Chipotle Inspired Corn Salsa

Making some corn salsa to go along with my Cafe Rio Inspired Beef for dinner tonight!

 

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA

My Foray Into Food Storage

This is my last post in my Cafe Rio/Chipotle recipe series.  Once I’d mastered Cafe Rio Beef (recipe here), Cafe Rio Black Beans (recipe here), and Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (recipe here), I realized that I needed something else to really put these “Burrito Bowls” over the top.  I needed a corn salsa.  I tried a few different versions, and this is what I came up with.  It doesn’t taste like Chipotle’s Corn Salsa, but it was inspired by it.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Tomato Corn Salsa

Tomato Corn Salsa

1 16-oz bag of frozen corn (or 1 lb of corn cut from corn on the cob)

1 7-oz can chopped roasted green chiles

Lime juice, to taste (I use about 2 tablespoons)

1 15-oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 jalapeno, diced

1/2 red onion…

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Yum-a-licious Temple Crab Salad

Have you ever eaten something thinking it would be okay, only to find yourself thinking about it and craving hours or days later?  That doesn’t happen to me that often, but, when it does, OH BOY!  Thankfully, I know I am not the only one who feels this way.

 

My friend, Brooke, (remember her guest post featuring tips to deal with unemployment?) and I were driving to the LA LDS Temple a couple of weeks ago, and the traffic was so good, that we thought we would have time to go to the cafeteria.  That’s when Brooke started talking about this awesome crab (okay, it’s imitation crab) salad they serve in the Temple cafeteria.  Apparently, we are both HUGE fans and tried making it at home, but it wasn’t quite right.

 

Brooke, being the bold lady she is, asked one of the ladies in the cafeteria if she  would share the recipe.  She was willing, but the person who had it was not there.  Darn!  When I went to the Temple with my son a week or so after mine and Brooke’s visit, I went by the cafeteria, and I asked for the recipe.  There was this cute gal, wearing an adorable headband, who gave it to me!  WAHOO!  I could not wait to try it out, so when I got home from the Temple, I went to the grocery store, bought the one additional ingredient I needed (imitation crab), and make it.  WOW!  It was so yummy!  Because I love Brooke so much, I brought some by to her, and she loved it too.  I promised her I would share the recipe, so here it is.  Enjoy!

 

Temple Crab Salad

 

Temple Crab Salad

Serves 6

 

1 pound imitation crab

1/4 – 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/6 – 1/4 teaspoon dill weed, more or less to taste

1/3 – 2/3 cup celery, diced

1/6 – 1/3 cup onion, diced

1/6 – 1/3 cup fresh onion, diced

1/6 – 1/2 cup black olives, sliced

 

Separate crab and break into pieces (or “shred” with two forks).  Mix together mayonnaise, dill weed, celery, onion, and black olive.  Stir into crab.  Add additional mayonnaise if dry.  Let flavors marry for at least 1 hour (overnight is best) before serving.

 

Nutritional Information (per serving as I prepared it): Calories – 147, Fat – 8 g, Carbohydrates – 13 g (includes 1.6 g fiber), and Protein – 5.6 g.

 

Total Cost – About $4.50 for 6 servings!  Not to shabby, huh?

 

Here’s my photo step-by-step.

 

I started by assembling my ingredients. Notice something missing? Yes, it’s the olives. They were sitting in a bowl near my ingredients “display.” I forgot to put it in the picture. Oops!

 

I opened the package containing the imitation crab and transferred the contents to a bowl.

 

Using two forks, I “pulled” the imitation crab, breaking up any large pieces.

 

Next, I measured the mayo and added the dill weed (I used a scant 1/4 teaspoon). As you can see next to my mayo, I also chopped up my veggies.

 

I added the veggies to the mayo and stirred to combine. I used red onion, because I had one from my garden, and I really like it in salads. Notice what’s missing? The olives. I actually love olives, so I find it ironic that I keep forgetting to photograph them.

 

Next, I transferred the mayo/veggie mixture to the bowl containing the imitation crab and gently stirred to combine.  See?  The olives made it into this picture!

 

See how pretty that is after mixing everything together?  For the best flavor, refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, however, overnight is best.

 

And, Voila! You have a super simple “crab” salad.

 

You can serve this delicious dish over lettuce or with avocado. It’s especially good with avocado!  Unfortunately, I’m out, but I’m heading to the store in a few minutes, so I’ll have avocado when I eat it for dinner.  It’s a good thing no one else in my house will try this, because I want it all!  This will be part of my menu for the next couple of days, and there are no complaints here!

 

Do you have a quick, easy, indulgent dish you *LOVE* to eat?

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA

Saving Money Never Tasted So Good: Chicken Tikka Masala

Who here doesn’t like saving money?  Let me see a show of hands.  No one?  That’s what I thought.  I like saving money, and I have been called cheap, but even I have my limits.  I want to save money and have a rich, full life including eating delicious international cuisine.  If you find the right recipes, you can enjoy delicious food at home at a fraction of the cost of eating out.  Today, I’m going to show you my tried and true Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.

