Cajun Chicken Pasta

Life takes a turn at times. That which interested you becomes distant and that hobby which you thought would never peak into your mind becomes a favorite passtime. I am in that phase right now. I have been blogging for 4 years now and I would never want to give that up just like that. And so I am taking my time to settle my mind and start blogging again. I was pretty busy for the past few weeks with pappu's birthday celebrations. I will write a separate post on that soon. But as for now lets talk about this easy to make cajun chicken pasta.

Pasta is one thing that I make when I am pressed for time or when we need a quick fix meal. Pappu is a sucker for mac and cheese and so I make it atleast once a month. As for pasta, I try a different recipe and that is how this cajun pasta happened. It happened and it is now a favorite.

~*What U Need*~ Boneless skinless chicken thighs - 1/2 cup, cut into bite size pieces Linguine - 6 oz Onion - 1/2, sliced Mushrooms - 1 cup, sliced Red bell pepper - 1/2, sliced, I didnt have this so skipped Garlic - 2, chopped Cajun seasoning - 1 tbsp Chicken stock - 1/2 cup Heavy cream - 2 tbsp Coriander - 1 tbsp, chopped Butter - 1 tbsp Olive oil - 1 tbsp Salt, pepper - to season How I Made it: Cook the pasta as per package instructions. Season the chicken thighs with the cajun seasoning and set aside. In a large skillet add the butter and cook the chick thighs for 4-5 mins. Remove to a plate. Add the olive oil, add the onions, mushrooms, garlic and peppers and cook for 5-6 mins. Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Add the cream and season lightly with salt and pepper, toss in the cooked pasta and cook everything together for about a minute or until the sauce thickens. Add the coriander and remove.

Serve warm!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Cheesy Spinach Mushroom Quiche

I love trying new dishes at home. Its mainly because one ~ I can customize it to our liking, second ~ I can make it as rich or as skinny as I need and third ~ simply because I love trying new dishes at home. This quiche has been in my to-do list for sometime now. Well that list is a long and ever growing one and I would need another lifetime to strike out every single bookmarked recipe from it. And by making this cheesy quiche I am one down.

Talking about this quiche, it is loaded with carbs, rich in every bite and a sure getaway from your regular meal. Its heavy and even a single slice would be heavy on the tummy. But its nice and an occasional getaway from your daily meal plans would never hurt. Next let me talk about the cheese blend. I have used mozzarella, sharp cheddar and aged parmesan cheese here. You can either use a blend or you can use a single cheese type. But I love the flavor that each cheese gives and hence used a mix here.

~*What U Need*~ For the filling: Frozen spinach - 1 box, 10 oz Mushrooms - 8 oz, sliced Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp Large eggs - 4 Whole milk - 1 cup Parmesan cheese - 1/3 cup, grated Shredded cheese - 1 cup, mix of mozzarella and cheddar salt & pepper, to taste For the crust: Butter - 1/2 cup, cold, diced All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cups Salt - to taste Ice water - 2 -4 tbsp How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. To make the crust, combine flour and salt in food processor. Pulse once to mix. Add butter and process until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of water and pulse, a few times. Add water by tsp pulsing it after every addition till the dough forms a ball. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough into a disk and refrigerate for 30 mins covering it with cling wrap. In a skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms, sprinkle the garlic, salt and pepper and saute on medium high heat for 7-8 mins or till the mushrooms release all the moisture and there is no water in the skillet. Whisk together the eggs, milk, and parmesan cheese until combined. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside. After the 30 mins, roll to about 1/4" thickness. Place in pie plate and press to fit. Blind bake for 8 mins. Thaw the spinach. Squeeze the water out of the spinach using a cheesecloth. After the pie crust is pre-baked, remove from the oven and spread spinach on top. Add the cooked mushrooms and shredded cheeses. Pour the egg mixture on top. Bake the quiche until it is golden brown on top and the center is no longer wobbly around 45mins - 1 hr. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve warm!!!

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Mushroom Spinach Quesadillas

The past two weeks have been pretty emotional and exhausting for me. I have not been cooking that much and dinner mostly consisted of takeouts or 2-min quesadillas with a glass of milk. Pappu is not feeling well and with him being sick and gloomy, the whole house followed pursuit. Its been sleepless nights and restless days with the thermometer always being a part of me, checking on him every half an hour if his body temperature is sky-rocketing. Poor liitle baby is all tired and he never parts me, always winding up half-asleep on my lap. Its been just fluids and rasam saadam and kanjee and highly diluted milk. We have been having the same to give him company. My bunny keeps mumbling 'pizza', how I wish I could fast forward the present.

