Category: Tasty Dinners

Chicken Tikka Masala

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Chicken Tikka Masala is a dish that is served throughout the world. This Tikka Masala has a smoky spicyness to it. The spices used like garam masala, tumeric, ginger, coriander gives this dish so much depth and the smell while you’re cooking it is so fragrant it will make your mouth start watering! This is easily one of my favorite dishes to make an eat! It makes quite a bit of sauce so I like to freeze the extra that I don’t eat (make sure you eat all the chicken) for an easy dinner to make later! 

The Chicken

In order for the chicken to soak up all those wonderful flavors make sure you let the chicken marinate for at least an hour even better if you remember to do it the day before! 

Trim the chicken and cube it up in large bite size chunks. Next mix the marinade up; combine the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, salt, cumin, garam masala, and paprika. Now add the chicken to the marinade and coat thoroughly. Place in the fridge. 

*TIP*- I like to mix my chicken and marinade in a Tupperware so I can put a lid on it. 

Once the chicken is done marinating preheat your oven to 500°, and line your cookie sheet with parchment pepper. Put the chicken on as many skewers as you need and make sure there is space underneath them so the heat is evenly distributed. Cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is dark and cripsy on the edges. If you have an air fryer that has a skewer and rotisserie option you can use this, I typically cook my chicken this way and use the rotisserie option for 20-25 minutes.  

The Sauce

Drizzle some olive oil over medium heat in your sauté pan, once hot put in your diced onions, ginger and garlic, cook until tender but make sure not to brown everything. Add in all your spices, stir everything together and cook until you smell that amazing aroma! 

Stir in the tomato puree, tomato sauce and 1 1/4 cup of water with the spices making sure it’s well blended. Stir frequently as you bring the mixture to a boil. 

Slowly pour in heavy cream stirring it in as you do. Add chicken into the sauce making sure the pieces are all coated. Cook for another 1-2 minutes so all the flavors blend together. 

Ladle sauce and chicken onto a bed of rice and garnish with cilantro.

Bon Appetit!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 22 mins
Total Time 1 d 42 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 5

Equipment

  • Skewers
  • Saute Pan

Ingredients
  

Ingredients

  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • ½ cup plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger or powdered ginger
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger or powdered ginger
  • 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 3 ½ cups tomato sauce
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro or thai basil for garnish
  • cooked rice for serving

Instructions
 

Directions

    Make The Chicken

    • Slice the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Combine the cubed chicken with the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, salt, cumin, garam masala, and paprika and stir until well-coated.
    • Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
    • Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Line a high-sided baking pan or roasting tray with parchment paper.
    • Place the marinated chicken pieces on skewers, then set them over the prepared baking pan, making sure there is space underneath the chicken to help distribute the heat more evenly. Bake for about 15 minutes, until slightly dark brown on the edges.

    Make The Sauce

    • Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, then sauté the onions, ginger, and garlic until tender but not browned. Add the cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika, chili powder, and garam masala and stir constantly for about 30 seconds, until the spices are fragrant. Stir in the tomato puree, tomato sauce, and 1 ¼ cups of water, then bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the cream.
    • Remove the chicken from the skewers and add to the sauce, cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or alongside naan bread.

    Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

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    Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

    These Enchiladas are so easy and quick and so delicious! They are perfect for a household on the go, and for meal prepping!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mexican
    Servings 2

    Equipment

    • 1 Baking Dish
    • 1 Pot Boiling chicken
    • 1 Mixing Bowl

    Ingredients
      

    For Chicken:

    • 1 lb shredded chicken
    • 1 cup Mexican Crema
    • 1 cup canned or jarred Salsa Verde I love using Herdez
    • salt To taste
    • pepper To taste
    • garlic powder dash

    For Assembly:

    • 4-5 6 IN soft flour tortillas
    • 1.5 cups canned or jarred Salsa Verde
    • 1.5 cups Shredded Mexican style cheese or Monterey jack

    Instructions
     

    • Boil 2 breasts of chicken until cooked and remove from water and shred into a bowl. You can also use rotisserie chicken. I like to boil the chicken, it's a quick and easy way to cook it and it will shred really easily. Mix in crema, Salsa Verde, salt, pepper and garlic powder to the chicken. I added a few drops of a green Chile habanero hot sauce for some heat. Set aside.
    • Spray a baking dish so your enchiladas don't stick. Take a tortilla and scoop a portion of the chicken mix into the middle and roll the tortilla up. Place the tortilla to one side of your dish and repeat until all chicken is used up or you have the desired amount of Enchiladas. Top with your Salsa Verde then add shredded cheese.
    • Bake at 350°for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. After this you can also place under the broiler for a couple minutes so cheese browns slightly. Garnish with cilantro and serve!

