chicken tikka masala

This was a great recipe for lunches from the kitchn. I did freeze several individual portions and the reheated really well. The chicken thighs did completely fall apart in the crock pot, but it was still amazing.

Serves 4 to 6

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece whole ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
Fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, to serve
Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and transfer them to a 3-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, paprika, and kosher salt until the chicken is evenly covered with spices. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices.
→ If you have the time: Marinate the chicken in 1/2 cup yogurt for up to 6 hours. Shake to remove excess yogurt before transferring to the slow cooker.
→ If you have the time: Sauté the onions and garlic in a little olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet until softened, then stir in the ginger, tomato paste, and spices until fragrant. Transfer to the slow cooker with the chicken and diced tomatoes. This will give your tikka masala more depth of flavor.

Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the heavy cream. If you prefer a thicker sauce, leave the slow cooker uncovered for the last 15 minutes. Taste and add more garam masala or salt to taste.
Serve over rice with fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top of each serving. The tikka masala can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.

 

mushroom stroganoff

This was a very simple lunch for the week from Amuse your Bouche-- made in the crockpot and served over farro.

Slow cooker mushroom stroganoff


Serves 3
500g mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
1tbsp butter
1 stock cube, made up in 600ml hot water
2tbsp tomato ketchup
3tsp paprika
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4tbsp sour cream (heaped)
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
In a large pan, melt the butter and gently cook the onion and mushroom for 5-10 minutes, until they are slightly softened and beginning to shrink in size, but are still not yet fully cooked. Transfer these to the slow cooker, and add the stock, kethcup, paprika and sliced garlic. Cook on high for 4 hours.
When cooked, stir in the sour cream and chopped parsley.
I liked my stroganoff as it was, but if you would like it to be thicker, just transfer it to a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce it slightly.
Serve with pasta or rice.

rhubarb cheesecake bars

Kory raved about this dessert recipe from Taste of Home more than he has done over anything I've made in a while. We both thought the crust was amazing and stayed incredibly crispy even after a few days in the refrigerator. Elle didn't love the topping, as she doesn't care much for rhubarb, but I think we could easily make this with strawberries instead of rhubarb and everyone would love it!


Photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING:

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING:

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup water 3 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts and vanilla. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until lightly and fluffy. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Add vanilla. Pour over the crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until center is set and edges are light brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Add rhubarb. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 5 minutes or until thickened. Cool. Pour over filling. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Editor's Note: If using frozen rhubarb, measure rhubarb while still frozen, then thaw completely. Drain in a colander, but do not press liquid out.

rhubarb bread

Back in the midwest and surrounded by rhubarb at the early summer farmer's markets, we have been making this bread recipe from Taste of Home weekly. The boys all especially love it and eat it every day for breakfast. Two loaves sadly only last them about three days!

Photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1-1/3 cups packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups finely diced rhubarb, 1/4-inch cuts
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar and oil; blend in egg, vanilla and milk. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda; add to moist ingredients. Stir in rhubarb and nuts. Transfer to two well-greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans.
2. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves.

buffalo chicken cheese balls

These buffalo chicken cheese balls from food network are not very spicy and have been a huge hit in our house.

Ingredients

1 store-bought rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup freshly sliced scallions
1 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups panko bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Have oil heated to 350 degrees F.

Pick the meat from the chicken and discard the skin. Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the hot sauce, pepper, cheese, and scallions, and toss to combine. Roll the chicken into 2-ounce balls, about the size of a golf ball.

Place the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls. Roll each ball in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs. Set aside.

When the oil is hot fry the chicken balls in batches. Cook for about 2 minutes per batch. Remove the chicken to paper towel lined plate to drain the excess oil.

Serve with blue cheese dressing.

Everyone in the family loved this simple recipe from epicurious, but Kory would prefer it with a side of marinara in the future. The thin cutlets cooked quickly and were incredibly tender.

 
 photo by Gentl & Hyers

Parmesan Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 4 small skinless, boneless chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total), pounded to 1/4" thickness
• 8 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lemon, halved

Preparation

Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl. Combine panko, Parmesan, and mustard powder in a third shallow bowl and season mixture with salt and pepper.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer to bowl with beaten egg and turn to coat. Lift from bowl, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Coat with panko mixture, pressing to adhere. DO AHEAD: Chicken can be breaded 3 months in advance. Place between pieces of freezer paper or waxed paper and freeze in resealable freezer bags. Thaw before continuing.
Heat 6 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook cutlets, adding remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pan between batches, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Serve with lemon.

