Butter Chicken

From "Indian Instant Pot Cookbook" by Urvashi Pitre

To make this vegetarian or vegan, add 1/4 cup of water or stock instead of chicken on the first cook. After dividing the sauce, add your tofu, other protein, or steamed vegetable of choice. (I've made it with chickpeas and with cauliflower and liked both.)

1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes — do not drain

5 or 6 garlic cloves, minced

1 T minced ginger

1 t ground turmeric

1 t ground cayenne pepper

1 t ground paprika

2 t Garam Masala, divided

1 t ground cumin

1 t salt

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

4 oz. butter, cubed, or 1/2 cup coconut oil (I used butter at GAW)

1/2 cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk (I used cream at GAW)

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the first nine ingredients, reserving 1 teaspoon of Garam Masala, in the InstaPot. Mix thoroughly, then place chicken on top.

Lock lid into place, select Manual, set pressure to High, and cook for 10 minutes. Allow natural release. Remove chicken and set it aside.

Blend ingredients in the pot with an immersion blender or transfer to blender or food processor and blend to smooth sauce.

Add butter, cream, remaining teaspoon of Garam Masala, and cilantro. Stir to incorporate — sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (ed: If you do a lot of Indian cooking and happen to have Amchur [mango] powder, this would be where you'd add a little pinch to brighten things up. I forgot to for GAW, but I have in the past and I like it.)

Remove half the sauce and freeze it or refrigerate for up to three days. (ed: I thought this part of the recipe was bullshit, but it really does make a TON of sauce. For GAW, I doubled the chicken but kept the sauce amount the same, and it was plenty saucy — though the extra juices from the chicken did make it a little runnier.)

Add chicken back to the sauce. If you're doing a vegetarian version, this is where you'd add your precooked protein or veg. Preheat by selecting Sauté and adjust to Less for low heat. Let the chicken heat through — break into smaller pieces if you want, but it shouldn't be shredded. Serve over basmati rice. (ed: If you can get Martin to prepare homemade naan to go with it, you should totally do that.)

That yummy kale salad from GAW

Ok I need this here because yum and then I don’t have to worry about losing the photo Cheese Pusher sent me again...

To try to type it out... with a couple of notes...

4 c kale [washed, ribbed, and torn into bite-size pieces]

4 Tbl olive oil [thats a quarter cup, people]

1/2 Tbl sesame oil

1 Tbl liquid aminos [I subbed in soy sauce after K couldn’t find this at the store]

1 Tbl rice wine vinegar 

1 Tbl lemon juice

4 tsp fresh ginger

Sprinkle salt and pepper 

To paraphrase: Prep kale. Mix rest. Rub liquid into kale. Delicious. 

Pan-Seared Scallops with Bacon and Spinach

This recipe is yummy and fancy and pretty darn quick and easy!  It's from Cooking Light May 2010 and I love serving it with crusty bread and wine as they suggest.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Bacon & Spinach

3 center-cut bacon slices
1 1/2 lbs. jumbo sea scallops (about 12)
salt & pepper [They measure; I don't & sometimes skip it.]
1 c. chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, sliced
12 oz. fresh baby spinach
4 lemon wedges (optional) [recommended!]

1.  Cook bacon in a large cast-iron [or heavy-bottomed, like All-Clad] skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. [I sometimes cut it up raw since it needs to be crumbled later anyway.]  Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 Tbl. [or more!] drippings in pan; coarsely chop and set bacon aside.  Increase heat to high.

2.  Pat scallops dry with paper towels.  Sprinkle scallops evenly with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Add scallops to drippings in pan; cook 2 1/2 min on each side or until done.  Transfer to a plate; keep warm.  Reduce heat to medium-high.  Add onion and garlic to pan; saute 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add half of spinach; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/8 tsp salt and remaining 1/8 tsp pepper.  Divide spinach mixture among 4 plates; top each serving evenly with crumbled bacon & 3 scallops.  Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 scallops & 3/4 c. spinach mixture.) Calories 323; Fat 6.5 g (sat 1.9g; mono 2.3g, poly 0.6g); Protein 45.3g; Carb 22.7g; Fiber 5g; Chol 106mg; Iron 6.8mg; Sodium 885mg; Calc 141mg

