Country Captain, a tomato based chicken curry

Country captain, is primarily tomato based chicken curry. I first learned of it while watching "Throw down with Bobby Flay". I don't really remember what they did but as always my "Food Bible" The Joy of  Cooking had a recipe for it. The recipe below is my adaptation of the "Joy of Cooking" recipe

Curries, as long as you have curry powder, are more about using what you have versus spending a bunch of money to make the the ingredients match perfectly. I have never made the recipe below complete. If I have the chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and curry powder its always a go. 

Here it is:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
2/3 cup flour
3 tblpns oil (canola)
1 tblspn butter

1 large yellow onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped

stir in
1 tblspn curry powder
1tspn ginger
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/4 tspn ground cloves
1/4 tspn fresh grated or ground nutmeg

 Add:
14-16oz tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
3 tblspns lemon juice or white wine
1 tblspn brown sugar
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tspn dried thyme
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn black pepper
optional 2/3 cups currants or raisins

heat a 12-14" skillet on high

salt and pepper chicken and place in zip lock bag day of cooking
add 2/3 cup flour to zip lock bag and shake making sure to open chicken thighs

add canola oil and butter to skillet you want just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet heat till browning just begins then remove, with a shake, chicken from bag and brown on both sides until crusty brown at least 5minutes per side. 

(Be prepared to add the chicken quickly when butter begins to brown)

When brown remove chicken to plate and add green peppers and onions saute until brown on the edges about 5 minutes depending on size of veggies.

stir in the
curry, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and cook 1 minute

then add
tomatoes, chicken stock, lemon juice/wine, brown sugar, garlic, thyme, salt, black pepper
(optional) 2/3 cups currants or raisins
bring to a simmer
add the chicken
bring to a simmer and simmer up to 30 minutes until chicken is cooked throughout

add more water or a slurry to get desired thickness of sauce

serve over white rice

BEEF STROGANOFF, No sour cream

I do not enjoy sour cream and during a conversation with my grandmommie Esther moore she said just replace sour cream in recipes with yogurt. So here it is Beef Stroganoff minus the sour cream from the stonyfield website i would assume.  

BEEF STROGANOFF

1 lb boneless beef top loin steak, sirloin tip etc
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thin sliced
1 cup mushroom, sliced
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup plain stonyfield farm low-fat yogurt

Directions:
1 Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced beef loin, onion and mushrooms, sauté until meat begins to brown. Add flour to the mixture, and continue to cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add tarragon, paprika, wine and beef broth, reduce the heat to medium, and allow to simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in dijon mustard and yogurt.

2 Serve over egg noodles.

CHANGES FROM ORIGINAL RECIPE
OMIT 1/2 TSP TARRAGON
CHANGE ONION TO ONE LARGE YELLOW ONION
CHANGE MUSHROOMS TO 1 CUP OR 8OZ
CHANGE PAPRIKA TO 1 TSP

braised brussel sprouts

 

1 lb fresh brussel sprouts
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 to 1 cup chicken stock

use 1/2 garlic salt season brussel sprouts
add brussel sprouts and chicken stock to medium skillet with a lid and bring to a boil
cover and lower temp to medium simmer until fork tender 10 - 15 minutes (SIZE)
add butter and rest of salt toss/shake in pan
serve while hot!

the sweet russet mashies are here


#whats4dinner
#christmasdinner

Slow roasted rib roast

i have come to the realization that while i love my weber grill it is difficult to maintain a 200 degree temp for 2-3 hours so i have been roasting on the grill for an hour or so and then slow roasting at low temps in the oven to finish the melt in your mouth job.

5-7 lb USDA CHOICE rib roast
kosher salt
pepper


2 hours before grilling remove a thawed roast from fridge and cover liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
tie roast long ways just inside the bones on both ends to keep the meat together during the long process

preheat grill for one hour set up for indirect cooking
just before adding the rib to the grill preheat the oven to 200 degrees

sear on each flat side for 5 minutes on the hot side of the grill
move roast to roasting pan with rack flat side facing coals and place rack on grill

( i use a 10" cast iron skillet with tin foil rolled up to keep it elevated)

roast for 30 minutes and then turn around and roast other flat side for 30 minutes

(you want the grill to be as low as you can go but not lower than 200 for me that means 1/4 inch air gap top and bottom on my standard issued Weber.)

move roast to oven and roast until internal temperature reaches your desired liking for me 135
(just above medium rare)

(its low and slow so your internal temp may be medium but its still gonna be pink)

let meat rest for 20 minutes slice and serve immediately

#christmasdinner
#whats4dinner

@HarayCaray's italian vinaigrette

I would like to say that every time someone asks me for a recipe its my own creation or one that i adjusted but that isn't always the case.  The most popular cook book i own, by a landslide, The Haray Caray's Restaurant Cookbook.

I have made this twice & it has gone over quite well going forward the adjustments i would make are

sub Lawry's season salt for the salt
add lemon zest from the lemon

@HarayCarays recipe is:

2    cups olive oil
1    cup peanut oil
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice approx 1 lemon
3    Tblpns white wine
1     tspn Worcestershire
1/2  tspn Tabasco
1     tspn granulated garlic
1     tspn fresh black pepper
1.5  Tblspns salt
1     Tblspn oregano
1/2  yellow onion, scored

whisk together all ingredients, not onion, put in plastic container add scored onion cover and refrigerate overnight.  remove onion and serve!

