Butter Paneer Masala

First, I'd just like to start off by saying...

I LOVE PEPPERPLATE!!!

PepperPlate is an app/website that you can use with tablets, such as the iPad.  I've been going through and typing my recipes into the website and it automatically uploads it to the free iPad app!  Aaaa-mazing!

ANYWAY!  Back to my recipe.  I made an Indian dish that was absolutely delish.  Paneer is a homemade cheese that is going to be very similar to cottage cheese in texture.  It's super easy to make and it sounds kind of gross when you read the recipe.  I didn't make my own paneer, I bought it from the Asian/American store on Main here in Fargo.  If you'd like a recipe for paneer, here you go! :)

I served it with some saffron rice.  I just put a couple of threads in with the rice and water when I was steaming it along with a splash of lemon juice.

• 1/2 lb. paneer (cubed) ****You're going to need to fry the paneer - if you're purchasing the paneer from the market you can buy fried paneer
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 green chili
• 1/4 inch piece ginger
• 1/2 cup green peas (optional)
• 1/2 cup yogurt, whipped
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Pinch of asafetida (hing)  ****This stuff STINKS!!  Like, bad.  I have it double bagged and then sealed in a Tupperware container in the cupboard.  It would stink up the place if I didn't.  That being said, you don't HAVE to purchase it, but even though it's stinky, the flavor is nice when added in small amounts.
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch)
• 2 bay leaves (tajpat)
• 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (Green coriander)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

1. Deep-fry the paneer on low-medium heat until the paneer has a little golden- brown color. Set aside.
2. Blend tomatoes, green chilly and ginger to make a puree.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
4. Add hing and cumin seeds.
5. After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder and bay leaves. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
6. Tomato mixture will start to leave the oil and will reduce to about half in quantity.
7. Add the whipped yogurt into the gravy. Stir occasionally for about 3 minutes on medium heat.
8. To thicken the gravy, dissolve the cornstarch in 1-2 tablespoons of water and add to the gravy.
9. Add the green peas and paneer. Let it cook for a few minutes until the peas are tender.
10. Add the garam masala and cilantro. Add a little sugar if the gravy is sour.

[Variations]
You can substitute the yogurt with heavy cream for a richer flavor.
1 tablespoon of fresh or dried methi leaves (Fenugreek leaves) can be added at the end.
Add in the yogurt powder of 4 to 5 cashews to make it creamier.
This gravy can be used in any combination of vegetables you desire.
This recipe is only a method – feel free to be creative and experiment!

Let's see if it works... Engagement Chicken

Quite some time ago I saw something on TV about how Howard Stern's wife, Beth Ostrosky Stern, had made a recipe she got out of Glamour magazine called "Engagement Chicken."  It was actually quite a funny story because on his show he was ranting and raving about how amazing this meal she made was.  Soon after listener called in and was asking some details about the meal.  She told Howard that the recipe was in an article in Glamour and the recipe was called Engagement Chicken because it's said that whenever a woman makes it for her partner, he ends up proposing.  Long story short, he was pretty much shocked and he called Beth while he was on the air and was all "Engagement Chicken, huh?"

Here's the links for the show:
Part One    and    Part Two

ANYWAY!  I'd been meaning to make it for sometime now...   Not because I want to get engaged (ok, well kinda..   But I'm definitely NOT in a rush) but because it sounds AMAZING!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons-including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley)

1.  Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.

2.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fitted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.

I didn't have a roasting pan...  I bent an old cooling rack and made my own.  BRILLIANT! :-P

3.  Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the countertop with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)

Heh..  Butts :)

4.  Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

5.  Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.

This chicken was acting very unladylike spreading her legs and all.. So I tied 'em together.

6.  Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken- this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

I steamed some potatoes with fresh rosemary for a side as well as some asparagus.  Deeeelishus!

I also baked some honey cornbread.  It was really good!  I lined the glass dish with some parchment paper and gave it a light spritz of Pam so it wouldn't stick.  

And here's dinner!  Now let's see if the whole story behind this recipe works.  :-P

stuff to do with old bananas

I typed that into Google.  Seriously.

