Growing up, I had two favorite meals. The first was tacos, and I have since mastered the art of making them at home. I mean, come on...it's not like it's hard. Brown meat; stir in spices and water; boil off water; stuff into taco shells with other toppings. That's it!

My other favorite meal was curried chicken with my mom's rice. That meal in particular took a bit more effort, so we didn't have it as often. Then one day in college I remembered that it was the best meal ever, so I decided that needed to make it that week. I called home, and my mom read me the recipe over the phone. I made it, burned it a tiny bit, but ate it anyway.

The next time I made it was about a year into dating Chaz. Downside: he despises curry, which was not a dealbreaker, but was/is very sad for me. Fortunately, I realized I could stop a step ahead of where the recipe ended, remove some for him, and then continue on with the curry for me. Since it was 1.5 years after asking my mom for the recipe the first time, I had lost it and I called her again. This time, she emailed it to me.

The third time I made the recipe was last year for some friends with a family member who had had major surgery. I couldn't find the email my mom had sent, so I asked her for it yet again.

Which brings us to yesterday, when it had come time to make the recipe a fourth time (for friends with a new baby!). I had lost the email/recipe AGAIN. It's time to stop this cycle, because what if my mom is on an international expedition with no internet and I have to make curried chicken that night? Thus, here is the recipe. Mostly for me, but you can have it as well if you're interested in having a delicious meal.

Curried Chicken

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken breasts (NOTE: most chicken breast in the store comes in 2 lb packages. If this is the case with yours, just double the recipe!)
2 eggs
Italian breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp curry powder

Process:

Slice chicken breast in half lengthwise so that you have thin pieces. Then use a meat tenderizer (or any other blunt kitchen utensil) to pound the chicken thin, somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. I usually also cut mine into smaller pieces, because pounding the meat makes each piece very large.

Dip the chicken into scrambled eggs, then in the breadcrumbs and set aside.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter with the olive oil on medium heat. When the mixture is hot, add the chicken and brown on each side (about 2 - 3 minutes per side).

When the chicken is browned, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for seven minutes. When time is up, remove chicken from the pan and set aside in a warm place (i.e. in the oven at the lowest setting). If you don't like curry, stop here.

After removing the chicken, add the chicken stock, honey, and curry to the pan. Turn the heat up to high, and let the sauce boil until reduced by 1/3 (note: sauce does not thicken). Once reduced, pour sauce over chicken and serve!

Thyme Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 to 1 tsp thyme (I don't usually measure)
2 bay leaves

Process

Add everything but the rice to a saucepan and turn heat to high until boiling. When water is boiling, add rice. Turn heat to low and let the rice simmer for 20 minutes.

So there you have it. Anyone else have favorite childhood recipes? Bring back the tastes of home, I say!

Woodstock Writings