Summer Treat Idea!

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Watermelon Popsicle

SERVES 8 ACTIVE TIME: 10 min TOTAL TIME: 2 hour 10 min

1/4 seedless watermelon (about 3/4 lb)
4 Tbsp Sugar in the Raw Natural Cane Turbinado Sugar From Hawaii (Nature's Market)
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You'll Need: Cocktail forks or popsicle sticks
Cut unpeeled watermelon in 16 wedge-shaped slices. Insert cocktail fork or popsicle sticks in rind of each slice. Sprinkle melon with sugar.
Arrange on baking sheet and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Chef Tip(s):
Use sharp knife to make small cut in rind of each melon wedge. This will make it easier to insert fork or popsicle stick.

Chicken Tikka Misala

Lately, every time I talk to Moly on the phone and ask what she is cooking for the evening meal, she says...Chicken Tikka Masala! I usually ask this question when she is having company.

So, having never tasted in myself (I do not think), I looked it up and here are 2 recipes for it. I am putting it here on my blog as areminder to make this very soon!

Chicken Tikka Masala
http://www.bigoven.com/174497-Chicken-Tikka-Masala-recipe.html
A popular dish in many Indian restaurants. Supposedly this dish was created in a Glasglow restaurant when a customer ordered some Chicken Tikka and thought it was too dry. He ordered some gravy to go along wth the dish. The chef complied and made a sauce from tomato soup, yoghurt, and spices. The story isn't proven ...but the dish has become very popular. It even became Britain's "true national dish". We really liked this dish. Feel free to adjust seasoning to your own taste. Add more cream if you like. We served it with some homemade Indian flatbread...Paratha[Sidu's recipe~a Bigoven member]. You can also serve it with some homemade Naan bread.
Posted by: ellie36
Ingredients
Chicken Tikka:
0.5 teaspoon ground cumin
0.5 teaspoon ground coriander
0.25 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( I used some chile flakes)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 lbs boneless skinless chiken breast , trimmed of fat (I used 2 1/2 lbs)
1 cup plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (grated)
1 Masala Sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion diced fine
2 medium garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger (grated)
2 jalapenos
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 can crushed tomatoes
3 teaspoons sugar
0.75 teaspoon table salt
1 cup heavy cream
0.25 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 tsp turmeric
Preparation
FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl.Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Add the crushed garlic and ginger.Rub it on the chicken and drizzle the olive oil. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight (or several hours).Take the chicken out from the fridge and add the yoghurt. Make sure it coats the chicken well. Let marinate for another 1-2 hours. In the meantime, get all the ingredients for the masala ready.
FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, turmeric, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It is at this point that you may adjust the seasoning and add more spice if you like it spicier. Stir in cream and return to simmer.Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.
While sauce simmers, grill chicken on medium heat. Make sure you coat the chicken well with the yoghurt. Also, make sure you oil the grill ...as the chicken can easily stick. You can also do the chicken in the oven using the broiler. Just adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, and serve over rice.
Tips:
If your sauce is too thick, thin it out with some more cream or milk or chicken stock before serving.
You can also grill the chicken first and keep it warm... then proceed to make the sauce...
Cuisine: Indian Main Ingredient: Chicken
http://www.bigoven.com/174497-Chicken-Tikka-Masala-recipe.html
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Chicken Tikka Masala
http://megatroncat.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/chicken-tikka-masala/
2 pounds of Boneless Chicken Breasts
¼ cup of Plain Yogurt
3 tsp. of Ginger (Adrak) (minced)
3 tsp. of Garlic (Lehsan) (crushed)
¼ tsp. of White Pepper
¼ tsp. of Cumin Powder (Pisa Zeera)
¼ tsp. of Mace
¼ tsp. of Nutmeg
¼ tsp. of Green Cardamom Powder (Ilaichi Powder)
¼ tsp. of Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirchain)
¼ tsp. of Turmeric Powder (Pisi Haldi)
3 tbsp. of Lemon Juice (Nimbu Ka Arakh)
Margarine (melted – for basting)
4 tbsp. of Vegetable Oil
2 pounds of Tomatoes (chopped)
2 tsp. of Green Chillies (Hari Mirch) (finely chopped)
2 tsp. of Cloves (Loung)
8 Green Cardamoms (Choti Ilaichi)
2 tsp. of Ginger (Adrak) (julienned)
1 tsp. of Fenugreek
5 ounces of Tomato Paste
10 ounces of Tomato Puree
2 tsp. of Ginger Paste (Pisi Adrak)
2 tsp. of Garlic Paste (Pisa Lehsan)
1 tbsp. of Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirch)
Salt (to taste)
3 tbsp. of Butter
2/3 cup of Cream
Honey (Shehed) (to taste)
1) Whisk together all of the ingredients (not the sauce ingredients) in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and bake for another 2 minutes.
2) While doing this, make the sauce. Deseed and chopped green chilies. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water. Add ginger and garlic paste, green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir. If the sauce tastes sour, add honey to taste. Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken.
Serving Suggestions: Serve Hot With Plain Rice, Chapati Roti or Nan
Degree of Difficulty:: Medium
Recipe Category: Main Course Chicken/Bird
Recipe Ethnic Group: Pakistani

