Curry Chicken with Arabian Rice (Yes I sang that to the tune of Arabian Nights)

    I have come to the conclusion that i need to stop saying, especially in writing, that I am going to do something. I should just wait till I do then say "Look what I did." I rarely seem to get to things when I want after I say I will. Hence this post not being the day after I said I would do it but today. we had sick kids who have so many activities when they aren't sick that it is hard to keep up.

    Then the hubby did not have to work a 7 day week so we did get one night away for our anniversary. It was VERY last minute. More last minute for me than anyone else because I dropped the phone in the bath tub while trying to wrestle the plunger away from Drew and get Ava out of the tub. I'm sure it would all have been very amusing to watch. I found out about 20 minutes before I needed to leave when my MIL/babysitter/Carolyn showed up and asked if I had talked to my hubby.

    It was a well needed and appreciated night off. Anyway I can now finally get to telling you about this curry Chicken recipe. There are so many ways to make curry, different meats, vegetables, sauces, whether you cook the curry in or pour on top. It is an unending list really.

    This day I took the super easy route. I used my rice cooker and my small crock pot.

Arabian Rice
    Ingredients
rice
diced tomatoes I used 1 large tomato but base this on your favor for tomatoes
Curry paste I used Patak's Mild it is a coriander and cumin base
Salt

Curry Chicken
Chicken
favorite curry sauce or paste different than the one in the rice
Vegetables, I used carrots, onion, and a tomato this time
salt


Arabian Rice
 Directions

Add rice to rice cooker according to the directions. Mine calls for 2 scoops of rice per 3 scoops of water. I used 2 scoops of rice and 2.5 scoops of water counting on the water from the tomatoes to make up the rest. It did.

      Ohh the Creme Brulee coffee beans in the background of this photo are from Jeremiah's Coffee House in Marietta, Ohio. They make amazing espresso drinks and these beans were delightful!

  Add the diced tomatoes to the rice, along with about 2 good spoonfuls of the curry base. If you are on a low sodium diet you can skip the additional salt. If you are not I recommend adding it now,for  rice and pasta it is hard to fix the salt levels after cooking.

    Next stir it all up so the flavors start to mix and are absorbed by all the rice while cooking not just the rice on top. It should be an orange-brown color with specks of red when well mixed.

About 45 minutes before dinner turn on the rice cooker. That is it for the rice. By the way this should serve 4-5 adults.

Curry Chicken 

Directions

The chicken is just as easy. Take your favorite cut of chicken, enough for however many people are eating, toss them in the crock pot. Cook on low for a few hours. When you start to smell the chicken go back add in carrots, cut onions, and tomatoes. I diced half the onion and made large slices with the other half, The tomato I diced all of it. You can add the curry sauce or paste now or later. If using paste I recommend scooping out some of the liquid from the crock pot and mixing them together adding water if needed, then pouring back onto the chicken. If using sauce it depends on your preference. I frequently wait till the end and let each person add their own. Andrew and I like varying amounts of flavor, so especially when I have pre-flavored the rice I tend to let him spice the chicken himself. It is important to still cook with a little salt though.

Either way you choose to do the sauce from here on out you just let the crock pot do the work until dinner time. I like to serve curry with cold carrot and celery sticks on the side.

I hope you all like this and let me know either way. I will post soon, see I'm learning, about the fresh apple pie from scratch that I made yesterday. I was happy with it and the girls helped with the crust, Grandma's crust recipe of course. Also the apples Andrew picked from Grandpa's back yard trees two days ago. Fresh and delicious!

Baby Guy Box Yes!

    I have been working a lot more than usual for the last few months and have been unable to post any new blogs because every extra minute I had was spent with my family. I have since quit my job, great decision, and put my oldest in kindergarten, the jury is still out on that one I want my baby back.

    Anyway I wanted to tell you all about the #babyguybox I love it! I ordered one the first month and I ordered the toddler box in August. I am a little bummed I couldn't afford two so I could get the breastfeeding box, it looks amazing. I couldn't use everything in the boxes but could at least use most of it. Also my niece has a baby 6 months younger than my youngest. Between the two of us we pretty much have all the bases covered.

    The first box was pretty great it contained so many great items, everything that was a little too small or an item I already had I was able to pass on to my niece which works out great for both of us. I am not going to do a complete review of what was in my boxes because there are so many of those out there already. Two of the boxes were reviewed over at karensgotmail.com She does a great job describing the different items and listing the value of the box that she came up with from the prices she found for the items. For instance she came up with a value of $154 for the toddler box cost - $59.99 I think it is a great deal.

    Another reason I love this box is that the brands involved are sometimes well known, but they are all very good brands and I haven't used them all yet. I am now in love with Babyganics conditioning shampoo and body wash. I may never buy the others again this one has really won me over. Mia has curly hair that is prone to terrible knots. I usually use the tear free shampoo then conditioner and brush her hair while the conditioner is in. After her bath we brush her hair again with leave in conditioner in the trouble spots. Sometimes we use a little mousse to keep down the frizz or fly aways, especially on picture days. That is a lot of product for 5 year old hair. With the Babyganics shampoo I don't use the conditioner, just the leave in conditioner in the trouble spots. Before applying the leave in you can feel how soft, lovely, and manageable her hair is. I am going out for more Babyganics products and more of this particular product for sure!

  I will be doing another post about the Bitesizers and FunBites. They are both great and I am super excited to have them. The kids like to help with the FunBites!

     From what I have read some people are not happy with the Jamie box this month. Some sound like legitimate concerns about the value ( www.karensgotmail.com also reviewed this box), some seemed surprised that there was a lot to do with drinking. I feel that the drinking aspect was made pretty obvious from the start and is exactly why I did not order that box.

    All in all I definitely recommend looking into getting a #babyguybox It is a monthly non-subscription box. There will be themes each month. You will know the brands in the box and the brands sponsoring the box, samples and coupons are not counted toward the value of the box.

    I am sorry about the lack of pictures in this blog I usually like to add quite a few. I hope to post tomorrow about tonight's dinner, Curry Chicken and Arabian Rice.


    I do not receive any monetary gain or gifts of any kind from any of the brands, names etc contained in this blog. I would like to thank Karens Got Mail for taking such a good picture of the toddler box items, I borrowed it above.