    REGs Famous Mustard Chicken over Spaghetti

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    This Mustard Chicken recipe is flavorful, zesty and absolutely comforting. The perfect meal for everyone to love. It will soon be one of your go to meals. A little bit about this recipe, this was my favorite dish my parents would make when I was younger and would ask for it all the time. When I was around 12 my dad showed me how to make the roux and combine the ingredients to make the sauce, I've been making this ever since. This dish was the starting point to my love for cooking and absolutely not the end to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

    Lets Start

    Before I start a meal I like to prep everthing and have it all ready to go when I need it so I’m not scrambling. Especially with the roux, if you don’t act fast you can burn it which will hurt the taste of the sauce. 

    So to start get your chicken trimmed and cut into cube sized pieces, set aside. 

    Next, get your 2 tbsp of flour ready in a small cup, and your 2 tbsp of butter (separately).

    In a 2 cup measuring cup measure 1 cup of milk (I use unsweetened original almond milk to cut the fat down and to help my lactose intolerant husband- the sauce is somewhat thinner than if you used milk but I don’t notice the difference anymore) with 1 cup of chicken broth. Set aside. Now to cook the chicken!

    The Chicken

    Using a large saute pan drizzle in about tbsp of oil and coat the pan really well. Get it really hot and add the chicken instantly coating the chicken and stirring so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Sprinkle the chicken with seasoned salt, if you don’t have a  seasoned salt you like to use or don’t have any on hand you can use salt, paprika and a little garlic powder. Cook the chicken until its nice and brown on the outside, turn off heat, pull from the pan and set aside. 

    **Side note: I start the pasta around the same time as I put the chicken in the pan.

    The Sauce

    Using the same pan turn the heat to med-low, add your 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of flour, continuously whisk/stir together to make the roux. You want it well mixed and it will start to get thicker as you mix the flour and butter together. You will see it start to bubble slightly and that’s when you want to add in the milk and chicken stock mixture. If you wait too long you can burn the roux. 

    Slowly pour the milk chicken stock mixture into the roux and begin to whisk everything together. Make sure you scrap the pan to get all the seasoning and flavor that the chicken left behind blended in. 

    Turn up to med heat and keep stirring the mixture until its thick and bubbly. Turn heat to low and simmering.

    Time to add the mustard! I never measure out my mustard because I have made this so many times, but since this is your first time measure out a 1/2 – 3/4 cups of Spicy Brown Mustard to start. Gently stir it into the sauce, and stir until blended, taste, need more mustard? Add some more! Add mustard until it’s right where you like the taste. You can also add in a little Dijon to give it more tang. 

    Add you chicken and all those delicious juices back into the sauce, stir to coat the chicken and cook 2-3 min longer to heat the chicken back up. 

    Serve over spaghetti or whatever pasta you have you can top it with a little sprinkle of paprika and Viola! 

    Bon Appetit!

     

    REGs Famous Mustard Chicken

    This Mustard Chicken recipe is flavorful, zesty and absolutely comforting. The perfect meal for everyone to love. It will soon be one of your go to meals. 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 25 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Course Main Course

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 tbsp season salt
    • 1 cup milk (or original non-sweetened almond milk)
    • 1 cup chicken Broth Add this to the same measuring cup as milk
    • 2 tbsp butter
    • 2 tbsp flour
    • 1/2 - 3/4 cups spicy brown mustard - to start - add more as desired You can mix some Dijon mustard as well
    • 1 lb favorite pasta

    Instructions
     

    • The easiest way to start this recipe is get everything prepped; Cut the chicken into cubes, put milk and chicken stock in a 2 cup measuring cup, cut 2 tbs of butter and set aside, get 2 tbsp of flour and set aside.
    • Add olive oil to pan, once hot add chicken in and season with season salt (add more of less depending on your preference).
    • Cook chicken until browned, remove from pan and set aside (a bowl works best- it holds all those great juices in)
    • Add your prepped 2 tbsp of butter and flour to the same pan as chicken and stir together until it makes a paste, this is called a roux.
    • Once the roux is mixed well and starts bubbling, add in your milk/chicken stock mixture. Bring your heat up to medium and stir together with the roux. Stir together until sauce gets nice and thick and starts boiling.
    • Reduce heat to low and add in your mustard (start with a cup), stir into sauce until well blended. Taste- add mustard if needed.
    • Stir chicken back into the sauce, make sure you add all the juices as well.
    • Serve over your choice of pasta! Bon Appetit
      Optional- Sprinkle with parsley and paprika