I made this quesadilla because I felt tired, because I wanted to give something fiber-rich to my system and because I could only spare 5 mins of my precious time by the stove. Pappu was fast asleep after having his 6-hours once dosage of paracetamol and I stole away from him so that I could make something filling. It took me just mins to put them together and another 2 mins to gobble them up and by the 10th min I was there by my champ. You could make them all the more healthy by using multi-grain tortillas.

~*What U Need*~ Mushrooms - 1 cup, sliced Baby Spinach - 1 cup, cleaned Salt, Pepper - to season Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp Butter - 1 tsp Cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup or cheese of choice Tortillas - 2 How I Made it: Heat butter in a tawa and add the sliced mushrooms in it. Season with salt and garlic and saute till it leaves water and done. Wilt the spinach to desired doneness. Meanwhile, arrange cheese on one side of the tortilla. Place the cooked mushrooms on top of this followed by the spinach. Top with more cheese and place this on a clean grill pan or non stick pan and cook each side till nicely toasted.

Serve hot!!!

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Mushroom Spinach Pulao

As much as I love mushrooms, the huss detests it. I had tried many ways to feed him mushrooms some examples being this and this with no successful results. He never took a liking to the fungi until I made a simple garlic saute with butter and served it with some focaccia and soup. It became an instant hit and these days whenever we go grocery shopping, he never forgets to grab a pack of mushrooms. The other day I saw some beautiful bella mushrooms on sale and so we grabbed 4 BOXES. While I sauted most of them for breakfast, I saved some to make this flavorful pulao for lunch.

~*What U Need*~ Basmati rice - 1 cup Water - 1 1/2 cup Mushrooms - 1 cup, sliced Baby spinach - 1 cup, packed Onions - 1, sliced Tomato - 1, medium, chopped Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or replace with 1 green chilli Garam masala - 1 tsp Salt, Oil Cinnamon - 1" Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 1, crushed Bayleaf - 1, optional Coriander leaves - to garnish How I Made it: Heat oil in a pressure cooker and temper with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bayleaf. Add onions and cook till soft. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Once soft and mushy, add the spice powders and mix well. Add the mushrooms and spinach and saute well. Add the rice followed by the water, add a tbsp of ghee and chopped coriander leaves and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Remove and fluff with a fork.

Serve with raitha.

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Kadai Mushroom masala

Kadai mushroom masala is a very good accompaniment for chapathis. The crunchiness that the capsicums impart together with the soft mushrooms and the flavored spices can never go wrong. You can even add a handful of fresh peas to elevate the flavor. Those who are enemies with mushrooms can replace the same with paneer cubes and make Kadai paneer masala.

~*What U Need*~
Onions - 2
Tomatoes - 2
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Capsicum(cubed) - 1/2 cup
Mushrooms(cubed) - half packet
Dried Kasurimethi leaves
Corainder leaves
Oil
Salt

How I Made it:
Puree the tomatoes in a blender. Heat oil in a kadai. Add jeera, once fried, add red chilli and fry well. Add finely chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry till brown. Now add the tomato puree and saute till the raw smell leaves. Then add the masala powders and salt and mix well. Once the oil separates, add the capsicum and saute for 5 seconds. Next add the mushrooms and mix well till the masala coats evenly. Close with lid and allow to simmer for 3-4 mins. You will see the mushrooms giving out water. Mix well and check if the mushrooms have been cooked. If needed add excess water.
Now add crushed kasuri methi leaves and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with chapathis.

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Mushroom Masala Roast

Mushrooms are a strict no-no for the huss. He says that he finds it similar to rubber and hence whenever I pick-up a packet of button mushrooms during our grocery shopping asks me to return the packet to the shelves.
I am not a big fan of mushrooms either. Paneer / Mushroom and you could find me sticking to dear paneer. But at times I have this unusual urge to have mushrooms for rotis / chapathis. So this time giving no heed to his words, I went ahead and bought a pack of mushrooms. One half was made into mushroom masala and the other half was set aside for Kadai mushroom. Both turned out well and the huss was impressed with the flavors.

~*What U Need*~
Onions(medium) -2
Tomatoes - 1
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Capsicum(chopped into small cubes) - a handful
Mushrooms(cubed) - half packet
Coriander leaves
Oil
Salt - to taste

How I Made it:
Heat oil in a kadai. Add cumin seeds and when spluttered, add finely chopped onions and fry till translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry till brown. Now add in finely chopped tomatoes and fry till the oil separates and everything turns mushy. Now add the powders (chilli, corainder and cumin) & salt and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the capsicum and saute for 5 seconds. Add the mushrooms, give a stir till the masala coats the mushrooms and close with a lid.
After 5 mins, you will see the mushrooms starting to shrink and giving out water. Saute till the water evaporates and the mushrooms have cooked to softness. Add chopped coriander leaves and give a stir.

Serve with chapathis / pulao.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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