No-butter Butter Chicken

This recipe was featured on the Tasty Kitchen blog and it looked delicious. The recipe is called Butter Chicken, but I cleaned the recipe up so it's much healthier. Instead of the 1/4 cup of butter, I used a couple tablespoons of olive oil. I eliminated the heavy cream at the end and I thought it still tasted wonderful. Cream sauces do taste good, but they're super high in fat. I also didn't use the cilantro because Jason's not a fan of it. Jason and I both enjoyed it very much. The recipe is nice and spicy, so if you don't like it spicy, cut down on the cayenne (I almost added more because recipes aren't usually very spicy at all). Here's the pic of the finished product served on top of brown rice along with some steamed veggies from our garden:

 

What's great about this recipe is that it's so easy. You marinate the chicken overnight, then all you have to do the next day is saute onions, add chicken, add tomatoes and sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. Easy peasy! Here's the link to the recipe one more time: Butter Chicken. 

PS If you go to the store and find that Cardamom is spendy, go to one of the HEB's that sell spices in bulk. I paid a fraction of the cost for it that way.

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Random Things and Thoughts

• A few days ago I made Chicken Chile Verde. It turned out really good and looks just like the picture in the link. I decided to make brown rice to go with it and burned rice for the first time EVER. At least it was only the bottom layer. I had so many pots going on the stove that I had forgotten to turn the rice down and I cooked it on high the entire 40 minutes. It smelled a little like slightly burned popcorn. We had peas and corn with it which is what Jason chose as the veggie. Kind of a strange combination, don't you think?
• I did much better in BodyAttack this week. By better, I mean that I kept up for the most part. There's still one turning move that I just can't quite master. I even did pushups! Yes, they count even if they're done on my knees. 
• We bought paint for the kitchen. Hooray! Now to figure out when to actually START the project.....
• It's freaking cold today. What's up with this weather? If it's going to be this miserable, we should at least get some snow. Just saying....
• Rented A Night At The Museam: Battle of the Smithsonian and it was so-so. It felt like the writers just threw a script together for the heck of it. I'd save your pennies and see something else. Although Hank Azaria's character was pretty funny.
• Believe it or not, Jason & I are going to two parties in the next two days. We're coming out of our hermit crap shell just a little bit at a time.
• Finally discovered the local library. I've forgotten my love for books. It's been over a decade since I've been to a library other than a college library. Awesome.
• Made my stuffed peppers tonight using quinoa instead of brown rice. Jason & I agreed that it was a good substitute worth making again.
• Other than the gym, I've pretty much spent all day upstairs in the loft watching tv, reading and catching up on blogs. I live an exciting life, yo.
• We don't really have any Valentine's Day plans. It's a little late to make reservations anywhere and we're trying to be recessionistas right now anyway. :)
• I really like bullets. A lot.

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Greek Bulgur Salad With Chicken

This turned out to be such a yummy summer recipe, found online at Cooking Light. It makes a TON and can be used as a stand-alone dish or as a side dish. I think it's even better the next day after all the flavors had melded together. If you've never tried bulgur (and I hadn't), it's kind of like a larger-grained couscous.


Greek Bulgur Salad With Chicken
*makes 10 servings at 1 2/3 cup a piece

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups water
3 cups uncooked bulgur
3/4 fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons), divided
2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 1/2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken (I used 2 baked chicken breasts)
2 1/2 cups chopped, peeled cucumber
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese (or as much as you darn well please!)
1/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
10 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (or as much as you darn well please!)

Preparation
Combine water, bulgar, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Uncover and cool to room temperature.

Combine remaining 1/4 juice, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Add cooled bulgur mixture; toss well to combine. Cover and chill.

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Dad will be so proud!

I remember when my parents got a wok to try out some Chinese cooking. Specifically, I remember when Dad went wok-crazy! I swear we had stir-fry at least 4 nights a week for months. (Maybe I'm exaggerating a little here.) But, I do remember that whatever was left in our fridge went into the wok. Everything. As I have previously posted, I was a really picky eater so you can imagine the piles of stuff that was left on my plate. I probably only ate the meat. Anyway, memories of our stir-fry days came back last night when I decided to make some stir-fry myself. Since I'm a much better eater, I didn't have to be as picky about the ingredients. All I did was marinate some chicken in a little olive oil, ginger root, low-sodium soy sauce and garlic for an hour. Then, I threw the chicken, a little garlic, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and green onions in my pan (sadly, I have no wok......hint, hint) and stir-fried away! The result was this yummy concoction:

So then, we needed some nice brown rice. I popped some in the microwave for 90 seconds and walked away. All of a sudden, there was a loud POP! Jason & I found ourselves on the ground ducking for cover from a drive-by! As we picked ourselves up off the floor, we discover that I just didn't read directions. There's a reason that you are supposed to vent the rice:

If you don't vent your rice, it explodes in your microwave!!! Luckily, I had a spare package of rice to save us and we were able to enjoy our yummy dinner together. Here's to you Dad for inspiring me to stir-fry on my own!

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