First time making indian food....the best!!

So why on a post about Indian food do I have picture of my wet, sandy border collie, Khloe? Because this is the last picture my camera will ever take. She managed to run and then proceeded to stand over my camera while drenching it with water and sand...in the end destroying it. So instead of a beautiful picture of a reddish orange sauce with pieces of barbecued chicken, over a bed of rice, you get to see the destroyer lol! But onto the recipe!

I have never made or eaten Indian food, but in my fascination with London, I found that Indian is the most popular food, and even more so this dish, Chicken Tikka Masala. I quickly found a recipe and decided to mix things up one night. So tonight I mix ingredients together that I never thought would mesh-cinnamon and lemon and jalapeno anyone? But through some cooking miracle this dish came out to be one of the most delicious things I've ever made! My husband even ate 3 helpings, and put 5 stars next to it on my meal list!

Chicken Tikka Masala

courtesy of Yakuta

1 c. plain yogurt

1 T. lemon juice

2 t. ground cumin

1 t. ground cinnamon

2 t. cayenne pepper

2 t. black pepper

1 T. freshly ground ginger (I didn't have any and used 1 tsp. ground ginger)

4 t. salt

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 long skewers

1 T. butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, finally chopped (I did 1/2 large jalapeno)

2 t. ground cumin

2 t. paprika

3 t. salt, or to taste

1- 8oz can of tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped.

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons of salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat grill for high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill chicken until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.

Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and three teaspoons of salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens about 20 minutes.

Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer onto a bed of rice and garnish with fresh cilantro!

Tips: Cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces is much easier when the chicken is still partly frozen. Also if you are using wood skewers you will need more than 4, and make sure to soak them in water for atleast 15 minutes before putting your meat on them to help prevent them from burning. The only adjustment I made was 1/2 less jalapeno, because I didn't want it to be too spicy. This was actually perfect for me, but if you like some good kick feel free to put in the whole pepper.

Today is Dessert Day!

I'm trying to figure out a cute catchy name for Friday treats, but I've got to think on it some more. My plan is every Friday coming up with a dessert, be it cookies, pie, cake, ice cream creations, brownies etc. This Friday I decided to go with something classic in my house.

Every fall, and even a little before, I start thinking about these cookies. My family inhales them at a ridiculous pace, but luckily it makes a lot...like 7 dozen a lot. Now I know that sounds like a ton, and it is. Its your option whether you want to half the recipe, or go full on like I do and make the full batch. I also have sent them to the various places Nick has worked and had gallon size bags disappear in a matter of minutes. Even my friend, Jaime came down to visit and we made these and I think we ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and even snacks! Its a cake like cookie. Very fluffy and moist. The day after you make them they are actually even softer than fresh out of the oven, and they get this glossy almost sticky top. They're amazing. But keep in mind when you are storing them to not pile them together. Its best for visual sake to keep them from touching, and separate levels with parchment paper. I however don't care what they look like. I just grab a few at a time and eat. :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. of margarine or butter (either is fine. Both are moist no matter what)

3 c. sugar (no one said these were healthy)

3 eggs

5 c. of flour

2 t. of each: baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and baking powder

1 t. salt

2 c. of pumpkin

12 oz. chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)

Cream together the butter, slightly softened, sugar and eggs. Then add baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Mix. Then mix in the pumpkin. Slowly add the flour. This recipe almost fills my kitchen aid mixing bowl, but I don't have the bigger one but it gives you an idea. Then mix in chocolate chips with a large spoon.

Spoon tablespoon sized blobs of batter onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 F for 10-12 minutes

Tips: Like I stated before this makes about 7 dozen, so if you going to half the recipe just add the first egg like usual, and in a small separate dish,  beat up the second egg and then you can eye about half of the beaten egg and add it in . Also you should cover these otherwise they will harden a bit.

Something different...

I've seen this on numerous other blogs and though it might be fun to do.

What do you believe will last forever?
The love I have for my child. Faith will always continue. The urge to learn as much as we can about this world around us. My love of reading.

