What's Been Cooking Lately?

Homemade Chicken Tikka Masala with White Rice

With the right ingredients, and the right spices, you too can enjoy your own take of a traditional Indian cuisine. Any time I eat at an India restaurant, my favorite dish to try is the chicken tikka masala - it's something you can never go wrong with. My take on this dish involves using tomato pasta sauce with cheese (this creates that creamy and cheesy taste mixed with the tomato paste), curry powder, masala, onion powder, garlic salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (a little spice is always nice), diced chicken breast. I believe that's mostly what I used to create that signature flavor. Different recipes call for additional spices, but I was content with the flavor I was able to accomplish.

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Baked Peppered Chicken with Steamed Veggies and White Rice

For this dish, I wanted to create something that was easy to prep and had a quick baking time. This was it. The vegetables (seasoned cucumbers, yellow peppers, and red peppers) really add a nice flavor and color to the overall meal. This is a very healthy and tasty alternative to getting food on the go. It was also very easy to make.

Chicken Tikka Masala Vegetable Pasta

Expanding upon the idea of tikka masala recipe, I went with a very comfortable dish, similar to the Chicken Casserole I made before or the Chicken and Broccoli pasta dish I also made before. The ingredients include diced chicken, broccoli, red peppers, and rotini. It was very delicious.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Baked Beans and White Rice

This dish had somewhat of a simple southern feel to it.  It was mighty delicious and filling.

Baked Chicken with Vegetable Medley and Brown Rice

As you may have noticed, the recurring theme with regards to my cooking style has been baking. With living the graduate lifestyle, I favor dishes that don't require much time to make it - which is usually baking

Drinks

Drinks - we can't forget about them whether it's water, milk, apple juice, etc., they help tremendously with digestion and overall enjoyment of each meal. Here are two wines that I have tried and enjoyed (they're nice sipping wines).

I've been testing the waters with different wines, including red and pink moscato, resling, and cabernet sauvignon. If you want a very sweet tasting wine, try the resling. If you want a nice soft and sweet tasting wine, the pink moscato is a nice choice (and it's very affordable). If you want a sweet wine with a berry kick (somewhat of a fusion of a pink wine and a red wine), check out the red moscato. The brands I've tried range between Sutter Home, Woodbridge, Barefoot, Gallo, and The Naked Grape (cabernet sauvignon).