Chicken Tikka Masala

I have been looking for a good alternative to the Bombay House in Provo, because I crave their yummy Chicken Tikka Masala all the time, but it's too expensive to go all the time! So I found this recipe online (I don't remember where) and decided to give it a shot because it had really good reviews, and up until it was actually all combined and simmering I didn't think it would taste good at all, but then BOOM it became fantastic! Seriously, REALLY similar to the Chicken Tikka Masala I get at Bombay House, and much cheaper. Well you have to buy all the spices and stuff but once you do that you can use them for many batches. Oh and I doubled this recipe because once I started making it it didn't amount to much, and now we have yummy leftovers, so definitely double it. And I got some garlic Naan at Win-Co, and all you have to do is heat it up. I HIGHLY recommend trying it out, even if you've never had it before, it's one of my favorite dinners! :)

Chicken Tikka Masala

(I didn't take a picture of mine but this is pretty much what it looks like)

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1" pieces

Marinade:
1 c. plain yogurt
2 T. lemon juice
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. ground red pepper
2 t. black pepper
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 piece minced ginger (1" long)

Sauce:
1 T. unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. paprika
1 t. garam masala (you can get this at an oriental market (if you live in Provo I went to the Bollywood Market on University Avenue) or some grocery stores)
2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. salt
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. cilantro (I don't use this because I hate cilantro but if you do use it it's the garnish on top)

1. Marinate cut up chicken for at least an hour in the fridge in the marinade. (I marinated it about 7 hours while I was at class and work and it wasn't too strong or anything.)
2. For sauce, melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add tomato sauce, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt and simmer for 15 minutes. If you're adding peanuts add them now (after you've soaked them in water for about an hour.)
4. Stir in cream and simmer to thicken about 5 minutes. If you're adding raisins add them now.
5. Take chicken out of marinade and cook it (broil or grill it). Add it to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with basmati rice and naan.

I added cooked carrots too and it was real yummy and you can also add potatoes. Delicious! Next time I will try it with half cream and half coconut milk to lighten it up... And up until you simmer the sauce, you're not going to believe that it is going to taste like tikka masala, but I promise it will! I also left the seeds out of the jalapeno and didn't put as much ground red pepper in as it called for because I didn't want it too spicy, but I will add a little more next time to get more kick to it.

Pumpkin Party

We have been killin some pumpkins lately! I went to my sister's house last weekend and carved pumpkins and made caramel apples with her family, Christy, and Mark. Then yesterday Jeremy and Sarah Lebaron came over and we carved pumpkins and watched Paranormal Activity- kind of a Halloween tradition because we did the same thing last year! I have an idea of what I want us to be for Halloween, except we don't have any plans yet! So if we have plans soon we will dress up- someone invite us to a party!

I'm gonna go ahead and say I have the cutest nephew in the whole world.

I carved a spider!

This is Brandon's creepy creepy man, I think it is supposed to look like the man is trapped in the pumpkin- I don't know just don't leave me in a dark room alone with it...

Christmas List

Uh oh...add this to my Christmas list... and it's on SALE!

Learning Curve Dress

Weekends and Weddings

This weekend was a busy one. We went to our friend's Jeremy and Kiley's wedding on Friday night, then Saturday morning I drove to Vegas with my friend James for our friends Trevor and Jordan's wedding. Here are some pics:

Fall makes me Fat

I want to try all of these:

Cheesecake Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Fudge Butterfinger Cookies

If it has Butterfingers in it I'm guaranteed to like it.

Devil's Food Cake Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting
This one is something Courtney would like :)

Yummy Carrot Cake

I'll let you know how it goes trying all these... :)

I got a fever...

And the only prescription, is making HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES!These are inspiring me and I might have to have a baking fest.



And how good do these look?

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
by Martha Stewart

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

**Notes**

Our cookies baked for 13 1/2 minutes per tray. Keep a close eye on them after 12 minutes to make sure that they don't burn.

I allowed the first tray of cookies to cool for almost 10 minutes but then I found that some of the cookies were hard to remove without breaking. I removed the cookies from the second tray after only 5 minutes and they came off of the tray with no problem.

That recipe was found HERE.

I'm gonna get fat.

Online Shopping

I have been in SUCH the internet shopping mood lately. I ordered a shirt from Urban and with all the coupon codes I found online it was literally $14 shipped. Also I don't recommend downloading the Ebay app for iPhone because it makes it WAY too easy to bid on little things. Seriously I have 2 salt and pepper shaker sets on the way at the moment, it's a problem. I also might need this:

Located here
And these:

Located here

Located here

And can you say Juicy Couture copycat? I almost don't care since they're each $14.99...

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It is almost Christmas, riiiighht?