracked black pepper

salt to taste

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2.  Give the ribs a good sprinkling of the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and rub it in on both sides.



The ribs sprinkled and rubbed with the powders and salt and pepper.  If you like them spicy sprinkle them with cayenne pepper too!



3.  Bake on a rack in a roasting pan in the 350 degree oven for one hour.

4.  While the ribs are baking combine all the sauce ingredients.  Taste it!  If it tastes too much like ketchup, or too sweet add some garlic powder and a bit of salt.  If it's too salty add a bit more honey, brown sugar, or ketchup.  It's really a taste thing with bbq sauce.  If you like a spicy sauce try adding a bit of cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce.

5.  After the ribs are done baking for an hour slather them with sauce on both sides and return them to the oven for another 30 minutes.  Serve with the leftover sauce. 


See?  Super easy, very tasty, and a fraction of the cost of going out for baby back ribs.   One of these days I might try making a bbq sauce with some apple cider or some applesauce instead of honey to see what that tastes like.  Any of you have great bbq sauce making tips? 
I'd love to hear them since I'm such an amateur at this.


In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  I thank you for two healthy children and a healthy pregnancy so far.  Thank you for their little bbq sauce smeared faces.  Please help my husband and I continue to nourish these wonderful little people and to lead them closer to you.  Amen.

Whole Wheat Seed Bread

I've discovered a new favorite bread to make!  This stuff is addicting and it works so well in many contexts.  We've had it the last couple of nights as garlic bread.  It went sooooooo well with the mussels I made on Friday night and made a nice accompaniment to our pork ribs tonight.

The recipe is adapted from the Cuisinart Bread Maker Cookbook where it's entitled "Nutty Whole Wheat Bread".  I've only put seeds in it so far, so I'm just going to call it seed bread.  I don't know if I'll try adding nuts to it, I think it might change the consistency or the character of the bread too much. 

Here are the ingredients if you want to have a go at it.  It makes a great sandwich loaf and also shapes nicely for baguettes or more rustic looking loaves.

Whole Wheat Seed Bread

1 1/4c buttermilk (80-90 degrees)
1tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter (at room temp)
1 1/2 tbsp honey
4c whole wheat flour
2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
2 1/4 tsp yeast
3/4c sunflower seeds
1/4c sesame seeds

1. Place all ingredients except the seeds in the breadmaker in the order listed. Select wheat bread if you're going to make a sandwich loaf in the breadmaker, or dough cycle if you want to shape your bread.

2.When the mix in tone sounds (or after the dough has been mixed and kneaded add in the seeds). 

---------

3.  If shaping your bread, when the dough is done rising take it out of the bread machine and separate it into two equal halves.  With lightly oiled hands on an oiled board shape the two loaves.  Let them rise for 30 minutes in a warm place covered with a kitchen towel.

4.  After rising, make three 1/4 inch deep diagonal slashes on top of the loaves.

5.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Make sure the loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

I'm finally back to the blogging world with something delicious.  I haven't made this dish for a while.  Actually I suppose I've never made this dish the way I did today.  The Satay recipe I found actually uses chicken and I've made it with chicken a few times before, but tonight I thought I'd see what would happen if I used pork.

It was a really good switch.  I might not go back to chicken. 

The ingredients in this aren't too rare.  You may keep these things in your pantry on a regular basis.  The weirdest thing on here may be fish sauce (patis).  Pretty much every Filipino home will have this in the cupboard, but it might be a specialty item for the rest of you.  Have no fear, a bottle lasts a long time.  It's a good investment for many yummy recipes!

The peanut sauce in this recipe I think is especially good.  The sauce yield is pretty large, so you'll have some left over in case you want to repeat this a few days later, or serve it with some rice noodles the next day.  My toddler girl devoured her noodles in peanut sauce.  She kept talking about how much she liked peanut butter while she ate.  I wish I took a video!  Ha ha! 

I think that satay is actually supposed to be skewered and barbecqued meat, but since I don't have a real bbq and I didn't feel like pulling out the electric grill I just baked my meat in the oven.  The flavor was still great, so I'm convinced that it would be even better on a bbq.  If you ever try this recipe out on a grill, let me know how it goes. 

