Slow-Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

On March 16, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes12 Comments

Despite what it may seem like based upon the posts that we put out, we’re both extremely busy with work and trying to find time to travel. We have high stress jobs that keep us busy from the moment that we walk into our offices, albeit home offices, to the time that we step away from our desks at the end of the day. So, we love a good slow-cooker recipe, something that we can throw together and forget it. We found this recipe in a Food Network Magazine and decided to give it a try. We cut down the portions of chicken and onion since it is just the two of us, but left the sauce the same so that it would have plenty of flavor. The recipe here is for the full portion described in the magazine that is meant to serve 4 people. It really was delicious and we’ll definitely make it again, but when we do, we’ll probably leave some of the seeds in from the pepper to give it a little heat and might even add a little garlic to it. If you can’t find naan bread, you could certainly put this over rice to soak up all of the sauce.

Ingredients

3 pieces of Naan Bread
1 Red Onion – halved and thinly sliced
1 lb Small Red Potatoes – halved or quartered if large
1 Fresno Chile or Red Jalapeno Pepper, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced
1 small bunch of Cilantro – stems and leaves separated and leaves chopped
1 1/2 lb Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Thighs
1 tbsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter – cut into pieces
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Crumble or rip a half piece of the naan into coarse crumbs and place on the bottom of a 6-quart slow-cooker. Add the red onion, potatoes, pepper, and cilantro stems. Arrange the chicken thighs over the vegetables in a single layer and sprinkle with the garam masala, plus about 3/4 teaspoon of salt and a little fresh ground pepper. Place the chunks of butter on top of the chicken and add the cinnamon stick. Cover everything with the tomato sauce and cook on low for about 7 hours. Once done, uncover and gently stir in the heavy cream, breaking the chicken into large chunks. Let stand for 10 minutes and then stir in the cilantro leaves and season with a little more salt, if desired. Serve with the remaining naan bread.

Tequila Lime Chicken

On November 4, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes2 Comments

Perhaps because we’re about to leave for Mexico in a couple of days, we’ve had tequila on the mind. We originally found this recipe from Ina Garten, but we’ve modified it slightly over time. The original recipe calls for boneless chicken breast with the skin on, but we chose to do bone in chicken thighs this time. We’ve also used this recipe on pork tenderloin as well, since it is very versatile and definitely quite tasty. The key is letting the chicken marinate overnight and letting the chicken soak up all of the flavor. Jalapeño corn bread is a great accompaniment or a corn salad goes really nice as well. We hope that you enjoy it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Tequila (silver or gold)
3/4 cup Lime Juice – fresh squeezed
1/3 cup Orange Juice – fresh squeezed
3/4 tbsp Chili Powder
3/4 tbsp Jalapeño Pepper – freshly minced (seeded if you prefer less heat)
3/4 tbsp Garlic – freshly minced (about 2 cloves)
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
3/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
4 Chicken Thighs – skin on

Instructions

In a large bowl or measuring cup, combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, garlic, jalapeño pepper, salt, and black pepper. Whisk the ingredients together. Place the chicken thighs into a shallow pan or baking dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken so that it covers the chicken thighs. Cover and place in a refrigerator overnight (turning the chicken thighs over occasionally). Heat a grill pan or grill to medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill the chicken thighs, skin side down, until golden brown, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Flip the thighs, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to grill until cooked through, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Spicy Chicken Curry

On September 1, 2015September 2, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes1 Comment

It wasn’t our original intention to do back to back Indian inspired dishes, but we were watching a cooking show over the weekend and got inspired. Even though we had a general idea of what we wanted to do, we ended up basically making this one up as we went along. All things considered, this one is a keeper, but we like spicy food, so if you’re not a fan of spice, you can always tame it down. We also chose to serve it over long grain wild rice, but white or brown rice would also go nice with it as well.

Spicy Chicken Curry

Ingredients

2 Large Chicken Breasts – cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup Flour
2 tbsp Medium-Hot Chili Powder
2 tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Turmeric
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Wash the cubed chicken and keep moist. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp cumin, the paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp turmeric. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and add to the oil, cooking until the chicken is a nice golden brown, approximate 4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Add the chicken broth and whipping cream to the same skillet that the chicken was cooked in. Add the remaining chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, and turmeric and bring the liquid to a low simmer. Add the chicken back to the skillet and heat together until the liquid becomes creamy. Cook rice according to the package directions and serve the chicken curry over the rice.