Fresh & Easy Meals: Indian Curry

Okay, so Mr. Giles and I LOVE Indian food. 

It's probably our favorite food. 

(Yes... my Italian Grandmother would roll over in her grave!)

In fact, most of our Anniversaries or special events are celebrated with Indian Cuisine.

My first experience with Indian food was while living in England.  

I remember being asked if I wanted to go out for a "Curry." 

What is that?

We order from a restaurant down the street called called 'Dine India.' 

The BEST part was ... they delivered it to your door! I know!

It was one of the best meals I had ever eaten

and from then on… I was in LOVE! 

So, when I returned to the USA,

I wanted to find Indian cuisine here. 

Unfortunately, most of the Indian restaurants I found were VERY expensive!

We just couldn't justify going very often. 

This led me to figuring out how to cook Indian food at home. 

Over the years, I've cooked many Indian dishes

 including Marsalas, Curries and Kormas.

Many of my English friends and family

have smuggled wonderful Indian spices from the UK (in their suitcases) for me

and I usually pack my luggage full of them when I visit the UK as well. 

I know that a lot of you don't have the privilege of knowing

AWESOME English people who will smuggle spices for you so...

I wanted to give you another option.

I have used this recipe more times than I can count…. Enjoy!

This recipe can be made in a Dutch Oven or Crock Pot.  

Chicken Curry serve with Cauliflower Mash and Roasted Tomatoes 

Easy Chicken Curry 

Prep and Cook Time: about 40 minutes. 

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 4  boned skinned chicken breast halves (8 oz. each), diced 
• 1  large white or red onion, sliced
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and sliced 
• 2 jars of Trader Joe's Marsala Simmering Sauce 
• 1 bunch of cilantro, diced 

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan or Dutch Oven. Over med-high heat until oil is hot but not smoking. Add onions and bell peppers. Cook until onions are translucent and bell peppers soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute. 

2. Add chicken breasts and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. 

2. Add simmering sauce to the pot and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for half hour. 

3. Serve over basmati rice or quinoa. Garnish with cilantro. (Healthy Alternative: Serve with Cauliflower Mash and Roasted Tomatoes... recipes to come)   

Also, Trader Joe's sells fresh and frozen Naan Bread. It's an Indian bread and wonderful with curry. It's perfect when served warm out of the oven and topped with butter. 

Fresh & Easy Meals: Our Story

(May 2006 - Picture taken the day William was born )

Mr. Giles Story: 

I have been addicted to food all my life. 

My biggest weight was 270 pounds. 

I needed help and didn't know what to do. 

Someone turned me onto a weight lose plan that required me to 

portion out my food and cut out all sugar and most carbohydrates.

 I was so desperate, I decided to try it! 

The portion controlled meal plan totally worked! 

The weight began to fall off and after 3 months, 

I got down to my goal weight of 198 pounds! 

AFTER Daniel's weight lose. William was 6 months old in this picture.

My Story: 

Three years ago, my husband needed to loose weight. 

This was made VERY clear after a Doctor's Appointment 

where the doctor informed Mr. Giles that he was OBESE. 

At the time, we had been married for 4 years. 

He's was 25 years old, 6'2 tall and carried his extra weight pretty well. 

If you saw him, you would think he needed to loose a few pounds 

but you would NEVER think he was OBESE!  

We attributed his weight gain to eating "AMERICAN SIZE" potions, 

a stressful job and gaining sympathy weight with me during my pregnancies. 

After he started the program, I was so amazed by the results!  In order for him to keep the weight off, I had to learn to cook healthy, low carb, portioned-controlled meals that tasted JUST AS GOOD as our regular meals. 

I did a lot if research and created many recipes and meal plans. 

Since it was working for Daniel, I decided to help others create lasting change in their lives  by creating fresh and easy meals in the go. My sister and I started a fresh food delivery business two years ago called 'Fresh and Easy Meals' and it TOOK OFF! We were making between 600-900 meals a week and catering for over 15 people weekly. It was a great idea and we loved it! Unfortunately, my sister had to stop working in the business. So, I took on full ownership of the business and ran it for about 8 months alone. Until, January 2010 when I became pregnant with our third child and knew I couldn't keep the business going. I shut down 'Fresh and Easy Meals' in February 2010. 

Since then, I've had numerous people ask me about the meal plan, recipes, cost, etc. I'm not able to run the business at this moment, I thought it would be GREAT to create a blog page, giving people the tools and information to help them make Fresh and Easy Meals. 

One of my recipes: Chicken Curry with Roasted Tomatoes and Cauliflower Mash. 

Please continue to look at my site, I will include items like:

• 
  
• Diet Details: What are the specifics of the diet?
• Seasonal Menus
• Detailed Shopping Lists: including where to shop and cost breakdown
• Weekly Recipes: created to go with what's fresh and in season

Looking forward to giving you all the knowledge I have and helping you loose the weight you desire. 

Cheers! Until we meet again,

Debsx

Fresh and Easy Meals: Sonoma Chicken

This recipe is one of my favorites!


It's the low-calorie version of a recipe that uses Alfredo sauce and pasta. It was given to me by my good friend, Staci. She's on of those cooks who throws a bunch of items into a pot and it always comes out divine!

Sonoma Chicken

Prep and Cook Time: about 30 minutes.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

Sonoma Chicken and Roasted Zucchini 

• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 4  boned skinned chicken breast halves (8 oz. each)
• 2  large white onion, minced
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  cup  white wine
• 8  ounces  marinated artichoke hearts, halved
• 1/4  cup  sliced oil-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
• About 1/2 tsp. salt
• About 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  cup  sliced basil
• 1/4  cup  freshly and finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy ovenproof frying pan (not nonstick) over high heat until oil is hot but not smoking. Add chicken breasts, top side down, and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn chicken over.

2. Add onions and garlic to pan with chicken, stirring occasionally so garlic doesn't burn, until onions are soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper and cook until mixture begins to boil, about 1 minute.

3. Cover pan and put in oven. Bake 14 to 16 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through (cut to check). Transfer chicken to a plate.

4. Season artichoke heart-sun-dried tomato-stock mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Divide vegetables among 4 rimmed plates or shallow pasta bowls, top each with a piece of chicken, and spoon sauce over all. Garnish with sliced basil and Parmesan cheese.

Farmer's Market

I LOVE Farmer's Markets. It's a great place to support local farms and educate my kids about where food comes from. Yesterday we went down to the Downtown Farmer's Market. It's a wonderful place to purchase fresh produce, oils, nuts, cheese, homemade bread, seasonal flowers and order free-range meat.      Local Farmer's Market Information

Beautiful Plants & Flowers

Fresh Cucumbers, Squash and Green Beans

Since it's held under a freeway, it was a great activity to keep cool in the 103 degree weather!

7 months pregnant.... large and in charge!

Daniel's in love with old trucks... must be an English thing?

William sitting quietly in the stroller

Fresh Mushrooms