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I was reading Amalah the other day, and she mentioned one of her kids chowing down on the Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps they sometimes make... and usually gave to their kids on noodles or rice. I thought they sounded great, so I made 'em.  Now, we don't do spicy*, so I was the only one who ate the meat stuff as written, but Mr. Kluges enjoyed his plain cooked turkey wraps with a sprinkle of rice vinegar and some Chinese 5 Spice Powder, and declared them yum.  I added carrot ribbons (peel your carrot as usual, then just keep attacking it with the peeler - viola! Carrot ribbons!) to the mix both for color and the additional vegetable and would totally do so every time.  My girls decided that carrot ribbons wrapped around fresh mint leaves were da bomb, so you know, whatever.  We had these with a side of soba noodles, too. Also, these are really a hot weather food, so plan for them on a summer day, not this rainy, cold crap we're having here today.

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
(via Epicurious via Amalah)
Serves 4

1 Tbl. peanut oil [I just used olive oil.]
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 lb. lean ground turkey
1/2 c. purchased Asian peanut sauce
1 Tbl. hoisin sauce
1 Tbl. soy sauce, plus additional for dipping
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 1 1/4 c.)
1/3 c. coarsely chopped fresh mint plus 1/3 c. small mint sprigs
[optional, but yummy - 2-3 carrots turned into carrot ribbons]
12 large butter lettuce leaves [or any large lettuce leaf - maybe even cabbage???]

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey and saute until brown [but not very brown, 'cuz burnt ground turkey is dry and crunchy and yucky] and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 7 minutes.  Add peanut sauce, hoisin sauce and 1 Tbl. soy sauce; heat through. (Can be made 8 hours ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.  Reheat in microwave or skillet, adding water by tablespoonfuls to moisten if necessary, before continuing.) Stir in cucumber and chopped mint (I skipped adding this mint.). Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer turkey mixture to medium bowl.  Place mint sprigs and lettuce leaves on platter. To make wraps, spoon turkey mixture onto lettuce leaf, add a few mint sprigs (I preferred mine w/o the mint), [add optional carrot ribbons, too], fold in sides over filling, and roll up.  Pass additional soy sauce alongside wraps for dipping.


 *and by "don't do spicy," I mean I adventurously mix some medium salsa in with my mild, so you know, YOU might want to spice yours up a bit!

Italian-Style Monchong Fish

I've got a favorite guy at my local Festival Foods.  He used to be at the deli counter, but got a promotion to the meats/fish counter (maybe even asst manger?).  Anyway, I trust him.  He's recommended enough stuff to me that I like that I'm willing to take a risk on him.  (Except the pumpkin pie bread pudding, but that's a texture thing for me.)  He says it's good; I'll give it a try. Not that it's all one-sided - I've given him both the Chicken Saltimboca recipe (for which he said his wife both thanked and cursed me :) ) and the rib/beer can chicken rub. 

So, when I was in this week, I asked him if he had any new good recipes for me.  Here's what he gave me... along w 12 oz. of monchong when I said I wanted to give it a go.  You guys - it's SO good!  Penguin was all, it's ok, but not my favorite, but the other 3 of us were NOMNOMNOM! My guy gave me our approximately 12 oz as one slab, but I chopped into 4 pieces without issue.

Monchong Italian-Style
http://mantestedrecipes.com/recipe/1435/monchong-italian-style.aspx

Recipe by: DefenseEngineer

Monchong, which is generally sold pre-cut into thinnish fillets, lends itself to quick cooking, pan-frying in less than 5 minutes. The flesh remains moist and has a mild flavor acceptable even to those who don't love fish.

  Ready in 20 mins

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 4 (3-ounce) fillets Monchong
• Flour, salt and pepper for dredging fish
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons capers (optional)- my vote - NECESSARY! Yay for saltiness!
• 8 cherry tomatoes, sliced lengthwise - we had oven-dried, frozen-in-oil cherry tomatoes & they were yum in this, but in the summer I would try fresh.
• 1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil - I had a bit of leftover fresh basil from Mr. Kluges's supper last Sunday, augmented by some frozen-in-oil from our garden last year.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (Have I mentioned our fav balsamic/oil place lately?)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (Because THEY ARE AWESOME!)

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 10 mins

1. Wipe Monchong fillets with paper towel and dust each fillet lightly with flour that has been well-flavored with salt and pepper.[I rinsed my fillet well in cold water first, then patted it dry because I'm paranoid about fishy-flavor.]

