Chicken Tandoori

Let's wrap up our week of Indian food with this easy version of tandoori.  In traditional tandoori, the meat is marinated in yogurt and carefully selected spices and baked in a special oven.  But really, how many of us have a tandoori oven?  Okay, I think at least one of my readers has one so I hope she won't roll her eyes at this delicious knockoff of an old WW recipe.  Plus, with only FIVE ingredients you can feel like you made a gourmet meal with hardly any effort.

I used Greek yogurt to give this dish more tang and I used regular curry but those of you who like it hotter should try Madras curry, which is made with more cayenne pepper.  Also, I should have taken my own advice and pounded the chicken flat before I cooked it, so don't be like me.

We enjoyed this dish with a side of Spring-Green Saag.

Print this recipe:  Chicken Tandoori

Chicken Tandoori
makes 4 servings

1 cup plain or greek yogurt

1 tablespoon curry powder

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pounded flat)

1 large onion, cut into wedges

juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)


Mix the yogurt and curry in a container or large ziplock bag, add the chicken and coat well.  Marinate the chicken at least one hour but all day would be fine.  Remove the container from the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking to let the meat warm up.

Move the top oven rack to the second space from the top (about 5 inches from the broiler) and preheat the broiler to high heat.

Line a baking sheet with foil (you'll be glad later) and scrape the excess marinade from the chicken.  Broil the chicken for about 8 minutes (keep an eye on it).

Turn the chicken and add the onion wedges to the pan and return to broil for another 8 minutes.  Turn the onions if they start to burn. 

To serve, squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken and onions, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and slice, serve with the onions.

Spring Green Saag

Continuing on our 'Indian food' theme this week, one of my favorite veggies cooked Indian style is spinach.  If Popeye was my husband he would be thrilled at how much we have spinach at our house.  Bubba certainly doesn't mind but the Kid does....so pooey on her!

I borrowed this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie.  She has a great blog with healthy dessert recipes and once in a while, a non-dessert recipe.  This side dish was quick and delicious and to be honest, I could have eaten the entire dish it all by myself and called it dinner.  I used Greek yogurt and it gave the dish a great tangy flavor.

I served this along with Chicken Tandoori (will post Friday), and although they have very similar ingredients, the dishes complemented each other rather than copied each other.

Print this recipe:  Spring-Green Saag

Spring-Green Saag

Spring-Green Saag

serves four as a side dish

1 package frozen spinach, thawed (10-12 oz.)

1 medium onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt (or more if desired)

1/4 teaspoon dry ginger (or 1 teaspoon fresh)

1 teaspoon olive oil (or more if desired)

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup yogurt, depending on desired creaminess

Wring out the spinach in a (preferably green) dishcloth until dry.

Add onion and oil to a hot pan. Sauté 3 minutes, or until it begins to brown.

Stir in the garlic, curry, and ginger, and sauté for another minute. Then add the spinach, as well as 2 tablespoons water. Cook another minute, or until most of the water has absorbed.

Remove from heat and stir in yogurt, as well as 1/4 cup water (or non-dairy milk). You can also add a little coriander and turmeric, if desired, for more flavor.

Spring-Green Saag and Chicken Tandoori

Butter Chicken

P10 has created a monster - an Indian food monster...people at work and the waiters at Bollywood must think I'm a junkie for this stuff (they're right).  It's embarrassing when the waiter knows what you want before you even sit down.... oh yeah, but still can't do spicy... 

But, I have to realize that I can only go when I have some willpower in my pocket...because I can't resist the naan bread and will end up eating the whole thing - TAKEOUT is good for when you don't want to be tempted by other things.

This was really really really good.  And it was very creamy, rich and filling.  I served this by itself but I bet it would be great with Cauliflower Rice made with a touch of curry powder.

Please be careful going down the list of ingredients.  I accidentally put in too much garam masala (because I was going 1/2 tsp all the way down the line and oops...) and that seasoning is STRONG.   I even went to brag to my Indian co-worker about making this dish and she said 'dang we don't even use garam masala-it's too strong!'   So if you don't have any, don't feel like to you have to run out and buy some for this recipe.

TIP - tomato paste:  I hate opening a can and having so much leftover.  So, I measure it out in tablespoons and plop them on a paper plate (not touching) and put in the freezer, then when they're frozen, toss them together in a baggie and keep frozen until you need some.  No waste and tomato paste is so good in many dishes.

Butter Chicken

makes 4 servings

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp chili powder (use less if you don't like it too hot)

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garam masala

14 oz uncooked chicken, cut into cubes (2 large chicken breasts)

3 1/2 oz tomato paste

3/4 cup of cream

parsley, fresh or dried

Mix all of spices together, then the add spices to the chicken cubes, mix and set aside.  I did this all in a baggie and it was easy.

Melt the butter and fry the onion and garlic gently for 2 minutes. Add the spiced chicken and continue to fry gently for a further 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley before serving to make it pretty.

Print the recipe:  Butter Chicken

Black Bean Soup

Let's end our week of warm veggie soups with this lovely easy recipe...

This warm thick hearty soup was just perfect on a cold day.  It was really easy to make and very filling and it makes a lot.  I loved coming in the door and having dinner all set to go!

It’s a crockpot recipe but I think you could just put this together and simmer on the back of the stove all day and still have a great meal. 

Black Bean Soup

makes several servings

3 cans black beans (undrained)

1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

16 oz frozen vegetables

1 cup salsa

1 teaspoon lime juice

garlic salt

toppings: sour cream/Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, additional salsa

Empty the beans and tomatoes into the crockpot - do not rinse or drain the beans.

Mix in the vegetables and broth.

Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours, the longer it cooks the better it tastes.

Before serving, use an immersion blender (or carefully pour small batches into blender) and puree until smooth.

