I Love New Gadgets!

 Hello again!

My sister in-law got us this amazing Le Creuset Dutch Oven for our wedding, and I was so, so excited to use it, I just didn't know what for. I spent quite some time looking online for recipes specifically for my new gadget, but alas, I couldn't find anything that sounded tasty.

Then I started thinking about food we like to eat out, and stuff we haven't had in a while. A bell went off. Indian food!! There's a great place in Ft. Lauderdale called Royal India that we just love, but hate how far away it is. My wonderful husband loves their tandoori chicken and rice, while I am in love with their lamb curry and naan bread. On several occasions, I have literally licked the bowl of lamb curry clean with pieces of naan bread. It's that good.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it now.

While I know I'll never cook as well as the folks at Royal India do, I was craving their food nonetheless. I peeked into my cupboards and in my fridge, and then just started whipping things together. I'm actually kind of proud of the end result, and look forward to tweaking this recip in the future so that it's more authentic. Possibly incorporate different meats and add-ons.

Mehgan's Curried Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes -

Ingredients:

-2tsbp olive oil
-1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
-2 to 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
-1 small white onion, diced

-1/2 bag of baby carrots, cut into thirds

-1 can of chicken broth

-1 bay leaf

-3 to 4 cloves of garlic

-1/2 cup plain yogurt

-1tbsp tomato paste

-1tbsp curry powder

-1tsp chili powder

-1tsp ground cumin

-1tsp garam masala

-1tsp salt

-1/2tsp cinnamon

-1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions: In a blender, place the 1/2 can of the chicken broth (reserve the rest for later), bay leaf, garlic, yogurt, tomato paste, curry powder, chili powder, cumin, garam masala, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pulse until blended well, then set aside. Warm a large skillet or dutch oven over low to medium heat, adding the olive oil, potatoes, onion, carrots and the other 1/2 can of chicken broth. Cook with the lid on until the potatoes and carrots begin to get soft. Once they're nearly fork-tender, add the chicken and blended curry sauce. Replace the lid, reduce heat to low and continue to cook for about a half hour. If it looks a little too watery, let cook down with the lid off for an additional twenty minutes or so. Serve over jasmine or basmati rice, with naan bread as an added bonus.

My thoughts: I was fresh out of jasmine rice, so I decided to make my curry with couscous. My husband calls it "ghetto rice" haha, but he still likes it, and probably prefers it over rice anyway. I love the different spices in this dish, and everything combines really well. I think next time, I'll add some peas, just to get in more veggies, and possibly double the recipe since the leftovers didn't last very long in our house!

~Mehgan

I can't believe this is good for me...

Hello ladies and gentlemen! My apologies for the long delay in posting; I just have not had the motivation to try anything new. However, I did try a new recipe recently that I absolutely fell in love with. Not only because it's super-duper easy, but also because it's delicious.

A friend of mine recommended this Chicken Pot Pie recipe from Weight Watchers, and I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. "Diet food" just never sounds very appealing to me. I was at the grocery store, and decided on a whim to pick up the ingredients to make this, and I am so, so glad I did.

Weight Watchers Chicken Pot Pie -

 

Ingredients:

-2 servings butter-flavor spray

-1 tsp butter

-1 small onion, chopped

-2 cups mushrooms, sliced (optional)

-1/4 tsp paprika

-1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed

-1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

-1 cup canned chicken broth

-3 cups roasted chicken breast, chopped

-2 tbsp all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk, divided

-4 rolls reduced-fat crescent roll dough, unrolled

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a 10-inch round (I used square since that's what I have at home haha) shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Coat large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushroom and cook until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, sald and pepper. Add frozen vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk, stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Spoon chicken mixture into prepared dish. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edge of baking dish to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

My thoughts: YUM! I rarely eat second helpings of anything, but this I couldn't resist. The only thing I might change if I make this again is I think I'll add more herbs (parsley, rosemary, bay leaves and possibly Herbs de Provence). And it would be so easy to double this recipe into a 13 x 9 inch pan if you need to make more than 6 servings. Two thumbs up!

~Mehgan

Welcome To September

Hello there, everyone! I'm very happy to welcome you to MY month, yes that's right, September is my month! My birthday is this month, and I am a true September baby to the bone. As well, I did some modeling in the past and got chosen to be Miss September for our promotional calendar, so right now our calendar in the kitchen is showing my bright shiny face. And one last thing, I also got married in September, so this month holds a special place in my heart. So, in order to ring in the new month in a big way, I decided to make a dish that I've never tried before (never cooked it, let alone eaten it anywhere), yet I've been wanting to make for a long time.

I've been eyeing different variations of tagines since I saw an episode of "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" back in June when he made a trip to Morocco. I had a tough decision to make: should I make it vegetarian (which is how I've been eating lately) or should I make it the traditional way with lamb? I decided to make it the traditional way, even though it almost made me pass out when I had to slice the meat off the lamb shanks last night!! It was worth the effort, though, because the result came out delicious! The lamb was tender and flavorful, thanks to marinading it in the olive oil and spices overnight, and the rest of the dish just came together so beautifully. Besides ommitting the meat, there's not a thing I would change about this recipe.

I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com (one of my favorite places I turn to for new recipes) and only had to tweak a few things here and there due to availability to products here in Kodiak. So, without further ado, here we go!

Lamb Tagine (adapted from Allrecipes.com):

Ingredients:
-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
-2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
-2 teaspoons paprika
-1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-1 pinch saffron
-3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
-2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
-1 package baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
-3 cloves garlic, minced (I used some already minced garlic from a jar)
-1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I ommitted this)
-1 lemon, zested
-1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
-1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste (I instead used a small can of tomato sauce, to create a more saucier dish)
-1 tablespoon honey
-1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
-1 tablespoon water (optional)

Instructions:
Place diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss around to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. This is VERY important so that the lamb becomes nice and tender and infused with the spices.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste/sauce, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.
If the consistency of the tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water during the last 5 minutes. (I didn't need this last step, it thickened up just fine on its own).

I served this with some herbed pine nut couscous, and it was dangerously delicious!! My husband and I actually ended up arguing over who got to bring the leftovers to work tomorrow for lunch! (He ended up winning, for the record).

It is my pleasure to welcome you to My Month-September, and hope you enjoy your stay with me this month, because there is plenty more to come, my friends!!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~