Curry Chicken with Spinach

Ingredients

·  1 pound 2 ounces spinach leaves, stemmed and well washed
·  6 tablespoons vegetable oil
·  3 black cardamom pods*
·  2 bay leaves
·  1 (2-inch) piece cinnamon
·  3 to 4 green chili's, pricked with a knife
·  1 large onion, chopped
·  1 (3/4-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
·  11 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
·  3 large tomatoes, cut into quarters
·  1 pound 4 ounces chicken pieces, (drumsticks and thighs), skin removed
·  2 teaspoons ground coriander
·  1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
·  Kosher salt
·  4 tablespoons plain yogurt, stirred
·  Freshly ground black pepper
·  Basmati rice, cooked according to package instructions, to serve
 ·  *Can be found at specialty Asian markets.

· 

Directions

This is a garlicky and incredibly smooth spinach and chicken curry

Cook's Note: Instead of pureeing all of the spinach, you can add half the quantity of spinach whole and the rest as puree. Once the whole spinach has wilted in the pan, serve.
In a food processor, blend the spinach to a puree using 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to loosen the mixture, transfer the spinach to a bowl, and set aside. Clean the food  processor.
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cinnamon, and fry for 20 to 30 seconds. Add the green chili's, and onion, and continue to fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until caramelized.
Meanwhile, blend the ginger, garlic, and tomatoes to a smooth paste in the food processor.
When the onions have caramelized, add the paste, chicken pieces, coriander, and garam masala to the pan, and stir well, to combine. Season the mixture with salt, to taste, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the yogurt, stir well, and continue to simmer the mixture until the sauce has thickened and almost dried out.
Stir in the spinach puree and continue to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through. Season the mixture, with salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, then serve with rice.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel (I like the lime & cilantro, but the regular is fine)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder*
1 Tbsp chili powder*
1 Tbsp ground cumin*
1 Tbsp dried cilantro*
tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

*Instead of these spices, you could include a packet of Taco seasoning if you prefer.*
Put chopped onion, cans of beans, rotel, corn, chicken broth, water, and spices in Crockpot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred, if needed, (sometimes they'll just fall apart on their own, but sometimes they need some help). Return chicken to Crockpot, stir to combine.

To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese, (today I used the Kraft Mexican blend and it was yummy), and a dollop of sour cream, serve with more chips if you like. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks

1/2 cup flour (I used Bisquick Baking Mix) olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
1/3 cup orange marmalade
3 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (add to taste)
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3 chopped scallions

If you are using iodized or table salt, you may feel it is too salty. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt, and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the tablespoon as you would with regular salt. Adjust accordingly.

Directions: Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour/baking mix, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating. Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, salt, ginger, marmalade, scallions and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

*I thickened the sauce with a cornstarch slurry at the end.

Crock Pot Broccoli Beef

Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients
1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips*
1 cup beef consommé**
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sauce from the crock pot after being cooked
Fresh broccoli florets (as many as desired)
Hot cooked rice

Directions
1. Place beef in a crock pot.
2. In a small bowl, combine consommé, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. In a cup, stir cornstarch and sauce from the crock pot until smooth. Add to crock pot. Stir well to combine.
4. Add broccoli to the crock pot. Stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes on high (the sauce has to boil for it to thicken).
6. Serve over hot cooked rice.
 
* I bought a chuck roast and the butcher sliced it for me.

** I used cooking beef stock

This is really simple and really good. Stamp of approval from my men.

World's Easiest & Super Yummy Chocolate Mousse Recipe

This holds up in a thick layer for cake and pipes beautifully. It can be filling, frosting, piped into a brownie bite, cupcake, etc.

Ingredients

1/2 jar of Mrs. Richardson's Hot Fudge Sauce
2 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Instructions:

Mix hot fudge sauce with the whipping cream slowly and then whip until it holds a soft peak.
Add the cocoa powder and continue whipping until it holds a stiff peak.
Place into piping bag or use as needed.

 

Monster Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Chocolate Cherry Chunky Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup candied cherries **
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Batter should be stiff.

In another bowl, combine nuts, cherries, and white chocolate. Then add to batter, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

** You can make these very Christmasy. You can get green and red candied cherries and these will be very festive.