Stir in salsa and lime juice.  Season to taste with garlic salt.

Serve hot with toppings of your choice.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Let's continue warming ourselves up with lovely veggie soups this week.  Best of all, you can put the soup into a freezer bag, seal tightly and freeze for future use.  Just zap and sip!

Every single time I make Cream of Broccoli soup I look at it and say ‘I’m not gonna like this’ – but I always do!  I guess it’s not so purty as you’re making it but it turns out great.

So yes, you suppose correctly.  Pretty much any kind of vegetable can be made into soup, there is more or less a basic pattern to it but they all taste great.  And to make really great soup you do need some way to puree it; either with an immersion blender (also called a stick blender) or a regular blender, but the regular blender is more of a hassle.

For those of you who are a certain age group, you will be required to sing along with Dana Carvey - …choppin’ broccoleeeeeee…choppin’ broccoliiiiiii, -  during the cutting of the vegetables.

I also secretly chopped up some zucchini and threw it in with the onions because I needed to cook it soon and because the Kid doesn’t like it – what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.  Since you’re going to puree it, you could sneak all kinds of stuff in there.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

serves 4-6

1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

16 oz broccoli florets, fresh (or frozen and thawed)

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

4 cups chicken or veggie broth

1/2 cup milk or cream or half & half

2 tbsp sour cream

salt and pepper

In a large soup pot, melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook three minutes until soft, add the garlic.

While onions are cooking, roughly chop up the broccoli and throw into the pot, and sauté in the onions and butter for a few minutes.

Add the broth, cover and simmer.  For fresh broccoli, cook about 10-15 minutes and for thawed broccoli, cook about 3-5 minutes.

Stir in the milk, cheese and sour cream into the pot and puree until smooth.  If you like your soup a bit thicker, combine 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a separate dish and mix into the soup until thickened.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with a little dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese if you’d like to appear all fancy and gourmet.

1/2 cup of soup = 1 vegetable serving and 1/4 fat serving, don't you think?

Print the recipe:  Cream of Broccoli Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Is it just me or do you HATE eating salads when it's freezing outside?  Losing weight has made me cold all the time so this week, let's review some WARM COZY VEGGIE SOUPS....aaaaahhhhh that sounds so warm and filling....

This soup was so delicious that the three of us ended up eating it all in one sitting.

I have labeled this as 'easy' but the peeling and cutting up of the butternut squash was a pain.  If you are in a hurry you might want to buy it frozen, (as long as it doesn't have preservatives and stuff added to it) or find it already cut up in the produce section.

Next time I make it I might experiment with roasting it or putting it in the crockpot to soften it up.  Has anyone else tried that?

This soup would be great on all Stages of P10.

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

serves 4-6

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and diced

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock or broth

salt and freshly ground pepper

parsley for garnishing

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan and gently saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.

Add the squash and stock and stir well, bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Blend the soup with an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.   If soup is too thick, thin with more broth or add a splash of cream or milk.

Season to taste and serve hot.

We enjoyed this garnished with Parmesan cheese and toasted hulled sunflower seeds.

1/2 cup of soup = 1 veggie serving

Print this recipe:  Butternut Squash Soup

Cheesy Crust Pizza-grain free!

What better way to wrap up pizza week than with my favorite recipe for pizza - enjoy!
PS:  run to the store, grab what you need and make this for dinner tonight!

This is the best grain free pizza crust I have tried to date AND BEST OF ALL - you can hold it like a regular crust pizza and it tastes like one too.  My family could not tell the difference and for those of us craving pizza, this recipe will make you happy and satisfied.

This recipe is courtesy of Free Coconut Recipes and not only does she post the recipe, she also made a video to show how to make it which was very cool…I’m not quite that cool yet.

Here’s the link to Free Coconut Recipes' Gluten Free Pizza Crust.

http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.cfm/2010/2/1/glutenfree-pizza-crust

I have posted the same recipe below with my little tweaks, one of which is that I took the recipe and used 1 1/2 times the ingredients and that was enough to fill a large square baking sheet, which comes out to about 12 pieces of pizza, which is just right for us. 

But you could make extra dough and make personal sized pizzas if you'd like...



I was in a hurry so I just threw on sauce, cheese, cooked organic ground beef and some fresh chopped ham.  But next time I’m definitely gonna charge this up with some freshly sautéed onions and garlic and veggies.

Also – I’m going to make this crust and then slice it up to use as bread and see how that works…

Cheesy Pizza Crust-grain free

Makes 12 pieces – one large baking sheet

Crust:

3 cups (12 oz) whole milk organic mozzarella cheese, shredded

3 large organic eggs

3 tablespoons flax meal

3 tablespoons coconut flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper out for baking sheet.

Coat hands with olive oil.

Mix cheese, eggs, flax, coconut flour, and baking powder together until a sticky wet dough is formed. Spread with a spatula (or your hands) to 1/4 inch thickness on a baking sheet lined with one piece of parchment paper.

Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven. Halfway through the baking process, flip crust over by sliding it off the baking sheet with the parchment paper, placing the second piece on the sheet, and turning the crust over unto the new sheet and peeling the old paper off. Return to oven until done baking.

Remove from oven, slide off of parchment paper, and flip over again for cooling. Once crust is cooled, top with sauce, cheese, pre-cooked veggies or meats (see below). Set crust with toppings under the broiler on high for a minute or two until cheese is melted and bubbly. Slice and serve.

Toppings:

2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

12 oz pizza sauce

Choice of veggie toppings-cooked: bell peppers, onions, garlic, spinach, olives, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.

Choice of meat toppings-cooked:  ground turkey, diced chicken, diced nitrate free sausage

Fresh or dried basil

Fresh or dried oregano

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese



Sorry I started slapping on sauce before I remembered to take the picture of the crust!