2. In a bowl, toss together capers, tomatoes, parsley, basil, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Taste and add salt and pepper or additional balsamic vinegar if needed. Set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in frying pan over high heat; add Monchong fillets, allowing even space around them. Fry fillets until golden-brown.

4.Turn and sauté until golden-brown.

5.Place fillets on plates and dress each with one-quarter of the vinaigrette.

6.Serve immediately.

May's Theme - Entry to Omnivorism

Hello, all! So, what do you do when you're just starting out cooking something new. Maybe you're venturing into a new style of cooking by trying out some of the venerable Julia Child's classic recipes. Maybe you want to embark on learning how to replicate a different ethnic/cultural cuisine, like, say Indian cookery. Maybe you just haven't done much cooking & want to get your toes wet, so to speak.

Or maybe you're a vegetarian, but you are raising a couple of omnivores and want a little help with some simple/basic meat dishes. :)

So, to help a friend out, let hear some of your quick and/or easy and/or basic recipes with meat. We're not looking for those elaborate, impress-the-guests recipes this time around (but feel free to post them, or any other recipe, anytime, regardless of current theme!), but more accessible ones.

If you've got recipes/ideas that are easily accomplished as meated/meat-free (like, say, cooking up a steak, slicing it, and serving it as part of a make-your-own-fajitas buffet along with sauteed onions & peppers, cheese (dairy & non?), etc.), here's a special plea to post those! Simple ideas that you don't think warrant their own post can certainly go in the comments section here.

Thanks much, Recipeeples!!!

Cream Cheese Chutney Dip

I am ashamed to even try to call this a recipe, but it's good and fits the theme.

4-8 oz of cream cheese on a plate (spread it around if you want it to look pretty)
spoon Major Grey Mango Chutney on top (use less if you don't want it too sweet)

Spread this on crackers. I find water crackers and Wheat Thins work well. Delicious!

Ranch Crackers

2 bags small oyster crackers
1 cup vegetable oil
1 double packet Hidden Valley Ranch
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon dill weed
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes

In a doubled brown paper bag, add crackers. Mix remaining ingrediants in a small bowl. Add mix to bag. Shake for 2 minutes. Wait 2 hours. Store in an ice cream bucket or similar.

Variations: Add oregano or other herbs that you think will go well with the mix.

Herbed Soda

I first had this served to me by a lovely, grandmotherly coworker. I believe she said she got the idea from Martha Stewart, but I might be misremembering. Anyway, this recipe is available many places online, but that's not going to stop me from putting it here.

Simple Syrup Herb Soda
Basically, you make a simple syrup, which is a one-to-one ratio between sugar and water. Let's say a cup of each. Bring that to a boil, and toss in, oh, a third of a cup or so of fresh herbs that you've crushed a bit to bring out the oils. So far basil is my favorite. I've also tried lavender (a little too floral/sweet, but I think it would be awesome if you also mixed in some lemon zest) and lemon verbena (YUM!). Anyway, turn off the heat under the water, cover, and let steep for 5-10 minutes depending on how strong you want the herb flavor to be. (I usually go 10.) Chill.

To serve the sodas, put some ice in a glass, fill about 1/5 to 1/4 with the syrup, then top off with club soda. If you want to be fancy, you could garnish with a sprig of whatever herb you used.

This is a fantastically refreshing summer beverage, and there's lots of flexibility around creating it to taste.

Taco Salad Dip

This isn't really a salad, but the salad theme made me remember this. It always goes over very well at pot lucks, etc. Hope I'm remembering quantities right.

Mix together:
8 oz cream cheese
5-8 oz (small container or a bit less) sour cream
1/2 - 1 package taco seasoning (try using 1/2 the package first and add more if you think the flavor is too weak)

Place on bottom of 9" pie plate.

On top place aprox:
1 c. shredded lettuce
1/2 c shredded cheese (or to taste)
and about 1/4c-1/2 c salsa, scattered along the top.

Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Bananas brulee

The other night Puck and I were watching Iron Chef America, Battle: Figs!, and Mario Batali made a fig brulee. At the judging table, he commented sort of offhand, how it was good with bananas too.

Puck looked over with an unholy gleam in his eye (if you've met Puck, you know the one I mean), and I knew this dish would be appearing in la Casa de P&P in the near future. Sure enough, tonight he trotted out to the garage for the propane torch. Wow. Can I just say, YUM!

