Whole Wheat Naan

Really good Indian food needs some really good naan to go along with it.

This is another fabulous recipe from Eat, Live, Run. I changed it just a bit to make it 100% whole wheat. As always, adjust the wheat/white flour combination to suit your taste. You can omit the vital wheat gluten if you don't use all wheat flour.

I also used my own garlic butter since I already had some in the fridge, but her roasted garlic butter sounds fantastic.

Whole Wheat Naan
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp yeast
3 to 3 1/2 cups white wheat flour
1 TB vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Combine the yeast, water and sugar and stir gently. Set aside for about five minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (using a dough hook), combine the water/yeast mixture plus 1 1/2 cups of the flour.

Mix on low speed for about three minutes.

Add the vital wheat gluten, another 1 1/2 cups flour and the salt and increase the speed to high. If the dough is pulling away from the side of the bowl, you're good. If not, add a TB of flour at a time until the dough forms a cohesive ball.

Mix on high for about six minutes. When you're done, the dough should be elasticy.

Remove the dough place in a lightly oiled bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about two hours. It should double in size.

After rising, turn the dough onto a floured counter-top and divide into four equal sections.

Flatten each section down into a rectangular shape. If it resists shaping, let it rest for a couple minutes, then try again.

Sprinkle each rectangle with water and prick your fingers in each for naan “dimples”.

Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 475 for ten minutes.

Let cool, hen brush each naan with garlic butter. Broil for four minutes.

Click to print Whole Wheat Naan recipe

Garlic Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 TB grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp smoked paprika

Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth.

Click to print Garlic Butter recipe

Chicken Tikka Masala

I give you the best dish I have ever made in my life.

But then I'm partial to Indian food.

It's another slow cooker recipe, although a little more involved than the chicken mole. But it is worth the work a hundred times over.

Serve it up with some coconut basmati rice and homemade naan and you'll have a restaurant quality meal.

Chicken Tikka Masala - Slow Cooker

From Eat, Live, Run

9 boneless/skinless chicken thighs (about 3 1/2 lbs)
1 TB dried parsley (or ground coriander)
1 TB cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup yogurt
4 TB Butter
1 whole jalapeno

4 TB Butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 TB kosher salt
3 TB garam masala
2-3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 cups crushed tomatoes
1 TB white sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups cream

To prepare the chicken:

Cut the chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces.

Sprinkle the parsley, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated. Cover lightly and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Melt 1 TB of the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.

Raise the heat to medium high and brown both sides of about 1/4 of the chicken (no need to cook it fully as it will finish cooking in the slow cooker).

Transfer the browned chicken to the slow cooker.

Melt another TB of butter and brown the next 1/4 of the chicken pieces. Repeat until all of the chicken has been browned and is in the slow-cooker.

Remove the stem from the jalapeno, pierce it several times with a knife and throw it in the slow cooker on top of the chicken.

To prepare the sauce:

Melt 4 TB of butter over medium high heat. Stir in the onions, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown.

Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Increase the heat to high and add the crushed tomatoes and sugar.

Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil.

Pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.

Use a fork or whisk to stir the cornstarch into the heavy cream until smooth.

Pour into the slow-cooker and stir gently until the colour is even.

Replace the lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.

Serve over hot coconut basmati rice (recipe below).

Coconut Rice

Cook the rice in equal parts coconut milk and water (note: a can of coconut milk is a little less than 2 cups). Stir in some shredded coconut for the last few minutes of cooking.

Basmati rice is delicious, but I've used a combo of brown and white rice when that's all I had on hand.

Click to print recipe

Granola Pancakes

It's been a weekend of great food.

Since I'm up too early this morning with my two year old, I'll start with breakfast.

On Friday night I was discussing ideas for Saturday breakfast with J. He mentioned granola pancakes that he recently had at a restaurant. Hmmm, as much as I love granola, I wasn't sure about granola pancakes. But it was a unique idea, so I decided to give it a try.

Holy Pancakes, Batman. They turned out fantastic! But they needed something besides plain old maple syrup.

How about Yogurt Maple Syrup?
I added a little pure maple syrup to plain yogurt and drizzled it over the pancakes. Topped with a few extra blueberries, and it was a Saturday morning breakfast dream!

I made these 100% whole wheat, but feel free to adjust the white flour/wheat flour ratio to your preference.
Granola Pancakes with Yogurt Maple Syrup

Adapted from Pancake Lovers

1 1/3 cup prepared granola
1 1/2 cups white wheat flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TB honey
2 cups plain yogurt
2 eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil (vegetable or canola)

Fresh blueberries

Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry and stir just until combined.

Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a preheated griddle. Top each pancake with a handful of blueberries. Cook until bubbles start to pop on the pancake surface. Flip and cook about one more minute.

Keep pancakes in a warm oven (about 200 degrees) until you're ready to serve them. Top pancakes with yogurt syrup and more fresh blueberries.

