Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe

This cabbage stir fry recipe is one of the best and simple side dishes you could whip up on a busy night! It's full of Indian flavors and you get a bite of freshness each time! 

Need a little mid-week dinner inspiration?

Growing up, I used to hate cabbage! I mean seriously was there anything worse than coming home to your mom whipping up a plate of cabbage.... Nope. It was awful.Fast forward about 30 years and now it's one of my favorite Indian side dishes! If you need any convincing that this is indeed a delicious vegetarian side dish, MY KIDS ARE OBSESSED! They love having this to pair with KEEMA CURRY during the week. It adds a bit of crunch to the meal and lightens a dense meal.Still don't believe me? My super duper extra picky husband even likes it! Now, I don't think I will be converting my family to vegetarians anytime soon, but serve this with a tasty Indian main dish and you have one happy family! [amd-yrecipe-recipe:46]

Ginger-Garlic Carrot Rice Recipe

I've never been the best cook. I have burned my fair share of cookies, dried out a few steaks, and utterly destroyed some chicken. HOWEVER, I will say I've definitely learned over the years!I'm no Gordon Ramsey, but I can cook for my family and I don't hear many complaints! Unless I've scared them into submission! Nah, I'm convinced I've gotten better in the kitchen!I guess you'll have to judge for yourself! I've come up with a quick and easy rice dish that everyone loves! My favorite part is that you can throw it into the instant pot and voila!I love just about any rice dish! I stumbled upon this little dish when I was trying to use up leftover rice, turmeric, and carrots! I'm always looking for an excuse to throw in some veggies, use up leftovers, and throw in turmeric! Turmeric has amazing health benefits! The best part is it doesn't have a flavor![amd-yrecipe-recipe:42]Give it a try and let me know what you think! Tag me on Instagram or Facebook and tell me if you liked it! Enjoy!

Marriage Brings Out The Crazy In All Of Us

I love sharing stories from the beginning of my marriage because it reminds me just how young we were. I was only 20 when I said I do and my husband was 23. At the time, I thought we were extremely mature for our ages. Then I share stores like I'm about to and I realize maybe it wasn't the case after all.

Rewind About 8 Years

When my husband and I got married, we both realized how important to learn more about Indian culture together. I wanted to soak it all in because I wanted it to truly be a part of our marriage.I was so concerned about learning those new traditions and customs that I didn't realize how odd some of my family's may seem to him. That was until this happened...

Introducing My Husband To My Childhood

We had been married for about a month when I decided to share a special meal with him. I grew up eating tuna noodle casserole and loved it! The tender egg noodles, moist tuna, and the crunch of the crackers on top makes my mouth water. (I even craved it while I was pregnant about two years later!) My husband, on the other hand, was used to spicy and very rich dishes. Casseroles... not so much.I went to the store after work and grabbed all of the ingredients. My husband was still in school getting his bachelor's degree at the time and I knew he would be home late for dinner. I had plenty of time to put together a good meal. After preparing it, I put the dish in the oven.I anxiously watched the clock because I couldn't wait for my husband to get home. I was so excited to share this with him! He walked in the front door a few moments later and I watched him excitedly. If I walked home to the smell of this delicious meal I would race to the dinner table, eager to devour every last bite.He took in a deep breath and a confused smile started to emerge.Umm. Babe, what are you cooking?I got a little giddy, told him to go sit down for dinner, and he would see. I dished up two large helpings and brought it to the table. I was ready and waiting for the sounds of...Oh, wow!This is amazing!

Then The Unexpected Happened

Instead, I got...It's good.Now, if our husbands are the same, you know what this actually means. It's code for...Dear, God. Please, don't make this again!Why he chooses to fib every time he doesn't like a meal I'll never know.Yelling at him, while explaining I spent a lot of time making that and then giving his dinner to the dog is a natural reaction when he doesn't love every one of my meals. Right?My husband has quickly learned to enjoy all of my meals with a big smile on his face. Even after I badger him to tell me what he thinks, he will lovingly say he loves it.So, maybe I wasn't the most mature when we first got married or maybe marriage just brings out the crazy side inside all of us. I only fed his dinner to the dog one more time... but it really wasn't my fault. He dared me and if my momma taught me anything it's never chicken out on a dare! Okay, I don't think that was my mom, but hey!

