Your Great Name!

In celebration of a friend's Baptism today ! Praying that all are enjoying a Blessed evening!

Can you stand to be blessed? If you answer yes, then I want to tell you this; the only way to be blessed is to stand!
When you can’t seem to put one foot in front of the other, stand. When days come that challenge your destiny, just stand.
Realize that there has never been a day that lasted forever. Bite your lip, taste your tears, but stand on what God showed you in the night until it happens in the light.
~T. D. Jakes

In His Great Name

Dee

Taste of India! Chicken Aloo Tikka Masala...Mmmmmm

This is a dinner that is SURE to please anyone from your picky 3 yr old (mine asked for 3rds!) to company invited for a meal. The recipe may seem long and intimidating but I asure you it is very easy and done in a timely manner.


Chicken Aloo Tikka Masala

Part: 1
Chicken Tikka Recipe

Ingredients
1 pint of live natural yogurt
1 Tablespoon Cumin powder
1 Tablespoon garam massala
1 Teaspoon Coriander powder
1 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon chilli/ Cayenne powder (optional)
Juice 1 lemon
8 cloves garlic - crushed
1 inch grated ginger (I used a bit less)
4 Chicken Breasts Cubed
1 Lemon

Method:
Mix the spices, colouring, lemon juice, ginger and garlic up into a paste with a little water and stir in well with the yogurt to make a tandoori marinade. Marinate the chicken in the marinade for 2-60 hours. Shake off excess marinade and place chicken pieces on skewers and cook in tandoor. In the absence of a Tandoor, preheat the oven to it's highest heat for at least 20 minutes. Cook for 15-20 minutes and check the chicken is cooked by piercing the thickest piece with a skewer, if the juices run clear it's cooked, serve with a wedge of lemon.

 Marinate

Broil in oven

Part: 2
Chicken Aloo Tikka Masala

Prepare the Chicken Tikka as the above recipe instructions.

Ingredients for the Sauce/Curry
2 medium-sized onions finely chopped
2 large potatoes diced small
6 cloves garlic chopped fine
5 pods cardamom (I did not add)
1 can chopped tomatoes or 6 medium-sized fresh tomatoes chopped fine
2 tbsps garam masala
2 tsps soft brown sugar
1 cup single cream (can use milk instead)
3 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
Salt to taste
2 TBS butter to finish


Method:
- To make the gravy/ sauce: Heat the oil in a deep pan on a medium flame and add the onion and potato. Cook till soft.
- Now add the cardamom and the garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garam masala, brown sugar, tomatoes,  and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and a thick paste forms.
- Add the grilled Chicken Tikkas (chunks/ pieces) and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the cream and mix well. Turn off the flame.
add butter and stir till melted. adjust seasonings to taste.
- Garnish the dish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Naan bread or Basmati rice.

Saute

Simmer

 Enjoy!! :)

Blessings,

Dee

Fried Buffalo Chicken Chips...for when you want to be naughty in 30 mins or less!!

Heres a 30 minute meal favorite!

This is something you obviously do not want to make regularily if you are counting calories and  for those of you who are you can easily make a reduced calorie version of this by baking the chicken and potatoes and using low cal ingredients...if you MUST!!

Fried Buffalo Chicken Chips

chicken B/S breasts
2 idaho potatoes sliced
olive oil
1/2 cup seasoned flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tsp paprika seperated
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
approx 1/2 cup franks red hot sauce
1 tsp butter
vegtable oil
shredded colby jack cheese
ranch dressing


Slice chicken breast to desired strip size set aside. In medium bowl mix together buttermilk, egg, garlic powder, parika, salt/pepper. Soak chicken strips in mixture and set aside.
In a medium saute pan heat over medium heat approx 3 TB of olive oil till hot and add potato slices with salt/pepper to taste. Cook over med/med high heat until tender and slightly browned.
Meanwhile in a large ziplock bag mix together 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp paprika, salt/pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder together and add chicken slices slightly drained from marinade. Shake in flour till well coated.
In a large fry pan heat approx 1/2 inch veg oil over med heat until hot. Fry chicken slices until cooked through.

When Potatoes are done drain briefly on paper towel to remove excess oil. Same with chicken.
In a small bowl melt butter in microwave and mix into desired amount of Franks Red Hot sauce. Toss chicken into sauce to coat. On plate layer Potato slices, chicken slices, and shredded cheese. Top with Ranch dressing drizzled on top.

Enjoy!!

Blessings and Joy in HIS Name!
Dee

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS

Through the years this has become one of my go to comfort meals for cold weather. It is a no fuss dinner that gives great left overs!

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS with Mushroom Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 sm. onion, chopped or 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 sm. Bell pepper, diced fine (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 Saltine crackers
1-2 eggs (I used only one)
1/4 c. ketchup( can use tomato sauce)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can can water
2 TB oil
1/2 c. uncooked rice

Crush crackers, add eggs. Add salt and pepper, Garlic powder, Bell pepper and onions.
Add ground beef and rice, mix well.  Put oil in pan, brown meatballs slightly and pour off grease.
In Small bowl mix together ketchup, water and mushroom soup then pour over meat in skillet.
Simmer for approx 1 hr until meatballs are cooked through and until sauce is gravy.
Enjoy and stay warm!!

Blessings,
Dee

New Year BLACK-EYED PEAS!

Black Eyed Peas are said to bring good luck to ones New Year but since I don't believe in luck but the Lord's Grace and Blessings I share this recipe with you simply because it's yummy! 