If you could pick anywhere in the world to vacation, where would you go?
A trip around Europe. It couldn't possibly be just one place. Rome, London, Paris, little Italian villages with real pasta...anywhere with a gorgeous sunset and smiling faces.

What would you like to add to you life?
A baby!! Over two years of trying, that's the one thing I'm truly confident about!

What makes you jealous?
The same as most people probably. People have things that you don't, but more than that people who have the things you want and take them for advantage, or don't appreciate those things. A person who is thin and gorgeous and has things come easily...and even worse having my husband look at them lol!

What did you do during your childhood summers?
Through my entire life, kid to teen, the beach was the best place to be. Cranberry Lake, Deception Pass, Moran Beach Rd, West Beach, Rocky Point, and Crescent Harbor beach. I remember riding in the car with my mom numerous times, going to rocky point with our dogs, and stopping at the little gas station to pick up drinks and snacks. I always thought that was the best, and then Beach Boys playing in the car. Then as a teen, it was riding with all my friends to the beach listening to Eminem.

If you had an extra room in your house what would you use it for?
My personal craft room of course!! To have a desk that I can spread all my stuff out on would be the best!

What were you like 10 years ago?
Naive. I thought I could rule the world. I disrespected my family, and spent too much time wrapped up in boys who wouldn't mean much to me years later. I thought I had all the answers, and that life was easy. Its easy when your a kid, its all about you, you have no bills, you have no real responsibilities other than going to school and graduating. I was a lot of talk though. Things got to me more than I would say and I really did like school, and being smart. I also enjoyed life, but I think that's because you live it a lot more carelessly. You don't really worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow is something you always figure will come.

What is you ideal comfort food?
Cookies straight from the oven, or pretzels with cheese...yeah the healthy stuff lol!

What music do you and your father have in common?
We both enjoy the classics like The Beatles, and there is some country that we agree upon like Rascal Flatts, and have even come to an understanding that the genre might not be right but the lyrics are.

Whats the most peaceful day you can remember?
I can remember this one day, back in 2007, right after Nick, my husband, had gotten home from a 7 month cruise in the middle east, and we (Isabelle, our 8 year old daughter, him, and me) drove out to this group of ponds by McNary Dam. It was the first time I had been there. I had moved here to Eastern Oregon about a year before he did, thanks to the military, and I hadn't gotten up the courage to really explore other than where the shopping was. But as we drove to this little spot right on the pond, I started to feel this sense of peace. We backed up the truck, popped open the bed, and laid blankets out all over the bed of the truck. I packed a picnic, and we all sat back there and ate our lunch. Then Nick started to fish, and Isabelle and I just laid back under the trees, and read our books together. When I'm in nature and with my family I am my happiest.

Who taught you to cook?
My mother of course!! My dad who burned peas wasn't equipped (although I have to give him credit that he did eventually learn how to cook). My mom continues to teach me new methods, recipes, and tips.  Thanks mom! Because us girls know how important cooking is to our families...traditional role or not. You always need to know how to cook. Single girls, single moms, married, or divorced, its the one skill you have to have to.

Picture Diary:

One of my favorite days, exploring McNary nature trails with my two favorite people, Nick and Isabelle.

But what I love about this picture is that their wearing their passions and interests.

Nick loves the Seahawks and football, so his shirt and hat reflect that.

Isabelle is wearing her love for dance and dogs on her shirt. I just love that.

Soup's Ready! Rolls are NOT!

So I didn't get to posting last night...maybe it was the hour it took me to make the soup, or maybe it was defeat I felt when I saw my cookie flat potato rolls that were as dense as a brownie...yes that dense. But either way I didn't post last night.

