Chicken Tikka Masala

Indian food is another type of food I learned about and became addicted to through work. My friends from work and I used to always go to this Indian restaurant where I would order the Chicken Tikka Masala. I never got a chance to eat Indian food outside of work, because my husband says "curry" doesn't always "agree" with him. So I was limited to eating Indian food while at work or at functions my good friend, Kiran, would invite me to. Kiran and her mom were kind enough to teach me this recipe, and when I had my husband try it, he became an instant fan of Indian food. Surprisingly, this dish isn't really a "curry" and was really simple to make. Thanks to my friend, I'm able to eat Indian food anytime I feel like it :) Thanks for this recipe Kiran and mom! And thanks for supplying me with some of the spices for this dish!

1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (cut into cubes)
1 small onion, chopped
3 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (more if you like it super spicy)
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garam masala
heavy cream

1) Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add onions and cumin seeds. Cook until onions start to brown. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce and salt. Cook tomatoes through.

2) Stir in chicken. Add red pepper flakes, turmeric, and paprika. Simmer until chicken is done (about 10 minutes).

3) Add garam masala and a splash of heavy cream and cook for another minute to incorporate the flavor. Serve with basmati rice and naan or rotti.

Stuffed burger

Its friday night (yay!!!) and I got home late because I had to put in an extra hour at work. Too lazy and too hot to really slave over a hot stove, so I decided to do a quick burger. Our bbq grill is totally out of commission, so I cooked this beautiful piece of work on my handy-dandy grill pan. I know this dish is probably not for the diet conscious, but once in a while we're allowed to cheat for the sake of convenience.

2 hamburger patties
shredded cheese (I used a mexican cheese blend)
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste
sliced red onion
sliced tomatoes
lettuce
avocado slices
thousand island dressing
toasted hamburger bun

1) Season the hamburger patties with salt and pepper. Place a handful of cheese on top of one patty and place butter on top of cheese. Cover the cheese and butter with the other patty. Seal the edges well so that the cheese doesn't ooze out of the meat. Grill on each side for 5-8 minutes, until cooked to your liking.

2) On the toasted bun, place lettuce, cooked hamburger, thousand island dressing, tomato, onion and avocado slices. Serve with your favorite side dish.

Crockpot Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef)

Being a working mom, a crockpot has been my best friend in the kitchen. Throw everything in the pot, set the timer on, and let it cook all day. I come home and the house smells so good with the scent of dinner in the air. The meat always comes out tender and there isn't much to clean up except the one pot. You can make breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert in a crockpot. Its awesome. I love my crockpot!

Tonight's dinner is a tribute to our favorite Cuban restaurant, Versailles. My husband's favorite dish is their shredded beef, Ropa Vieja. So when I came across a recipe on cdkitchen.com, I tried it out and it came out really good. I adjusted the recipe a bit to accomodate feeding only about 4 people. The recipe also called for green olives for garnish, which I omitted because I'm not a huge fan of it. When I first made this dish, my husband instantly LOVED it and actually said it was "heaven." lol! Needless to say, this became one of my signature potluck dishes. Literally translated, Ropa Vieja means "old clothes." Its real simple to make because you just throw everything in the crockpot. I serve this on top of a cuban rice pilaf and fried plaintains. yummy!

1 medium onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. worcestershire

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

16 oz crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 lb. skirt or flank steak

1/2 cup vegetable or beef broth

2 bay leaves

1) Combine onion, bell pepper, garlic, vinegar, worcestershire, bay leaves, cumin, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper in a bowl. Toss to coat well.

2) Place half of the mixture on the bottom of the crockpot. Place the steak on top and spoon the remaining mixture on top of the steak. Pour broth around the steak and tuck in the remaining bay leaves.

3) Cover and cook in crockpot on low for 8-10 hours, until steak is fork-tender.

4) Once cooked, remove bay leaves. Remove and shred the meat in to small pieces and return to the sauce and stir. Serve over cuban rice pilaf with a side of fried plaintains.

Paella

This is a traditional Spanish dish that made its way to the Philippines. There are different ways this dish can be made, so this is my version. Its a whole meal in one dish. The good thing about this recipe is that you can use any type of shellfish you'd like. I used shrimp and mussels for this recipe. I haven't made this in a while, so I decided to make it for my daughter to try.

2 Tbsp. oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup uncooked basmati rice

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups sliced polska kielbasa

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 lb. chicken wings, fried

1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 lb. mussels on a half shell

3 Tbsp. annato seed oil (annato seed cooked in oil until the oil changes into a red color)

1/2 cup frozen peas

1) Heat oil in a pan. Add rice. Cook until rice starts to look opaque. Add garlic and onions and cook for about a minute. Add kielbasa and bell pepper and stir until sausages start to brown. Stir in salt and cayenne pepper.

