Turmeric Chicken Curry Rice

This recipe fed a family of 4 for two whole meals, with enough left over for a lunch for one person.  I used thin cut chicken tenderloins, but will give you how much chicken you need in the recipe below.  Due to family texture personalities, for most of my seasoning and spices, they are in a powdered form.

1. 1 lbs corn (frozen and the steam-able bag is what I used)
2. 1 can black beans (Dakota brand from Aldi is what I used)
3. 2 lbs of chicken chopped into bite sized pieces
4. 1 lbs broccoli (frozen is what I used)
5. Brown rice ( cook to the serving size you need for your family)
6. Turmeric seasoning
7. Onion powder
8. Garlic Powder
9. Salt (granulated sea salt is what I used)
10. Olive Oil
11. Zesty Italian dressing (lite from Aldi is what I used)

Chop and cook the chicken first in a frying pan.  I used my rice cooker for the rice: in which I added salt, onion, garlic and a pinch of Turmeric seasoning into the water I cooked the rice in.  I also had a pot on the stove to steam the broccoli going along with the chicken and the rice cooking, as well as the bag of corn steaming in the microwave.  Once the chicken is mostly cooked I started to add 1 tbsp  of Zesty Italian dressing to flavor the chicken with.  Once the chicken is done cooking I put in can of beans (drained and rinsed first), corn into the pan with the chicken.  I then added 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, a sprinkling of turmeric and a sprinkling of salt over everything in the pan, then added 1/2 tsp of olive oil.  Turned the stove top to a low/ medium heat to heat everything up, but not really cook.  After about 10 minutes everything is done.  I dished up the rice first, then topped it with the chicken curry mixture, then topped with broccoli, and for the kids added Parmesan cheese on top. YUM!

Artful Food

When you think of food what do you think of?  Do you think of the taste more than how the food looks? Or do you think about the smell of the food more than the colors of the food?  Let me paint you an image.  Think in your mind about a light bed of soft baby green spinach mixed with light tangy green  chopped Romane and Iceberg lettuce.  On closer look you'll notice a few dull teal green sprigs of kale, bright pops of red tomatoes, deep purple crinkles of cabbage, and slick slivers of yellow pepper float about this crunchy salad.  How did you do?  Could you picture this bowl of salad?  What helped you picture it most: the colors or the description of texture for each piece of food?

For me, it's always the colors.  When I go to a restaurant and order grilled vegetables I know that if they are done well there will be charred bits of blackened crisp on the outside of each vegetable.  However if what is put in front of me is mostly blackened crispy ash, that isn't going to be eaten by me, nor does it look appetizing.  Same with a pizza.  If I order a pepperoni pizza, there had better be a good amount of pepperoni on the slice that I eat (one or two doesn't work for me...I'd need 4).  The crust better be easy to chew, but firm enough not to ooze my cheese and other toppings off the crust.

It is the thoughts like those that have been filling my mind as I have been on this most recent pathway, finding out how to take better photographs.  This has led me to be more artistic with the food I cook, the food I eat, and the food I give my family.  When I plate food I want to see lots of colors, lots of variation in texture, and a good balance overall, because to me this means that I will have a more enjoyable meal.  I decided to test out a few of my family's favorite recipes on you all.  Let me know what you think in how my food looks.  Does it entice you to want to eat it?  Does it invoke a hunger for a specific color of food?  Can you see the texture?

Below I have provided you with a soup, a red pasta, a white pasta, and a rice dish.  Recipes will be in separate blog posts for your enjoyment!

Loaded Potato Soup

Garlic Tomato Vegetarian Pasta

Turmeric Curry Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

Alfredo Bolognese with Countryside Vegetables