    Braised Beef Ragu over Rigatoni

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    In Italian cuisine, ragù is a meat-based sauce that is commonly served with pasta. This recipe takes a delicious chuck roast and breaks it down in a rich tomato sauce, the perfect comfort food for a family meal. To start you will want to get your chuck roast to room temperature. Then you want to sprinkle all sides generously with coarse salt and pepper, you will start seeing the beef glisten, the salt pulls moisture out of the beef and dissolves in this liquid creating a brine on the outside that then gets absorbed back into the meat. This process is really important as it breaks down the lean muscle making the meat juicier and more tender. This is why you always want to salt and then let your beef sit out for a while so it can soak in all that delicious flavor, also by creating a brine on the outside it will create more of a crust on your meat as you cook it.

    Now the fun really begins and you will start to fill your entire house with an amazing aroma! Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, sage, balsamic vinegar, basil and oregano. Using a spoon or spatula stir the ingredients and coat them in the juice, butter and oil in your pot, you really want all the flavors to infuse into the ingredients.

    Reduce the heat to medium-low and saute for 5 minutes, make sure you stir every once in a while so you don’t burn your vegetables/herbs and also to keep coating everything in the combined flavors you are creating. 

    Then add the tomato paste and continue cooking 2 more minutes.

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    What you need for this recipe:

    • 2.5 lb beef chuck roast
    • Coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
    • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
    • 2 tbsp Butter divided
    • 1 med Onion chopped
    • 1 Celery stalk cut in thirds
    • 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
    • 3 cloves Garlic- pressed (or minced garlic from jar)
    • 2 sprigs Rosemary
    • 2 sprigs Sage
    • 1 tbsp Chopped basil (preferably fresh but can be dried)
    • 1 tbsp Oregano
    • 1 Cup Dry red wine
    • 28 ounce Can crushed tomatoes
    • 3 tbsp Tomato paste
    • 1 cup Beef stock
    • 1/4 cup Fresh chopped Italian parsley
    • 1 lb Rigatoni ( I used Rao’s Homemade – Imported from Italy)
    • 1/2 cup Fresh parmesan cheese

    Once you have let your chuck roast sit, prepare your Dutch oven or oven safe pot. Heat your 2 tbsp of olive oil and one tbsp of butter on medium-high heat, once it’s hot add your beef searing on all sides. 

    You want your beef to be brown and crispy, really focusing on getting all sides. Adjust your heat if necessary depending on how the beef is cooking. 

    Once the beef is nicely browned remove meat and transfer to a plate. 

    Pour in your wine, make sure you scrap the bottom to get all the brown bits off and cook 5 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally or until the wine starts to reduce, then fold in the crushed tomatoes and beef stock.

    Now its time to return the beef and the delicious juices to the pot. Turn them over in the sauce, making sure they are well coated. Cover your pot/dutch oven and put it in the oven. The sauce and meat will finish in the oven. Bake at 325 for 2-3 hours, this long braising period will ensure the meat is tender and falls apart when you eat it; so delicious. Around the 1 hour point you will want to stir then check for doneness at 2 hours. You want the beef to be able to shred easily but not mushy.

    Remove the pot from the oven, carefully with tongs remove the beef from the sauce so you can shred it. Remove the carrots, celery and herbs from the sauce and continue to cook the sauce 15 more mintues on the stove top, uncovered, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken- you can even add a couple TBPS of flour if you are experiencing a hard time getting it to reduce. Using two forks shred the beef into smaller chunks (not as shredded as you would a pulled pork). 

    This is the best part, taste the sauce and adjust the flavor with salt and pepper. **NOTE: Some canned tomatoes have a very acidic/metallic taste in order to cut this you can add a tsp of granulated sugar at a time, combine thoroughly and taste after each teaspoon. By doing this it actually brings out more of the tomato flavor and reduces the metallic/acidity that canned tomatoes have.

    You’re almost done! Add the shredded beef to the sauce along with the other tablespoon of butter. 

    Serve over rigatoni, your favorite pasta or what you have on hand. Top with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese!

