Butter Chicken

I have never really eaten Indian Food--like at a restaurant. It is on the eating out bucket list. But...we have come up with a few Butter Chicken recipes--I'm sure they are not authentic but I do know they are delicious.
If I want a very quick version I make Skillet Chicken Tikka Masala. It is delicious and makes up in 30 minutes all in one skillet.. It is a family favorite, try it soon.
Next we tried several more involved recipes--they were excellent but a little more work than we care to take. We do love to cook--but not all day.
The last recipe Candise gave me was one that she had played with and made it to her liking. The chicken is melt in your mouth delicious and the sauce is perfect served over rice with Nann .

Indian Butter Chicken
 2 lbs chicken tenders--I cut each tender in 4-6 pieces

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne

2 tsp. garam masala

1 whole lime, juiced

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 whole onion, diced

4 tablespoons butter

1 can 14oz tomato sauce

1 can petite diced tomatoes 14oz

1 cup whipping cream

1 bunch cilantro- chopped

basmati rice

Combine first eight ingredients and marinate overnight, or for the afternoon!

Saute onion in butter until soft, add marinated chicken and brown on both sides. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, cook for 30 minutes over medium low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream and cilantro just before serving over basmati rice

Printable Recipe.

Serve this yummy dish over basmati rice. A fruit plate is a great addition to this meal as is Naan. If you are energetic you can make your own naan--it is delicious. But I purchase it at the market and it is good too. So do what you please but do serve Naan.

I also made a recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe--it was good too. So many choices--just try one!

1 Year Ago--------Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies
2 Yeara Ago-------Raspberry or Blueberry Squares
3 Years Ago-------Smokey Potatoes
4 Years Ago-------Broccoli Salad

Soft Oatmeal Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

Brown Butter is so trendy right now--and it should be. Most anything made with browned butter is delicious. But it is certainly not a new flavor. 50 years ago my Mother made a delicious butterscotch cookie with a browned butter frosting. Mom didn't make them often because they were a lot of work. My Dad loved them so she made them for him--often hiding them in the back of the freezer. The point being brown butter has really been around for awhile. I will get Moms recipe and blog about them someday.
Today we have a simple oatmeal cookie turned epic. Yes I think brown butter glaze raises these cookies to the epic status! Enjoy this yummy recipe.

Oatmeal Cookies with Browned Butter Glaze

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar (3.5 ounces)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cups baby oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat for another minute.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently just until incorporated.  Drop dough using a 1 Tablespoon scoop and bake for 8-9 minutes at 350.  The cookies do not brown very much and they will look slightly underdone.  Cool.  Top with browned butter glaze.

I made this recipe in my food processor—it is so quick. Combine butter, sugars, egg and vanilla in bowl. Process with metal blade for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients in bowl. Pulse 10 times. It will still look under mixed—this is fine, just use a spatula and stir together. It is that easy and it works! This is my favorite way to make a small batch of cookies.

Browned Butter Glaze
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until browned.  There will be brown bits in the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. Be careful—don’t multi task while doing this. Butter goes from brown to black in seconds! (I really know). Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Mix in the remaining ingredients adding milk until desired consistency.  Drizzle over cooled cookies. I put frosting in a Ziploc baggie, cut off the corner and drizzle. I like plenty of frosting/glaze so I make wide drizzles-or plenty of skinny drizzles. Use your creative license!

Makes about 2 ½ dozen small cookies

Printable Recipe 

Look at my cute helper--my grandchildren live states away so my darling next door neighbor is happy to fill in. She likes making (and eating) cookies as much as I do!
This recipe was inspired by Jenn's recipe on Eat Cake For Dinner--one of my favorite blogs.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Mini Muffins

Tis the Season--for Zucchini! Now this is probably the best way to eat zucchini ( and maybe breaded and fried)! These mini muffins pack a lot of flavor, cocoa and mini chocolate chips combine with zucchini, of course, for one delicious bite. This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour--one of my favorite recipe sites and online baking shops. The original recipe makes a loaf of Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, but I really don't have the patience to wait 70 minutes for a loaf of bread to bake. Mini muffins cook in about 12-15 minutes and are much easier to share--trust me.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
2 eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar (3.5 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 2/3 cup flour
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed
1 cup mini chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs, honey, oil , sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and flour. Mix until just combined.
Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips.
Now you have a choice!
Spray an 8 1/2 x 4 inch loaf pan or muffin cups or mini muffin tin.
Bake at 350 till a pick comes out clean. Loaf will take about 65-75 minutes, muffins about 22-25 minutes and mini muffins about 12-14 minutes. Don't over bake. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and remove. Enjoy! It really says to cool completely before slicing--but I can never wait!
Now I love to frost, drizzle and glaze but these stand on their own, I promise! 
Printable Recipe

1 Year Ago------Reeses Mini Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread
2 Years Ago-----Summer Fruit Galette
3 Years Ago-----Skillet Chicken Tikka Masala
4 Years Ago-----Pasta Chicken Cashew Salad
 

Quick Caramel Sauce

Want a caramel apple quick? Sometime I do and this is the perfect recipe for a quick caramel sauce. Delicious as a dip for apples, pears or any kind of fruit. Also a yummy topping on ice cream. Or just eat it by the spoonful--any way it is delicious.
I always have the ingredients to whip up a quick batch and who doesn't have a few apples hanging out in their fridge. It is perfect. I don't know where the recipe came from, I have been making it for years and can't believe it has taken me almost 500 posts to get it on my blog!
Enjoy--now!