I came upon a website where someone just typed it in and a gazillion people typed in their recipes.  To whoever you are out there that posted the "banana drops,"  thank you.  You're a genius.

I just get sick of making banana bread and I can only eat so much of it... Sometimes I get sick of feeding my co-workers food, too (Sorry, guys.  I know you enjoy it.)

This is what I made...

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large ripe bananas, in chunks
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• 1 cup raisins (or chocolate chips!!)

Beat butter with sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in bananas. Stir in remaining ingredients until well combined. Drop by level tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart. Bake at 375º for 15-18 minutes. Makes 40.

I also put 1/4 cup of ground flax seed in it, too.  I've got some from when I made granola and am trying to "sneak" it into stuff.

Creamed butter and sugar - adding bananas

Add your egg...

Thoroughly mix flour, soda, salt into wet ingredients...

Mix your oats in well...

Add some ground flax seed - it's good for you!

Add your extras (chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, whatevs)

Had to show off my little stand and stylus for the iPad along with the app I use ;)

These things are awesome, seriously.  I think next time I'll try to be a bit healthier and put some chopped walnuts or something in them instead of chocolate chips.  Maybe I'll put both in.  :)

Not recipes, but....

I've been making sock monkeys for a few months now...

It started when I got a sewing machine, then I decided I was going to try to make something after I'd had the thing for well over a year.

I made a sock monkey for my manager (he loves monkeys)

He and his wife found that they were expecting a little girl she asked me to make them a little monkey.

I couldn't find any red-heel socks anywhere.  I know they come in pinks and blues, too.  These socks I found turned out just fine.

For Tillie

For Jaxon

They take quite sometime to make..  Usually about 3 - 4 hours.  I was asked by a co-worker to make one for his daughter's birthday coming up on the 14th.  He asked me to make it "extra special" but I wasn't really sure how to do that.  I found a cute iron on design and started to put it on the sock...  I couldn't figure out why it wasn't sticking to the material.

Duh, Beth.  You need to peel the plastic off the backside.  Oy.

Now how do I get it to stick to the sticky tape side to iron on?  Butter knife and tweezers.  I should have read the directions the whole way through before starting...  What a pain!  HA :)

The ears, arms and tail are sewed on by hand.  I was never a very skilled seamstress :P

Here she is finished:

Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-Ups (Thanks, Pinterest!)

Brent and I kind of fell off the monthly meal planning because of the ridiculous switch in my schedule.  Because of the switch all of my shifts are either 11am-7:30pm or 12pm-8:30pm.  Clearly too late for a decent meal.

I was snooping around on Pinterest (I realized that I "pin" far too many baking and sweets recipes than I do actual meals.. Ha)  I sent Brent my "Cooking" board and had him pick out things he thought he'd like.  One of the things he pointed out right away were the Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-Ups.  I always have Tuesdays off so I decided I'd make it tonight.  Let me describe it in a nutshell:  Super Easy, Super Yummy.

I got the recipe from this gal's site. 

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon coarse or Dijon mustard**
• sea salt and fresh black pepper
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 chicken cutlets, 1/4-inch thick
• 4 slices deli ham (sliced on the thick side)
• 4 slices deli Swiss cheese (sliced on the thick side)**
• toothpicks

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Lightly grease a large roasting pan (I used a round cake pan...)
2. Set up a dredging station by whisking the egg, milk and mustard together in a shallow dish, season with salt and pepper. In a second wide, shallow dish combine both bread crumbs and flour together.
3. Season the chicken cutlets lightly on each side with salt and pepper. Place a slice each of Swiss and ham (trim to fit the cutlet, if needed) over top and roll up beginning from the smallest end of the chicken. Secure with a toothpick or two. Repeat until they are all rolled up. Dredge one at a time by dipping into the egg and then into the bread crumbs using your hands to pat the crumbs on. Set in roasting pan and repeat until all are covered with crumbs.
4. Bake about 25 minutes, depending on the thickness/size of your cutlets (internal temp should reach 164-175 degrees F). Remove from oven and allow to set 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks and cut into slices 1-2 inches thick, if desired or serve as is.  (I ended up cooking mine for a little under an hour, 25 minutes wasn't nearly long enough - I got my food thermometer up to 160˚F and called it good - it was)

**I would suggest adding some extra Swiss cheese and drizzling a line of Dijon mustard down the center before you roll up the chicken.

