Recipe Share - Butter Tandoori Chicken with Wilted Garlic Baby Spinach

Wow, that's a mouthful! But you better believe a delicious mouthful :)

I first tried this when Meg made it for our cooking club. So delicious I had to get the recipe. The original recipe comes from taste.com.au, I have added the baby spinach to introduce some greens for a more balanced meal.

Butter Tandoori Chicken with Wilted Garlic Baby Spinach
Ingredients:
For the Chicken

• 1 tablespoon Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 500g chicken thigh, cubed
• 3 tablespoons Tandoori paste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 375ml can lite evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 15g butter

For the Spinach

• 150g Baby Spinach, washed and drained
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions:
Heat oil in a frying pan, add chicken and cook for 2 minutes.
Add Tandoori paste and tomato paste and stir until chicken is coated.
Combine the evaporated milk, sugar and cornflour and pour over chicken, mixing well.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add butter and stir until melted.
Garnish with flaked almonds. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

While the chicken is simmering, place the water and garlic in a large pot  and bring to the boil. Add the spinach leaves, immediately cover the pot and turn off the heat. Leave for 3-5 minutes until just wilted. Squeeze lemon juice over wilted leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

(Serves 4)

The best tandoori paste I have found (and the one that Meg turned me on to) is "Maharaja's Choice" brand available from Coles.
This is pretty family friendly. But you can adjust the heat by adding more or less Tandoori paste. eg 1 tablespoon = mild, 2 tablespoons = medium, 3tablespoons = hot (for little kiddies anyway). Our kids like to mix in some plain yoghurt to turn the heat down if needed.

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Lost in Translation . . . .

My funny little DS5 has just come home from school. They have been rehearsing for their Christmas Nativity play. He is humming and singing away to himself in his beautiful tuneful little voice:

DS5: "They neltchered him, they welsh-dipped him, that precious little boy . . . . "

What's that now? I don't remember anything in the Christmas story about anybody welsh dipping the baby Jesus???? I don't even know what welsh dipping is . . .

Wait a minute

Me: "Is that: They nurtured him, they worshipped him?"

DS5: "Oh, Yeah!"

Well, I guess kids really do say the darndest things!

From Blog Bits

Mission accomplished {finally!} and some news . . .

Well anyone that has spoken to me in the last couple of weeks is probably sick to death of me rabbiting on about my plans to introduce a chores roster and pocket money rewards system into the family routine. Well, guess what? I have finally got there!!!!! Yay!!!!

I had been wondering why the house was getting out of control, and why I was just not getting to all the jobs I needed to. I know I am busy with work and choir rehearsals for OLIVER! etc, but I have always felt that there are enough hours in the day. So I pulled out Shannon Lush's Speed Cleaning book (which I have owned for about three years now). I realised that I was getting completely bogged down in all of the daily repetitive jobs that the kids and DH are completely capable of doing. REVELATION! A cleaning roster!

It has takes some time to get the whole system up and running, but I stand by the fact that investing a little time and effort into planning does go a long way. However, it is only Day 3 LOL. So whether it works in the long term remains to be seen.

So here is how it works

The Roster

I have two columns, one for me and my movements so that I can schedule everything in, and one for the daily jobs that need to be done.

From Life

Pocket Money

This is a collaborative effort :) I had a number of suggestions, but one of the ones I loved the most (especially or a 3yo & 5yo who do not yet understand how money works) was to have all the pocket money in 20c pieces taped up on display, then take away 20c for each deduction. The practicality of having to get to the bank each week to get the change was a bit much to contemplate. And, as my neighbour pointed out, it may also be a bit tempting when needing change for lunch orders etc LOL.

I realised that I my mum had a given me an educational font that had currency dingbats, so no need for real money :)

Then DH thought of a chart in the shape of a piggy bank so that the kids could grasp the concept of saving. Brilliant!

My friend Vikki suggested googling for colouring pages to make the piggy bank.

So in the end this is what I have come up with:

From Life

From Life

At the end of the day it's more about everyone learning to take responsibility for themselves, there belongings and their behaviour. Cross your fingers for me :)

And in Scrappy news . . . .

