Sweet n' Spicy Chicken and Broccoli Curry
There is such a thing as a blessing in disguise. Yesterday my really-talented-at-cooking family was working out of house for the day, leaving me at home alone to fend for myself...without leftovers. Yeah, pretty devastating. You can imagine the complete and utter fear I experienced when I realized there was no "just add water" dinner-in-a-box stored away in the cupboard, which meant I was going to have to *cringe*....cook.
Alright, so maybe I'm being a teensy bit dramatic. It wasn't that horrific. I was actually a bit excited to fend for myself in this foreign, untrained territory. I was going to prove to myself (and everyone who ever doubted me) that I CAN COOK something delicious! On a mission, I scoured my Pinterest food boards for a recipe that didn't require too much finesse, but wasn't child's play. I found this winner on Recipe.com, and the only ingredient I didn't already have was tomato sauce. Score!
What I thought was going to be a quick trip to the grocery store turned into a near death (okay, nearly frozen-off fingers) experience when I realized my beloved little car was a GIANT ICE CUBE. I thought this kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen in Nashville? Isn't this why I left Minnesota?! Ugh. So after a half hour of defrosting every window and hacking away with my ice scraper (hence the frozen fingers), I drove down the street to Aldi—only to find out: ALDI IS CLOSED. Perfect.
So I scurry-shivered (this is what you do when you're super cold and frustrated, so you do this ridiculous hyper/angry dance to keep warm) back to my car and drove to Walmart. While I was there, I decided to pick up a few extra things for later in the week. Might as well, since I obviously can't count on Aldi (kidding)!
Sweet n' Spicy Chicken and Broccoli Curry
Ingredients
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-3 chicken breasts
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into strips
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2-3 cups cooked rice
Directions
1. Prepare onion and red pepper on cutting board. Cook your rice.
2. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place broccoli on prepared baking sheet. Lightly coat with olive oil cooking spray. Season with a few shakes of salt, pepper and minced garlic. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. Heat large fry pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray; add chicken and cook 6 minutes, turning once. Remove to a plate and set aside.
5. Add onion and red pepper to pot, cover with lid (utilizes natural steam) and cook 5 minutes, tossing vegetables to ensure they don't stick to the pan. Stir in curry, ginger, sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, 1 tsp salt, chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and add your partially cooked chicken. Simmer 10 minutes or until you are certain chicken is cooked through. Stir in broccoli. Serve over cooked rice.
The original recipe called for cauliflower. I did not have cauliflower, and since cauliflower and broccoli basically taste the same (I said basically, don't kill me) I switched one out for the other. It worked out pretty deliciously, I'd say!
This dish took me roughly 30 minutes to make, so it's relatively quick to make. I would also fair to say it wasn't that difficult. The most stressful part was cooking the chicken, and that's only because raw meat kind of (really) freaks me out. This is a work in progress, people. ;-)
I got a thumbs up from the whole family! Which is feat in itself.
Rating: ★★★★★ out of 5 stars
If you have any questions, or decide to make this dish, leave a comment below!
XO Taylor
What I'm listening to: Bastille – Pompeii
Photo taken with an iPhone 4S