Oh, I also made this peanut sauce without the chile peppers to keep it kid friendly.  If you like it spicy, add them in!

Pork Satay with Homemade Peanut Sauce

(adapted from Chicken Satay with Homemade Peanut Sauce on allrecipes.com )

Ingredients

For marinade:

1lb pork country ribs cut into 1x2 inch chunks

3 cloves of garlic minced

2tsp ginger root minced

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

For sauce:

2tsp oil

1/2c onion minced

3 cloves garlic minced

1tbsp ginger root minced

1/2c peanut butter

1 can coconut milk

2tsp soy sauce

2tsp brown sugar

5tsp fish sauce

1 1/2 tbsp lime juice

Method

1.  Toss the first four ingredients in a bowl until the pork is covered in marinade.  Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour.  I marinated mine for about 3 hours.

2.  Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and stir in onions, garlic, and ginger (and chiles if you're using them).  Cook until the onions are soft and start to brown.



I don't know why the picture is like this.  You'll notice that my onions are not minced finely.  I should have read the recipe more closely.  I ended up having to puree my sauce after it was done so that there weren't huge chunks of onions in it.  To avoid having to do that you might want to just mince the onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor in the beginning.



3.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4.  Reduce the heat to low and stir in the peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.  You may need to use a whisk to blend everything together well. 

5.  Simmer gently for about 10 minutes and keep warm. 

6.  Bake your pork in the oven for 30 minutes or until no pink is left in the center (or grill on a bbq).  Serve with the warm peanut sauce over rice stick noodles!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

  A lot of friends and family are suffering from various illnesses and other concerns at the moment.  Please help comfort everyone during these trying times and help us to always remember that you are always with us through trials.  Help us to offer up our sufferings and pray for those who have no one to pray for them.  Amen. 

Steamed Penn Cove Mussels

Well hello again blog world!  I promise I haven't forgotten you.  Life just got mildly crazy for a while.  Between a puking child, my parents visiting, giving 2 workshops at a youth convention, and providing temporary child care for a good friend who had her 2nd baby, I haven't been much of a gourmet cook.
Forgive me. 
I've made things like...breaded pork chops, spaghetti, and beef pad thai (same recipe as chicken).  Nothing too exciting.  Nothing much to blog about. 

I did however get to make some AMAZING steamed mussels while my parents were visiting for the weekend.

While shopping for seafood at Central Market last week I stalked the seafood counter.  They had some Penn Cove Mussels on sale and I was having a craving for some shellfish.  I thought about getting some the week before, but I couldn't seem to find any recipes for steamed mussels that didn't involve white wine.  Since I'm preggo we don't have any wine in the house and I wasn't going to buy a whole bottle for one recipe.  I'm always a little wary of cooking with alcohol if the cooking time is short too, because I'm not sure if all the alcohol will burn off if something is only simmered for 3 or 4 minutes. 

So I started up a conversation with the lady at the seafood counter and asked her if you could cook mussels without wine.  Her eyes went wide and she said, "Well of course honey!  Just use broth!!  Of course, of course."  That was a done deal.  She admired my children and we chat for a bit while she filled a bag with Penn Cove Mussels for me, all the while assuring me that these would be the best mussels I've ever tasted.  She said, "They are the best mussels anywhere!"  Cool.  Best ever and local.  I can deal with that.

I was a bit skeptical, however, because I didn't think that any mussel could really be that different from any other mussel..... even a frozen boxed mussel from New Zealand which is all I've ever really had or cooked. 

I was wonderfully mistaken!!
If you ever get a chance to have Penn Cove Mussels, take it!  They're amazing. They're not chewy.  They taste like a cross between oysters and clams.  They're so addicting!!! 

I'll be honest, I looked at so many recipes that I have no idea what recipe I actually went off of.  But I do remember what I did, so I'll tell you.

Steamed Penn Cove Mussels

1lb Penn Cove Mussels
1/4c vegetable broth (if you don't have wine issues, use white wine)
3tbsp butter
2 large cloves of garlic minced
2tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Scrub and De-Beard your mussels.  Check out this article for some instructions on how to do that.