Rochelle saw this post and convinced me to enter the LO into the Scrap the Girls challenge for this month as the colours perfectly fit the criteria. And guess what??? I won it!!!!! And the best part is the prize. This month's challenge was sponsored by What's Old is New. This is what I have won:

From Life

Man! As if I didn't have enough reason to stalk the postie already LOL. The poor bloke is going to get a complex :)

So now I had better get off my butt and check the roster! ROFL

Sleeping Beauties

Poor little girl. She's sporting a nasty cold, didn't get much sleep last night and her mean Mum dragged her into work for a boring, grown up meeting. It all got a bit too much, and after constant nagging, badgering and whining didn't work she had to resort to a full sobbing tantrum to get her Mum to leave.

On the 10 minute drive home, the sobbing started again because "It's just so far to our home!"

Much distress then when Mum had to stop at the supermarket to pick up a couple of things for dinner. But on the promise of a new lip gloss happiness was restored - ever so briefly.

After much debate, Mum finally agrees to buy the three pack of lip gloss just to keep the peace and onward we trek to collect the rest of the groceries. Due to extreme weather (and monthly!) conditions, mum is in dire need of some chocolate comfort and so the lolly aisle is visited. At which point DD3 decides lip gloss is not going to cut it and goes for lollies instead.

"So we will put the lip gloss back then?"

"Yes, I want a lolly"

Brilliant! Three pack of lip gloss $10, Hello Kitty novelty candy $2.95. What a coup! And happy little girl to boot.

We drive into the garage, which happens to be the exact point at which she is finishing candy.

"Did you remember my lipstick Mum?"

"We got a lolly instead remember?"

*POUT*, *throw hello kitty on floor of car*, *dissolve into tears of hopelessness*.

Mum carries her to bed amid screams of frustration and fury.

The storm outside is brewing also and I decide to bring the animals in. The leg-lifter goes to the garage. And the other one? Well here is my chance for a little peace and quiet. I let her into the storm inside. Open the bedroom door. *Jump**LICK*KISS*The crying stops.

"Can puppy sleep on your bed? She's cold and scared from the storm. Will you look after her?"

A little smile creeps onto her blotchy tear-streaked face.

"OK Mum"

And in a few moments . . . this . . . .

From Life

What she doesn't know is that the lip glosses did make it into the shopping basket. To use as leverage for when we have to do it all again on Wednesday :)

Rainy Saturday

We had a lovely rainy Saturday in today. I decided to get out the scrapping gear to finish my Stamped Images Swap transparencies for Scrappin' Bitz and of course the kids wanted to join in.

Though DS5 dug this book out

From Life

and started to hunt for activities he could do. DD3 was quite content to scrap - until I reluctantly agreed to make up some Salt Dough. The good thing about this dough is that it can be made up from ingredients that are lurking in most pantries. Plus it is 4 activities in one:

• Mixing
• Modelling
• Cooking
• Painting

This was a lot of fun to make, and dead easy too. Here is the recipe:

SALT DOUGH

Ingredients

• 300g Plain Flour
• 300g Salt
• 200ml Water
• 2 tspns Oil

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl with your hands until it comes together into a ball. Roll it out and start cutting!

Place shapes on a baking sheet and cook in a moderate oven for around 20 minutes (fatter shapes may take longer).

When the baked dough has cooled, decorate with poster or acrylic paint. Try mixing about 1 part PVA glue to 2 parts paint for a tough and shiny finish.

I have managed to stretch this out to include an activity for tomorrow if it's still rainy, but I am sure that rain hail or shine, I will be made to get the paints out and finish what I have started :)

So here are the results of our efforts today

From Life

DS5 Potato Dog and Owner

(you can't see it in this pic, but the owner's T-shirt is adorned with a picture of potato dog)

From Life

DD3 Scrapbook Page

(for Nana)

From Scrapping Stuff

And my effort, acetate image sheet x 9! Yes 9!

It is not an experience I am willing to relive again in a hurry. That said, I am really looking forward to what I will receive from the lovely 8 ladies participating in the swap.

Oh, and the Salt Dough? Well this is where we are at

From Life

until I am coerced into painting tomorrow. Eeeek, what have I got myself into?

Cheerio!