2) Add chicken broth and annato seed oil. Tuck in the chicken under the rice and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Add mussels, shrimp and peas to the mixture and cook for another 15 minutes, carefully stirring occasionally, until rice is done.

Penne with Basil and Sausage

I love using fresh basil on pasta dishes. So I ended up buying a bunch from our local Farmer's Market the other day and decided to use it for lunch today. I wanted to make something quick and easy so I wouldn't have to wash too many dishes. So I tossed a few ingredients together and came up with this dish. It only takes 6 ingredients and about half an hour.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups sliced Italian sausage

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 lb. cooked penne pasta

salt to taste

1) Heat oil in a sautee pan. Add garlic. Then add sausages. Cook until sausages are cooked through.

2) Stir in half of the chopped basil and cook for about a minute. Add the cooked pasta and cook for another minute. Add salt to taste. Toss in the remaining basil and serve.

Macaroni & Cheese

A lot of people ask me how I find time to cook our meals everyday, have time to do this blog, and take care of my toddler while going to work for 10 hours everyday. Well, it takes LOTS OF PLANNING. I'm known to be quite organized (although you may not be able to tell that by the looks of the family room right now). I plan for my meals during the weekends and prepare everything I can in advance to minimize the preparation time when I get home from work. Then, all I have left to do is put everything together, heat it up and serve it to my hungry family. This Mac & Cheese recipe is one of those dishes I prepare the night before and then throw it in the oven the next day to finish cooking. It's one of my daughter's favorites. I tell her all the time (even though she may not understand yet) that she'll never eat mac & cheese from a box as long as I have this recipe. And my brother, the picky eater, suprisingly asks for this around Thanksgiving time too. Of course this a great comfort food any time of the year.

1/2 lb. small elbow macaroni (cooked according to the package)

3 Tbsp. butter, plus more for topping

2 3/4 cup warm milk

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1) In a saucepan, melt butter. Add flour when butter begins to bubble. Whisk for 1 minute.

2) While whisking, slowly pour warm milk. Whisk constantly to eliminate lumps. Continue cooking until mixture starts to bubble. Remove from heat.

3) Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Add cheese and mix thoroughly.

4) Add cooked macaroni into cheese sauce and stir until cheese is evenly distributed. Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs. Spread small pats of butter on top of bread crumbs. Bake at 375 deg. F for 30 minutes.

Albondigas (Mexican Meatball soup)

Living in L.A. and doing what I do for a living, I get exposed to different cultures and their foods. L.A. is a mecca for Mexican foods. My friends from work and I used to eat at this Mexican buffet restaurant and we would always look forward to eating their meatball soup - Albondigas. So we each researched a recipe and this is what I came up with. I've been in a soup fix lately, especially because my daughter likes to eat soup with rice. So this is what's for dinner tonight.....

1 lb. ground beef (you can also use ground turkey or chicken)

3 Tbsp. uncooked long grain white rice

1/2 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1 egg

2 quarts chicken broth

1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup carrots, cut into small cubes
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup salsa (medium or mild)

salt to taste

1) For the meatballs: combine the first 8 ingredients and form into 1 inch balls. Refrigerate while preparing the soup.

2) In a stock pot, sautee onions, celery and carrots until onions are opaque. Add salsa and broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

3) Bring soup to a boil and carefully place meatballs into soup. Cover and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve in a bowl with a little bit of white rice.

Tinola (Filipino chicken soup)

My family consists of great cooks. Especially my Lola. Unfortunately for me, I never really watched her cook. I was 9 years old when I left the Philippines and my grandparents behind. But I took with me fond memories of how great her food tasted. I learned most of my Filipino cooking from watching my dad. From him, I learned that the essence of Filipino cooking starts from the basic sautee of chopped garlic and onions. This recipe is an example of that, which I learned from him. The traditional recipe calls for chayote, but my husband really isn't a big fan of it. So I've substituted it with potatoes instead.

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/4 cup onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch of ginger, sliced into strips

1 lb. chicken (I used drumsticks and wings)
2 medium sized russet potatoes (peeled and quartered)

8 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat oil in a stock pot. Add onions and garlic. Sautee for about a minute (make sure garlic doesn't burn). Add ginger and continue sauteeing until the onions become opaque (about a minute).

2) Add chicken and sautee until it starts to brown. Add potatoes and chicken broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken cooks through. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with steamed white rice.