Utterly Peanut-Buttery Bars

Oh my goodness, my tastebuds have died and gone to taste Heaven!  I’ve been on a peanut butter kick lately, and having already made peanut butter cookies and sticky peanut butter sauce for chicken, I was looking for a recipe I could add chocolate to.  Gotta use up those remnants from the bags of chocolate chips I bought on sale.  This recipe was on the back of a box of brown sugar, I had all the ingredients on-hand, and it would be easy to add chocolate chips to.  Perfect!  Even my no-sweet-tooth husband said he loved these, and the munchkins liked them topped with vanilla ice cream!

Utterly Peanut-Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips, adapted from the back of a C&H Pure Cane Golden Brown Sugar box

Crust:

1/2 cup soft butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

2 eggs

2 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (approx) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Crust:  In a medium bowl, mix butter, peanut butter and sugar until well blended.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour and mix well (it will be crumbly).  Set aside 1 cup of this mixture for the topping.  Firmly press remaining mixture into bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 pan.  Filling:  Beat eggs, peanut butter and both sugars together.  Spread over unbaked crust.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  Crumble reserved crust mixture over all.  Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until center is set and crust is golden brown.  Cool completely before cutting.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Whenever my husband needs a haircut, we head up to Rudy's in the U-District. Rudy's has locations all around Seattle, so why that location? Because across the street is Jewel of India, a family run Indian restaurant that has a small but fantastic buffet lunch. We have eaten it for years and just can't get enough. My favorite dish is the Indian Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala. I was craving just that recently, and since we rarely go out to eat with three small children, it was up to me to figure out how to make it. I came up with the recipe on the fly, combining elements from several I found online, and it is almost perfect. I made the quick and dirty version, meaning I only marinated for 3 hours instead of overnight, I used canned stewed tomatoes instead of fresh, I didn't strain it, and I didn't reduce the sauce because everybody was STARVING. I also sweetened it with organic blue agave nectar because my honey had crystallized. Serve over rice, with naan bread (frozen garlic naan from Trader Joe's is awesome). As always, enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Part 1:
2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into cubes or bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 tsp minced ginger
3 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp vegetable oil
melted butter (for basting)

Part 2:
1 small can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp chili powder
salt to taste
3 tbsp butter
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
honey to taste

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients in Part 1. Add chicken breast and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350F. Remove chicken from marinade and bake for 8 minutes, basting twice with melted butter. Drain excess marinade and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 5 more minutes. In a large pot, combine tomato paste, sauce and fresh tomatoes. Add about 4 cups of water. Add ginger, garlic, cinnamon, garam masala, chili powder and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until reduced and thickened. Strain out the chunks of tomatoes and spices and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir well and add honey to taste if it seems sour or too strong of a tomato flavor.