Our Recent Dinners

I made a big pot of Potato Soup on Sunday, and ate it for lunch, dinner, and an evening snack. The whole point of making it was so I would have something to take for lunch on Monday and Tuesday, but I was so sick of it by the time it came to Monday morning that I ended up buying my lunch both days instead. I thought I had the baked potato soup recipe posted somewhere already, but I cannot find it. If you really want the baked potato soup recipe, leave me a message and I will post it. Otherwise, I will just wait until NEXT time I make it.

For supper on Monday, after Brad's lesson, we went to Outback Steakhouse. It was delicious.

Tuesday night we took chili to a friend's house and hung out with them before we all went to a church function.

Fabulously Thick and Yummy Chili
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup chili powder

Place ground beef and onions in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble. Add tomato juice, tomato sauce, beans, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Turn heat to high until boiling, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)

I know 1/4 cup of chili powder *seems* like a lot, but the chili is not overly spicy. It has really good flavor and a bit of a kick, but it doesn't burn the taste buds. In addition to the chili, I also made corn bread.

Corn Bread
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8.5 ounce) package corn bread mix
3 Tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom and sides of a square baking pan.

Stir all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.


I took a pumpkin cheesecake to the church function, but that recipe is in the previous post, so I am not going to take up space with it here.


Wednesday night I made Indian Butter Chicken. It was SOOO GOOOD. I am a pretty decent cook, and I was shocked that I made something that tasted sooo good. Interestingly enough, I had all of these ingredients already in my fridge and was able to make it without a trip to the store. I used the Penzey's (penzeys.com) Garam Masala and Tandoori Seasoning. I served this with Basmati Rice and green beans.


Indian Butter Chicken (aptly named!) From Allrecipes.com
1 cup butter, divided
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons tandoori masala

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook slowly until the onion caramelizes to a dark brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat along with the tomato sauce, heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and garam masala. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low; cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in caramelized onions.

While the sauce is simmering, toss cubed chicken breast with vegetable oil until coated, then season with tandoori masala and spread out onto a baking sheet. Bake chicken in preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 12 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes before serving.

I am off to make some dinner for Brad, but when I get back, I will tell you all about my Thanksgiving, and the sides I prepared.