Chicken Jalfrezi

Hey everyone, Sarah here:

First of all, I apologize for the fact that it has been almost a month since I last posted!  The month of November was crazy and I haven't had a lot of free time lately.  Becca and I threw a Pre-Thanksgiving party with some of our friends and I made an amazing turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy which I was planning on posting, but of course I was running late and in a hurry by the end and didn't have the time to stop and take a picture at every step, so I only have photos for the first half of the recipes.

Anyways, last night Becca and I made a delicious Indian dinner using one of my favorite recipes, Chicken Jalfrezi.  For those of you who don't have a lot of experience making ethnic food, don't get scared off!  Chicken Jalfrezi is delicious, uses ingredients that are relatively easy to find (you should be able to find both coriander and curry paste in the ethnic foods aisle at your grocery store) and doesn't take very long either.  And it is also very healthy (admittedly unlike many of the recipes I've posted here).

Chicken Jalfrezi

Start by prepping your vegetables.  Finely dice up one medium onion.

Then dice up a red bell pepper

And a green bell pepper.

Mince up a couple of cloves of garlic.

Next, cut off a small piece of ginger root, about 3/4 - 1 inch wide, and peel it.

And...you guessed it...mince that up too.  The fastest and easiest way that I've found to mince fresh ginger is to pulse it in the food processor for a couple of seconds.

Throw all the vegetables together in a bowl as you prepare them, and admire how pretty they look together.

Next, heat some olive oil in a large skillet or wok.

And add in all of the vegetables.  Cook for 5-8 minutes, until soft.

While the vegetables are cooking, grab some skinless boneless chicken breasts.

And cut them up into bite-sized pieces.

Once the vegetables are soft, add in a tablespoon of red curry paste.  Yes, this is Thai curry paste.  It works just fine.

Stir the curry paste into the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes.

Add in 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder.

And 1 teaspoon of ground coriander (please don't mind the fact that my measuring spoon appears to glow in this picture.  Sorry about my photography skills.)

And 1 teaspoon of ground cumin.

Also add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, but that's not pictured because I forgot.  Add about 1 tablespoon of water to the pan and mix the spices in with the vegetables and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the chicken into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until browned on all sides.

Then add in a 14-oz can of diced tomatoes.

Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, enjoy a glass of wine or a beer or something.  I'd like to give a shout-out here to Heidi, our Wine Fairy.  Heidi is our former neighbor who lived across the hall from us until she moved this past week.  When she moved, she left a whole bunch of loot outside our door, including: Christmas decorations, candles, plates, bowls, laundry detergent, and, our favorite, two bottles of wine!  So thank you, Heidi, Wine Fairy Extraordinaire!  We'll miss you.

After 10-15 minutes, check the chicken to see if it's done.  Here's what it should look like:

Serve over basmati rice, and enjoy!

This recipe is courtesy of our "Around the World" Cookbook, which we sadly under-utilize and need to try out more.

Many thanks go out also to my Aunt Jacqueline's sister Deborah, who sent us these great recipe cards!  We love them so much!

Chicken Jalfrezi
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp. oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 or 2 garlic cloves, diced
3/4 inch piece of ginger, finely diced
1 tbsp. curry paste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
Basmati Rice, for serving

1. Remove any visible fat from chicken and cut into bite-sized cubes.

2. Heat oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, peppers, garlic and ginger.  Cook until soft, 5-8 minutes.

3. Add the curry paste and fry for 2 minutes.  Stir in the salt, chili powder, ground coriander and cumin, and add 1 tbsp. water, fry for 2 more minutes.

4. Add the chicken cubes and fry for 5 minutes.  Add in the diced tomatoes, then cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve with basmati rice.

Little Family Spaghetti

Hi everyone, Sarah here:

Last weekend, DC had a freak October snowstorm, and it looked like this outside:

Which wasn't such a bad thing, because it was the perfect day for making spaghetti!  My family's spaghetti recipe has been my favorite food for as long as I can remember.  There's nothing better than coming home to a house that smells like this spaghetti sauce.  There's nothing better than eating a larger-than-acceptable serving of spaghetti covered in this spaghetti sauce.  There's nothing better than leftover spaghetti the next day.  Basically, in my opinion, there is nothing better than this spaghetti.  It is essential that you make it as soon as humanly possible.

Start by making the meatballs.  In a large bowl, combine a pound of ground beef

With 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

And 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt

And a tablespoon of dried parsley

And a teaspoon of salt.

Combine all of the ingredients together with your hands.

And form into meatballs, however large you want them to be.

Spray a large pot with Pam cooking spray and brown the meatballs.

Leave the meatballs in the pot and fill up with four quarts of water.

I know it doesn't look very appetizing right now.  But trust me, it will be amazing.

Put the pot back on the burner and add in a 12-oz can of tomato paste.

And a tablespoon of sugar.

And a teaspoon of salt.

And a quarter teaspoon of garlic salt.

And a tablespoon of dried minced onion.

And a quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese.

And a tablespoon of parsley.

And a good-sized pinch of red pepper flakes.

So now, it should look like this:

Bring the sauce to a boil and then lower the heat.  Simmer the sauce until it is thick and amazing, approximately 3 hours.

After 1 hour, it should look kind of like this:

After two hours, it should look somewhat like this:

And after three hours, it'll look like this:

Serve on top of hot spaghetti, and wait for your life to change.  It will, I promise.

Yum.  Just looking at the pictures makes me want some more.

Spaghetti with Meatballs:
Meatballs
1 lb ground beef
3 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Black pepper, to taste

Sauce
4 quarts water
12 oz tomato paste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tbsp. dried minced onions
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Start by making the meatballs.  Combine the ground beef, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, black pepper, and garlic salt until well-mixed and form into meatballs.  Spray a large pot with Pam cooking spray, and brown the meatballs over medium-high heat.

Leave the meatballs in the pan, and add in four quarts of water.  Stir in tomato paste, parmesan cheese, sugar, parsley, minced onions, salt, garlic salt, and red pepper flakes, and mix together.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat.  Simmer the sauce until thick, approximately 3 hours.  Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

Enjoy!