So this morning, I'm here to celebrate the soup! Yummy! I have to say every time I make this I stuff myself till I'm nauseous, and then think I'll never eat that again. Then morning comes and I make that trip into chilly kitchen, and open the fridge door and think "Yum! That soup sounds so good right now."  I've made it a few times now. Its one of those great winter/fall Sunday meals, when you don't have anything better to do then peel 6-8 baking potatoes, and spend 15 minutes cooking bacon and chopping celery. However, yesterday I decided to make it while it was cloudy and predicted to storm all day. So what happened when I started to cook?? A miracle occurred!  The sun broke through all those clouds, and made it warm sunny day at 70 degrees. But either way the soup was amazing. I'm not posting the recipe at this time since it is my Aunt's and I don't have prior permission, and she may want this to be a secret since she just opened her own restaurant in Oak Harbor, WA. But lets just say its like a loaded baked potato in soup form, and will do nothing but expand you waistline, but despite knowing that you still want to eat the entire pot.

Now my rolls were a COMPLETE flop. I'm choosing to blame it on my yeast. It don't think it was as fresh as it needed to be.  I followed the recipe exactly, and let it rise for 2 1/2 hours and still didn't get much lift, but I was determined to try to get this on the right path. So I waited and waited, and after 15 minutes LOL,  I decided to make them into rolls and hope they would rise during the next step. Nope, those things were so flat, and when they came out of the oven (I prayed some baking god would smile on me) they were flat as a cookie and as dense as a brownie. It was horrible. God love my husband, he managed to eat 3 with his soup. I, however, managed to choke down 1/2 of mine. The recipe does seem to taste like a potato roll from the store, but next time I'm using fresh yeast.  So I'll keep you updated and let you know if they rise next time. Or maybe one of you will have the baking gods smile down on you and get them to rise!

Tender Potato Rolls (Ha!)

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

2 cups of water

1 package of active dry yeast

1/4 c honey

1 T. vegetable oil

1 1/2 t. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 cups all-purpose flour

Place the potatoes in a small saucepan, and cover with the 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce, heat: cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Set aside liquid to cool to 110-115 degrees F. Mash potato (don't add butter or milk); set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the reserved cooking liquid. Add the honey, oil, salt, egg, 4 cups of flour, and mashed potato. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes. Place into a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 36 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place on a greased 15x10x1" baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees f for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Tips: A great tip from my bestie, Jaime, is to spray the tops of the rolls with cooking spray which will make them softer, the same goes for bread for a softer crust which is great for picky kids.

Also you can bake this in muffin tins and get a easy roll shape.

Finding my direction while following the directions

Finally the day has come! My husband is off on day shift, the kiddo's at school all day, and I am home alone..well as alone a person can be with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a bird...but still alone. So its gloomy and the forecast is calling for rain. So I've decided to hole up in the house today and get down to some cooking.

I'm going to make potato soup, potato rolls, and a small salad for dinner. Something to warm up my families cold, tired faces tonight. I've made the soup probably 3 times, but the rolls are a new recipe. I'm just hoping I can make them as well as the ones you buy. But each time I make something I tweak it and make it work for me, which more often than not improves them. Sort of like life.

In life I make mistakes, I say something I shouldn't have (even though sometimes I mean it), but I have to go back and tweak it. Make it all right again. Make it better than it was before. So now here I sit trying to think what direction to take this blog. I don't want it to be only recipes, but reflect the pride of making something with your own two hands, and  to show how the kitchen can be a place of sancuary, even if its part of the job (atleast for this stay at home mom).

But right now I'll take my baby steps and say that every night this month..yes all 7 nights lol..I have had dinner on the table made by me, and me only. Well no, that's a lie LOL! On Saturday night it was Isabelle's slumber party and we did happy meals. So six nights.  :) BUT I have to commend my husband, who all through our 8 and 3/4 years together has HATED doing the dishes, has been doing them every night right after dinner, while I package up the leftovers, make lunches, and clean off the table. So I give the star to him today!

So later tonight I'll post pictures and recipes, and give a review. But for now, while its quiet and I have hours before dinner,  I think an hour of I Love Lucy reruns, a cozy sofa, a cup of tea, and a snuggily border collie is calling to me. :)

Cooking Mama!