Garlic Naan Recipe

I have been racking my brain on what recipe to introduce all of you to first, then it hit me… GARLIC NAAN! It's my favorite thing to make with just about every Indian dish. Naan is served with almost every Indian dish. It's the peanut butter and jelly of Indian cuisine.Delicious.It's a tasty, buttery bread that melts in your mouth. Follow the recipe below and you will see first off all, how easy it is, and just how addicting it becomes![amd-yrecipe-recipe:18]

**Update: I've been getting a lot of questions about what I use to cook the naan. Traditionally, you a clay oven to cook your naan. I use a grill pan and it works great!**

Family Fridays #10 Pretzel Cake

It's that time of week again. Family Fridays! Sirley is here to share a delicious recipe with all of us. Sirley is a lifestyle blogger at Love Ley and she writes about being a mother, food, DIY, and her life. Be sure to check out her blog and follow her on Facebook!Yeast dough:2 cups all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tbs of instant yeast1/2 cup of butter2 egg yolks2 tbs sugar1 tsp salt1/2 cups of warm milkFilling:1/2 cup of soft butter mixed with 5 tbs of sugar1 cup of raisins (soak these in hot water for 10 minutes) mixed with 1 tbs of flour andcinnamonGlaze:2 heaping tbs of baking cocoa6 tbs sugar3 tbs milk2 tbs butterMethod:Mix together sugar, egg yolk and salt so that it’s slightly frothy.Add warm milk to the mixture. Add the flour and yeast mix and melted butter bit by bit.Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to proof for 20 minutes. Once the dough has had a chance to rise divide it into two equal parts.Roll the dough out. Cover both pieces with the raisin-cinnamon mix and roll into a long roll. Twist the two rolls and arrange into a circle. Use a knife to cut slits into the dough at regular intervals. That ensures that the glaze will cover the pretzel nicely.Cover with a tea towel and leave for an additional 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and bake for the remaining 25 minutes.While the pretzel is baking mix together the glaze ingredients. Once the pretzel is out of the over, let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then cover it with the glaze.Thank you Sirley for sharing this post with us! If you want to hear more from her follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Chicken Masala

Oh, new recipes. I love them. This week's new recipe is chicken masala. Think chicken curry with an edge of tomato-ey goodness to it. 

We've been enjoying a lot more Indian food since we moved. It's been my chance to try all of my Indian food on my husband's family. A lot of my husband's cousins are in town for summer break. What better way to spend time with them than around food. 

Not to mention, my father in law has a second stomach for Indian food. I always joke that my husband has a second stomach for pizza and now I understand where he got it. It doesn't matter how much we eat for a meal, my father in law will always have Indian food after. I love it. 

This week, I decided to try my hand at chicken masala. Wow. It had the spice level for my husband and the vegetables that I like. 

I was also able to see my kid's spice tolerance has gotten better. They devoured it. Now, don't worry. If you don't have the same love for spice, you can adjust it. I noted the different options for the chilies and chili powder. Try it out and see what you think. It's always better to get more mild and add some putchady to it. 

Ingredients:

2 lb of drumsticks
1/2 an onion (diced)
1-2 green chilies
1 tsp turmeric
1 bay leaf
1 tbs ginger garlic paste
1 tbs butter
1 tbs oil
1 tsp-1/2 tbs of Indian chili powder
1 tbs tomato paste
1 cup or water
1/2 tbs cumin powder 
1/2 coriander powder
3 potatoes (diced)
1 tbs garam masala
1/2 tbs salt
4 tomatoes (diced)
1/4-1/2 cilantro

Directions:

Heat oil and butter in a deep pan, over medium low heat. When the butter melts, add in the onions and chilies. Brown the onions and add the tomato paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add the turmeric, bay leaf, ginger garlic paste, chili powder, cumin powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, and salt. Cook for two minutes. 