How I Make Chicken Curry

This is one of my favorite "curry from scratch " recipe....The best way to top it off is with chopped fresh cilantro leaves. Below are the 4 different ways I make cuury:

1. Trader Joe's Curry Simmer Sauce...It is a 15 oz. jar. You add about a cup of water...It make

enough for 4-6 servings. I like that it comes in a glass jar. You can cook your chopped up raw chicken breast (about a pound, cut in 1 inch chunks.
I keep bags of dice chicken meat in the freezer (from my baked chickens) and add them to the sauce. Then I simmer it for a few minutes and it is ready to go!

By the way, I can't have chicken curry without

raisins

and

pineapple tidbits

and peanuts or cashews

...it just would not be complete!

Other toppings...chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, grated carrot, diced bell pepper.

2. Trader Joe's Thai Green Curry Sauce.

3. A can of coconut milk and a can of Masaman Curry paste.

Just open cans and combine them in top the cooking put and cook.

4. The recipe shown.

Finished products! MMMmmmm! We are into brown rice now...so if you make it, make sure you give it 45 minutes to cook. It's more time but it is worth it

Cornmeal Crust Bell Pepper Pizza

Recipe to follow....it is temporarily lost. Topping includes corn and red onion, too....

Super Food for Omega 3's !

There is big hype now about Omega 3 oils..here is today's Yahoo article on a great source of this important oil. I love sardines anyway..glad they are about a dollar a can.

The #1 food you should eat (and probably don't)

by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine, on Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:59am PDT

