Fishing Fun

Bade teaching Moki how to fish.

Bade dropping a flopping fish.

Valentines Day Adoption

Bade and I adopted a 6-month old Maine Coon for Valentine’s Day. Her name is Moki.  She has a crazy long body with short little legs. She loves to cuddle, be stroked, and purr, as well as chase things with feathers or play with strings. She is already showing signs of being purrfect for our family by enjoying Cheetos and Doritos, as well as steak and potatoes and homemade whipped cream :). Don’t worry, she also gets a healthy amount of her kitten food, and ALL the leftovers of Chika’s dry and wet food everyday.

Moki rides in the car with us each day for 35 minutes into work, and 35 minutes home.  She loves being in the car, watching the scenery, and most of all sleeping to the low hum of the engine, usually while on one of our laps.

Chicken Makhani Dinner

Try 2 at chicken makhani (aka butter chicken), this time was SO much better, I want to share the recipe.  I like when people say what goes good with a main course, so I have included the entire dinner (for 4 people) here, which includes chicken makhani with rice, a side salad and naan bread.

A day before you want this for dinner, marinade tandoori chicken.

Ingredients
Basmati rice
Chicken breasts

1 1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
1/6 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
1/2 ginger root (shredded or minced. You’ll use the other half later)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp Greek plain yogurt

3/4 cup canned pureed tomatoes
2 green chilies (diced or minced)
1/2 ginger root (shredded or minced. The other half from before)
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp paprika
salt to taste (I used salted butter, so I didn’t add any salt)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1/8 cup chopped cilantro (I chopped 1/4 cup, because you can use it to garnish the naan)

4 cups all-purpose flour or 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup hot water (but not boiling, just hot tap water)
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1 cup Greek yogurt
melted butter for brushing (may use olive oil)
fresh cilantro or other herbs for topping (I used cilantro and garlic salt)

1. Tandoori chicken marinade (1 day ahead of time). Cut 2 large or 4 small chicken breasts into slices, and sprinkle with (1 1/2 tsp) meat tenderizer and (1/6 cup) lemon juice.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Marinade tandoori chicken in (2 cloves) garlic, (1/2) ginger root, (1 tsp) cumin, (1/2 tsp) cardamom, (1/2 tsp) ground red pepper, (1/2 tsp) paprika, and (1 Tbsp) Greek plain yogurt, overnight.

3. 2 hours before dinner, prep the naan.  First put (1 Tbsp) sugar, (1/4 cup) hot water, (3/4 tsp) active dry yeast in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.  Then combine all ingredients, (4 cups) all-purpose flour, (1 1/2 tsp) baking powder, (1 tsp) baking soda, (3/4 cup) warm milk, and
(1 cup) Greek yogurt. You will likely need to mix with your hands…this is VERY sticky.  Let sit for an hour, or until you are ready to cook it just before dinner is ready.

4. Start basmati rice.

5. Cook tandoori chicken that has been marinading.  I cooked it in a deep sauce pan.  Once cooked, dump entire contents of sauce pan out on a plate and set aside.

6. Heat (1/2 stick) butter in sauce pan, along with (1/2 tsp) cumin and (1 1/2 tsp) paprika.

7. Add (3/4 cup) canned pureed tomatoes, (2) green chilies, and (1/2) ginger root to sauce pan.

8. Add chicken to sauce pan. Let simmer.

9. Start making naan.  Divide the naan dough into 8 little balls.  Use flour on your hands so the dough doesn’t stick. Roll the dough out until as thin as possible/comfortable.  Lightly spread melted butted on one side, then place on medium-high heated cast iron skillet (butter side down).  Quickly butter the new top side, then cover with pan lid and let sit until you see bubbles (approximately 1 minute). Flip, and cook for another 1 – 2 minutes. Once you remove from heat lightly season with the seasonings you want (I used cilantro and garlic salt).

10. Once naan is done and dinner is just about ready, and add the (3/4 cup) heavy whipping cream, (1 1/2 tsp) garam masala, and (1/8 cup) chopped cilantro to sauce pan.

11. You will want to serve this dish with some veggies. I would recommend a light salad.

Sour Cream Waffles

My mother makes the BEST waffles for holiday breakfasts, topped with strawberries, homemade whipped cream, and syrup. YUM! Bade and I made these waffles about 2 weeks ago and they turned out great.  Here is the recipe, its from the Vitantonio waffle iron recipe book.

2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 c butter or margarine
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

1. Combine eggs, sour cream, butter and buttermilk.

2. In a separate bowl (I used the same bowl) combine the rest of the ingredients.

3. Mix 2 mixtures together, and cook in a waffle iron.

Whiteout

You know these boys really love snowmobiling when they are willing to go when it is currently raining, hard, on us in the valleys, and is a whiteout for most of the ride, especially at the top. even with the whiteout, the close up scenery was still really pretty.

Springesque Day in Winter

After making homemade sour cream waffles with homemade whipped cream and strawberries, Bade and his brother-in-law went fishing while Bade’s sister, little baby girl and I stayed and relaxed. I think the boys are crazy for wanting to go fishing in 30-40 degree weather, with new snow coming down…but who am I to stand in their way. They bundled up, geared up, and headed out to try out Mike’s new fishing rod (a Christmas present from his honey).

In the afternoon, we took a ride up the canyon to see all the trees.  It was so pretty with all the fresh, untouched powder, and heavy trees all around. This little slice of heaven isn’t such a draw that non-locals will go out of their way to come here, but it is good enough that we can have all our fun.  Because of this awesome combination, we get to be the first ones to ride through the new foot of snow.

By the time dinner arrived, my in-laws had left to a friend’s wedding, and my parents came over for dinner and a night ride.  We took the sleds up to a peak that overlooks Springville. It wasn’t as cold as I was expecting.  There were enough clouds out to keep some of our warmer air in, but clear enough that when we got to the top, we could look down on the city lights.