Rinse chicken and cut the skin off. Add the chicken into the pot and mix well. Cook the chicken on low for ten minutes. 

Mix in the tomatoes, cilantro, potatoes, and water. Cook on low until the chicken and potatoes are done. 

You can serve this with rice and yogurt. 

Paratha Recipe

As I'm sure you know by now, we make a lot of Indian food in our house. This means we need to have rice and roti (Indian bread) on hand. Typically, I will buy a huge bag of parathas and keep them in my freezer. While they are extremely delicious, I decided we needed some homemade, fresh from the skillet parathas around here! I posted this recipe a few years ago and decided to update it. This is a great recipe because you can tailer it to your specific tastes. It's a very forgiving dough and you can see where your imagination takes you. Ingredients:2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flourWarm water2 tsp oil1 tsp salt1 tbs garam masala1 1/2 tsp fenugreek leavesDirections:Pour all of your dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix them, add your oil, and slowly add your water until all of the dry ingredients come together. The stickier your dough, the more moist your parathas will be. Make sure you don't make it too sticky, otherwise it will be too hard to work with. Knead your dough for two minutes and then set it aside for twenty minutes.Pinch off a chunk of the dough and roll it into a ball. It should be about the size of a golf ball.Roll out your dough to about half an inch thick. Brush the top with oil and sprinkle with flour. Cut a small slit in your dough.Roll your dough like shown in the picture. This by no means needs to look nice or be perfect.Place the tip of this in your palm or on the counter and press down to flatten.Roll your dough out one more time.Heat a pan on medium high heat, add a small amount of oil, and fry up your parathas. Cook them until they turn golden brown or start to bubble.These are delicious, flaky, and make your mouth water as you begin to smell them! Serve this with butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, chicken curry, or any other Indian dish. I turned my back for one minute and already found bit marks from  my little boys.

Meal Planning

The moment I told Joel we were having our third boy, he responded with one thing… “They’re going to eat us out of house and home!” My kids eat a lot now and they’re all under three. I can’t imagine three teenagers. 

 

Other than my husband becoming a millionaire, we’re going to need to learn how to stretch a dollar. One way I do that now is meal planning. Oh the dreaded meal planning. Most singles or couples without kids laugh when I say I meal plan. They comment on how much work it is and how it’s not worth it. Although, three boys later… I think it will be worth it. It also saves us a lot of money already! 

 

I’m going to help you out. I’m going to teach you a few things to make meal planning easy and possible!

 

Keep it simple     

Choose recipes you and/or your family have had before and like. Then you can add a few new recipes. Be careful not to overload yourself on new recipes. If you try a new one and like it you can add it to the list of we love it recipes! 

 

Keep ingredients in mind

When you are choosing your meals, keep in mind how much of your ingredients you will be using. If you decide to make pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw, you will probably have extra cabbage on hand. Instead of wasting it, you can make another meal using cabbage. This helps stretch your ingredients. 

 

Plan a few leftover meals

We call this fend for yourself nights. Chances are you will have enough leftovers for a few meals. This is great for those busy days where you’d rather binge watch your favorite show than head to the kitchen and cook. 

 

Stock your pantry with some basics

Think about the meals that you typically cook through out the week. What are the basics you tend to cook with frequently? In our house we use a lot of rice, black beans, bread, and Indian spices. Our pantry ALWAYS has plenty of those things. 

 

Get a calendar

Get a calendar and put it on your fridge or use your phone’s calendar. Write down the meals you choose for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Write a grocery list based off your meal choices. You don’t have to stick to the exact meal you schedule for each day, but it gives you a list of meals you have groceries for. 