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/the-1-food-you-should-eat-and-probably-dont-1285090/
My dad’s family is from Norway and for as long as I can remember we’ve been eating fish balls, fish puddings, pickled fish, fish in a tube and fish in a can. Most people thought it was a little weird.
But these days, I’m feeling less like an outcast when I bust open a can of fish, especially sardines. I know a lot of you have strong feelings about sardines, but want to know why I love them?
Sardines (Pacific, wild-caught) are one of the healthiest foods we can consume, according to the health and environmental experts we interviewed for “Sea Change” in our latest issue of EatingWell magazine. These days so many of us are trying to get more omega-3 fats in their diet, because they benefit your heart and your brain. Click here for delicious recipes to help you eat more of these super-healthy omega-3 fats. These nutritional powerhouses are one of the best sources of omega-3 fats, with a whopping 1,950 mg/per 3 oz. (that’s more per serving than salmon, tuna or just about any other food) and they’re packed with vitamin D. And because sardines are small and low on the food chain, they don’t harbor lots of toxins like bigger fish can. Find out why leading scientist Carl Safina thinks eating smaller fish can benefit your health and our oceans. Plus, they’re also one of the most sustainable fish around. Quick to reproduce, Pacific sardines have rebounded from both overfishing and a natural collapse in the 1940's, so much so that they are one of Seafood Watch’s “Super Green” sustainable choices. (Click here to find out which 6 super-healthy fish and shellfish you should eat and which 6 to avoid.)
If you’re trying sardines for the first time, or you just really want to learn to like them, here are a few tips and a few recipes to stoke your sardine love:
For the uninitiated, a good place to start is with a boneless, skinless variety. They come packed in water or olive oil. They’re mild, and can be used in recipes in place of canned tuna fish.
If you’re lucky enough to have fresh sardines available in your supermarket, try them in place of the canned sardines. Lightly dredge them in salt-and-pepper-seasoned flour and sauté them in a little olive oil.
Sardines also come smoked, and come packed in sauces like tomato and mustard—give one of these a try. Smear them on a cracker or piece of toast for a snack or light lunch.
For veteran sardine eaters, the sky’s the limit! Sardines with bones and skin are delicious, too, and they look awesome on top of a salad or platter. P.S. The bones and skin are both edible. Those tiny bones deliver calcium too!
Try sardines in these delicious recipes:
Greek Salad With Sardines The fresh, tangy elements of a Greek salad—tomato, cucumber, feta, olives and lemony vinaigrette—pair well with rich-tasting sardines. Look for sardines with skin and bones (which are edible) as they have more than four times the amount of calcium as skinless, boneless sardines.
Spring Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette A bold, layered salad that showcases sardines and asparagus, this beautiful dish adds variety to your weekday dining. If you prefer tuna to sardines or have fish from the night before, go ahead and use that instead.
Sardines on Crackers
A protein-packed and portable snack.
Makes: 4 servings
Active time: 5 minutes Total: 5 minutes
4 whole-grain Scandinavian-style cracker, such as
8-12 canned sardines, preferably packed in olive oil
4 lemon wedges
Top each cracker with 2 to 3 sardines each. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Per cracker: 64 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 1 g mono); 20 mg cholesterol; 8 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 1 g fiber; 94 mg sodium; 102 mg potassium.
Tomato Toast with Sardines & Mint (pictured above)
Canned sardines make an elegant, yet inexpensive appetizer when served with fresh mint, tomato and onion on toast.
Makes: 12 toasts
Active time: 15 minutes Total: 30 minutes To make ahead: Cover and refrigerate the sardine mixture (Step 2) for up to 2 days.
1 4-ounce can boneless, skinless sardines packed in olive oil, preferably smoked
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 slices multigrain bread or 12 slices baguette, preferably whole-grain
1/2 medium ripe tomato
1 tablespoon very thinly sliced yellow onion
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Flake sardines with a fork into a mixing bowl. (The pieces should not be mashed, but should be no bigger than a dime.) Add mint, oil and salt; toss gently to combine.
3. If using whole slices of bread, cut off the crusts and cut each into four triangles. Place the triangles or baguette slices on a baking sheet and bake until crispy and golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. As soon as you remove them from the oven, rub each slice with the cut side of the tomato. As you progress, the tomato will break down until only the skin remains; discard any remaining tomato.
4. Top each toast with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sardine mixture. Top the sardine mixture with a couple of onion slices and serve immediately.
Per toast: 41 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 1 g mono); 5 mg cholesterol; 3 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 3 g protein; 1 g fiber; 113 mg sodium; 63 mg potassium.
By Hilary Meyer

favorite bread type

I love crusty artisan breads!

Sweet and Spicy Brownies

This is a keeper!!!!!!!!!

Sweet and Spicy Brownies
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Original TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Melt chocolate and butter in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently; stir in sugar and set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan. Add eggs, one at a time, to chocolate mixture in saucepan, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour and TABASCO® Sauce and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour mixture into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick a inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into squares.
Makes 16 brownies.

Keep them in the freezer....they taste great frozen!

A Favorite Candy

Licorice babies! I bought some a few weeks ago when I stopped to Charlie Brown's in Little Rock, on my way up to Fillmore. They have every imaginable candy in the world there. I can never find these licorice babies anywhere so when I saw them at Charly Brown's I had to buy them. I left them at Larissa's (well, there were a few left in the bag after she and I enjoyed some every day)) and she faithfully saved them for me. This is a good photo of them..they are an inch long. Theyhave a great textrue. The licorice scottie dogs at Trader Joe's look like they might be the same but they are not the same texture or taste as these. These babies also have a much more intense licorice flavor than the scottie dogs.

After I eat these 3, it will be a long time before I get more...