New Year BLACK-EYED PEAS

• olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 ham hock or 1.5 lbs smoked turkey neck
• about 48 ounces of fresh black-eyed peas
• salt and pepper to taste

* If you use dried beans, you'll need to cook them longer, according to package directions
In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves in olive oil over medium heat until onions are soft and translucent. Add the ham hock or smoked turkey and the peas and enough cold water until the peas are just covered. Bring to a boil, skim off any foamy impurities, then reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, until beans are tender.  Let sit, covered, for at least an hour so that ham flavors and pea flavors have time to meld. Drain  some of the water if desired, remove bay leaves and ham hock/turkey, shred any ham or smoked turkey off the bone and add it to the pot). Salt and pepper to taste.

Have a Blessed and Happy New Year!

Dee

More Last Minute Easy Candy Gifts!

Now don't tell me I am the ONLY one who waits till the last minute to throw gifts together?!? And what better gift to please a friend or neighbor than CANDY! Here are a couple of easy quick ones I made that are sure to please!

First is Pistachio Fudge

Pistachio Fudge

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 package (3.4 ounces) pistachio instant pudding mix
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups white baking chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pistachios, divided

Line a 9" square baking pan with aluminum foil, extending foil over
2 sides of pan; grease foil. In a heavy large saucepan, combine
sugar, pudding mix, evaporated milk, butter, and salt. Stirring
constantly, bring mixture to a boil over medium heat; boil 5
minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, baking chip, and
vanilla until smooth. Reserving 2 tablespoons pistachios, stir
in remaining nuts. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle
reserved nuts on top. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Use ends of
foil to lift fudge from pan. Cut into 1" squares. Store in an
airtight container.


The second is a similar recipe to one I already posted but I found an AWESOME simplified version using less ingredients but the exact same yummy results!! I found it at Recipe Girl, LoVe her recipes!! Check out her tutorials.
Almond Roca....have you ever tried it or made it yourself ? If not, YOU MUST!! A piece of heaven I tell you!!

Almond Roca

Yield: 3 cups

Prep Time: 18 min

Cook Time: 15 min

So simple and delicious, but it can be a little tricky. Please read all of the comments and tips before attempting your first batch! We've been making this recipes for years for the holidays and we love it!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped toasted almonds, divided
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
4 bars of chocolate (such as Hershey's Bars) (I just used chocolate chips bitter sweet)

Directions:

1. Butter a 7x11-inch pan (or 9x12 for slightly thinner roca). Sprinkle 1 cup of toasted almonds on bottom of the pan.
2. In heavy saucepan at medium-high heat melt butter and add brown sugar. Stir until gently boiling. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and boil 12 minutes exactly, stirring constantly. *Edited to add* I made mine without a candy thermometer with success, but since some readers have noted having trouble with this recipe- you might wish to stick and instant read thermometer in there just to make sure it's about the right temperature. Pull it off the heat when it has reached the hard-crack stage (300 degrees F)- if it gets higher than 320, it will not remain solid.
3. Remove the mixture from heat, give it a good stir to mix up that butter and sugar one more time, and immediately pour hot mixture into pan over almonds. (see *Tips below) Place chocolate bars on top. Let them sit a minute or so until melted, then spread chocolate around carefully. Sprinkle with remaining toasted almonds and gently press them into the chocolate..
4. Cool completely, and then break apart into chunks with a sharp knife. Store in a covered container.

Tips:

*This recipe is gluten-free adaptable- just be sure to use a brand of chocolate that is known to be GF.
*If you like the sweet-salty combination in desserts, use roasted almonds that are salted (then you can chop them and toast them lightly in a dry frying pan). If you don't care to have much salt, use unsalted natural almonds. I went for the salty kind and LOVED it.
*If you don't have a 7x11-inch pan, it's okay to use a 9x12-inch pan. You probably won't want to go all the way to the edges with the almonds, toffee and chocolate or it will be thin. Leave about an inch all the way around.
*Speed up the cooling process by placing the pan in the refrigerator.
*If you are in a place where it is very humid, you will likely have trouble getting your toffee to set. Toffee doesn't like humidity. Try it on a dry day!
*Edited to add that some people have trouble w/ the chocolate separating from the toffee. This is kind of normal in almond roca since the toffee is so buttery. I've been told that one way to avoid that is to give the toffee a light dusting of cocoa powder before placing the chocolate bars on top. The powder apparently acts as an absorbent for the butter and allows the chocolate to adhere more easily to the toffee. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm told that it works!

I hope everyone has a Beautiful and Very Blessed Christmas!

Love In Christ,

Dee

Easy Does It Christmas Candy!

We all need a little easy shortcut option for Holiday treats and gift giving ideas! Here is a option that can be whipped up in no time but is every bit a yummy to eat! This recipe is very versatile, use any of your favorite add ins!

M&M Holiday Bark

1 package white chocolate bark
1 package baking M&M's
pretzel pieces or almonds...or both :)

Melt bark in microwave, stirring to get smooth consistency, then stir M&M's into bark. Pour thin layer on wax paper to cool.
When completely cool and hard, break up into pieces.

Add to your cookie tray or give away in clear goodie bags to neighbors and friends!

Cute Holiday Idea for keeping Christ in Chistmas: Santa's Key

Source: Pearls,Handcuffs,Happyhour 

Santa's key for Jesus- Dear Santa, This magic key works just for you, Please open the door and come on through. Thank you for coming to our house tonight. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Thank you Santa for the gifts you bring. Thank you Lord for everything


Blessings In Christ!
Dee