Bananas brulee
Peel and split a banana the long way
Sprinkle it with sugar
Torch it to golden, caramel perfection

Puck thought it would be even better with a dusting of cinnamon on the banana before the sugar was added, and I think he's right. I also think it should maybe be served with a teensy scoop of good vanilla ice cream. But for a 2-ingredient, 30-second dessert that's 90% fruit, this is phenomenal. Enjoy!

7 Layer Bars

Made these for a party last night and I was shocked at how much folks loved them. Despite being one of Wog's favorites and tasty, they are so simple, everyone back home has this recipe type of recipe. But, if you don't here you go. Super easy.

1 - 1 1/2 c crushed graham crackers (about one package of crackers out of a box)
1/2 c melted butter.

Pat this onto bottom of 9x13 pan. Will be a very thin layer, don't worry.

On top of crust put ingredients in this order
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. chopped nuts (I use walnuts, but nuts altogether are optional)
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk poured/spooned over the top. You do NOT have to evenly spread it, but try to avoid putting a lot right at the edge or the edges will be hard to get out of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 30 min.

The first bar you take out will probably crumble a bit, but after that you should be able to take them out no problem.

That OTHER easy, yummy, fancy-seeming pork recipe

The other day while menu planning, I thought, "Oh, I want to make that seems-fancy-but-isn't-hard pork chop recipe on Recipeeps! The one with the black olives and capers!" So I dutifully pulled up the "pork" tab and found Allknowingjen's Boneless Pork Chops in a Shallot-Fig Reduction Sauce. Now, the ingredients didn't quite match up with what I'd been thinking, but whatever. Put 'em on the grocery list and move on.

Then I went to make the recipe and realized that - delicious, and wonderful, and highly recommended though her wonderful dish is - I had actually been thinking about THIS recipe from my Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2002.

(But AKJ's is really, really good, and I didn't regret making it at all! You should make it, too. Or, you know, this one. *grin*)

Pork Medallions with Olive-Caper Sauce

1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbl. olive oil, divided

1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives (regular black are ok, but probably less intense)
2 Tbl. capers
2 Tbl. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces. Place each pork piece between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge pork in flour; shake off excess flour. Heat 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pork, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm. Repeat procedure wth remaining 1 1/2 tsp. oil and pork. Return pork to pan. Add wine and broth; bring to a boil. Stir in olives and capers; cook 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

Cambodian Pancakes

This is really more of a tip than a recipe, but is something I like to make every once in a while and reminds me of our wonderful trip to Cambodia.

There was a restaurant there where you could get crepes or pancakes. I would often get the pineapple pancakes (they also had banana, apple, etc).

Here's the deal.

Use any pancake batter you wish (I usually just do the Bisquick thing).

Thinly slice some banana or pineapple (If using canned pineapple you will need to thin the slices or chunks).

Poor batter onto the hot griddle.

Place the thinly sliced pineapple (or banana) on the batter and then use the existing batter on the griddle to cover the slices you just put down. You will probably also need to spoon a bit of extra batter on top of the slices.

Cook as usual.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

We made these today. They are "healthy" with no oil!! The kids love them. I would add more spice next time.

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin
4 egg whites (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)
2 Tablespoons water
Allspice---add to taste. (I did 1-2 t pumpkin pie spice and 1 t allspice could still use more)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until creamy. Fill muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 18-24 minutes.

Chicken Enchilada Ring

Chicken Enchilada Ring
We made this last night for a bowl party of just our family. (It was on our menu earlier this week but it did not get made so we made it into a party item.) My family just loved it and we will be making it again soon.

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (about 12 ounces)
¼ cup chopped pitted ripe olives
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix
2 plum tomatoes
1 lime
2/3 cup finely crushed corn tortilla chips, divided
2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1-cup salsa
1-cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop chicken and olives using food chopper; place in bowl. Add cheese, green chilies, mayonnaise and seasoning mix.

2. Seed and chop 1 tomato. Slice lime in half. Squeeze juice from one half to measure 1-teaspoon juice. Reserve remaining lime for garnish. Add chopped tomato and limejuice to chicken mixture.

3. Reserve 2 tablespoons crushed chips; add remaining chips to chicken mixture and mix well.

4. Sprinkle reserved crushed chips cupboard. Unroll crescent dough. Place dough sticky side down, onto crushed chips; press down lightly so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles; chip dies down, in a circle on round stone with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center.) Using large tablespoon scoop chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangle up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
For garnish, cup remaining tomato into 8 wedges. Cut remaining half of lime into 4 slices; cut in half. Arrange between openings of ring. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Nana's Meal in One (modified by the bad daughter-in-law)

Ajd asked for this recipe from his mom, and then asked me to make changes.  I also demanded a few of my own to make it a little heathier.  My changes are in green. 

