Chicken Chickpea Curry

I remember the first time I made this dish. My husband walked in the door and said "What is that smell?" Curry is pretty aromatic. I love it. I would probably wear it as perfume. Not everyone feels the same way and Greg probably falls into that category. Bless his heart.

I found the original version of this recipe in Redbook Magazine a few years ago. It was titled This Dinner Helps You Burn Fat. Needless to say-- I was sold. Of course, I had to put my own Rebeka Does It spin on it and we have been enjoying it ever since.

I think this picture proves what you guys have probably already considered.
I am a little cray-cray. In the best way, of course.

This dish is also the very first time I had ever used Curry, a blend of spices used in Indian Cuisine. And apparently, it has a lot of healthful properties as well. Huh, who woulda thought? You can read more about that Here . This article talks about health benefits like blood sugar control, anticancer benefits,  and even detoxification. Interesting, right? Oh and it tastes great too!

If you are wanting to give Curry a try, this recipe is the perfect place to start. I should also note that the flavors come together even better for leftovers the next day. So make extra. This recipe serves 4.

Best kitchen tool? A sharp knife.

Ingredients
1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 TBS Curry Powder
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Tsp Ginger
1 Jalapeno, Diced and Seeded
1 Bell Pepper, Diced (Red is my favorite in this dish.)
1 (14.5oz) Can Diced Tomatoes
1 (15oz.) Can drained, Rinsed Chickpeas
2 Chicken Breast (Shredded)
2 Cups Brown Rice (cooked)
1 Cup Chicken Broth
Optional Toppings: Greek Yogurt, Cilantro, Sriracha

If you haven't already, get your brown rice cooking. This will take the longest. Follow the directions on your package.

Then figure out your chicken situation. Are you roasting it? Using the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken you bought at Cosco? Or if you are in a hurry, just boil it! Add your chicken breasts to a pot and cover with water. Salt. Cover and heat on med-hi heat. Cook 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Longer if your chicken is frozen. When cooked through remove from pot and shred with your Kitchen Aide Mixer with dough hook.

While your chicken is cooking, heat oil on med-hi heat in a large deep skillet. Prep your veggies: cut, dice, mince. Add your onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic to your oil. Soften for about 3 minutes. Then add your spices: ginger and curry. Stir for about 1 minute. Then add your tomatoes and chickpeas. Add your broth and shredded chicken. Salt as needed. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

I like to serve in a bowl: Rice on the bottom and spoon the Chicken Chickpea Curry over the top. Add a dollop of greek yogurt, some cilantro, a drizzle of sriracha and you, my friend, have a fantastic curry dish. Viola!

Knead I Say More

Have you ever had high expectations for a simple recipe? Like for example: bread machine bread. Delicious and simple. You dump ingredients in said bread maker and then it does all the hard work. And when you hear that "beep beep beep" three hours later you just know it's going to be warm, fluffy, and FABulous bread.

Well, this exact thing happened yesterday. The stars aligned themselves and I found my self standing in my kitchen prepping for this delicious concoction. I found a great recipe. It was a new one, but seemed promising. Oh, and of course, its whole wheat and REAL. Every. Single. Ingredient. So no need to worry about any funky non-wholesome ingredients being found in that FABulous bread.

Ingredients were dumped. Bread machine plugged in and ready. Start pushed. In 3 hours and 25 minutes I would be slicing up that heavenly loaf.

Fast forward 2 hours. Something seemed amiss. I wasn't smelling that heavenly aroma of warm bread baking. So I took a trip over to the bread maker, lifted the lid, and peeked in...

DEVASTATION!

Nothing had changed. The mix had not mixed at ALL. It looked exactly the same as it did when I made the dump. Nothing unchanged. CRAP!

The irrational part of me wanted to throw a tantrum. A 3 year old in the middle of the grocery store tantrum. Loud. Thrashing limbs. And alligator tears. But instead I grabbed the loaf pan and dumped it all in the trash. Yes, almost 4 cups of whole wheat organic flour and other organic wholesome ingredients down the trash can.

I am telling you, it will make you want to say bad words...

But I didn't. I tossed the loaf pan in the sink and turned off the bread maker. From now on I will ALWAYS make sure every part of that machine is properly in place. Lesson learned.

Moral of this story...Don't be afraid to fail. Yes, it will suck. And you may even feel the need to cry a little or throw an all out "grocery store" tantrum. But next time you will know better. How in the world will we ever learn with out failure? Especially in the kitchen. I have failed a lot. But I have persevered. And here I am standing on the other side, a new day. And bread baking in my bread maker!

Cheers to failures and successes. For you cannot have one without the other!

With Love,
Bek

P.S. Stay tuned for a fabulous special guest post by my bread baking friend Renee. She will be teaching me how to make bread without my machine! Knead I say more?