Kacie's Day Off - Chicken Curry

Mise en Place

First of all, please let me announce that I have a NEW CAMERA!!!!!  I have been begging asking for a "starter" DSLR camera now for about as long as we've been married.  I gave up on it a few weeks ago, and low and behold Stuart surprised me with one as a Groundhog Day present!!

I went on a tear around the house in order to find the memory card for my old camera that was compatible with the new one.  I found it on my off day and just so happened to be cooking.  So my very first fancy-camera photos are of nothing else than one of my favorite things:  Food!

If it wasn't exciting enough about the camera, it just so happened that on my off day a brand-spankin' new giant Fresh Market opened up about 0.25 miles from my apartment.  I visited The FM when I lived in Mobile, but as my obsession  love for food hadn't fully developed I didn't really appreciate it for all it was worth.  Let me tell you friends, it's a food snob paradise!  They have everything good and delicious that you could ever imagine.  Fresh baked focaccia?  Check.  Talenti Gelato?  Check.  Blood oranges?  Check.  And as a bonus they will let you sample anything in the store you want!  So needless to say I spent 1.5 hours there and had a full breakfast before I rang up my purchases.

Hello, lovely organic carrots

Among other things, I decided to make chicken curry on my day off.  I generally try and make a few things that freeze well, because Lord knows I don't have time to cook during the week.  And my precious husband I fear will eat only Totino's pizzas if I don't keep his freezer stocked with healthy frozen meals.

Now, curry is pretty time consuming to make.  I don't mind standing over a pot for hours, but thanks to The FM, I found a jar of pre-made curry sauce that had no preservatives in it!  It also had coconut milk mixed into the sauce already (an important curry ingredient), so that was once less can I had to buy.  I considered it a success and went to work.

I don't profess to know much about Indian cooking, so I took that as a liberty to not really stick to a real recipe.  I basically just sauteed up some delicious fresh vegetables, added in some chicken, then the sauce, and then homemade chicken stock until I got the right consistency.  It really only took about 20 minutes of active cooking time.  Not too bad for a healthy meal!

Mardi was not as enthused over my FM purchases as I was

So there you have it.  I grabbed my happiest kitchen tool (below), turned up my iHome, and went to work peeling carrots and chopping onions.  Perhaps in another post I will share the secret I learned of how to properly chop onions/not cry.

Chicken Curry
EVOO
1 bell pepper
1 medium onion
1 lb carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb chicken breasts
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes (I find these to be the tastiest potatoes, and they hold up their shape when cooked)
1 jar curry sauce (or 1 jar curry paste + 1 can coconut milk)
chicken stock to desired consistency (I used about 1 cup)
Salt, to taste

Chop your veggies and chicken to desired size.  I prefer my veggies to be a bit on the large side so you know they're there.  Meanwhile, heat EVOO in a heavy-bottomed skillet or dutch oven. When hot, add the onion, pepper, and carrots.  Saute about 8 minutes, or until starting to soften.  Add in the garlic and continue stirring for about 1 minute, until fragrant but before it burns!  Then add the chicken and potatoes.

At this point I covered the pot and walked away for a bit.  This kind of had a steaming effect on the chicken. Another alternative would be to brown the chicken very first, the remove it from the pan and start on the veggies.  Probably good either way!  After the chicken whitens on the outside, add in the sauce and chicken stock.  Scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season to taste, and serve over rice!