New Eats

A couple weekends ago we made a whole bunch of new recipes.  There was the fresh pasta, beet gnocchi, and cappuccino pavlova, but that was just half of our cooking/baking adventure.

We made a new breakfast casserole:

It starts with a layer of Italian sausage (cooked):

Then cheese:

An egg mixture:

And a layer of frozen hash browns (or tater tots):

Then it goes into the oven, and it wakes up your senses as it cooks:

We each had a slice, and then had breakfast for the start of the work week.

Find the recipe here.

Another new dish we tried was slow cooker Moroccan chicken, and we loved it!  We are huge fans of olives, and the lemon also made this so flavourful.  We served it with brown rice.

The raisins really added something to it; if you make this, I would not recommend eliminating them.  I think the dish needs all the elements.

For dessert I made a batch of chocolate chip Oreo cookies.

I really enjoy desserts with Oreo in them, and these instantly caught my eye.  They were easy, and a perfect recipe.  I'd make them again for sure.

And if that wasn't a delicious enough weekend, we also tried a couple new cheeses and some walnut sausage that we found at the grocery store down the street.

Spring has finally appeared, and it is beautiful!  We walked to dinner at dusk this past Saturday evening to really enjoy the evening weather, and it felt so good to be outside.  I can't wait to spend loads of time outdoors in the coming months.

How was your weekend?  What did you do?  Did you get outside at all?  Have you cooked/ baked anything new recently? 

Easy Slow-Cooker Butter Chicken

Last week I made an easy slow-cooker butter chicken.  The flavours are mild, so it would be good for someone who is just getting into Indian food.  It's not the most authentic, elaborate Indian food we've ever made, but it's quick to throw together and fool-proof, and we'll definitely make it again if we need something that's no-fuss. 

You start by throwing 3 T of flour, 1 T of garam masala, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp curry powder into a slow cooker:

Then add 3 lbs of chicken thighs (quartered) and toss to coat:

Add 1/2 cup of ground cashews:

Then add 1 small chopped onion, 4 chopped garlic cloves, 1 seeded and chopped jalapeno (I used a red one), and chopped ginger (I used 3-4 T).

Next add 2 seeded and chopped tomatoes:

2 T of tomato paste:

And 3/4 cup of cream:

I seasoned it a bit with salt and pepper before cooking, but added more later on.  The recipe says to cook it on low for 4 hours, although I turned it up to high for a while, and also probably cooked it for 4.5 hours total. 

A bit more salt and pepper to taste (salt makes a big difference - don't skip it).  Once it was done I stirred in 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt:

We garnished it with cilantro and served it over basmati rice:

The best thing about this recipe is that you don't have to pre-cook anything; you just throw it all into the slow cooker, and ta-da, it's done!

As I mentioned before, this is a very mild curry/butter chicken.  We're usually fans of much stronger flavours, so we'll likely tweak the recipe a bit the next time we make it.  That being said, it's definitely good, and was even better the next day.

You can find the recipe here on the Food Network site.

Do you use a slow-cooker?  Have you ever made butter chicken or a curry in it?  What have you been cooking lately?