Don't Back Down

For the last couple of weeks, we have been trying to eat better. Not so much in quality, mind you, but more regularly, with more variety, and perhaps most importantly, at home whenever possible. We still tend to eat out at least once a week - but that's much better for our health and our wallets than eating three or four meals out each week.

The night before last, we were scheduled to try Spicy Curry Chicken. While the recipe came from the newspaper, I have a tendency to modify things - especially when I find that I'm out of something. So without further ado, here it is...

What all you'll need to get yours going:

      Chicken: We had four largish breasts, about two pounds
      Tomato, diced: Fresh or canned, about two cups did wonders
      Onion, diced: One medium or half a large onion should do
      Bell Pepper, diced: This dish used one medium-sized pepper
      Garlic: One good scoop of the pre-packaged product
      Curry, ground: To taste, I used about 2 tablespoons
      Red Pepper, ground: Also to taste, say 1 teaspoon
      Rice: Your choice, one small box works well

First, take those chopped up onions and peppers and cook them for several minutes until they are soft. I added a tablespoon or two of oil to the skillet and let them cook up over medium heat, and was done in about 5 minutes. You could also use non-stick cookware, some spray-on style or even a little water and probably accomplish much of the same.

Once the onions and peppers had softened, put the tomatoes in the pan with them. I chose a canned variety of diced tomatoes, packaged Italian Style with garlic and olive oil. But just about any diced tomatoes - even fresh - should do.

You might need to vary the amount of tomatoes, depending on how much chicken you have. For the size of our meal, I used one can, which was 14.5 ounces. Also add in the garlic, the curry and the red pepper and let it all simmer for a few minutes. Mine probably sat for about ten minutes, as I wasn't paying attention. After you've cooked this all together for a few minutes, remove the contents from the pan and sit aside.

At this point, I fixed a small box of rice with vermicelli (chicken flavor, since we were having chicken). This essentially meant I had to saute the rice mixture, and once browned, add water and let it boil. Follow the directions on your box. Or use regular white rice if that's your preference. The great thing about recipes is that it doesn't have to be exact each time.

I chose to slice the chicken breasts into strips for cooking. You could do this, you could chop them smaller, you could even use chicken tenderloins if you don't like to do the slicing yourself. Whatever your choice, add those to your skillet and cook them for about 5 minutes per side to turn them brown. You're not going for fully cooked here.

Once the chicken has browned on both sides, add the tomato mixture back into the skillet. Mix well with the chicken, add a cover, turn the heat down slightly and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. I chose to take off the cover and let it simmer for another 10 minutes or so to get rid of a bt of the juice and thicken it up somewhat, but the chicken should be pretty well done here if you like it soupy - just check it before eating!

Finally, grab some of that rice you made and scoop some of the chicken over the top. You're done!