curry nut chicken

this is about as close as I can get to homemade butter chicken.  there are endless variations, too.

curry nut chicken
adapted from ??
yield: 4-6 servings / active time: up to 45 minutes / total time: up to 90 minutes (if you cut the chicken smaller and cook it through more before adding tomatoes, etc, your time can get down to 60 minutes...though the flavors aren't as thouroughly developed.  it'll still be awesome.)

ingredients
2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (could use up to 3/4 cup, depending on your preferences)
2 cups onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt (do not use less than 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (note to self: when cooking for the Boy, use less)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and soaked in water and/or lemon juice as long as possible
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons (6 cubes) Trader Joe's frozen cilantro cubes, or up to 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup cashews or almonds
1/2 to 3/4 cup greek yogurt

optional 
diced potato or sweet potato; spinach; golden raisins; chopped nuts
accompaniment
cooked rice, quinoa, or couscous
garnish
fresh cilantro, chopped

directions
head butter in a large, wide, heavy pot or wok over moderately low heat, until foam subsides.  cook onions, garlic, and ginger, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.

add curry powder, salt, cumin, paprika, and chili powder.  cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

turn heat up to medium or medium-high.  add cubed chicken, chick peas, and potatoes if using, stirring to coat, and cook 3-7 minutes (depending on how quickly you'd like to eat...cook for fewer minutes if you've got the time to spare, more minutes if you don't)

add tomatoes, their juice, and cilantro and bring to a simmer.  cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have combined, 30-35 minutes.

just before serving, throw a couple handfuls of spinach and/or the raisins into the pot, if using.  pulse cashews or almonds in food processor until finely ground.  add finely ground nuts and yogurt to curry and simmer gently, uncovered, until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.  if you're counting on leftovers, scoop those out into storage container before this step.  then, when you're ready for leftovers, do this.  don't do it too early or things'll get soggy.  spoon over rice, quinoa or couscous.

note
curry, without yogurt and cashews or almonds, can be made up to 5 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, before chilling, covered.  reheat over low before stirring in yogurt and cashews or almonds.

homemade (and way cheap!) granola

add this to some greek yogurt or ice cream.  or a spoon.

homemade granola
adapted from too many recipes to bother linking
makes about 3 cups (a quart-sized ziploc)
active time: 15-20 minutes / cooling time: 30 minutes / totally done in: 1 hour
ingredients
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
1/2 cup sliced/chopped nuts/seeds
1/3 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, etc)
1/4 cup dried sweetened coconut (A: you could leave this out altogether [lookin' at you, Summer]; B: I'd rather use unsweetened coconut but can't find that stuff anywhere)
sprinkle o' cinnamon

directions
spread oats on baking sheet and toast under broiler, stirring occasionally.  keep a close eye on them so they don't burn!  remove from oven and set aside.  turn off broiler.

if using raw nuts/seeds, toast 'em in a dry pan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.  I chose to do this separately from the oats so the nut/seed oils wouldn't mix in with the oats and possibly sog things up.

at this point, I scooped the toasted oats and nuts/seeds into a giant liquid measuring cup so it'd be easier to dump them into the skillet later.  this was a really good move, since attempting to pour the oats from a giant rectangular pan into a much smaller circular one would have been certain disaster.

in a medium skillet, melt butter.  add honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt, cook for 1 minute.  add toasted oats and nuts/seeds, cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  mix in dried fruit and coconut, cook 1 minute more.

spray baking sheet lightly with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.  spread granola evenly on baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon.  throw the whole thing back on the top rack of the still-warm oven for 15 to 30 minutes to get everything nice and crunchy.

remove from oven and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before shovelling into your face or a plastic bag for storage.  

next time: 
- since the coconut was sweetened and raisins are pretty sweet on their own, I'd probably cut back the brown sugar to 1 tablespoon.  if I'd used just cranberries, I'd leave the brown sugar measure at 2 tablespoons
- I'd stir it around a little less after it comes out of the oven to leave some bigger chunks intact

DIY KIND bars / fruit & nut bars

the Boy loves-loves-loves Clif bars and KIND bars and the like.  I love to cook and bake and figure out how to make things for a fraction of the market price.  I stumbled across a recipe on a blog and the rest is history...
fruit & nut bars (knockoff KIND bars)
adapted from here
ingredients
1 1/3 cups toasted or raw nuts, coarsely chopped after measuring
1/4 cup crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup seeds
1/3 cup dried fruit, chopped after measuring
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1/4+ cup honey (see notes, below)
directions
preheat oven to 325 degrees F. line an 8-inch square pan with foil and lightly spray with non-stick spray (if you don't, you'll be sorry!).  tear off a separate piece of foil for pressing, spray with non-stick spray and set aside. 
in a medium bowl, combine the chopped nuts, seeds, and chopped dried fruit.  add salt and honey, stir to coat evenly.
scrape/dump mixture into prepared pan. Use sprayed foil piece to to press mixture evenly into pan.
bake for 18 minutes (the bars will not be hard at this point). place pan on cooling rack and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes until partially set up.  use the sides of foil to lift the bars from the pan. do NOT try to remove from foil at this point — they're not ready yet! cut into 8 bars.
allow bars to cool completely. once cooled, the bars will lift right off of the foil. Wrap in cling wrap, parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

notes
the first time we made these, we didn't use enough honey.  the second time, there was too much and the bars didn't really solidify.  I'll try about 1/3 cup next time, that might be the winner.
optional
for just nuts bars: omit seeds and dried fruit, increase nuts to 2 cups, keep other ingredients and process identical.