Feeling a little foreign

So I have seriously been craving some Indian food! For the first time I decided to try to make some from scratch.

 On the Menu

Curried Coconut Chicken, Coconut Rice and Lemony Spiced Chai Iced Tea

Recipe for Curried Coconut Chicken:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/3 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut milk
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 5 minute more. Add tomatoes cook 5 minutes. Stir in chicken, cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Pour coconut milk and tomato sauce into the pan, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low-medium, simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
   (OR you could follow steps 1 and 2 then throw everything into a crock pot on high heat.)
   ** if your sauce is too thin mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and add to pan stir to combine, and cook until sauce thickens

Recipe for Coconut Rice:

• 1 cup sweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all in medium sauce pan. Bring to boil. 
2. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 18-20 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork.

Recipe for Lemony Spiced Chai Iced Tea

• 4 lipton family sized tea bags
• 1 lemon flavored tea bag
• 1 spiced chai black tea bag
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (or to taste)

1. Bring about 4 to 5 cups of water to boil. Remove from heat
2. Add all tea bags. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Pour into large pitcher. Add sugar and stir. 
4. Fill pitcher with water until desired strength is reached.
5. Pour over ice. Garnish with a slice of fresh lemon.

✌

Lunch Time

Some days I just can't find anything that I want to eat, or I can't find anything to make so I end p throwing whatever I can find together and hope that it comes out good. Well, I've been a food shortage lately so I've been a little experimental. Yesterday I found some frozen spinach and a can of artichoke hearts, and thought "I'll make some sort of stuffed chicken" So I proceeded to find what else I cold throw in the mix. I thawed and squeezed the spinach and mixed in about 3 or for small cloves of minced garlic, about a cup of shredded Monterrey jack cheese and about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. With the artichoke hearts I cut off the meaty part diced it and mixed it in with the spinach mix. With the leafy part of the hearts I chopped them and drained them on some paper towels. Then I mixed the chopped and dried artichokes with about a half cup of mayo and a half cup of sour cream 3 small cloves of minced garlic salt and pepper. So then I took my chicken breast cut a pocket into it and stuffed it with the spinach mixture. The I coated it with the artichoke mixture and then rolled it in Italian bread crumbs. Bake it in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes. It was delicious.


I ended up having some of both the spinach and artichoke mixtures left over so today I was at it agian. I thawed out some more chicken to start (cause I figured I can always throw chicken in whatever I make) Then put my creative cooking brain to work. I had some cheese raviolis in the freezer so I thought why not make some sort of sauce. I started with a basic white sauce(butter, flour and milk) Added about 3/4 cup of Monterrey jack cheese, some salt, pepper, little garlic powder and about a 1/4 cup of mild cheedar cheese. Then I thought what the heck am I going to do with the rest of the stuff from yesterday. DUH! I added the leftover mixtures from yesterday to the sauce and more milk. Turn out to be a creamy cheesy spinach artichoke sauce. Not Bad. I poured that over the ravioli and the sliced up the chicken seasoned it with salt pepper and lemon pepper. Browned it in a pan and threw that on top on the whole dish. It was surprisingly divine!