Indian Food: Fast & Cheap!

Last night we had a friend over for dinner and I was in the mood for Indian.... Ordering out can be fun (and delicious), but also more expensive than we want to pay sometimes. So, last night I prepared a full Indian meal with some helpers from Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Not quite from scratch, as you'll see, but still delicious and even somewhat healthy (I'm not saying very, just somewhat)!

I was in a hurry to get this meal ready last night, since I worked a little late and didn't start prepping until 6:30 for a 7:15 meal--which doesn't seem bad, but it definitely would have taken at least an hour without my shortcuts!

First of all, I did use fresh chicken (boneless, skinless breasts), green onions and cauliflower. I broke up the cauliflower, spritzed with a little oil, sprinkled with cumin and popped it in the oven at about 400 degrees to start roasting. Then, I diced up the chicken into about 1" cubes and sauteed with some chopped green onion and a little olive oil.

Next I covered it with about half a jar of Tiger Tiger Bombay Simmer Sauce + 1 cup of water as the jar suggests (I think this cuts down on the heat). Then, I just let this baby simmer. Once it had thickened up a bit, I threw in the cauliflower that had been roasting. Let it simmer for another few minutes and it was ready to serve!

Next on the list were sides. Using a few pre-made dishes from Trader Joe's, these were a cinch! The frozen rice mix (Trader Joe's Fat Free, Vegetarian Biryani) includes red peppers and peas so while it's mainly a carb dish, at least there's a little color in there. It is a very quick fix: just melt a little butter in a saucepan, then heat the rice for 6-8 minutes till tender. The lentils (Trader Joe's 'Indian Fare' Madras Lentils) were easy too: just dump them in a dish and microwave for about 3 minutes!

Our final side was the classic Indian naan bread that is used to sop up all the sauces that cover nearly every dish. Again, I used a pre-made frozen version from Trader Joe's -- pop it in the oven for 2 minutes at 400 degrees and done!

Now, don't get me wrong, I know this meal is fairly starchy and sauce-heavy... but it's definitely not the sort of thing we eat every night and I'm of the mind that it's still a little better for us simply because we didn't spend the money on take-out! And, if you don't know about Trader Joe's, most of the stuff there is either organic or doesn't use preservatives and/or chemical stuff so I feel a little better about eating it and feeding it to my husband and guest(s). All in all, it was a delicious meal! Paired with a light Reisling wine and a little Port for dessert. YUM.

I'd say, overall, this meal cost us about $18 and it fed 4 (3 last night and I'm finishing it for lunch!) So that's $4.50 per serving....Not a bad deal!

What's your favorite "semi-homemade" dish(es) to fix for a group?

Recent Paintings

I have been keeping up my painting off and on since graduating with a degree in Fine Art in 2008, but it's been hard to maintain a regular studio schedule what with work and the other extracurriculars of a young housewife. But recently I've been able to finish a few new paintings thanks, in part, to a studio class I took at Palette & Chisel academy with incredible artist Michael Van Zeyl (more on his work later -- beautiful & inspiration stuff). The class was a short 5-week session, but the culminating "Small Show" coming up this weekend (Aug 28) has been my inspiration to finish the still life I started in the class and complete a second one. All the paintings in this show must be 12"x16" or smaller, and must be priced under $250. So, here's the finished works (signed and in frames, no less!)

"Three Nectarines" 11x14. Oil on Canvas.

"Bittersweet" 11x14. Oil on Canvas.
(If you're curious, the title of this one is a tad obscure but there is an explanation: The book in the still life is actually The Secret Garden (didn't have time to finish the details/title), which is one of my favorites of childhood reading material, and therefore a sweet memory to me. The lemons are, of course, bitter -- and with that explanation, I hope the oxymoronic title seems more apt.)

The paintings will exhibited and for sale at the Palette & Chisel Small Show this Saturday for $125 and $150 respectively. If they don't sell there, I'll be offering them to anyone with the best offer. :)

P.S. Bonus Question: Care to take a guess which one was painted in the artist-supervised class?

Music for All

I'm not always a fan of the mainstream Christian music that is played on the radio -- I'd rather listen to something more indie, good ol' classical music or hymns (I can make some recommendations if you're interested). But sometimes, a band will really hit the right note (no pun intended). The other day while driving out to the suburbs for work, I happened to have on The Message station on XM. Their playlist is really hit or miss, but all of the sudden a song caught my attention.... by the end of it, I was tearing up. It's a must listen: Tears of The Saints by Leeland

It may not be your style--I'm not as moved by most of the band's other music--but it's worth hearing what is being produced nowadays. I'm not the type of person to think that a single song will revive the world (solid, Bible-based preaching is a much better remedy), but it can certainly go a long way towards awakening. I'll try to post more updates every once in a while about emerging Christian musicians. What you listen to can have a lot to do with what goes on in your head.... and subsequently your actions.