PEOPLE: get some granulated garlic in your house, Seriously!

potato cake recipe to try (rough cut)

i made some level of a potato cake recipe out of the joy of cooking today once again trying to make changes before i tasted the original recipe but the kids wouldnt eat spicy potato cakes the recipe was okay but i didnt love it i used to make this by adding panko to my mashed potato recipe but that just works out okay so instead if i make a potato cake recipe again it will be this. 

2lbs russet potatoes approx 8 med-small potatoes
8 bulbs garlic med-small
chicken stock to just cover potatoes or bouillon and water 
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs rosemary sage thyme work well
2 tblspns lemon juice
salt 1.5 tspns
fresh cracked pepper .5 tspns
canola oil and butter

peel potatoes and place in pot with garlic bulbs and herbs
add cold chicken stock to just cover potatoes boil uncovered for 30 -45 minutes until tender
remove and place in fridge to cool a bit (you make patties with hands)
when cooler add onions, lemon juice, pepper and salt
mash but not as much as a normal mashed potato
heat nonstick skillet with 2/3 to 1/3 portion canola oil to butter a layer of oil on bottom of pan
until a wooden spoon bubbles when place in the oil
fry each side until golden brown 5 minutes or so each side med hight het

Might be Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe makes a butt load of cookies and everybody loves them.  I like to make them before thanksgiving take half the cookies with me and freeze the second half of the cookies for use during christmas.

cream together:

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
add:
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

in another bowl
mix together:
4 cups flour
5 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda

combine both bowls
add 24oz of chocolate chips
8oz plain hershey bar finely grated
3 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

form dough into golf ball size balls arrange on cookie sheet 2 "apart"
bake @375 for 6 minutes or until done

My slow cooker pot pot roast

I believe the key to this dish is quality meat. The tenderness of the meat has as much to do with quality of chuck roast as it does time in the cooker.  I buy my chuck roast fresh from Sam's club in bulk packages and freeze for future use.  I season the meat the day before as i thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.  Also, i try to make sure the vegetables match themselves in size ie potatoes are same size as potatoes carrots as carrots and so forth.

Also, this Sandwich trial is more of a leftover usage than a fresh sandwich because i am using Fridays pot roast as Saturdays pot roast sandwich. I only used the leftover meat and onions. 

2-3 lb choice beef chuck roast
4-6 potatoes quartered and halved if needed to be equal size
2-3 medium onions quartered
4-6 carrots halved or quartered depending on size
4    cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
season salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 cup white wine
1 cup beef stock
4oz mushrooms (can be omitted)
5 qt slow cooker on low

season meat with season salt and pepper up to a day ahead of time
take onions and place on bottom of crock pot
throw in garlic cloves
then place potatoes on top of onions and garlic
add wine stock and bay leaf
place meat on top of potatoes
spread mushrooms around sides of meat
spread carrots on top of mushrooms also around the meat
spread oregano across top of the dish

apply lid and cook for 6 hours or until tender

Ground turkey mushroom onion potato skillet

I make a lot of, what i like to call, homemade hamburger helper meals.  The rice and pasta ones happen the most and are the least difficult.  I have tried potatoes cut and sliced many ways before but the one that has worked out the best so far is below.  GOOD LUCK!

1 lb ground turkey
4 russet med - large potatoes (1/2 diced)
8oz mushrooms (sliced)
1 medium onion (1/2 diced)
3 cloves garlic (diced)
garlic salt
fresh pepper
1.5 to 2 cups beef stock
2 tblspns butter
1/4 cup olive oil at most (thin layer in pan enough to brown potatoes)

I heated 1/8 cup of olive oil in a 5qt saute pan to temp of 350
brown the potatoes in 2 batches turning every couple minutes until you get desired crust/color
remove potatoes to paper towel to dry
add 1lb ground turkey brown before this i added extra 1/8 cup oil (all depends on fat % in meat)
leaving turkey in pan add onions and mushrooms cook until soft 5 minutes or so
add garlic and season with garlic salt and pepper cooking for 2 minutes
add beef stock, deglazing pan and scraping brown bits from pan
add potatoes stir
bring to a boil
turn heat down to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes soft
add butter stir and serve

took one hour to make but this was the first time, going forward it should take 30 to 45 minutes

NOTES:
Ground beef really makes this dish pop!
1 cup of leftovers with 3-4 eggs makes a great scramble morning after
also, 1 cup of leftovers with 6 eggs and put it in a oven safe skillet will make an excellent fritata


everyone ate this dinner but with these exclusions
3yr old no onion or mushroom
2yr old no mushroom

Philly Chicken Sandwich

 

I was tired of eating fast food and a decent restaurant was to much money to continue visiting for my weekend lunch breaks.  So I decided I would make hot sandwiches for the family dinner and bring one with me for my lunch! these will be know as the sandwich Trials: 

1 LB BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS

1 LARGE YELLOW ONION
1 GREEN PEPPER
1 CUP SLICED MUSHROOMS 6-8 oz
8oz bag jack cheddar cheese (any cheese works great)
SEASONED SALT
ONION POWDER
GRANULATED GARLIC
French Rolls (we prefer Turano and buy in 12 packs from Sam’s club)

Turn oven to Broil HI place rack in middle of even

Dust chicken breast  with SS OP & GG

Sautee chicken breasts in skillet on stove top until cooked

Slice onions peppers and mushrooms if whole

Remove chicken when fully cooked, set aside to rest

Sautee vegetables till soft

Slice chicken lay lengthwise over interior of bottom piece of roll & cover with vegetables

Sprinkle cheese over interior of top bun

Broil until cheese melted and crust of roll is crispy