Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala
From the Kitchen of Amy Day

Ingredients:

Chicken (2-3 breasts or bone-in chicken breasts)
Plain Yogurt
3-5 TBSP Butter
1 small onion, diced
1 TBSP fresh ginger
1 TBSP Garam Masala Blend
1/2-1 tsp each of gound ginger, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and curry powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TBSP fresh garlic, minced
1-2 boxes of creamy tomato soup
half and half

1.  Cook some chicken (I like to roast bone-in, skin on breasts, but I'm sure you can handle this part on your own.  I think it's best for this recipe if you marinate your chicken in plain yogurt before cooking, but basically a few chicken breasts cooked any way will work).

2.  In a large pot, melt a few tbsps of butter and sautee a diced onion in it.  Add about 1 tbsp of minced fresh ginger.  Cook over low heat for a while.  (It's important to use fresh ginger.  While there are other spices that go into it, they're not "spicy" at all, and the fresh ginger is really the one thing that adds any heat).

3.  Add your spices.  I start with about a tbsp of garam masala blend, and then I add about 1/2 tsp each from the list of ingredients in garam masala (increase quantities of these things if you don't have garam masala): ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom (go a little heavier), cumin (go a little lighter), and curry powder.  Cook the spices with the onion and ginger for a little while (you might need to add more butter).  Add a decent amount of salt and pepper. 

4.  Throw in a tbsp of minced fresh garlic.  Cook for a little while.

5.  Add any creamy tomato soup.  I get boxes of it from Henry's.  I use about 2 boxes for this, depending on how much I'm making (I like to keep a large quantity in the fridge for the week); 1 box is fine for a small quantity.  Sometimes I do 1 box of creamy tomato soup and one can of diced tomatoes.

6.  Rip or chop up your chicken and add it.  Cook it all for a while.  Taste the broth, and if it's underseasoned, add cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg or curry powder.

7.  Add a splash of half-and-half to make it as creamy as you want it.  More is tastier, but more calories :)

The traditional way to serve it is with jasmine rice and naan bread.  Since that's not the healthiest, I've been eating it over lentils lately, and that's super yummy.  I've also been adding a lot of various light-colored beans and cauliflower to bulk it up and add nutritional value.

Peanut Brittle

Peanut Brittle
From the Kitchen of Kristin Sumption (The Domestic Doozie)

Ingredients

• 
  
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it's fresh)

Directions

1. Tape Parchment paper down on your countertop. In a glass bowl, combine peanuts, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cook in microwave for 6 to 7 minutes on High (700 W); mixture should be bubbly and peanuts browned. Stir in butter and vanilla; cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
2. Quickly stir in baking soda, just until mixture is foamy. Pour immediately onto parchment paper. Let cool 15 minutes, or until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container. *You may need to alter the cooking times based on the wattage of your microwave.

Healthy Turkey Chili

Healthy Turkey Chili,
From the kitchen of April Warner

Chop up one small onion and a medium sized pepper.  If you want to add more vegetables you can-it really doesn't add a lot of calories. Spray a small amount of pam (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan lightly) into a pot that you will later use for the chili) and stir fry the vegetables. Side note- I always use pam as opposed to oil or butter.  You only need a small amount! a lot less calories!

In the mean time, get the lean ground turkey (I use about a pound usually-depends on what the package has in it or how much I have prebagged/frozen before hand.  I think yours was a little over a pound if I remember right) and brown the meat and drain the grease.  I don't add anything (oil, etc) to the pan when I brown this.  If you want to make it spicy, you can add chili powder and crushed red peppers.  

After the meat is browned, put it into the pot with the vegetables.

Add 1 cup of kidney beans and 1cup of black beans.  I actually experiment with different types of beans sometimes but those are the types I used when I made yours.  I usually get low sodium when available.

Add 46oz (about a large can) of tomato juice.  I use low sodium, 100% juice. Heat the whole mixture until it boils.  If you want, you can add a couple teaspoons of brown sugar.  It just helps with the taste and will only add about 30 cals to the entire recipe.  Depending on how liquidy or thick you want it depends on how much juice you use.

The calories will vary slightly depending on brands you use, but it shouldn't vary too much.  The only time it should significantly vary is if you use different types of meat (lean vs not lean), etc.  Also, the weight of the meat will cause it to vary a bit if it is a pound vs 17oz or something.  Other than that, it should be about the same as I told you last time (116 calories I think it was).  I calculated it again and it was within a few calories per serving (with different brands).

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar
From the kitchen of Brittney Beard

1 can of back beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of navy beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of shoepeg corn (drained and rinsed)
chopped jalepenos (about 4-5 depending on how much kick you want it to have)
1 whole red onion (chopped)
3 Roma Tomatoes (seeded and diced)
A LOT of fresh cilantro
1/2 a bottle of Italian Dressing

Mix all together and enjoy with triscuits or tortilla chips!


So tasty....I personally sampled some of this tonight and it was amazing! I can't wait to make it myself! It's perfect for parties!