My chicken curry recipe for @jaynie's #WhatsCookingChallenge

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I'm back with another entry into @jaynie's #WhatsCookingChallenge! While my first entry was a recipe for breakfast, I figured I'd go for a proper supper recipe this time around.

Before I get started though, here's a bit about the challenge from @jaynie's original post, Introducing the (ongoing) "WHAT'S COOKING CHALLENGE"

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
1: Use the #whatscookingchallenge tag and tag @jaynie in your post.

2: Create and publish a post showcasing something that
you have prepared in your kitchen which is either
a) uniquely yours, or b) has been adapted and made your own.
(The more elaborate the post the better, naturally...)
PS. This is NOT limited to "plates of food" - it can be preserves, snacks, anything!

3: Accompany the post with at least 2 photos of whatever it is that you have prepared.
(and in the spirit of avoiding plagiarism, a photo of YOU WITH your dish would be a plus, but is not a requirement)

4: Tag at least 5 (but not limited to) of your foodie friends
that you think would like to participate.

Now, on to the recipe! This is something I've been making for... counts on fingers and toes longer than I can remember. It was one of those comfort food dinners from my childhood - this, and tuna casserole (which also features the 1970s required ingredient, Cream of Mushroom soup - LOL) were in pretty heavy rotation for our family dinners. Oh, and boiled hot dogs, but I can ABSOLUTELY guarantee, I will neither make, nor consume those ever again.

EVER!

via GIPHY

(you hearing me, @jaynie? LMAO)

HERE WE GO!

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast
2ish tablespoons, plus 4 heaping tablespoons curry powder
1 22oz can of cream of mushroom soup
1 16oz container sour cream
1 15oz can of peas
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
Glug or two of milk (optional)
Rice (I prefer jasmine for this)

Now, for you sharp-eyed people who might say, "where's the sour cream in that picture?"

Apparently it was ~~still in the fridge when I took the first shot~~ a bit shy, but I convinced it to come out and pose for the camera in a more relaxed, less crowded shot. Bonus - our Hello Kitty toaster peeked her head in too. Don't ask. Wait, go ahead and ask @cailliyork, since she's the reason we have it. 😊)

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Place the chicken in a soon-to-be covered baking dish/pan/thingy. I use an enamel covered cast iron dutch oven hubby got for me a few years back, and I can't even imagine my life without it now.

Doesn't it look delish already? LOL! Forgot to mention, I usually use frozen chicken for this - sometimes tenders, sometimes breasts already cut into bite-sized pieces before freezing. If you're using fresh, simply adjust the time in the oven.

Sprinkle a decent amount (I usually eyeball, but this seemed to be about 2-ish tablespoons) of curry over the chicken, cover, and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip, cover again, and bake for another 15. Continue to do so (about 45 minutes total for me) until the chicken is cooked through.

If the chicken is already diced, just skip ahead to the next step. In this case, since I used tenders, I took two forks and semi-shredded it into smaller pieces.

This is a good time to get the rice started, since supper's almost done! I use two cups of jasmine rice, three cups of water, and put it on to boil.

While the rice is bubbling away, add (to the dutch oven stuff, not the rice pan 😜) the soup, sour cream, 4 tablespoons of curry, itty-bitty bit of cumin (a little goes a long way), and milk. Mix it up until well blended.

Now drain the peas, and add them in.

Put the cover back on, and it's ready to go back in the oven!

At this point, hopefully the majority of the water has boiled away from the rice, so I shut the burner off, cover, and let it sit for 15 minutes while the curry mix is heating through in the oven.

Once the curry is heated through and slightly brown around the edges, it's ready to serve!

I tell ya, this plating thing is tough! I never noticed how not-ready-for-my-closeups my meals are when I serve them! I may have to start investing in some parsley, or tiny paper umbrellas, to make my plates look a bit more interesting.

Now, while vodka is my beverage of choice, it's a bit hardcore, even for me, at dinner. Instead, since I'm essentially clueless when it comes to wine, I googled the best wine to go with chicken curry. Then, because all we had on hand was sangria, hubby poured me a glass.

Speaking of tough, I decided to go for another "mealtime selfie" (does it count as a selfie if Jim took the picture? LOL). This time, I managed to avoid the quadruple chins, but because of the lighting, you can't see all the neat streaks of grey I've got going on these days (and dammit, I've earned them!).

Bon appétit!

Oh, one last thing! This time, I nominate -

@spozone
@rwedegis
@swedegis (can't let Roger have all the fun!)
@fionasfavourites
@minnaloushe

No obligation of course, but if you do partake of the challenge, be sure to tag me so I can check it out!

Photo credit: Traci York, taken with my trusty Nikon
Blog graphics: created on Canva

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