 

A great recipe from Giada De Laurentiis that everyone liked well enough to make again.

Chicken Carbonara

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
1 pound spaghetti
4 cups coarsely shredded chicken (from 1 roasted chicken)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and lemon zest over, and serve.

 

Empanadas

I loved this simple recipe from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice and everyone ate the empanadas happily. Elle thought it was great fun to help make them, especially cutting the dough, which we did with a large plastic cup, and folding the empanadas. There were plenty of leftovers, which I froze and have since reheated and enjoyed all over again!

Chicken Empanadas

Ingredients  8 ounces full fat or light cream cheese 2 overflowing cups cooked shredded chicken 1/3 cup sour cream 1 + 1/2 cups fresh shredded sharp cheddar cheese 4 ounce can diced jalapenos, drained 1/2 cup corn coarse salt and fresh black pepper, to taste 1 beaten egg 1 tablespoon milk or water 4 store-bought refrigerated pie crusts. Instructions Melt the cream cheese in a microwave proof bowl until warm enough to stir about 25 - 50 seconds. Add the chicken to a large mixing bowl with the cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, jalapenos and corn. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper. In a small bowl beat the egg and milk together. Fill a separate small bowl with cold water. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them with oil. On a lightly floured work surface roll out one of the dough to about 1/8-inch thick, if necessary. Cut out 4-inch circles using a biscuit/cookie cutter or a bowl and paring knife. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling onto each circle. Use a pastry brush or your fingers to paint the edges of each circle with water then fold over and press the edges together with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate them for 20 minutes. Repeat until all the filling is used re-rolling scraps of dough if needed. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the empanadas lightly with the egg mixture and bake 14 - 17 minutes until golden brown and piping hot in the centers. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Not the healthiest of breakfast recipes from Chef This Up and Alexandra Cooks, but everyone liked it and all three kids even cooperated to bake it together! It's like a giant, moist, blueberry muffin in cake form.

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Ingredients

Serves 6-8
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (set aside 1/4 cup of this to toss with the blueberries)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk***
* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

 

A hearty soup from Taste of Home.  I've been eating this for lunch all week and loving it. I changed the recipe up a tiny bit to make it vegetarian and slightly lower fat.

Garden Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 chopped green pepper

• 1/2 chopped onion

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1 cup each diced potato, celery, cauliflower, carrot and broccoli

• 3 cups water

• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Better than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon salt

• pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups skim milk

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

• 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

• Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven, saute green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Add the vegetables, water, bouillon, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  2. Sprinkle flour over soup while stirring. Slowly stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add parsley. Just before serving, stir in cheese until melted. Yield: 6-8 servings (2 quarts).

biscuits and gravy breakfast bake

Everyone in the house loved this recipe from Lemon Sugar, but Kory thought it needed more gravy. I used TJ's canned biscuits (way yummier than grands and the like, definitely no chemical/processed taste like those have) and TJ's bavarian brats cut into small disks as the sausage. Seeing the sausage was pre-cooked, I added a little oil when browning it so that there was some fat to make the roux.

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

INGREDIENTS

1 can large, flaky biscuits

1/2 pound ground breakfast sausage

3 Tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 and 1/2 cups milk (I used original almond milk b/c that's what we had on hand)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
2. Prepare a small casserole dish (approximately 8x8) with cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Open biscuits, and cut biscuits into quarters.
4. Layer half of the quarters in prepared pan.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, prepare gravy.
7. In a heavy skillet, brown the ground breakfast sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked.
8. Sprinkle the cooked sausage with 3 Tablespoons of flour.
9. Use a wooden spoon to stir flour into sausage until completely absorbed.
10. Lower heat to medium, and cook flour/sausage mixture for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
11. Add milk, and stir to combine.
12. Add salt and black pepper.
13. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a slight boil.
14. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. (I added more black pepper)
15. If the gravy is too thick, add a bit more milk. You want the gravy to be thickened but not too thick, not "globby," it should still be slightly runny.
16. Pour gravy over the cooked biscuits.
17. Layer the remaining uncooked, quartered biscuits over the gravy.
18. Place casserole dish on a baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
19. Serve immediately.
20. Enjoy!

corn and poblano lasagna

I absolutely loved this vegetarian recipe from Marcela Valladolid. I didn't even attempt to share this one with the kids-- I think they would love the sauce (Kory did), but not the poblanos. I will definitely be making this one again for my lunches.