    This dish is absolutely delicious, perfect for a cold night! .

    Braised Beef Ragu with Rigatoni

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 3 hrs
    Total Time 3 hrs 30 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian

    Equipment

    • Dutch Oven or Large Oven Safe Pot
    • Pot

    Ingredients
      

    • 2.5 lb beef chuck roast
    • Coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
    • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
    • 2 tbsp Butter divided
    • 1 med Onion chopped
    • 1 Celery stalk cut in thirds
    • 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
    • 3 cloves Garlic- pressed (or minced garlic from jar)
    • 2 sprigs Rosemary
    • 2 sprigs Sage
    • 1 tbsp Chopped basil (preferably fresh but can be dried)
    • 1 tbsp Oregano
    • 1 Cup Dry red wine
    • 28 ounce Can crushed tomatoes
    • 3 tbsp Tomato paste
    • 1 cup Beef stock
    • 1/4 cup Fresh chopped Italian parsley
    • 1 lb Rigatoni ( I used Rao's Homemade - Imported from Italy)
    • 1/2 cup Fresh parmesan cheese

    Instructions
     

    • Bring the beef to room temperature then cut it into 4 pieces. Pat it dry with paper towels, then generously season it on all sides with coarse salt and pepper.
    • Add the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter to a Dutch oven or large, oven-safe pot over medium high heat and once it’s hot, add the beef searing on all sides and ends then transfer the beef to a plate.
    • Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, sage, balsamic vinegar, basil and oregano. Reduce the heat to medium-low and saute 5 minutes then add the tomato paste and continue cooking 2 more minutes.
    • Pour in the wine scraping the bottom to get all the brown bits off and cook 5 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally or until the wine starts to reduce, then fold in the crushed tomatoes and beef stock.
    • Return beef and their juices to pot, turning them over in the sauce then cover bake at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours, stirring at the 1 hour point and checking for doneness at 2 hours. You want the beef to be able to shred easily, but not mushy.
    • Remove the pot from the oven and take the beef out of the pot for shredding. Remove the carrots, celery and herbs then continue cooking the sauce 15 more minutes (stovetop) uncovered allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken more while you shred the beef. Using 2 forks shred the beef, I like to keep it to bigger pieces and don't shred it down as much as you would a pulled pork.
    • Taste the sauce and adjust for salt and pepper.
      NOTE: Some canned tomatoes have a very acidic/metallic taste in order to cut this you can add a tsp of granulated sugar at a time, combine thoroughly and taste after each teaspoon. By doing this it actually brings out more of the tomato flavor and reduces the metallic/acidity that canned tomatoes have.
    • Add the shredded beef to the sauce along with the other tablespoon of butter.
    • Serve with your rigatoni ( you can really use any pasta you like). Top with the fresh parsley and parmesan cheese.
    Keyword italian, ragu, rigatoni, Sage, tomato

    Black Bean Burgers

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    These black bean burgers are delicious and great for everyone in the family. Whether you’re vegetarian or just want a break from ground-beef burgers, these burgers are full of flavor, protein and fiber.  You can even eat them without a bun to reduce your carb intake. 

    The Sauce

    Start with your avocado! Cut around the avocado ( you won’t be able to cut through because of the large pit in the middle) once you have cut around take both sides and twist apart. Take the pit out with your knife by hitting it on the pit, when your knife is in twist and pull, the pit will come with the knife. 

    Scoop out your avocado into a bowl, add your red onion, sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, and white vinegar. Mix it all together until well blended and smooth. 

    Add in your spices: salt, dried parsley, onion powder, dill weed, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir in and taste to make sure you don’t want to add anything extra in. 

    Gently fold in the tomatoes, we don’t want to add the tomatoes in earlier because we don’t want to mash them. Then voila! Sauce is ready for assembly, place in the fridge to keep chilled. 

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    The Burgers

    First with this recipe you want to do your prepping, cut up your red pepper, spinach, green onion, jalapenos. The spinach breaks down so cutting them just in strips is fine. Drain and rinse your black beans and set aside. Once you have everything cut place the red pepper, spinach, green onion, jalapenos in a mixing bowl, add your frozen or canned corn and all your spices. Stir all the seasoning and vegetables together really coating everything with all that amazing flavor. In a heated pan lower heat to medium/low and add the ingredients from your bowl into the pan. Stir and cook keeping an eye it doesn’t burn and adjust the temperature as needed. Once the red pepper is soft and spinach is cooked down with everything blending together you can turn it off to let cool. 