It's BBQ night :)

Yesterday I went and bought a months worth of groceries (aside from the occasional veggie and milk products), and was shocked to see the $300 bill. However, we were out of everything from flour to toliet paper! So I'm think that's not really that bad, considering the pantry, snack cupboard, fridge, and freezers (both) are stocked full. I've got over 25 recipes planned out for dinners, along with breads, desserts, and drinks. So now comes the time to cook it all.

Its been alot easier having a list on the front of the fridge, where I can skim through it and see what I want to make, then take the meat out to defrost, or start the slow cooker.

Then making lunches, for Izzy and Nick, come during dinner clean up, which saves money since Nick doesn't need to run to the snack machines, and Izzy doesn't have to buy lunch unless its something she really wants.

So tonight I decided to make my own "rice-a-roni". I hate thinking what might be in that little seasoning packet and how much salt is in there. So I made mine salt free, from a recipe I got out of a make your own spices cookbook. Then I barbequed up some chicken pineapple kabobs that were nice and light on a hot night like tonight.

Rose Manor Rice Seasoning

2 T. dried parsley

2 T. dried basil

2 T. chicken boullin granules

2 t. onion powder

3/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. dried thyme

Adjustments/Suggestions: I would use a little less basil (it was pretty strong), but you can always try it the first time and make your own changes.

Seasoned Rice Pilaf with Rose Manor Rice Seasoning

3 1/2 T. Rose Manor Rice Seasoning

1 1/2 c. uncooked long grain rice

10 pieces of spaghetti, broken into 1/2" pieces

2 1/2 c. water

1 T. butter

Brown rice and spagetti in butter, add seasoning and then water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Adjustments/Suggestions: This makes ALOT. We have a family of 3, and my husband is a 2 helping sort of guy and this still would be too much. So I'd half it unless you want to use it later in another dish or have lots of leftovers. I also used 2 T. of butter...yeah not so healthy but almost neccessary. I also used noodles they had in little packs in the hispanic foods section for 33 cents each. They were prefect. But I'm sure think spaghetti noodles work too.

Chicken Pineapple Kabobs

4 chicken breasts

1/2 c. soy sauce (low sodium is best)

2 T. sesame oil

1 can of pineapple chunks

Cut chicken into pieces. Put in plastic baggie and add soy sauce and sesame oil. Toss and put in the fridge for 20 minutes. Put chicken and pineapple on skewers and cook on the BBQ.

Adjustments/Suggestions: These were yummy and easy, and I also topped with sesame seeds right before pulling them off the BBQ.

Prep Work

Hat Rock State Park, Oregon

So with the end of the month, I'm left with a pile of recipes that I'm missing one ingredient for. I hate that! But tomorrow is a new month, and I'm going to go stock up on everything I need to complete all these recipes. So look for new blogs, and recipes soon.

School also started and I'm starting to pile things on my plate, working as a para educator substitute, signed up for PTA events, and going for a board position on the PTA, plus throwing a huge slumber party for Isabelle's 8th birthday this weekend (um where did the time go??)

But I'm still going to have my days free as of next week, since Nick goes back on day shift, and Izzy's in school all day long. Time for some good home cooking :)

Nutella-Swirled Banana Bread

Nutella-Swirled Banana Bread...is the yummiest creation so far! Sweet, but no more than all the other fruit breads. I love this, even though it was an adventure to make considering, I made two trips to the store, once for flour (I was 1/4c. short and didn't want to risk it) and then again when I cracked the last egg and saw that it was a bloody still born! (EWWWWW) So finally I got it in the oven and fought my nemisis...bread that's cooked all the way through...mine ALWAYS wants to be gooey in the middle. Its still cooling on the rack, so I'm not sure if I won that battle..but with a corner missing..I'm impatient ok..it sure tastes good! Now the recipe says a regular bread loaf pan, but mine is occupied with another creation so I doubled the recipe and cooked it in an 8x8, and had a little extra batter left..no big deal.