We were both really excited about the meal.  It turned out perfectly  -  we served some rice pilaf along side it. I'm definitely going to make this again.

Lasagna!

Brent and I like to go to this restaurant in Moorhead called Speakeasy.  He usually gets the Chicken Parmigiano and I either go with the Chicken Cordon Bleu, Penne Sun Pasta, or the Tortellini Vegetelle.  Brent decided to go outside of his comfort zone and get the lasagna.  He really liked it.  I guess when they make their lasagna they don't layer the sauce in there.  They cut it and it comes out in a nice layered piece - not like my usual lasagna that basically falls apart once you scoop it out with the spatula.

I tried my lasagna like theirs this time around.


1 lb Italian Sausage
Lasagna Noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed in COLD water
1 small can of tomato paste
2 small cans of no salt added tomato sauce
1-1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Garlic powder mix
crushed red pepper


Bring water to a boil and cook the noodles.  While they cook, brown the Italian sausage until completely cooked through - drain in colander.  I've said this before in another post, I ALWAYS rise the cooked meat under hot water - it gets a ton of the grease off.

Drain the noodles and rinse in COLD water.  If you don't they will get sticky and you won't be able to pull them apart.

Mix the meat with the small can of tomato paste and set aside.

 
Empty the cans of tomato sauce into a separate bowl - season your sauce as you see fit.  I usually shake quite a bit of oregano and basil in there, a little crushed red pepper and some of the garlic powder mix.  I mix it all up and if it doesn't really look or taste the way I like, then I add more.  Remember that the flavor of the herbs will get more noticeable when cooking.

Put the cottage cheese and ricotta (I used part skim ricotta and fat free cottage cheese) in another bowl and shake some oregano and basil into it and mix all together.

Now, put a bit of sauce on the bottom of the dish (I use a 9x9 pan because there's only two of us and we don't need lasagna for days - you can use a 9x13 though, just adjust the ingredients accordingly).  Layer three of the cooked noodles and then spread some of the meat mixture over them.

I put the cheese mixture in a ZipLock bag and cut a hole in the corner.  Layer cheese over the meat.

Use a spatula to spread the cheese out a little bit.  I just like to make things as easy as possible :)
Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella cheese over the soft cheeses.

Yeah, I like cheese.  What of it?

Layer down some more noodles, lay down the rest of the meat, then the soft cheeses and more mozzarella.

Lay one more layer of noodles down, pour your tomato sauce over the last layer of noodles.

Sprinkle some mozzarella on the top, of course.

Bake at 350˚F for 1 hour.  I'd probably put a pan under your baking dish so it doesn't make a mess out of your oven.

Let cool 15-20 minutes and serve.

Now, will someone hand me a Lactaid?

TACOOOOOOOOO Casserole!!! (or hotdish)

Holy ish this stuff is good!  I ate it for three meals in a row :)  Super easy to make, too!
(Brit!  You can make this!!!)


1-8 oz tube crescent rolls
1-1/4 lb hamburger (I just use 1 lb...  who the hell sells 1-1/4 lbs of burger?)
1 pkg taco seasoning (Ortega is the BEST!)
1 can Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilis
1/2 c. water
2 c. crushed Doritos (Nacho Cheese or Spicy Nacho are the best to use)
12 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese (I don't measure cheese..  I use what I find necessary)

Brown hamburger, drain* and add taco mix, water and drained tomatoes and chilis.
*I always, always, ALWAYS drain the burger into a colander and actually rinse it in hot water - it gets a lot of the excess grease off better than trying to just drain it

Press rolls into 9x13 pan and sprinkle with half of the chips.  Next add the meat mixture and then the sour cream.  I put the sour cream in a ZipLock bag and snipped the corner - way easier to put it on evenly.  Then add cheese and the rest of the chips.

I'm not gonna lie, I used the whole bag of chips.

Bake @ 350˚F for 40-45 minutes.

After baked add shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, green bell pepper and more cheese if you'd like ;)

this is before it was baked, but you get the idea