Yield: About 12 pancakes

Click to print

Baked Oatmeal

Kitty (my two year old) starts every morning with "Mom, I'm super super super hungry!" Then she averages five 'breakfasts' before 11 am. So while she was plowing through her banana, egg and toast this morning, I threw together some baked oatmeal from Crumbs and Chaos. It was quick and delicious, even without any topping.
However, the original recipe calls for a cinnamon roll type frosting. I didn't have any cream cheese, but that didn't stop me from kicking it up a notch anyway. So I opted for the chocolate drizzle.
Why stop there? I added a little caramel sauce drizzle too.
But, if you'd prefer a healthier topping, try adding a little yogurt maple syrup.

However you eat it, healthy or otherwise, it's a delicious winter breakfast if you're super super super hungry.

Baked Oatmeal
From Crumbs and Chaos

1 cup regular oats

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

3 TB pure maple syrup

1/8 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Divide the mixture into 3 small ramekins.

Set the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until center is set.

Serve warm as is, or drizzle with melted chocolate or caramel sauce!

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Seeded Crackers

Over the past two years, I've worked on eliminating processed/packaged foods from my family's everyday consumption. It's been a good thing for us. But I really miss having a box of crackers to grab for snacks when we're in a hurry and on our way out the door.

So I'm headed down the road of making my own crackers.

These seeded crackers from Alton Brown were my first try. They're not terribly time consuming, although rolling out the dough is far from my favorite thing to do. I want to invest in a pasta roller.

PS: Alton says it's very important to use aluminum free baking powder. If you don't have any, I've included a substitution idea in the recipe.

Next up: goldfish crackers.

*Spice tip: Penzey's Spice sells bags of poppy seeds and sesame seeds in bulk for a very reasonable price.*

Seeded Crackers
From Alton Brown

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder**
3 TB olive oil
3/4 cup plus 1 TB water

**If you don't have aluminum free baking powder, use 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp cream of tartar.**

Whisk together white and wheat flour, poppy and sesame seeds, salt, baking powder.

Mix in oil.

Add water and stir until just combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured board. Knead a few times, to ensure dough is evenly mixed and smooth. Cut into 8 pieces and cover with a towel 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Flatten one dough ball and pass through a pasta roller at the widest setting. Reduce the pasta roller and continue rolling through and tightening down until dough is about 1/8" thick. (OR, roll thin with a rolling pin. It gets the job done).

Place dough sheet on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using pizza cutter, cut sheets into 2x2" squares.

Bake 8-12 minutes or until browned and crisp. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

Click to print recipe

Cheddar-Jalapeno Cornbread Bites

We are huge fans of cornbread. I usually make it in my cast iron skillet, but I saw this slight adaptation in Martha Stewart Living and had to give it a try.

I used my own basic sweet cornbread recipe, added finely diced jalapeno and shredded cheddar cheese, and then baked the cornbread in mini muffin tins rather than my skillet. The flavor combination was great, and my girls loved the littleness of their cornbread. (I did scoop out part of the batter before adding the jalapenos and baked these just for the girls, as they are not as fond of the jalapenos as I am).

Martha recommends two other flavor combinations: orange-rosemary and caramelized onion-bacon. I'm thinking the onion-bacon cornbread bites would be fabulous with an omelette and hash browns.

Cheddar-Jalapeno Cornbread Bites

1 cup white wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 TB melted butter
1 cup white cheddar cheese
1 jalapeno, finely diced (ribs and seeds removed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together milk, eggs, oil, and butter.

Stir in the cheese and jalapeno.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Fill mini muffin tins 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Yield: 4 dozen cornbread bites

Click to print recipe

Check out other finger foods for the big game at Baking Bad's link party!

Slow Cooker Chicken Mole

I'm a hunt this month to find quick and easy slow cooker recipes.

And by quick and easy, I mean I want to dump stuff in, turn on the slow cooker, and walk away. For at least four hours.

I don't want to brown the meat first. I don't want to sauté anything beforehand. I don't want to come back after two hours and add something else.

Enter Everyday Food's Chicken Mole (MOH-lay). I blend up the special sauce, dump it over the chicken, and come back four hours later to an absolutely delicious meal.

And BONUS! My family doesn't eat all four pounds of chicken in one sitting, so I shred the leftovers a day or two later and make either chicken mole tacos or chicken mole salad.

This one's a keeper.

Slow Cooker Chicken Mole
From Everyday Food

4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
kosher salt
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion, quartered
1 TB chili powder
1 large chipotle chili in adobo sauce
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Sprinkle chicken with salt and place in 6 quart slow cooker.

In a blender, puree all other ingredients until smooth.

Pour tomato mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook until chicken is tender: 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Or shred meat and use for tacos or to top a salad.

Click to print recipe