Butter Chicken

We love curry in our house, and butter chicken is definitely a favourite, and not at all difficult to whip up for a weeknight dinner. (if you add all the other selections pictured on the plate, you're into a marathon cooking session with masses of dirty dishes, spatters of yellow yumminess all over your kitchen and a very happy belly at the end!) but, I am only sharing the butter chicken recipe at the moment, and it stands alone very well.

I used chicken thighs, as I feel they have more flavour, but breasts could easily be substituted (2 large ones would probably suffice). Just to note, I have also made this with leftover rotisserie or roasted chicken, deboned and chopped up, and added at the simmering stage below. Just start the recipe where you saute the onions, and you're good to go!

With any recipe, a bit of pre-prep is always a good idea, but I find with curries, there are so many spices for the layering of all that yummy flavour, having them measured out and ready to add helps alot! If you like a spicier dish, feel free to increase the cayenne! As it stands this recipe has a nice mild heat with a ton of flavour.

I will include the links at the bottom for the other recipes if you are into marathon- kitchen-destroying-but-oh-so-much-fun cooking sessions , and I promise I will also add a link when I finally get my grain free naan recipe posted as well.

Butter Chicken

8-10 skinless boneless chicken thighs
2 tbsp butter 

4 tbsp of butter, divided into 2 tbsp chunks(yes...MORE butter :) )
4 smallish cooking onions, peeled and chopped (a generous cup ish)
3 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of cumin

½ tsp cinnamon 
½ tsp of cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1 Tbsp. of grated ginger (use a kitchen rasp or fine grater)
3 garlic cloves, minced
S&p to taste

796 ml canned diced tomatoes
½ small can of tomato paste

1/2 can full fat coconut milk( approx ¾ cup)

Method:

Chop into chunks and then saute chicken thighs in 2 tbsp butter in a large cast iron pan until browned on all sides. I gave a quick grind of sea salt and black pepper while the chicken was browning. 

Remove from pan and set aside. Depending upon the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches. If your pan is crowded they will steam rather than brown. 

In the same pan, Sauté onions in 2 tbsp butter over medium heat until slightly softening and just starting to brown, approx 5 min. 

Add spices, garlic and ginger, sauté for 2-3 more minutes. 

the amount of spices included

in this recipe is CRAZY, but

oh so yummy!!

Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, stirring well to combine. 

Add the chicken back to the pan, bring to a quick boil, and then reduce to a simmer for approx 15 minutes. (if you are serving rice, this is a good time to put on a nice pot of basmati rice to accompany your butter chicken!)

Stir in the coconut milk and last 2 Tbsp. of butter and 

additional salt and pepper to taste if needed. 

sorry for the steamy picture but the 

saag paneer was cooking on the 

front burner and tried to take over 

the shot!

Warm thru and serve with hot basmati rice or naan.

Other recipe links:

This recipe includes both a recipe for the paneer, and the recipe for the delicious saag paneer pictured on the plate above. I used fresh spinach instead of the frozen suggested in the recipe, just adding it to the pan in batches and tossing with tongs as it cooks down.
http://selfreliantschool.com/make-worlds-easiest-cheese-plus-delicious-indian-recipe/

These lovely little samosa patties were divine, although we tweaked them as we all felt they needed a deeper flavour. I added a 1/2 tsp each of garam masala and coriander, and 1/4 tsp of cumin to the curry powder, and added an egg as it seemed to need some glue to form the patties.
http://theprettybee.com/2014/03/spiced-samosa-patties.html

This raita is a wonderful palate cleanser and cooler between bites of different curry dishes.
http://www.marthastewart.com/851902/cucumber-raita

prepped ingredients ready to add to the pan!

Red Curry Chicken with Butternut Squash Noodles

You sometimes have to be really adaptable when you cook. Cooking, like life, sometimes just doesn't go as planned. Ingredients mysteriously disappear, or spoil seemingly overnight. Plans change at the last minute and the meal you thought you had an hour to prepare needs to be on the table in 30 minutes flat, or you find a key ingredient that you planned to pick up after work is suddenly not available. Take tonight's dinner for instance. I had some skinless boneless thighs from a new poultry supplier at work called Blue Goose, (amazing company by the way, worth checking out, the chicken was awesome!) I was intending to use these lovely chicken thighs in a green chicken curry, to top some zucchini noodles made with my spiral slicer. But, there were no lovely little zucchinis gracing the shelves at work today in our produce department. I ran thru a bunch of alternatives, but had no inspiration until I walked by the display of beautiful organic butternut squash. If you can spiral slice a green summer squash, why not an orange winter one?? The texture seemed like it would go, but it added a new dilemma. The green curry that I had originally planned just didn't seem to match this squash, flavour wise, so my whole entire recipe had to change on the fly. The green curry became red, and the creamy coconut sauce with fresh basil suddenly became a wonderfully spicy and fresh coconut and tomato sauce. I threw in some baby organic spinach on a last minute whim, and this amazing dish was born. It is guaranteed to be a repeat, it was absolutely delicious. 

