Naan

My new favorite food.

2/3 c warm milk or water
2c all purpose flour
2 tsp onion seeds (optional) You could also add some garlic powder
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 T clarified butter
2 T plain yogurt

Whisk warm milk with yeast and sugar. Cover and let sit for about 10 minutes. Sift flour and salt three times into a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, half of the clarified butter (ghee) and the yogurt. Mix into a soft dough the knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough and kneed another 5 minutes divide into six balls and then roll out into 8 inch rounds. Cook in a hot pan brushed with ghee on top of the stove. Naan is ready to flip when it's puffed up, about 2 minutes on each side.

*To make clarified butter. Melt a stick in the microwave and let it sit and cool. When it's all cooled off there will be a top layer and a bottom layer. Skim off the top layer, this is the clarified butter. The bottom you can still use for toast and cooking.

Chicken Tikki Masala

It's long and a little time consuming but SOOOO worth it and super easy!

1 c plain yogurt
1 T lemon Juice
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T fresh ground ginger
4 tsp salt or to taste ( I think I used 1)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut to bite size pieces
4 long skewers (optional)

In a large bowl mix all ingredients except chicken. Mix well and stir in chicken. cover and place in the fridge. Let marinate at least 1 hour, the longer the better. Preheat grill at high heat and thread chicken on to the skewers. Discard extra marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side. An alternate method (the way I did it) cook chicken under the broiler. About 5-6 minutes on each side.

Sauce:
1 T butter
1 clove butter minced
1 jalapeno diced fine
8 oz fresh mushrooms sliced (optional)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp tandoori seasoning (optional)
1 tsp sweet curry
3 tsp salt ( I didn't use this much)
1 (8oz can) tomato sauce
1 c heavy cream or evaporated milk
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno, and mushroom for about 1 minute. Season with cumin, paprika, curry, tandoori, and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer for about 20 minutes to thicken. Add cooked chicken and simmer for another 10 minutes. Transfer to serving platter and garnish with cilantro. Serve over basmati or other long grained rice.

Perfect Soft Pretzels

I watched an episode of Good Eats on Food Network on homemade pretzels. I didn't think it looked too hard so I tried it. The pictures do not do it justice, they look burnt but oh no they were perfectly chewy on the outside and like spongy velvet on the inside. Oh my crazy goodness! Alton Brown is a genius! I will probably make these every week for the rest of my life, they are amazing! Basically you can make a full batch (7-8 pretzels) for what one costs at the mall. Thank you Alton!

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe from foodnetwork.com Alton Brown

Wiggly Wafflels

Every once in a great while I have a stroke of genius. My kids love to play the Wiggly Waffle Topping game. In the game you get to put all kinds of crazy things on your waffle from honey to broccoli to cereal. So I thought it might be fun for our family to top our own waffles with yummy things. So I asked Brayden what he would like on his waffle "Apples, strawberries, cherries and honey." Doesn't sound too crazy. T.K. wanted "Blueberries, applesauce, bananas, and grape juice." A little bit more weird. Poor Bray had to go without his cherries because he wanted fresh cherries like Grandma has on her trees and it's just not the right season. Here's what we came up with.


This is Brayden's. I had another smart moment and added sprinkles, they were all over that! Notice the strawberry with the big bite out of it, he just couldn't wait.


Of course T.K. changed his mind and just wanted sprinkles on his.

Steve had chocolate chip with syrup.

I just had a plain waffle with syrup, boring, I know, I'm a purist.
The recipe is nothing fancy, it's just pancake mix and I followed the directions on the bag for making waffles. I do have a secret though, if you put a splash of vanilla to the batter it adds a little love :)

Red Lobster Cheese Rolls

My bff Mark found this recipe and it is great! It does make a difference when you brush the tops.

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix

¾ cup cold whole milk

4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Bush on Top:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.