Brown 1 pound ground beef with 1 chopped up onion.  Salt (I omit) & pepper to taste.

Combine in a large (9x13) baking dish with:

1 can french cut green beans drained (1/2 a package of frozen french cut green beans, thawed if I remember)

1 can crinkle cut carrots drained (1 generous cup frozen carrots, steamed until very tender)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (1 can 25% less sodium cream of mushroom soup)

1 can classic vegetable beef soup (I left this one alone since using frozen veggies and less sodium C0M already reduces the salt significantly)

Top with 6-8 servings worth of instant mashed potatoes and cheese 6-8 ounces. 

(We have reasonably perfected using home made mashed potatoes for this.  I steam the potatoes for mashing [2-3 pounds or so].  Mash with sour cream, salt, lots of pepper and a little cheese to hold them together)

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and it is bubbly.  Let cool slightly to setup before 

The next attempt is to make the sauce for the base entirely from scratch.  While I appreciate that it has been requested, I do love cream of mushroom soup. 

Wednesday Fun #63 - Argh! What's for supper?!

You know how it is. Sometimes, like, oh, say around the holidays, or during a busy week at work, you look at the clock, swear, then start digging in the frig and cupboard for something fast, easy, and hopefully nutritious to throw on the table.

You've got fall-backs, things you know you can usually make with what you've got on hand, but aren't "recipes" exactly. Well, I'd like you to share yours with us all. They might seem simple or no-brainers, but somebody else might be, "Oh gosh! I could TOTALLY make that tonight! Why did I never think to do that before?"

For us, it's often small pasta shapes (penne, radiatorie (sp?), etc.) with chunks of leftover chicken and/or chickpeas and/or pine nuts and/or ham along with some assorted vegetables - likely frozen peas or canned corn or oven-dried cherry tomatoes from the freezer or broccoli or quickly sauteed carrot coins. Mix it all together, throw it on a plate, top with some Parmesan and a little olive oil or the awesome porcini oil I got at The Olive Cellar, and YUM!

Occasionally at La Casa Di Huis is flour tortillas with leftover meat and/or chickpeas with cheese and some corn or other veg, and black olives as a plus with salsa for those who like. Either just rolled up as tortillas or heated up into quesadillas, these are a great way to use up ends and bits of leftovers. Plus, you know, melty cheese!

How about you? What's one of your I-can-almost-always-make-this dishes? Not that I'm hoping for inspiration for tonight or anything...

Crazy Meatballs

Crazy Meat Balls

1 16 oz sauerkraut
1 16 oz whole cranberry sauce
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 8 oz bottle chili sauce
1 ½ Cups brown sugar

Mix above ingredients well. Buy one bag of meatballs (6 lbs frozen meatballs) and put in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. (I have to use a bigger roasting pan). Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Bake meatballs at 375˚ uncovered for 1 ½ hours. (Until thick)

I will also put these in a crockpot for a party and they serve great. No one can guess what is in it but they always come back for more.

Simple Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Open Face Sandwiches

I just posted this over at Musings & Mutterings, but I just know if I want to remember how I did them, I'm going to be looking over here, so I figured I might as well double-post these. Fun, and not as time-consuming as I thought they'd be.

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Open Face Sandwiches

First, we used a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cheese. I used American slices (NOT individually wrapped!) and did three at a time. Peeling the outside edges before taking off the cutter works well.


After cutting out ALL the cheese slices, I cut out the jack-o-lantern faces. Again, keeping them together as the three-at-a-time I did before worked well, except that last one was always a little tricky to get the eyes and nose out. Still, MUCH better than one at a time!


Then it was time to cut out the bread. Unfortunately, that was one slice at a time, but it didn't go too badly. Pushing the cutter down and then wiggling the whole thing around on the cutting board for a little bit helps get through the last bit cleanly. Again, peeling off the outer edges first makes it easier.

Then I buttered the breads and we put a cheese pumpkin face on each.



Done!

(Aren't they cute?!)

(And all the leftover cheese and bread bits were used up in an egg bake for supper that night! Brilliant, if I do say so myself!)