I guess the moral of the story is, don't stress it, and go with the flow. Like life, cooking is much better when you can relax and enjoy it. Be prepared for a little bit of improv, and you just might be pleasantly surprised!

Butternut squash noodles are the perfect base for a recipe like this. They added just a touch of sweetness and held up incredibly well, as well as being seriously easy to prepare. I can’t wait to see what else I can do with them!  I apologize for the lack of pictures with this post, but I promise to come back and add a picture the next time I spiral a butternut squash.

Red Curry Chicken with Butternut Squash Noodles

12 Skinless Boneless Organic Chicken Thighs (try Blue Goose)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp butter (or sub another tbsp coconut oil)

½ of a 400 ml can full fat coconut milk (shake to mix)

1 large red onion, cut in a fairly large dice.

2-4 tsp red curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen)

½ cup water

1 796 ml can diced organic tomatoes

4 cups baby spinach, lightly packed

Salt and pepper to taste

Squash Noodles:

1 medium organic butternut squash

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Salt to taste.

To prepare the squash noodles:

Cut the bulb end off the squash (the end that contains the seeds) and reserve for another use if desired. Cut the stem end off, and with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler remove all of the skin. Slice in half lengthwise, and cut into noodles on the spiral slicer, or with a mandolin.

Spread cut noodles out on a large pan with sides, like a jelly roll pan.  Drizzle with the melted coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and toss lightly to coat.

Preheat oven to 400F and set noodles aside. (do not cook yet!!)

To prepare the chicken:

In a large cast iron pan, heat the butter and coconut oil till bubbly over medium high heat. Add the chicken, Season with salt and pepper, and cook, in batches if necessary, until just nicely starting to brown, turning pieces as they cook. (They do not need to be cooked right thru at this point, almost-done is fine because they will finish cooking in the sauce at the end, and will only hang around for a wee bit before going back in.) Turn the pan down to low and leave it on the burner.  Remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board when nicely browned, and carefully but quickly cut into bite sized chunks. Place in a bowl to catch any juices, and set aside for a minute.

Your oven should be preheated by now, so throw in the squash noodles, and put a timer on for 9 minutes. If they finish before the next step is complete, just turn off the oven and leave them in, they should be done around close to the same time.

Turn your pan back up to medium high, add the diced onion, and the red curry paste. Sauté until the onion is starting to soften and brown slightly, 3-4 minutes. Add the can of diced tomatoes and the water, and stir in, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan as you go. Add the coconut milk, stir well, and add in the chunks of chicken and any accumulated juices. Stir well, bring to a boil and simmer until the chicken is cooked thru and the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, 5-6 minutes.  Add the spinach and stir in until it is wilty. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Remove the noodles from the oven, place in individual bowls and top with chicken curry mixture. It should serve 5 or 6 hungry people!

Savory BBQ Chicken

We use our BBQ a lot. It is not a seasonal cooking device in our house, it is used year round, and for much more than just grilling steaks.  (I have used it for everything from baking bread, muffins, pizza and even cookies in it, prior to my grain free days) I think of it as an outdoor oven for those hot summer days when you just can’t bear the thought of heating up the house with your oven.  It also lets you get away with less dishes to clean up, which is always a bonus in my kitchen!!

I cooked this chicken using an indirect heat method on the BBQ. Heating up the entire BBQ  and then turning off the heat below whatever you are cooking, and leaving the outside burners on ensures a nice juicy piece of chicken. Ours has 3 burners, making this method of cooking work beautifully. These cuts of chicken are typically fatty, and when combined with the marinade can cause flare ups on the BBQ.  This method creates a wonderful smoky flavoured BBQ chicken with minimal flares. ( If you don’t have a BBQ that will work for this method it would also work in the oven, I would bake it at 375F for about 45 minutes.)

Savory BBQ Chicken

¼ cup Organic Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

3 Tbsp tomato paste (**see below for a tomato paste tip)

1 tbsp coconut sugar

1 tsp grated or minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cloves

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

¾ tsp Herbamare or sea salt of choice 

4 chicken leg quarters, cut apart into drumsticks and thighs to make 8 pieces

Mix all ingredients together well. In a large bowl or zip style bag,  place  marinade and chicken pieces. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least one hour (or up to 12 hrs).

Preheat BBQ grill on high for 10-15 minutes until nice and hot.  Place chicken pieces on middle of grill, skin side down to sear for 1-2 minutes. Flip over and turn off heat underneath the chicken pieces, and turn the burners on either side down to medium. Close BBQ and let cook with the indirect heat for approx 45 minutes or until the juices run clear when the chicken is cut open. (instant read thermometer should read 165F) Serve hot!

