Butter Chicken

Source: gooddinnermom.com

(My favorite dish at Indian restaurants. I was so excited to find a good recipe for it. The cook time is long, but the hands on time is short. Yes, it really calls for ½ cup butter, but is so worth it.)

1 yellow onion, diced(I use frozen, pre-chopped)

½ cup butter

8 cloves minced garlic (I use 8 tsp jarred garlic)

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 ½ tsp Garam Masala spice blend

juice from 2 limes

2 cans (15 Oz. each) tomato sauce

2 cans (15 Oz. each) diced tomatoes

½ cup whipping cream

½ cup chopped cilantro

In stock pot, sauté onion in the butter until soft. Add garlic, chicken, salt, pepper, Garham Masala, and lime juice. Cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Heat to boiling, then simmer on low, covered, for 30 min. Remove lid, increase heat to maintain a good simmer, cook for additional 1 hour to allow sauce to cook down and thicken. Add the cream and cilantro just before serving. Serve over Basmati rice.

*The original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp. each of cardamom, cumin, and coriander, which combined are expensive-over $20. The same spices are all in the spice mix of Garam Masala, for around $5. Available at most grocery stores.

Lasagna Soup

Source: Parade Magazine

1 lb mild Italian sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

3 oz tomato paste

8 oz tomato sauce

½ Tbsp dried Italian seasoning

6 cups chicken broth

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

8 oz dried pasta (campanelle or bowtie pasta)

½ cup ricotta cheese (I like Micell’s)

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz shredded mozarella cheese

In a large stock pot over high heat brown sausage. Add tomatoes, sauce, paste, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta and boil, uncovered until pasta is al dente, 7-9 minutes. Turn off heat. Add ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses. Stir to combine.

*I usually end up cooking the pasta (al dente) separately and add it to the soup right before serving. I have a really hard time making sure the pasta is not mushy otherwise. Not pleasant! If you don't have ricotta cheese, just stir something creamy in- a little cream cheese, or a bit of homemade white sauce. When we were first married and had no money, I would make a simple white sauce to stir into anything to make it creamy. I have also used leftover spaghetti sauce to replace the tomato paste and sauce to make it simple. Mozzarella cheese can be substituted for whatever shredded cheese you have on hand also.