Quick Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light Karo
1/4 cup cream
2 tablespoons butter
Combine in small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Caramel will thicken as it cools. 
Printable Recipe

Ghirardelli Clasic Brown Sugar Brownie

I will often make the recipe off the back of a product. They want you to have a successful experience and continue to purchase their product. So it really is in their best interest interest to have a delicious recipe. I needed a brownie, now I only have about 50 brownie recipes on my blog  but I saw this recipe and was intrigued--it was made with all brown sugar. I had to make it. You will find the recipe on the back of their Semi-sweet Ghirardelli wrapper it goes something like this:

Classic Brown Sugar Brownie
4 ounces Semi Sweet Ghirardelli baking bar (chopped)
1 cup brown sugar (7 ounces)
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter--cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/3 cup Ghirardelli semi sweet chips
Mix 4 ounces chopped chocolate and butter pieces in a heavy saucepan. Heat on low til butter and chocolate are melted. Stir till smooth and cool to room temperature. When cool add brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time stirring well after each. In a small bowl mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly add to chocolate mixture. Add chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped nuts if desired.
Pour in an 8 inch square pan that has been sprayed and lined with parchment paper and sprayed again.Smooth batter with an offset spatula. Bake at 350 25-30 minutes until a tester comes out clean.
Printable Recipe

This was one delicious brownie--I always have the ingredients to make this yummy dish.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites with Nutella Swirl

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites with Nutella Swirl

1/2 cup butter, soft

1/2 Crisco

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water

2 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup mini chocolate chips

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Cream butter and Crisco till smooth, add sugars, vanilla and eggs beating after each addition. Add water.

Mix together flour, salt and baking soda. Add  to creamed mixture, stir gently. Add chocolate chips and pecans. Using a small Pampered Chef Scoop put a level scoop of cookie dough in each cup of a sprayed mini muffin tin.  Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes till top appears light brown. Cool in tin and remove when just cool. Frost with Nutella Swirl!

Nutella Butter Cream Swirl
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) softened  butter

1/2 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk (I used 1%)
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix butter and Nutella add vanilla and milk, add powdered sugar. Whip and pipe onto cookie bites.

Frosting recipe comes from Tracy's Culinary Adventure

Sometimes you just want a winner. I know these cookie bites are delicious and get rave reviews wherever I take them. I like them because I always have everything in the house to make them. They come together in a jiffy, they are portion controlled and it is easy to change them up a bit.

Last time I made them for a 'garden party' for adults--so I went with an Almond Butter Cream Swirl. This batch was for kids so I went with my grandson, Gregory's favorite flavor--that would be Nutella!

The Nutella Butter Cream was silky smooth and was a dream to pipe. I used a disposable pastry bag fitted with a very large star tip. They are fancy and delicious. Perfect for summer gatherings.

Kids will love them but adults will make sure they get a couple!

That Yummy Veggie Lasagna

This yummy lasagna is meat free and delicious, perfect to share with a vegetarian new mother. I used my food processor to speed the process of cutting the carrots and zucchini. I also used it to grate cheese, put the cheese in the freezer for 15 minutes for easier grating. I won't lie--this recipe took almost an hour to get it ready for the oven. It also cooks an hour and then needs to sit. Allow plenty of time. This one dish meal is delicious! Please try it. Inspiration for this recipe came from a Pampered Chef Stoneware Sensations Cookbook. I believe it is out of print.

Lasagna Primavera – We just call it That Yummy Vegetable Lasagna

2 cups carrots, thinly sliced

2 cups small zucchini, sliced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, pressed

¾ teaspoon Italian Seasoning

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (14 ½ ounces) Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, drained

1 container (15 ounces) part skim ricotta cheese

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup diced parsley

1 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, about ¼ cup

1 jar (16 ounces) white Alfredo pasta sauce

¾ cup milk

10 uncooked lasagna noodles (about 8 ounces)

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Heat oil in large skillet or pan over medium heat.  Press garlic into oil.  Add sliced carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, Italian Seasoning and black pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 7 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat.  Add drained tomatoes to vegetables; set aside.  In another bowl combine ricotta cheese, egg, salt.  fresh parsley and grated Parmesan.  In yet another bowl, (we love dirty dishes!!) combine Alfredo sauce and milk.

