Bombay Chicken with Red Lentils

This is another recipe that I have had saved for a long time. It's a really good chicken and lentil curry dish, and next time I make it I think I will add cauliflower in with the green beans, maybe some diced potatoes also, as I love vegetable curries.
 
 

1 1/4 cups red lentils

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp ginger

6 cups water

4 chicken breasts, cooked

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2  garlic cloves

1/2 tsp red pepper

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 cup fresh green beans

Combine the lentils, onion, jalapeno, ground cumin, turmeric, ginger and 6 cups water in a large pot. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add the cooked chicken chicken and salt.

Put a tablespoon of oil in a small pan, when very hot add the cumin seeds, when they start to sizzle add the garlic and cook for aminute or two. Add in the red pepper and immediately add into the chicken and lentils. Stir in the lemon juice, sugar, garam marsala and green beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Top with cilantro and serve.

 

Linked to: This Chic Cooks

Mango Cilantro Chicken

I found this recipe in a magazine and even though the original recipe was made with truvia sweetener, I decided to use real sugar instead. Randal actually does use truvia and likes but I prefer to use real sugar, especially for cooking.

When I first made the marinade, both Randal and I thought we would not enjoy it very much.  But after marinating all day and brushing on the sauce as it was being grilled, it turned out so good.  We loved the heated, reduced sauce - it was especially good when mixed into the rice.

2 lbs chicken (we used boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs, and we both agreed the thighs were better)

2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and roughly chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro (stems included)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp hot sauce

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 red onion, diced

2 tbsp minced ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lime, juice and zest

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Put the mangoes, cilantro, sugar, hot sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, onion, ginger, garlic, lime juice and zest and oil in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide it in half.

Place the chicken and half the mango mixture in a plastic bag and refrigeratefor 6 to 8 hours to marinate.

When ready to grill the chicken, put the other half of the mango mixture into a small saucepan with the water and simmer over low heat until thick, about 20 minutes.

Season chicken with salt and pepper, and baste with marinade while grilling chicken.  Stop basting chicken when there is about 10 minutes of cooking time left.

We served the chicken with rice that I cooked using the rest of the leftover coconut milk.

Linked to: All The Small Stuff, 33 Shades of Green, Nap Time Creations, Mandy's Recipe Box, Chef in Training, Bru crew Life, It's A Blog Party, Eat At Home

Menu Plan Monday

Monday:  Bombay chicken and lentils, jasmine rice

Tuesday:  Pork chops, stuffed tomatoes, corn spoon bread

Wednesday:  Country captain

Thursday:  Spag bol and salad

Friday:  Eating out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Grilled Pork Chops With Plum-Ginger Sauce

I have had this Rachael Ray recipe that I pulled from the magazine for quite a while now.  I used to keep recipes printed from other blogs and torn from magazines in a recipe binder, but thanks to pinterest I really don't need to do that anymore, so I am slowly working my way through the recipes in that binder and this was one of them.  We both actually really liked the plum ginger sauce and it went really well with the pork chops.

Pork chops

2 tbsp olive oil

4 plums, halved and pitted

1 red onion, thickly sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Drizzle the olive oil on the pork chops, plums and onion and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on the grill and cook, turning once, until the plums and onions are softened and just charred, 6 to 8 minutes, and the pork chops are golden-brown and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the plums and onion to a medium bowl and cover tightly with foil and let stand for 10 minutes.

Coarsely chop the plums and onions and return to the bowl. Stir in the lemon juice, ginger and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Linked to: The Southern Institute, Serendipity and Spice, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Eye Heart

Beef Bourguignon

I know it seems a little crazy to be making something that requires hours of oven cooking considering the temperature of Texas in July. I blame it on the amazing whole foods store in Austin though. We took a short trip to Austin 2 weeks ago and on the way home decided to make a quick stop at the 80,000 sq ft whole foods, and a quick stop turned into 3 hours and lunch, which is when we tried the beef bourguignon and decided we had to make it once we got home. This is so good, it's well worth the expense and the hot kitchen!
 

3 lbs beef, cut into 2 inch cubes
6 oz bacon, diced
1 lb mushrooms, quartered
1 lb carrots, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 package frozen pearl onions
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
3 cups red wine (I used Cotes du Rhone)
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic,mashed
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
 
Preheat the oven to 450
 

Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a casserole dish and set aside. Dry the beef in paper towels,  it will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned, add to the casserole dish with the meat.  Sprinkle the 2 tbsp of flour over the meat, stir together and place in the oven for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes stir the casserole and return to the oven for a further 4 minutes.  Remove the casserole and lower the oven to 325.

Add the wine and beef broth so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, thyme and pearl onions. Cover the casserole and place in the oven and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

While the meat is cooking, saute the mushrooms in butter until tender.  When the casserole is done, add the mushrooms and serve.

Linked to: Miz Helen's Country Cottage, What's Cooking, Love?, Tutus and Tea Parties, Six Sisters Stuff, Couponing and Cooking, Serendipity and Spice, Skip To My Lou, Flour Me With Love

Menu Plan Monday

Monday:  Beef bourguignon

Tuesday:  Stuffed peppers and salad

Wednesday:  Garlic lime pork chops, jasmine rice and green beans

Thursday:  Leftovers or maybe BLT's

Friday:  Eating out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Hummingbird Cupcakes

I had never heard of hummingbird cake until a lady that Randal works with made one for the office, she has now given me her recipe to try, but the recipe for these cupcakes are from Brown Eyed Baker, I thought the dried pineapple flower decorations were really cute.

Cupcakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp cinnamon
3 bananas, mashed
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
2/3 cup shredded coconut
1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a small bowl whisk together the  flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl mix together the banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar untillight and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla.  Add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.  Stir in the banana mixture.

Fill each liner 2/3 full with batter and bake for 20 minutes.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese for 5 minutes.  Add the vanilla and icing sugar and beat together for 2minutes, until smooth.

To make the dried pineapple flowers, preheat the oven to 225 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Remove the top, bottom and rind off a fresh pineapple.  Slice the pineapple into very thin rounds and place the rounds onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes, flip over the pineaplle rounds and bake for a further 30 minutes or until they are completely dry.  Place the driedpineapple rounds into muffin tins to form he flower shape and leave to cool overnight.




Linked to: Couponing and Cooking, Create With Joy, Serendipity and Spice, Tutus and Tea Parties