Chicken Makhani (Indian Chicken)

Recipe & Photo Courtesy AllRecipes.com
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup tomato puree
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Saute shallot and onion until soft and translucent. Stir in butter, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon garam masala, chili powder, cumin and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in half-and-half and yogurt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, and season with 1 teaspoon garam masala and cayenne. Stir in a few spoonfuls of sauce, and simmer until liquid has reduced, and chicken is no longer pink. Stir cooked chicken into sauce.

Mix together cornstarch and water, then stir into the sauce. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.

Chicken Breasts w/ Balsamic Vinegar & Garlic

Recipe & Photo Courtesy AllRecipes.com
INGREDIENTS:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Rinse the mushrooms and pat dry. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute the chicken until it is nicely browned on one side (about 3 minutes).

Add the garlic. Turn the chicken breasts and scatter the mushrooms over them. Continue frying, shaking the skillet and stirring the mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add the vinegar, broth, bay leaf and thyme. Cover tightly and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter and cover with foil. Set aside. Continue simmering the sauce, uncovered, over medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Swirl in the butter or margarine and discard the bay leaf. Pour this mushroom sauce mixture over the chicken and serve.

Best Baked Ziti

Recipe & Photo Courtesy AllRecipes.com
INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
24 ounces ricotta cheese
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.

In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS & DIRECTIONS:
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 pinch salt
Mix together in a coffee mug (larger would be better). I didn't use salt, but found out afterwards it would definitely add the extra taste it needed.

1 egg
Add to the mug and mix well.

3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Add to the mug and mix well, again. You could add in a couple tablespoons of chocolate chips, if you dare.

Microwave it on high for 3 minutes. Watch it in there. That's half the fun. The cake will rise pretty high out of the mug, but it will go back down (it should anyway). Let it cool a minute.

OPTIONS:
#1: Eat it straight out of the mug,
#2: Dump it on a plate and be more formal about it, or
#3: Dump it in a bowl, plop some vanilla ice cream on it, douse it in Hershey's syrup, and dig in like a pig.
The choice is yours.

Eggplant Bake

Photo and Recipe courtesy AllRecipes.com










INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4" rounds
salt to taste
1/2 - 1 cup pasta sauce
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
Dried basil
Dried oregano
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese -or- shredded mozzarella
4 slices Muenster cheese, torn into strips (optional)
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place eggs and bread crumbs in 2 separate bowls. Dip eggplant slices in eggs, then in bread crumbs to coat. Fry coated eggplant slices in the skillet until golden brown. Season with salt, and drain on paper towels. (Alternately, if you prefer to stay away from the grease, bread the eggplant slices as directed, then place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray, and bake 14 minutes on each side.)

In the prepared baking dish, spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce. Layer eggplant, sausage (if using), onion, additional 1/2 cup pasta sauce (if desired) , tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and feta/mozzarella cheese. Top with strips of Muenster (optional).

Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Recipe and Photo Courtesy: Small Notebook











I stumbled across this recipe and thought, "Sure I'll try that one day". Well, 3 days later, I was craving chocolate milk, and guess what, no Hershey's in the fridge. Well, 10 minutes later, I got my chocolate milk and oh my goodness! Delish!

INGREDIENTS
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Mix the cocoa and the water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Boil for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the salt and the vanilla. Let cool. Pour into a sterile glass jar, and store in the refrigerator. Keeps for several months. Yields two cups.

Jimmy Dean Biscuits & Gravy

Recipe courtesy of Doris Beck
Photo courtesy of Google Images











INGREDIENTS
1 pkg Jimmy Dean Sausage (don't substitute another brand)
Oil, preferably canola
1-2 cups milk
Up to 1/4 cup flour
Water
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS
There is no exact measurements to this, it is basically guesswork and will probably be a constantly evolving recipe. So, with that in mind, I will give you the directions the same way they were given to me.

1. Cook the sausage in a skillet. Once cooked, remove all but 1 Tablespoon of the sausage and set aside.
2. Add a little bit of oil, approximately 2 T, get it hot.
3. Have milk, a measuring cup of water and salt and pepper at the ready.
4. Start with 2 T flour, stir into oil and sausage. Add more until you get a paste.
5. Add 1 cup water and mix until smooth, over medium-high heat.
6. When it thickens, add milk or water until you get the desired quantity. *Note* When I made this, I realized I wanted more sauce, so I wound up adding more flour after this step. It was fine, but it's best to get all the flour incorporated during step #4. If you add more flour, add more oil as well. Also, I prefer to use more milk than water, but that's just a personal preference.
7. Add the sausage and cook it a bit to re-warm it.

Serve over biscuits, either homemade, Bisquick or Pillsbury. Doesn't matter which kind, but buttermilk will be best.