To assemble lasagna, spread ¾ cup of Alfredo sauce mixture over bottom of 9 x 13 pan.  Top with half of uncooked noodles in single layer (place 4 noodles lengthwise and 1 noodle crosswise, breaking noodles to fit).  The recipe actually says that…as if we couldn’t have figured it out on our own.  Press noodles into sauce.  Spread half of ricotta mixture over noodles. I had  a genius idea. I spooned the ricotta mixture in a large zip lock bag, cut a 1/2 inch slice off one corner. It was so easy to 'pipe' the ricotta cheese on the noodles. I was impressed with myself.  Top with half of vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle with half of mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers, starting with ¾ cup sauce.  After layering, pour remaining sauce over top of lasagna.  Cover.  Bake 50 minutes.  Uncover, carefully, it says, and continue baking 10 minutes.  Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes.  
Printable Recipe

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

I do love Pinterest! When I'm making my menus each week I check the freezer and fridge for ingredients then I head to Pinterest and look for the right fit. I'm on a roll with my Crock Pot. I don't have a crazy busy life but I do like the convenience of putting a few ingredients in the Crock Pot, and then smelling it simmer away all afternoon.
It's summer, the days are getting warm, actually hot, turning the oven on can really heat up my west facing kitchen. The family gets hungry at 6 no matter the season! Using your Crock Pot can provide a tasty meal for a hungry family without heating up the kitchen. Summer and Crock Pots really do go together!
This Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken  from The Comfort of Cooking was easy to make, I added brown rice and a fresh fruit salad for one yummy meal. Next time I will add some steamed veggies too.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs--I remove all traces of fat, because I can!
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed in 3/4 cup water
sesame seeds for garnish
sliced scallions for garnish
rice
Place chicken in bottom of Crock Pot and season lightly with salt and pepper. In a small bowl mix onions, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil; and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken cook for 3-4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. Do not over cook as chicken will dry out. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred. Mix corn starch and water, stir into sauce. Cover and cook on high for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Serve rice, topped with chicken and drizzled with sauce. Garnish with sesame seed and scallions. Enjoy!
Printable Recipe 

Other Crock Pot Favorites
Crock Pot Mashed Potato Soup
Potatoes Au Gratin in a Crock Pot
Pepperoncini Beef in a Crock Pot--always on the menu at Harris Family gatherings!
Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Corn and Bean Salsa

Don't let the plain name of this fool you; it is way more than beans and corn. This dish is full of flavor and all good things. We took this to a summer party and got rave reviews. This recipe originates from Southern Living, I found it on You Go Girl and adjusted it to suit what I had and like. You can do that you know!

Corn and Bean Salsa
4 ears fresh corn
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 or 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large tomatoes. seeded and diced
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 avocados, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Roast corn, cool and cut off cob. Whisk together lime juice, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Toss, cover and chill for 2 hours. Serve with corn chips.
Printable Recipe

One Year Ago--------Breakfast in a Scone
Two Years Ago-------Puff Pancakes
Three Years Ago------Banana Mini Muffins
Four Years Ago-------Pasta Chicken Cashew Salad

Lemon Biscones

This is just a different version of my Cinnamon Biscones from Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. I added lemon zest and a delicious lemon glaze to a basic Buttermilk Biscone recipe. It was delicious, I served them for girls weekend and everyone agreed they were perfect. A Biscone is a combination of a scone and a biscuit. It marries the ease of the biscuit with the buttery flavor of the scone--a match made in Heaven! Light and delicious.

Lemon Biscones
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick cold butter, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk or more as needed
1 egg beaten for wash
2 tablespoons sanding sugar
Rub zest into sugar with your fingers--it will smell wonderful! Add flours, baking powder and salt, mix well. Cut in cold butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender. You will have various sizes of butter from pea size chunks to sandy patches.
Gradually add the buttermilk and gently fold the ingredients together until you have a soft dough with no flour at the bottom of the bowl. You should still see lumps of butter in the dough--this makes the flaky goodness. If the dough seems too dry add a tablespoon of buttermilk. the dough should seen slightly sticky and moist.
Scoop mounds of the dough on a parchment lined sheet pan. I like stoneware. I also use the Pampered Chef large Scoop. This is the perfect size. You will get 12 maybe 13 biscones. Brush gently with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Rotate pan half way through. Keep a close eye on them. You want a very light golden biscone. Do not over bake.
Remove to a cooling rack and when cool glaze.
Lemon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
zest from 1 lemon
lemon juice to desired consistency
Printable Recipe

One Year Ago-------Chocolate Iced Cookie Bars
Two Years Ago------Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake
Three Years Ago----Idaho Party Cookies
Four Years Ago------Broccoli Salad

This is the way you give a loaf of bread!!

When I give a food gift, I want it to not only taste wonderful but I want it to look amazing. You taste with your eyes first. I was going to lunch at a sandwich shop--they sell amazing breads and treats.
 I was taking dinner to anew mother and had made Veggie Lasagna. A loaf of their Asiago Cheese Bread would certainly compliment the meal. I purchased the bread and while we were eating and chatting I happened to have a perfect view of an employee making beautiful gift baskets and gift items. I took the my purchased loaf of bread and this is what she did! The bread is wrapped in a fun kitchen towel, looks like a bandana--perfect for a little boy. The ribbon is bright blue, white on sheer polka dots and a splash of lime green. I love it! Pretty classy, and I think I could recreate too.