Chicken Keema

I think all of the pregnant mothers should come together and protest against pregnancies going past 37 weeks. The last few weeks of pregnancy drag on forever! All you want is to be done being pregnant and meet your newest little addition! Add in constant contractions that never do anything and the waiting can drive you crazy! Liam is getting impatient too! Every morning he asks me, "Mama, when is baby Lucas coming out and your belly getting small?"Isn't it crazy that my three year old understands my pregnancy that much!? Levi just yells, "Baby" and hits my stomach, proceeded by an, "I'm sorry baby," with a kiss. I'm pretty sure that is a look into the future of their relationships together. Liam will be the big brother always trying to help with the baby and Levi will have a love/hate relationship with him.I've heard the third baby is always more scrappy than the others. I guess it makes sense!We're trying to fill our time with fun things. This week it's been making Indian food and dealing with a clogged sink. Dirtying up more dishes is probably the last thing I should be doing with a clogged sink, but how can a family live without Indian food? Much less a pregnant woman CRAVING Indian food!Are you dying to know what we made? I know you are! We made chicken keema, Sharline's famous coconut green beans, and roti. YUM.Liam even taught grandma how to eat with her hands! He was so proud to share what he's learned!Ingredients:1 tbs ginger garlic paste2 tsp salt2 lb ground chicken1 handful of roughly chopped cilantro1/2 a diced onion2 tbs butter1 jalapeño, halved1 tsp turmeric1 heaping tbs coriander1 heaping tbs cuminDirections:Heat your pan on medium heat. Add in your butter, jalapeño, and onions. Allow your onions to brown. Drop in your ginger garlic, salt, turmeric, coriander, and cumin. Cook down your spices for 2-3 minutes. Crumble in your ground chicken. Let your chicken cook 2/3 of the way and then add in your cilantro. Turn your heat down to medium/low and simmer until your meat is done. How easy is that!? Serve it with Sharline's famous green beans and some roti and your life will be complete!

Chapatis

What are a few staples in your meals throughout the week? 

 

I make a lot of rice, bread, and vegetables. Every one of my meals has one of those incorporated in. It always helps on those less creative evenings. Instead of having to think up a unique side dish, I can pull out one of the staples. I also know my whole family likes all three of those. 

 

What are the staples in Indian meals?

 

They use a lot of rice, roti (bread), and lentil dishes. I don't think I've ever had an Indian meal without one of those things. 

 

Today, I’m going to share a little secret with you. I’m going to give you the roti recipe!!! Roti simply means bread. A few types are naan, chapatis, parathas, etc. 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup of flour

1/3 cup warm water

2 tbs oil

 

Directions:

 Mix all of your ingredients together. The dough should be a little sticky. Sprinkle a bit of flour on your surface and rolling pin. Pinch off a bit of dough and roll it out to about 1/4 of an inch. 

 

Heat a pan to medium high heat. Add a bit of butter and fry your chapati. Add butter and flip when golden brown spots start to appear on the bottom. 

 

You can make these to you or your family's preference. If you'd like them to be more moist, add a bit of water. You can also decide how thick you'd like them to be. 

 

These are traditionally made with whole wheat flour, but my family likes white flour best. 

 

You can serve these with chicken tikka masala, chicken curry, lentil dishes, etc. 

 

Enjoy!

How To Cut Your Cooking Time In Half

While on vacation with Joel’s family, I’ve learned the tricks of the trade. I’ve usually seen Joel’s mom and dad cooking Indian food. Joel’s mom works most of the day and then will come home and cook. She has a bit more time to come home and do everything from scratch. Joel’s dad has even more time to prep food and cook meals throughout the day. 

 

What about when you’re busy with kids all day and then have to help them with homework at night?

 

Or you have work all day and school at night?

 

Is there a way to make Indian food a little quicker? Yes!Here are a few things I saw Joel’s aunts and uncles do. 

Keep some prep food frozen. 