Pictured with Grain-Free Battered Cauliflower

Marinate in Bag for at least one hour

**when using the little cans of tomato paste, I like to freeze the leftovers in 1 tbsp amounts in an ice cube tray. When frozen, remove from tray and store in a freezer bag until needed!

Moroccan Chicken and Lentil Soup

These last few days of cold spring weather have left me craving soup. Salads on a cold day just don’t seem to warm your insides the way a nice bowl of soup does.  I had a big bowl of bone broth waiting to be bagged for the freezer, so I decided to make some soup for our lunch tomorrow with some of it. These spices are used together in a rub that we love on chicken. ( I think that recipe came from one of those old smaller sized  Chatelaine type recipe magazines that you see in the grocery store check outs?) We have used it here forever, and had it on some drumsticks on the grill this past week.  I thought these warming flavours would go really well in a soup, and my intuition was bang on. The lime definitely makes it...although it is not the first thing you taste, it pulls all of the flavours together beautifully.

I added the cooked lentils at the end, they were kind of a last minute inspiration, but they seemed to compliment the Moroccan vibe going on in the soup pot. I imagine you could add them dry when you add the stock and water to the soup and cook them at the same time, as they generally take about 20 minutes to cook on their own .

You can easily convert this soup for vegetarians by using veggie broth  and leaving out the chicken.

Moroccan Chicken and Lentil Soup

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

1 ½ cups chopped carrots

2 cups purple cabbage roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp allspice

4 cups chicken bone-broth

1 cup water

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup pre-cooked chicken

1 cup pre-cooked lentils**

Sauté the onion in the coconut oil over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots, cabbage and garlic. Continue to sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the veggies are getting some nice brown colour. Stir in the cinnamon, cumin curry and allspice and sauté for another minute.  Add the chicken broth, salt and water, and the juice of the lime. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes. Add the chicken and the lentils and simmer another 8 minutes, until everything is nice and soft and fragrant.

  Serve hot!

**To cook lentils on their own, rinse 1 cup of dried lentils, pick out any debris or stones. Place in a pot with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce right away to a simmer. DO NOT ADD SALT until they are cooked! Cook  for about 20 minutes or until they are just softened. Drain any extra liquid, and use as desired.

Quinoa, Chicken and Veggie Salad with Applewood Smoked Cheddar

Adding the quinoa to this salad while it is hot melts the smoked cheddar so it becomes part of the dressing to this salad. This cheese has a strong smoky flavour, so a little goes a long way.

Quinoa Chicken and Veggie Salad with Applewood Smoked Cheddar

1 cup cooked chicken, cubed

1 carrot, shredded or grated

2 stalks celery, chopped

½ cup broccoli, chopped

¼ cup grated Applewood smoked cheddar

1 apple

½ lemon, juiced (or 2 tbsp)

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp grainy mustard

½ tsp Herbamare (or other salt)

1 cup HOT quinoa

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the chicken, carrots, celery and broccoli. Set aside.

Core and chop one apple and place in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice of ½ of a lemon over the apple and toss. Remove the apple pieces, leaving the lemon juice in the bowl. 

Toss the apple with the chicken and veggies, and again set aside.

To the lemon juice, add the olive oil, mustard and salt. Whisk well to combine.

Add cheese and the dressing to the veggie chicken mixture and toss to coat.

Add the Hot quinoa and stir well to combine.

Chill before serving.

Shepherds Chicken Mock Pie

Another oldie, it definitely deserves a place on the new blog!

I started out making shepherd’s pie one night for supper. But, I wanted to substitute mashed cauliflower for the typical potato layer. And I wanted to substitute chicken for the typical beef, being as we had leftovers from the chickens that we rotisseried on the weekend.  When all was said and done though, the chicken layer turned out more like a chicken pot pie filling. Hence the funky name. But it was very tasty. The boys said we needed to have it more often. So, I am sharing my invention, I hope you like it, I know we did!!

Shepherds Chicken Mock Pie

Ingredients:

I medium head cauliflower, chopped

½ cup cottage cheese (I like the Weston Brand pressed cottage cheese, very good ingredients!!)

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 onion, diced

½ cup carrots, diced

½ cup celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ tsp dried thyme

2 cups diced precooked chicken

1 ½ tbsp arrowroot starch

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 cup (not packed, just loose) grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Steam the cauliflower until soft, 10-12 minutes (approx!!)

Drain and puree or mash very well, you are aiming for a mashed potato consistency. Add the cottage cheese, and season with salt and pepper.  Mix well, and set aside.

In large sauté pan, sauté the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme in the coconut oil, until softened and starting to brown, 8-10 minutes(ish)

Add the diced chicken and stir to incorporate.

Sprinkle the arrowroot over the chicken/veg mixture to combine.

