Curry Chicken And Rice Is A Nice Recipe For Busy Weeknights

Curry chicken and rice is a nice recipe for busy weeknights, with chicken breasts, onion, potatoes and carrots all cooked together in one dish. Feel free to use chicken thighs instead of breasts, and to replace the curry paste with 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons curry powder if needed.

The Rice

2 cups long grain brown rice

4 cups water

The Chicken

4 tablespoons butter

10 chicken pieces (drums & thighs)

The Sauce

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

1 whole head of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon curry powder (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

PREPARATION:

Toss chicken with curry powder, salt and ground red pepper in medium bowl; set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup chicken broth, vegetables and tomato paste; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth and cornstarch, mixing until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture; simmer 2 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice; top with yogurt and cilantro.

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add them to the skillet skin side down and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned, about 12 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until barely soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice, curry powder, dill, cumin, crushed red pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.

Return the chicken to the skillet and add the stock. Cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Transfer the breasts and wings to a plate, cover and keep warm. Cover the skillet and bake for about 20 minutes longer, or until the rice is tender. Spoon the rice onto a platter. Set the chicken on top, garnish with the cilantro and serve at once.

SERVE WITH A soothing raita (a yogurt condiment), chutney or pungent Indian pickle (lime pickle is nice) and a green vegetable like spinach or zucchini for the full Asian effect.

Pecan Pie Bars Which Are Quite Easy To Make

Most people who are reading this article will be familiar with pecan pies. It is actually a sweet dish which is made with pecan nuts and corn syrup. As it is said to be a specialty of Southern US cuisine, people think that it was introduced there. However, there are people who say that it was introduced in New Orleans, as pecan pies are very popular there. Wherever it may have been introduced, this has become a favorite of people all around the world and is made specially during the holidays. Moreover, people have found different ways of making it. One amongst them are the pecan pie bars which are quite easy to make. The sweet taste along with the crunchy effect of the pecans makes them a favorite among young and old alike. So, if you find this sweet dish interesting, here are some recipes for making chunky bars.


How to Make Bars From Pecan Pie

Recipe #01

Ingredients

3 cups All-purpose flour

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

2½ cups pecans, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cup white sugar

4 eggs

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup margarine

1½ cup light corn syrup

4 ounces white sugar

Preparation

Take flour in a large mixing bowl and add ½ cup (4 ounces) white sugar and salt to it. Stir these ingredients together and then, put in 1 cup of margarine to it. Continue stirring till the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Once this is done, take a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan and grease it lightly. Pour the mixture into this pan and place it in a 350 degrees F preheated oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can start preparing the filling for the pie crust. For this, take eggs, 1½ cup of sugar, vanilla, corn syrup and 3 tablespoons of margarine in a mixing bowl. Mix until the mixture attains a smooth texture and then, fold in the pecans into the mixture. Once the crust is done, take it out of the oven and spread the filling into it evenly. Place the pan again in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or till the filling is fully set. Place the pan on the wire rack and when it gets completely cooled, slice it into the shape of bars.

Recipe #02

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 cup butter, softened

1½ teaspoon vanilla

6 sq. semi-sweet chocolate

2½ cups pecans, chopped

4 eggs, slightly beaten

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar, divided

1½ cup corn syrup

Preparation

Take ½ cup sugar, salt, flour and butter in a mixing bowl and blend them together with a hand blender at a medium speed. Continue doing this till the mixture starts looking like coarse crumbs. Grease a baking pan lightly and spread the whole mixture into it. Place the pan in the oven and bake it for 20 minutes at the temperature of 350 degrees F. While the crust is being made, take a small saucepan and cook chocolate and corn syrup on a very low heat. Keep on stirring the mixture till the chocolate melts completely. Take the saucepan off the stove and fold in the eggs, remaining sugar and vanilla to it. Blend these ingredients together till the mixture becomes smooth. Once this is done, stir in the chopped pecans. Spread this mixture on the pie base and bake it again for 30 minutes. Cool the pecan pie crust and then, chop it into 1½ inch bars. More on pecan pie recipe.

A Couple Of Easy Banana Bread Recipes For You To Go Bananas Over

Banana bread is a cake-like, sweet bread, with mashed bananas being one of the main ingredients. This bread is quick and easy to make, with baking soda used as the leavening agent rather than yeast. And instead of dough, a thick batter is used to make the bread, which doesn't need the usual process of kneading. Usually, a rectangular pan is used to bake the banana bread.

It was in the 1930s, with the popularization of baking powder or baking soda, that banana bread recipes first found their way into American cookbooks. The simplicity of the recipe along with the revival of home baking in the 1960s led to a sudden surge in the popularity of banana bread. The recipe books of the 1960s added to the popularity of this bread by listing a number of its variations, with chocolate, nuts and fruits added into it. For example, the banana and chocolate or the banana and walnut are great variations of the basic banana bread.

So, every time you find you have a number of bananas ripening at the same time, why not mash them and make some of this delectable bread. Not only is it delicious, but it can also make a quick and nutritious breakfast, since it freezes well. You can slice up the bread and place each slice in a separate plastic bag and freeze them. So, whenever you happen to be in a rush in the morning, all you need to do is pop in a slice into the microwave, and... Voila!... There you have a yummy, warm slice infused with the aroma of heavenly banana.

So, here we go... here are a couple of easy banana recipes for you to go bananas over:

Cinnamon Flavored Walnut Banana Bread

3 cups of very ripe bananas, mashed

3 1/4 cups of flour, all-purpose

4 large eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 1/3 cups of sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of crème fraîche

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cups of walnuts, toasted and chopped

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans, then sprinkle some flour over it. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Beat the sugar and eggs in a bowl with an electric mixer set at medium-high speed for about 10 minutes or until the mixture forms peaks. Then, reducing the speed, add the oil slowly, while continuing to mix, then add in the mashed bananas, vanilla, and crème fraiche. Stop the mixer, and then fold in the flour mixture as well as the walnuts into it. Then put this batter into the two baking pans and bake for about an hour, or until the loaves turn golden brown.

Lemony Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups flour, all purpose

1 cup of ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup of chocolate chips, semisweet

2 large sized eggs

1/2 cup of unsalted butter

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a medium-sized bowl in order to blend them. Put the chocolate chips in another bowl and add one tablespoon of the flour mixture and toss it about in order to coat the chocolate. In a large bow, beat the butter until it becomes fluffy. Add the sugar in gradually while still beating until it is well blended. Blend the eggs in one at a time. Then, blend in the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and the mashed bananas. Blend in the flour mixture, and then spoon in 1/3 of the batter into the baking pan, and sprinkle in half of the chocolate chips. Then spoon in another 1/3 of the batter and sprinkle in the rest of the chocolate chips. Then put in the rest of the batter and run a knife through the batter in a zigzag pattern. Then put it in the oven and bake for about an hour.