Super-helpful girl to the rescue!!!

Zach and I totally forgot about making a blueberry dessert topping last night for his ice cream social at work today, and fortunately, my work schedule for the day got flopped around, so I was able to make the topping today! Hooray!!!

Martha Stewart is one crafty gal, and she provided an easy, tasty recipe.

1 pint blueberries (about 2 1/2 cups. I used a bag of frozen berries, and it worked out great. )
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar

Heat your butter in a saucepan. Add berries and sugar, cook on med-low heat until berries start releasing juices, or about 2 minutes. (I went a little longer since mine were frozen) Serve warm over ice cream. :)

Sometimes, the reward is in doing.

Zach texted me yesterday to inform me that he was feeling melancholy. I replied that he could look forward to indian food, cupcakes, and a netflix laughfest. Then, I was stuck. I didn't have any of those things, but I needed to act fast to ensure some measure of happiness for my beloved. I decided to make a dish resembling chicken makhani and bought cupcakes at one of the local bakeries.

Very like chicken makhani!

1 package (I bought 1.25 pounds) boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into little chunks
1/4 cup lime juice
3-6 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried ground corriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (green or black, both are tasty)
salt and black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 inches ginger root, peeled and microplaned
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 handful chopped cilantro


How-to:
Place diced chicken in a bowl. Add lime juice, garlic and spices, marinade up to overnight. I marinated mine for about an hour and it was still tasty, but the longer you can leave it the better it tastes. :)
Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and ginger, saute until onions are soft. Add chicken and turn up heat slightly. Cook for about 4 minutes or until chicken is uniformly white and meatlike all the way through- no pink! Add tomatoes and broth, turn it down to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add your yogurt and cilantro, continue to simmer and stir occasionally until mixture thickens. check spice levels and adjust accordingly. Serve with rice and nan. :)

This was good, and we ate it all- no leftovers! :)

Summertime is not my favorite.

Zach went out of town at the beginning of the month, and I didn't cook the whole time he was gone, and I'm certain we have either eaten at a restaurant or with my parents since he came home last Thursday. LOL :D

I did make brownies on Monday. Life altering, ambrosia-from-the-gods brownies. Not even joking.

The Pioneer Woman is going to make me bigger than a barn with all the things she makes, and then I feel compelled to make too.

The brownies:

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used duncan hines dark chocolate fudge and was not a bit sorry!)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 stick melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1 jar caramel dessert topping (or 60 unwrapped caramel candies, melted with 1/2 cup evaporated milk)
1/3 cup chocolate chips


Put cake mix in a mixing bowl. Add evaporated milk, pecans, and melted butter. Stir it up until it's all combined and resembling sticky cookie dough. Divide in half, and press half the dough into a greased 8" square baking dish. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Remove dish from oven, pour on the caramel, then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Put the other half of the brownie dough on top (I had mine rolled pout into a rough square shape and carefully laid it over the caramel and chocolate.). Return this beast to the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely, then chill for several hours. Sift a generous amount of powdered sugar on top, cut into squares, and serve. :)