Corn and Poblano Lasagna

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided3 cloves garlic, minced, divided2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears), or frozen and thawed2 cups heavy cream1 teaspoon fresh thymeSalt and freshly ground black pepper1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion1 large zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise4 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1-inch strips12 (7 by 3-inch) no-boil lasagna sheets2 cups shredded Oaxaca cheese, or mozzarella

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add 2/3 of the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Mix in the corn and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and thyme. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes for the flavors to incorporate. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the zucchini and poblano strips and cook for 5 minutes for the flavors to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.

Spread about 1/4 of the corn mixture over the bottom of an 11 by 8-inch baking dish. Cover with a layer of 3 lasagna sheets. Spread 1/4 of the poblano mixture and 1/4 of the cheese over the pasta. Repeat the layering 3 more times. Cover with foil.

Bake until the pasta is cooked and tender, about 50 minutes. Remove the foil and turn up the oven temperature to broil. Broil until golden brown and bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

broccoli cheese soup

Elle and I finally tried this Cook's Illustrated recipe I have had saved for ages. We both loved it! Gage willingly eats a little of it for lunch too, which is great seeing he hates all veggies. This soup is the only GREEN broccoli cheese soup I've ever seen thanks to the added spinach. I honestly couldn't be happier with this recipe!

butter cookies

The kids wanted gingerbreadmen to decorate, but didn't want them made out of gingerbread. A good grad school friend always made butter cookies for us to decorate and I loved that they weren't as sweet as typical sugar cookies. I found this recipe on food.com and even Kory, who is not a frosted cookie fan, thought they were really good. Instead of rolling into a cylinder and cutting, I rolled them out onto a floured surface and cut with cutters. I will definitely refrigerate the dough before doing this next time as the dough was very soft and hard to work with.

World's Best Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

8 ounces unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
2. Mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once.
3. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.
4. Scrape onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times, just until the dough smooths out.
5. Turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, wrap up and refrigerate for several hours or freeze.
6. Before baking, preheat the oven to 325°F.
7. Line your baking sheets with parchment.
8. Slice the dough into slices about 1/8" thick and place them on the sheets about an inch apart (they won't be spreading very much, but they need air room around each cookie).
9. Bake until JUST beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 16-18 minutes.

baked eggplant parmesan

Kory actually found this recipe for eggplant parmesan when he signed out of his yahoo mail. He and I love it and you don't have to bread and fry the eggplant, which is even better. The kids complain about anything eggplant, but they'll forgive me someday...

Eggplant Parmesan

• 1 large, firm, shiny eggplant
• 1/4 cup olive oil + 1 teaspoon for walnut topping
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino (or parmigiano) cheese
• 3/4 cups mozzarella, shredded
• salt
• about half a jar of quality marinara sauce 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Slice the eggplant into rounds 1/2" thick, lay the eggplant onto a cooking sheet. Sprinkle salt and brush olive oil onto each side. Cook each side for 15 minutes turning once. Both sides should be nicely browned.
2. When both the sauce and the eggplant are ready prepare a pan that can accommodate the eggplant by brushing the bottom and sides with olive oil, then add a layer of sauce. Cover the sauce with one layer of eggplant then spoon some sauce over it, sprinkle one half of the mozzarella and one half of the pecorino, then add another layer of eggplant followed by the sauce and both cheeses. This recipe should only make two layers, if you come up with more, keep going until you are ready to add the topping.
3. Mix the breadcrumbs and walnuts in a small bowl with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle the topping over the final layer of eggplant and bake until browned and bubbling, about 20-25 minutes. Allow the finished dish to rest for 10 -15 minutes before serving.