Indian Butter Chicken in the pressure cooker

July 4, 2017July 4, 2017 StefanieLeave a comment

I have been trying to figure out how to do this for some time now and I think I got it. I have been spending lots of time researching this and building a history unit study for the girls. I have made it further on this than the study but my problem is I want to study Japan since we live here but all the resources I can find are just about the basics that the girls are already familiar with. I think it is time to start digging deeper. If you have any good resources please send them my way.

Here goes I am going to try to share a recipe with you all. I attempted yet again to make Indian Butter Chicken and finally had a good turn out. I love using my pressure cooker which you can find the link for here.

I love this thing and it is on sale right now. I might have to get a second one since my slow cooker gave out on me and I love making my own stock. I whipped up this amazing dinner the other night and today I have had a soup going in it.

So I will try and be better about taking more pictures through the cooking process but this is the end result.

Pressure Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

2 lbs chicken, I used 4 thin breasts because that’s what I had.
1 stick of butter
4 teaspoons of curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
10 oz (ish) heavy cream, can use 1 can of coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
6 oz tomato paste
1 onion minced
5-6 cloves garlic minced
Salt to taste
2 tbsp corn startch
1 tbsp water

Melt butter in pressure cooker and then add onion and garlic. Cook until about half way done. Add cream, stock and paste. Mix well.
Add spices and let cook for about 2 min. Add chicken and make sure to cover with the sauce. Use the chicken/meat button for 15 min.
Let natural release for about 10 min and then chop chicken if you choose to. Add corn starch and water mixture and let boil until thickened to your liking.

Serve over rice and with some yummy naan.

Homeschool · Homesteading · Japan · Uncategorized

First Vegetables

June 13, 2017 StefanieLeave a comment

A few days ago I was able to pick my first vegetables, YAY! I didn’t get many but I was super excited for what I did get. Here is a picture of my haul, minus one cucumber, I ate that thing before I could get a picture and it was so good.

I gave a couple of the peppers to a neighbor and then M and J snagged two of the bell peppers and went to town on them before I could stop them. How can you stop a kid eating their vegetables though? Plus look how cute and happy he is.

Today I was most excited because I was prepping a meal for a new mom in out command and I got to use some of my vegetables in the recipe. It wasn’t much but it still made me do a little happy dance. I am still trying to figure out how to add recipes to this so bear with me, I will get some up here. I did use my pressure cooker in my prep yesterday and I can’t tell you how many times that thing has saved me. I tossed in a bag of still slightly frozen chicken breasts with some chicken broth and in 20 minutes they were falling apart as I took them out. I love prepping chicken that way and then it is ready to go for the week. This is the affiliate link to Amazon and this is the exact one that I have.

We also started our next year of school already, I decided to go ahead and start because I knew I wanted to leave plenty of time for day trips and just general time off. This will be our first full year of homeschooling so wish us luck, so far we are doing pretty well but who am I kidding we are only 5 days in. Z has asked to study the history of Japan and who am I to say no. What better time than now for us to do this and take those trips to see the places we are studying and then bonus family time. We have made it to the Kinta Bridge twice now but haven’t been able to stay and explore. First time J man ended up accidentally having his poor little foot closed in the sliding door of our van by yours truly, thankfully nothing was broken just some nasty swelling but we had to leave the bridge to come back to base and have an X-ray taken to be sure and the second time right as we arrived it started raining. I am hoping that we get out there this week. Maybe that will be the next blog post. Let me know your favorite places in Japan or where you want to go in Japan. I love reading your comments. Thank you for the support.

History · Homeschool · Japan · Uncategorized

Hiroshima Castle

May 30, 2017May 30, 2017 StefanieLeave a comment

We spent Memorial Day Waking up late and discussing the meaning and somber reason for Memorial Day. After a late breakfast we loaded up and headdd to Hiroshima to visit the Hiroshima Castle.

M really amazed me when she asked to listen to the first recording twice and was very still and paying attention to the screen. There was only two sets of headphones with English translation so I don’t actually know what was said. On the second floor there was an interactive screen and she knew the answer to the first question without hesitation. When I asked her how she knew that she very matter of fact told me “Well I just listened to the headphones.” Oh M I love you and your seriousness about your answers when you are focused.

We climbed all the way to the roof, five floors, doesn’t seem like much but these were very steep stairs and I had the hiking backpack with a J on. My calves are screaming today!

The entrance to the castle grounds has a big building in it that has some history or at least I’m assuming that’s what it is, no English translation was available. The very last room had a large taiko drum that was available to play.

The girls day was made. M was not to sure about the security guard helping her but she said that it was fun after the fact.

We did a lot of exploring and had a good time. This was a pretty cheap day that really only consisted of parking for 1600 yen and admission for me of 370 yen.

You can see Z in the bottom picture with her kindle taking pictures. She has asked for a camera for her birthday. We think it will be a great gift since she has sleep away camp this summer. If anyone had suggestions for a basic digital camera that is pretty durable let me know.

We had a great day of local history and ended our day with some great ice cream.

Homeschool · Homesteading · Scentsy · Uncategorized

Bread, vegetables, homeschool and Scentsy

May 27, 2017May 27, 2017 Stefanie2 Comments

Today I tried my hand at making bread. I have made bread plenty of times before but I always use the fancy bread machine my parents got me. I decided today would be the day I make it by hand and actually have to do everything versus just adding stuff to the machine. I was hoping the kids would help me make it but they were either playing outside or taking a nap, I chose to not interrupt them. This was a pretty easy recipe I found on Pinterest and it came out pretty good.

My husband Chris is deployed right now so there is a lot of emails going back and forth all day about just everyday shenanigans around the house. Today I couldn’t wait to tell him that the vegetables I have been trying to grow are actually starting to produce. I decided that I would try my hand at container gardening since we are in military housing and will be moving in a few years. We all went to the local store here and just picked out a bunch of different starter plants to give it a try. I am so proud to say that everything is coming along nicely and I actually have small cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I also have flowers on spaghetti squash, zucchini, and watermelon. I am now requesting that he build me planters when he gets home since I can apparently grow something when I put my mind to it. It is always a running joke that I have a black thumb. My dad is amazing though, that man can grow anything. I am hoping that I can begin to learn his tricks because I need to grow as much as possible so I can keep up with the rate the kids eat.

I have decided that we will homeschool year round because it will just fit in better with the schedule that my husband has. I finally have everything in hands for both of the girls for this upcoming year. I have decided that M will have a two year kindergarten since I just don’t think she is completely ready to do everything but she is to advanced to stick to strictly preschool assignments. She is super happy because her books are brand new, being the younger sister she gets stuck with a lot of hand me downs. Z however has used curriculum that I was able to get for half the price from a friend that had only used about two weeks worth of the lessons. Some time spent erasing all the pencil markings and it is good as new. I am still deciding on beginning our year in June or July, one part is ready to start but the other part of me wants to hold out a little longer. I think that the rainy season will be a big deciding factor in our start time.

I am an Independant Scentsy consultant and I have been doing that for a little over a year. I really enjoy it since I am able to make a small income and still be home with the kids. Well Scentsy launched a new collection named La Habana and it is supposed to be influenced by the vibrancy of Cuba. Well Cuba will always be special to me since that is where Chris and I met so of course I had to buy it. I have had Cafe Cubano warming and it is making my whole house smell amazing! My kids love picking out what scent we will be warming next and telling everyone what their favorite scents are. Both of the girls are very different in their tastes and it is so funny. Z is more of a cafe collection and M is all about the fruity.

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