I’ve always said fresher is better. However, there are a few things that you can have frozen and won’t change the taste at all. A few of those would be diced onions, halved green chilies, diced tomatoes, and ginger garlic paste. 

Prep food at the beginning of the week. 

There are a few things you’ll need whether you’re making Indian food, Mexican food, or American food. Diced onions are a huge staple in our house. Look at your meal plan at the beginning of the week and see what you’ll be using a lot. Then you can have the diced tomatoes, diced onions, shredded chicken, cut lettuce, etc in separate tupperware containers. This will definitely save you time in the long run.

Cook Multiple Indian Dishes On The Weekend. 

This is by far my favorite. I always wonder how Joel’s family has the motivation to cook huge dishes every single day. I learned the secret… They don’t! Joel’s aunt, Chinnipinni, made three main dishes, four sides, and rice on the weekend. She also had some chapatis and roti on hand. This way she could take them out each night and change up the combinations each night. It was brilliant! 

Left over Indian food!? I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking about reheating a hamburger and fries you got from the restaurant over the weekend. It’s never good. The difference is that Indian food is way better reheated. The spices have time to develop and it just gets better. 

 

If you wanted to do this with American food, it’s just as easy. You could make up a big thing of shredded chicken, black beans, seasoned ground beef, and grilled veggies. Then have some staples on hand like pasta, rice, pesto, etc and you can change it up all night.

What do you do to save time when cooking?

 

Must Haves For Cooking Indian Food

As our little family has been cooking Indian food more often, I’ve realized there are a few things I’ve needed to make it easier. Or that I’ve had to go out and buy because I refused to hand cut lamb one more time. If you’re planning on making Indian food, here are a few things you should have. Although, I’m sure these things are great tools when cooking anything and you’re probably all going to laugh and tell me you’ve had these things since you moved out on your own. 

Cooking Scissors

When you’re making biryiani, chicken curry, chicken tikka masala, lamb curry, etc. you’re going to need to cut your meat. You’ll either be cutting them into bite sized pieces or cutting the skin off and scoring them. Whatever your need is, cooking scissors are a MUST. It makes the job go so much quicker and you don’t destroy the pieces of meat because you’re using dull kitchen knives like I did. Rice Cooker 

I don’t think I’ve ever had an Indian meal without rice. It’s one of those staples that you pair with everything. My kids are also HUGE rice fans. I know that some of you are way smarter than me and know how to cook rice on the stove. However, when you’re already using your stove to simmer all of you curries, it’s nice to have a rice cooker tucked off in the corner to use. You don’t even need a huge one. We upgraded from our teeny-tiny-barely makes a cup of rice rice cooker this year and have a good medium sized one. One day we’ll move up to the huge Indian sized rice cookers, but for now our little one suits us just fine. 

A Sharp Knife Or A Knife Sharpener

Notice I didn’t say sharp knives. I said a sharp knife. Joel and I need to save up and buy a great sharp knife collection. The problem is that Joel and I have different taste. I would buy the cheapest sharp knife set and he would buy the best of the best. Seeing as that is a HUGE gap, we’ve been waiting. As long as you have a good sharp knife or a knife sharpener you’re good. Trust me. Cutting tomatoes with a dull knife ruins your whole day. 

Plastic Or Glass Containers

As you start to cook Indian food, you will end up with a new set of spices. I always recommend buying in bulk or going to the Indian grocery store. The spices are amazing and a way better price. A mistake a lot of people make is bringing them home and keeping them in opened bags inside a pantry or cabinet. The spices will be ruined if you keep them like this. You need to keep them in airtight containers. 

Lot’s Of Friends To Experiment Your Indian Food On

This one is my favorite. I’m always trying out Joel’s families recipes or finding new ones online. I need to have some people around to taste the food and see what they think. I’m usually nice to my friends and try it out on my family first. If they don’t like it we just order pizza. Indian food is the best to have with a group of people!