Add chicken stock, and stir till thickened, just a few minutes.

Divide the mixture evenly between 4 oven safe dishes (or a single 6-8 cup baking dish).

Top with the cauliflower mixture, and then top with the grated cheddar. (At this point it can be refrigerated up to a day, and baked later on, just add 15-20 minutes to the baking time below)

Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted on top. 

Chicken, Sage and Apple Sausage Patties

This is an older recipe from my Facebook recipe page, one that I almost forgot about. These were very tasty, and need to be made again I think!

Chicken, Sage and Apple Sausage Patties

2 lbs organic free range ground chicken

½ cup finely chopped onion

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and grated

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp finely chopped sage

2 tbsp finely chopped garlic chives

1 ½ tsp sea salt

½  tsp freshly ground black pepper

Coconut oil for frying 

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl until well mixed. (hands work well for this!)

Shape into 2 inch balls, and squish into patties, about ½ inch thick.

Heat coconut oil in  large skillet over medium high heat.  Cook patties in batches, 2-3 min per side, or until nicely browned and cooked thru, adding more coconut oil if needed. 

Serve hot with a side of eggs!

Cream Cheese Chicken Roll-Ups

Days off in my world almost always involve time spent in my kitchen and today was no different. I had some skinless boneless thighs that were screaming for a special recipe. Add spinach and cream cheese, and these beauties were born. This is pretty enough to serve to company, and pretty darn easy to throw together for dinner on a weeknight. I pounded my chicken (well, Jim did the actual pounding…) on a baking sheet under parchment paper. You will want it fairly thin, but evenly pounded to make rolling easy. 

Cream Cheese Chicken Roll-Ups

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs, pounded thin

1 tbsp butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups finely chopped mushroom

4 cups chopped spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup organic cream cheese

2 cups of chunky tomato sauce

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Sauté onion mushroom and garlic in pan with the butter until they start to soften and brown a bit. Add spinach, stir in, and turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add cream cheese and stir to combine.  Let cool slightly.

Divide mixture evenly between the 8 pounded chicken thighs and spread along the whole length , and roll up like you would a cinnamon roll. Place rolls carefully in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with tomato sauce, and bake, uncovered at 400F for 45 minutes or until cooked thru.  Serve along with sautéed zucchini noodles.

For Zucchini Noodles:

2 small to medium sized zucchinis

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter or coconut oil, mixed with one clove of minced garlic

Prepare your zucchini noodles while the chicken is in the oven.  I use my very cool spiral slicer to slice the zucchini. (a mandolin, or julienne peeler will make the “noodles” as well) 

Place the spiraled zucchini on a few layers of paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, and let sit for about 1/2 hour, to “sweat” (the salt helps it release excess moisture). Place a few more layers of paper towel over top and then roll up (again, like a cinnamon roll) and squeeze gently to absorb the released moisture.  Sauté the noodles in  a nice hot pan with some coconut oil or garlic butter until hot and sizzling, about 5 minutes.  Top with pan juices from the chicken, and a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan.

Chicken and Rice Soup

This is my go to recipe for Chicken soup. I posted a picture on my Facebook recipe page after making it one day, and had requests for the recipe, so I finally typed it out.  I used up some leftover chicken that was in the freezer, as well as about a cup of a leftover wild rice mix that I had frozen from a previous meal, so this went together quickly. If you don’t have any leftovers lingering in your freezer, you can always brown a skinless boneless chicken breast or 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs in some coconut oil, and then throw them in at the same time as the chicken broth, to finish cooking thru. I often cook “planned leftovers” and freeze things like rice and quinoa in 1 cup portions to throw into soups like this.

Chicken and Rice Soup

1 cup chopped onion

2 -3 cloves garlic, minced

4 stalks celery chopped (include leaves if you have them!)

2 carrots, medium dice

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried oregano

7 cups Chicken bone broth** (or good quality organic chicken stock)

1 ½ cups pre-cooked chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 cup pre-cooked rice (I used a leftover wild rice blend that I had frozen from another meal, Quinoa would also be great!)

Juice of ½ an organic lemon (around 2 tbsp)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion, garlic, celery and carrots in the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the dried herbs and continue to sauté. You want the veggies to just start to brown for the best flavour.

Add the broth, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer until veggies are just softened, about 15 minutes.

Add the pre-cooked chicken and rice. Simmer until they are warmed thru (mine were both frozen when I added them, it took about 10 minutes)

Add the lemon juice, (the secret ingredient!! Trust me on this one; it brings a subtle brightness to the soup! )

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy! 

**for a quick primer on making your own bone broth or stock, here is a post from my old blog. I leave it for much longer now though, cooking for close to 24 hrs to get the most nutrients out of the bones. 

http://9cooks.blogspot.ca/2009/10/stocking-up.html