    Looks delicious right?!

    Now to make the black bean mixture! You can place your black beans in a new bowl or use the bowl the vegetable and spice mixture was in. Add in your bread crumbs, egg, coriander and cumin. I like to use my hands for this it really blends it nicely, if you don’t feel like getting your hands dirty you can grab a fork and a mixing spatula. Not all the beans have to be mushed, you really want the mixture to be well blended and stick together so you can make a patty but you can leave some beans whole.  

    Add the cooked vegetables to the beans and start to mix together, I do use a fork for this because the spinach sticks to everything. Once everything is stirred well it’s time to make the patties! 

    Take a handful of black bean mix from the bowl (you can even spray your hands or coat them with oil) and gently press the ball into a patty, like you would a hamburger patty. Keep in mind that these burgers will not shrink the way meat burgers do, they stay the size you make them, so size according to the bun size. 

    On a hot greased skillet (med heat), I like to use my square griddle pan, place the patties on and hear that sizzle! Cook on one side until the beans are crispy and its nice and brown about 3-4 minutes. Flip it over and repeat on the other side. Add your choice of cheese slices to the top of the patties, turn the stove to low or even off and place a top over the burgers. This will allow the cheese to melt on top without burning the bottom! Your burger is ready for assembly!

    Black Bean Burgers

    admin
    Delicious black beans burgers for everyone in the family. Whether you're vegetarian or just want a break from ground-beef burgers, these burgers are full of flavor, protein and fiber.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Mexican
    Servings 6

    Ingredients
      

    To Cook Before

    • 1 1/2 cups spinach Chopped
    • 1 red bell pepper Diced
    • 1 cup green onion Diced
    • 1 jalapeño Diced
    • 1 cup frozen/canned corn
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/2 tsp chili powder
    • 1/2 tsp parsley
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • Dash cayenne pepper
    • 1 tbsp olive oil

    Black Bean Mixture

    • 2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
    • 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp coriander

    Building the Burgers

    • pepperjack cheese (or cheese of your choice)
    • lettuce

    Avocado Sauce

    • 1 avocado
    • 1 tomato Diced
    • 1/2 red onion Diced
    • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
    • 1/4 cup sour cream
    • 1 Tbsp buttermilk
    • 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
    • 1/8 tsp salt
    • 1/8 tsp dried parsley
    • 1/8 tsp onion powder
    • Dash dill weed
    • Dash garlic powder
    • Dash black pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Dice- red pepper, green onion, jalapeno and place in a mixing bowl
      Chop spinach (if fresh), frost 1 1/2 cups if frozen pressing all the water out - place in mixing bowl with above.
      Add corn to bowl
    • Mix in cumin, chili pepper, parsley, salt and cayenne into mixing bowl and coat vegetables
    • Add ingredients in bowl to a large skillet with olive oil and cook (mixing frequently) until red pepper is soft.
    • While you are cooking the vegetables on the stove, prepare the black bean mixture.
    • In a mixing bowl add, black beans, bread crumbs, egg, cumin and coriander. Using a fork mash and blend ingredients together. (Chunks of black beans are okay as long as mixture is well blended)
    • Once vegetables and spices are cooked down and blended well together transfer to the black bean mixture and stir in well.
    • Using your hands, or a spoon remove a palm sized ball of mixture and form into a patty (much like you would a beef burger), keep in mind black beans do not shrink the way beef does so you want to size accordingly to the size of your buns.
    • Heat your pan on med heat with a little oil, once the pan is nice and hot place your black bean patties on, brown one side so it has a nice crispy crust (3-5 min) and flip to the other side and brown.
    • Once both sides are cooked turn heat to low and place pieces of cheese (if you do not like pepper jack you can use any cheese you like; I like using pepper jack because it gives the burgers a nice spice). Place a top of your pan over the burgers, this melts the cheese faster without burning the bottoms of the patties.
    • When the cheese is melted you are ready to plate! Place patty on bun and top with sauce (instructions below) and lettuce. ENJOY!

    Avocado Sauce

    • Dice up tomato and onion
    • Cut avocado in half and remove pit, scoop avocado into a bowl and mash
    • Add mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, cumin, salt parsley, onion powder, dill weed, garlic powder, pepper and blend with avocado so it's nice a creamy
    • Fold in onion and tomato and your sauce is complete
    Keyword avacado, black beans, corn, mexican, spinach, vegetarian