2.  Put your mussels and the broth into a pot, cover them and cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes until the mussels have opened.  Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and set them aside.  Discard the mussels that haven't opened. 

3.  Boil the broth on high for a minute or two.  Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic and butter. 

4.  Add the Mussels back in and add the parsley and pepper.  Stir everything until the mussels are coated in sauce.  Transfer to a serving tray and pour the rest of the sauce over the mussels. 



Not the greatest picture.  They were polished off pretty quickly, so I didn't get any other ones!



Geez, these things were so good I think I'll have to get more for this Friday.  Jon's not the hugest seafood fan and he seemed to like these well enough.

I served these as an appetizer before a large dinner, but I'd imagine that if you were having them for a main course you'd want to have about a pound per person.  I think I'll be serving these for dinner on Friday either with some foccacia bread or some garlic bread on homemade baguettes.  MMmm....

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Thank you God for new life!  Please bless our friends Steve, Josie and Lily and their new baby girl Dorothy! 

Amen.

Chile Colorado Con Carne

Tonight's post will be short.  I've spent the day dealing with a puking toddler who doesn't like to rehydrate.  Bah.....so....tired...

So I sort of revisited a new favorite.  Remember the red enchiladas?  Well I went in that direction, but we used beef tonight.  On the back of the New Mexico Chile powder packet I saw a recipe for Chile Colorado, so I did some searching online and found this recipe

Authentic Mexican Chile Colorado con Carne



Browning the beef.



After I added the pureed chiles in.  After this it was simmered for an hour and a half.



The finished product on my homemade tortillas.  Yum!



It looked easy enough and I had the right ingredients so I thought I'd try it.  Jon picked up some stew meat on his way home from work and two hours later we had an amazing dinner.  Jon agreed when I said, "It's restaurant quality good" after the first bite.  You'll have to try it and tell us if you agree. 

The only comments I'd make about the recipe are that when he says that you might have to add extra liquid, you will have to add it for sure!  I probably added another cup of water at least to make sure it didn't get too thick.  I also simmered it for about the right amount of time he specifies and the meat was nice and tender.  Good recipe! 

I think when you order Chile Colorado in restaurants it's usually served with rice and beans, but we just had it tonight with tortillas and some homemade guacamole (avocado, cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, sometimes jalapeno, whizzed together).  We're really getting attached to the red chile sauces around here. 

Try it out!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  thank you for giving us natural remedies for toddler sicknesses.  Please help my little girl get over her stomach bug quickly.  Thanks Lord!  Amen. 

Pete Repete etc...

My mom emailed this morning worried about me.  She asked if everything was okay.  Why you ask?  Because I didn't post on my blog!!  Ha ha ha!!

Last night was the Feast of All Saints Day (All Hallows, All Holies, etc)!  So we went to Mass and celebrated by having homemade pizza.  Since I've made this already and blogged about it I didn't write a post.  I was also pretty exhausted by the time we got home from Mass and put the kiddos to bed.  So sorry blogosphere, I neglected you last night.

The pizza was pretty awesome though.  I didn't get a shot until after Mass, so you don't get the full pizza effect in that photo.  I hope you'll be satisfied with a slice.

We had it with onions, artichoke hearts, spinach, sausage, mushroom, green pepper...I think that's all.  But it was fantastic.  I love putting artichoke hearts on pizza!!  You should try it if you haven't before. 

Tonight I'm making......adobo.  Ha ha!  So once again you'll be left without a blog post.  Sorry folks, I have to start repeating some things after a while or else I'll go nuts.  I'm making it with pork though, so if you're just dying for a photo of it maybe I'll post one later.  You'll have to let me know in the comments though.   

If you missed the recipe for Homemade Pizza click HERE!!

If you missed the recipe for Adobo click HERE!

Don't worry, I'm sure something exciting will beg for me to cook it soon.  Hmm....what to make for dinner tomorrow....

Today is the Feast of All Souls day where we remember all those who have gone before us.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
  we thank you for the Saints and their example of holiness in the world.  Help us to remember all our loved ones and pray for their souls on this Holy Feast of All Souls.  Amen!