 

Before you say, “Whoa!  I can’t make that!”, let me assure you: this recipe is doable and delectably delicious!  You can find the spices at most grocery stores, but I HIGHLY recommend visiting an Indian market if you have one in your area (British markets often have them as well).  The Indian market near my home has the best prices on spices and blows Costco out of the water.   Enough of the preamble, let’s get to the good stuff!

 

Chicken Tikka Masala, Gobi Aloo, and Rice.

 

Chicken Tikka Masala

Adapted from a recipe on food.com found here

 

Marinade

1 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt

4 tablespoons lemon juice

4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground red pepper (or more if you like it spicy up to 4 teaspoons)

4 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoon salt

1 piece ginger root 1 inch in length, minced or grated (you can use jarred fresh ginger or use 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (You can use chicken breast tenders and skip cutting the chicken)

 

Sauce

4 tablespoons butter (unsalted is best)

4 garlic cloves, minced or put through garlic press

1 jalapeno chile minced, optional (or more if you like it spicy)

4 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoon garam masala (McCormick makes garam masala, but it is much less expensive at an Indian market.)

1 teaspoon salt

24 ounces of tomato sauce (3 8-oz cans)

2 cup heavy whipping cream (You can use half and half, whole milk, fat free cream, or evaporated milk, but cream tastes the best!)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

 

Prepare marinade by combining all ingredients except chicken in a medium bowl.  Thread chicken on bamboo skewers, place skewers in a 9×13 casserole dish, and top with marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight is best).  After marinading meat, remove chicken from the fridge and discard marinade.  Grill or broil chicken until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

 

Prepare sauce by melting butter in a large, deep skillet or pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and jalapeno, optional.  Cook for one minute.  Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt.  Cook for 30 seconds.  Add tomato sauce and stir to combine.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in cream and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.  Add cooked chicken to the sauce.  simmer 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, optional, and serve with rice, naan, or pita bread.

 

Here’s my photo step-by-step.  It’s not as detailed as it normally is, because I wasn’t planning to post this recipe.  However, my friend, Kristina (who wrote a guest post you can find here) said I should post it.  So, here it is.

 

Why in the world am I starting with this unattractive picture? It’s the first picture I took after I decided to post this recipe. It’s the leftover marinade after removing the chicken on bamboo skewers. Prior to taking this picture, I mixed all the spices into the yogurt, cut up the chicken, threaded it on skewers, poured the marinade over the chicken, and let the meat marinade for a few hours. Then, I removed the chicken from the marinade and put it under the broiler to cook.

 

This picture isn’t too hot either, but it’s the chicken cooking in the oven. No, that’s not smoke.  Well, maybe it is, but I promise I didn’t set the chicken or my oven on fire.

 

While the chicken was broiling, I started the sauce. First, I assembled the ingredients.

 

Then, I melted butter in a large saucepan and added my garlic. I don’t use both red pepper in the marinade and the jalapeno, because I don’t love *HOT* spicy foods. I like spicy flavorful foods, and using both puts it over the top for me.

 

After cooking the garlic for about 1 minute, I added the spices.

 

I let the spices cook for 30 seconds or so until they are aromatic.

 

Next, I added the tomato sauce and stirred to combine.  Then I let the tomato-spice mixture simmer for 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, my chicken finished cooking, and I removed it from the oven. When I want this to taste extra good, I put it on the grill, but I usually do not.

 

After simmering for 15 minutes, the tomato sauce mixture thickens. I slowly added the cream, stirring to combine.  If you don’t do dairy, I’m sure you can use coconut milk or another dairy substitute of your choice.

 

See? The sauce is coming together!

 

Rather than let the sauce simmer and thicken, I added the chicken immediately and let the mixture stew for about an hour on the stove.

 

Super Yum!

 

Dinner is served! In addition to the chicken, I served Gobi Aloo and homemade Naan. I’ll post those recipes soon.

 

Remember that I said this dish saves me money?  It’s a pricy dish, but it still loads less than buying it at a restaurant.  I doubled it, because we had guests over for dinner, so keep that in mind.  Here’s a breakdown of my costs:

 

Chicken – $13.14

Cream – $3.89

Greek Yogurt – $3.98

Butter – $0.63

Spices, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic – $3.00 (This is a generous estimate, because I don’t remember what I paid for some of the spices.  I think it’s actually a little under $2, but I didn’t want to underestimate.)

Tomato sauce – $1.50

 

Total cost for doubled recipe = $26.14

 

That’s a bit pricy for a home cooked main dish for dinner, so let’s look at the cost of the same dish at the local Indian restaurants.

 

Tandoori Grill – $12.95 per entree (need at least 6 to equal the amount of food I cooked) x 6 = $77.70

Karma – $14.95 per entree (need at least 6 to equal the amount of food I cooked) x 6 = $89.70

 

My cost ($26.14) versus the cost of a restaurant ($77.70-89.70).  I save $51.56 – $63.56! 

That’s a significant savings!  Granted, this is a time consuming dish, but saving 66% – 71% is totally worth it to me!

How about you? 

Do you have a favorite dish you make at home saving you tons of money? 

I’d love it if you would share it with my readers.

 

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA