Jan 29, 2016

Things I Eat Tikka Marsala (Crockpot Style)

It's been a while since I have been foodcited. You know, excited about food. Then, I took FaceBook advice.

Thanks, FB friend!

This is the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala that she had posted and I thought - I like Indian food. I don't like to really say "Indian food" because India is made up of many types and styles of food in different regions. I'm sure I don't like them all. But, let's face it. .curry.

Curry is the paprika of India.

Also, I suck at using a crockpot. So, extra victory.

To the details! By the way, this is how I made it because. . you know, I got issues.

What You Need

  • Olive oil: For sauteing
  • Onion: Delicious, delicious onion. I used one GIANT onion. 
  • Ginger: I used Gourmet Gardens Ginger because it's delicious and easy. Use a couple inches.
  • Garlic: I used my pre-chopped garlic which is in a giant jar in the 'fridge.
  • Tomatoe puree or crushed tomatoes: 1.5 cups-ish of  or about half a 28 oz can - I skipped the diced tomatoes and tomato paste because it wasn't worth open a whole giant can.
  • 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch: You could use flour
  • Half tablespoon cinnamon
  • Half tablespoon cardamon
  • 1 teaspoon and some of cumin
  • 1 Hungarian tablespoon of sweet paprika
  • 1 tablespoon of basil
  • Hint of oregano
  • .5 jar of 1 oz container of curry or maybe more. A lot. I used like 1 ounce. My favorite is McCormick.
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 family sized back of chicken thighs - maybe 2lbs.I used boneless because I wanted it to fall apart. You could use bone-in.
  • Coconut cooking spray
  • 1 cup light coconut milk - If you do dairy, you could use cream or yogurt. 
  • 1/2 a jar of dried cilantro (and then some)
  • Spinach: I chopped up some to put into the crockpot at the end and to eat with it.

What You Do

The night before, you cut up your onion and saute it with the garlic and ginger. Don't be shy. Cook this until the edges of the onion start to brown a little AT MOST. Or just keep it transparent. 


Stir in crushed tomato and simmer everything for about 3 minutes. Add the cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add paprika, curry powder, saltcinnamon,  cardamon, cumin, oregano, basil - Cook for about a minute. 

TASTE TASTE TASTE - add a little more of whatever! Don't be shy!

Take out your chicken thighs - dark meat is the best! Anyhow, spray those mo-fos with the coconut oil spray and stack them in your crockpot. Add the tomato mixture over the chicken. Maybe adjust some of the meat to make sure that sauce gets all over. 

Now, I did all this the night before and stored the pot in my fridge. Then in the morning, I put it in the base. Live as you would like, folks. You could probably make the sauce like a few days in advance, really. Mmm. 

Cook the awesome at love. . I mean. . low for 7 hours. It will look like this when you come back. It will also smell very, very delicious. Give it a stir!


Then, add the coconut milk, curry power and cilantro and put that pot on high. Give it a healthy stir. It's super nice if the chicken falls apart. It should maybe look like this. I used boneless thighs, might I add - so it fell apart and became all thick and meldy in the. . .*drool*


Make up some white, long-grain rice. I used a dash of chicken bullion in mine and a base of sauted onions. Spoon this joy over the rice, add some spinach. Top with a sprinkle of dried cilantro. 




Don't overeat and convince your husband there is nothing left.




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Jan 27, 2016

Maddy-Monster: YOU

Just a message


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Jan 25, 2016

Bump It

My fist. Bump it. 'Cause we're all in this together.



Jan 20, 2016

Maddy-Monster: Worry

Just a message

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Jan 18, 2016

Writing Update

I found maybe another person who agreed to edit my awesome works. Inspired, groundbreaking. . .yes. .

Seriously - feedback for writers is like water. We need some to keep us going and hydrated but too much and we drown.

And by "we" I. . .mm. . I just wrote that so I sounded deep.

I did make some covers up for my stories because I find if I can keep engaged in the project someway, it is less likely to fail.

Would you read these stories based on the font Birth of a Hero by Segments Design and random clip art?

(Click to enlarged because I was too lazy to actually cut these into reasonable chunks)



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Jan 13, 2016

Maddy-Monster: Hair

Just a message



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Jan 11, 2016

Maddy Replies to Marriage (Fixed It)


If anything turns my lip it's these posts. How do you manage to stay married? You don't get divorced. Being married doesn't mean you are happy or even living with your spouse. Marriage does not indicate love. Sorry, folks.

I have family members and friends who have been married for a long, long time and see each other a couple times a year for public type functions. Otherwise, they just do their own thing.

Not a model.

Anyhow, for this post - if this couple has been married for 65 years, let's assume they got married in the 1940-1950s, right?

Remember, a woman's career was considered being married - she was not expect to go to college or work, she was only expected to find a husband. Let's check on a little timeline of why marraiges "worked so well."

  • 1908 - Oregon limits the workday for women to 10 hours (That means no real income, women couldn't be single and live, they needed a man).
  • 1940 - WW2, most men went to combat leaving women alone (No fights, no disputes, no contact)
  • 1941 - Wonder Woman is introduced (Just like to mention this)
  • 1940 - Marital conflicts were usually handled within the home and kept private (That's right. Private.)
  • 1950 - Domesticity was idealized in the media, and women were encouraged to stay at home. Women who chose to work when they didn't need the paycheck were often considered selfish, putting themselves before the needs of their family. (This means, less options, less choice - more happy marriages?)
  • 1950 - Sex was viewed as a key component of a marriage. Without an effective female-controlled contraceptive, young wives faced three decades of childbearing before they reached menopause. (Submit to your husband, stay pregant)
  • 1974 - Equal Credit Opportunity Act passes in the US. Until then, banks required single, widowed or divorced women to bring a man along to cosign any credit application, regardless of their income. (That's right, women could not get credit or often have access to money without a man)
  • 1978: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is passed in the US. Until the law was put into effect, women could still legally be dismissed from their jobs for becoming pregnant. (Can't get birth control? Married? Pregnant? Get thee home!)
  • 1980: Sexual harassment is first defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, although a court had heard the first case in 1977 (Up until this point, women could be openly abused outside the home.)
  • 1993 - Marital rape becomes illegal. (That's right. 1993, it became illegal to rape women)


Infidelity, one of those things that tends to end marriage, if it was committed by the male was normal. Marital abuse was a private matter and women were raised that these issues were their fault as it was a woman's job to create a happy marriage and if that didn't happen, it was her fault. 

Experts suggested that wives consider whatever they were doing or not doing to cause their husbands to cheat, drink or abuse them. Women could not leave their marriages, they could not support themselves and "experts" easily told them it was their fault.

Husbands and wives of the 1940s began having children at a younger age on average. Therefore, most spouses learned to relate to each other in the context of parenting together early on. Couples had more children on average as well, as birth control methods were significantly limited. Imagine that burden on people today.

So, is this to say all people who have been married for 60+ years are unhappy or all the marriages of those times were unhappy? No. But, let's not pretend because time has past after a contract has been signed, everything is fantastic and we all need to learn a thing or two. 

Make you own decisions. Walk away when it's right to walk away. Ain't no shame in admitting a mistake, in leaving a bad situation or even trying again. Don't stay in any type of bad relationship because you think the length of time you suffer is a "good" thing. 

Be equal. Be smart. Be kind. Love. 

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Jan 6, 2016

Maddy-Monster: Change Your Life

Just a message


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Jan 4, 2016

Applebee's Replies!

Applebee's thinks I'm funny. Rather, I appreciate that Applebee's has a social media person with a sense of humor.


I did not have the heart to tell ARN that I don't even know where the nearest Applebee's is.

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Jan 1, 2016

Ringworm Strikes Again

Curses! I can't help but snuggle those kitten faces even if they are sick.


And. . .why is the back of my arm itching too?

SO ITCHY!!

Happy 2016.

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