Nutella-Swirled Banana Bread

courtesy of http://www.recipegirl.com/

2 cups all-purposed flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 c. mashed ripe banana

1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. nutella

Preheat the own to 350 degrees F. Spray 8x4 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In mixer, beat sugar and butter at medium speed until well blended.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended.

Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until flour is incorporated (don't over mix).

Spoon Nutella into a medium dish and soften in the microwave about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter into the Nutella and stir until blended.

Spoon unblended banana bread batter alternately with the nutella bread batter into prepared bread pan.

Swirl batters together with knife.

Bake 60-70 minute, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check the oven at 45 minutes to check the top of the bread for browning. If its browning too quickly, cover lightly with foil for the remainder of the baking. Cool for atleast 15 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cook.

So this sunny, summer afternoon, I'm busy thinking about all the foods I'd like to make. My recipe pile is growing, and so is my drive to cook more and more things myself. So I thought I'd make a list.

1. Peanut butter-this is extremely dangerous considering that I LOVE peanut butter, and especially with apples which are coming into season.

2. Applesauce- going to go fast in this house!

3. Pears (canned)- Pears are my daughter's absolute favorite fruit so she will benefit from this the most.

4. Bread- I'd really like to make a nice healthy bread like once a week..maybe sundays..for Isabelle to use for sandwiches in her lunch box, or healthy toast in the morning. Plus I'm sure Nick and I will gobble it down right away too.

5. Chorizo sausage- my husband loves this, and I just found a recipe to do it without having to mess with casings and gross things like that. I may like to cook, but I have a thing about touching meat..I just can't do it.

6. A million and one new recipes for dinner and cookies lol!! Seriously the stack is so high now I think I'll be set for months!

Everything seems to be going well. Not only is my pantry stocked, but with all the home cooking I'm doing the fridge is full of yummy leftovers. So when I have a night (like last night) where it was just me and Isabelle, and I didn't really want to cook, we still had a hot homemade meal made of leftovers. Plus is was way better than a big mac and the roll that would put around my waist! lol! This isn't so hard. Just keeping in mind that my mom did it, and my grandmothers and so on..and there for I should be happy we're not so far back that I'm growing the wheat and grinding it, and making butter with my churn LOL!

Introductions are due!

As I looked back at my blog I thought..what if someone actually sees this that's not related to me lol! They'd never know anything about me. First I'm a mother of one..yep..one..a 7 year old daughter. Then there is my other half..a correctional officer with a huge appetite. We've been together almost 9 years and will continue to be forever...that is as long as he continues to pick up his socks! (Hear that honey!) I love photography, although my budget prevents me from getting the $600 camera I dream about..so I make do with the one I have. And since I have a billion and one photos, I have to do something with them..so I scrapbook. Maybe I'll even post some of my projects...who knows.

This year my daughter is going to be in school full time. I've been a stay at home mom since the moment she was born. So where does an empty house leave me? With A LOT of empty time. So I'm going to use my time to devote myself to home cooking, cooking almost everything from scratch, trying endless new recipes, and learning to can veggies, fruits and sauces. But even to top that..and less to be blogged about because who really wants to read about cleaning..is my goal of keeping this house as clean as possible. Until recently it has been an uphill battle, but now that my toilet is free of tiny, Dora the Explorer potty seats, bath crayons scribblings on the bathtub, tile floor and even bathroom mirror, so now I might have a shot.

Then this fall I'll be tending to my flower beds...learning to plant bulbs, prepping the vegetable garden for the future planting season, and planning out all my veggies for next spring. I plan to cook, can, preserve, and EAT as many as possible. 

But I have to say, I used to not care about canning, or growing my own produce. But in the last year, with food recalls, and skyrocketing food prices, too much sugar and salt, and growing waistlines, I decided that fresher, local and prepared by my own hands is the better route. Canning is no longer for grandma's, great grandma's, hicks making moonshine, or the poor....even this month's Better Homes and Gardens acknowledges that. They say the same thing as me..time for fresh and tasty!