I talked last week about my aversion to Indian food, and I am kicking myself for putting it on the back burner for so long!
But first I had another breakfast pizza – this time with the whole wheat avocado bread as my base! My pizza – 3 ounces of dough, 1/4 cup of pizza sauce, baby spinach, 1 ounce of mozzarella cheese and 1 whole egg.
this whole pizza is 405 calories and so filling!
and the crust was nice and crispy 
I’d have to say 90% of my co-workers eat frozen dinners. Every.Single.Day. While I know I probably have an unusual obsession to cooking and food in general – they always ask me “what’s on your menu today?” My inspiration actually came from my bosses frozen dinner last week. The brand name is called Ethnic Gourmet and when I heated it up for her, while it kind of looked like ass because let’s face it, its a frozen dinner, the smell was interesting!
Later that night I googled Tikka Masala and found a recipe of BlogChef. I did tweak it just a bit because I didn’t think it was spicy enough
Biz’s Tikka Masala (adapted from BlogChef) (makes 6 servings, 3 oz. chicken per person)
- 1.8 pounds chicken breast
Marinade for Chicken:
- 1 6 oz. container of plain Chobani Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons of salt
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (I removed the membrane)
- 2 teaspons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 6 dried chiles
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
Mix the marinade together and let sit for an hour. Heat grill pan (or skewer and grill outdoors) and grill chicken until 3/4 done. Meanwhile, melt butter and saute garlic and jalapeno. Add seasonings and stir for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add in tomato sauce and heavy cream. Add chicken into sauce and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve of rice. I actually found instant brown rice and it wasn’t bad!
chicken ready to be cooked after an hour
Okay, no pictures of my grilled chicken because they kind of stuck and the couple pictures I did take turned out like ass. 
base of sauce
be careful not to put your face over the pan when you add the seasoning
I have a co-worker who is Indian that I was making this dish and told her I was going to substitute the heavy cream for fat free half and half – she was horrified! Glad I kept the heavy cream!
I added the thai chiles right before adding the cooked chicken
everyone in the pool!
I served mine over 1/2 cup instant brown rice and added fresh cilantro. I cannot even describe to you how good this is! The flavors are intense and subtle at the same time – at first bite I was like “this isn’t spicy at all!” But its a delayed reaction. The slight sweetness of the cinnamon and the creaminess of the heavy cream – it’s the perfect flavorful heat!
Since I knew no one in my house would touch this with a ten foot pole – I shared with my boss and a couple co-workers. My boss said “this is so delicious – so much better than my frozen dinner!” (thankfully!). Another co-worker said “this is the best thing I’ve eaten in years.” This one is a keeper! Each serving (without the rice) comes in at: 326 calories, 4.5 fat, 3.6 carbs, 1.0 fiber and 43 grams of protein.
Dinner was influenced by Tyler Florence. I bought his cookbook “The Ultimate” at a thrift store recently. One recipe that jumped out to me immediately was Scallop Saltimbocca. I am running out of time (I haven’t even jumped in the shower yet!) so go here for the recipe.
Surprisingly, I got away with frying the sage, sauteeing the apples and cooking the scallops all on just 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil!
Sage is an ingredient I am not too familiar with. It’s kind of fuzzy like a caterpillar! But when fried, it is delicious!
Watch it carefully though, it can go green to dark brown (burnt!) if you don’t pay attention. I have no idea how I know that – um, okay, maybe this was my second batch because I burned the first one!
Once the sage was removed, I added 1 peeled and sliced Golden delicious apple – while those were cooking, I had potatoes cooking for mashed potatoes and then started wrapping my scallops in prosciutto.
I also looked around and saw I had no green vegetable! My julienne peeler came to the rescue – I peeled one whole zucchini – it cooks up in less than 5 minutes!
love the sear!
The only thing I would do differently is to thaw the scallops ahead of time. I thawned them under running water and even though I tried to get all the water out – you need a dry scallop to get a good sear – after the first flip some water started coming out of the scallops so the other side didn’t look as pretty. But boy, this was really good!
It took me 40 minutes from beginning to end – not too bad!
Stats for Monday: Level 3 Jillian Shred DVD and 20 minute walk with the dog after dinner.
A quick thank you to Andrea for giving me this award! She is new to the food blogging world, but she has some great ideas – thanks Andrea!
I am running late, so I’ll have to pass it on in another post!
Joanne is this weeks BSI host – she’s picked . . . CARROTS! Thanks for hosting last week Sophia!
Have a good one – Biggest Loser and American Idol tonight! I really hope AI picks up this week too!
Your breakfast pizza is so creative!
The indian food looks delicious-i really need to try to make it sometime-i am scared!
have a great day……
you are forcing me to make breakfast pizza -
I love the name so much – Tikka Masala, that I would have to order it in a restaurant just so I could say it out loud! Yours looks wonderful! It’s so fun to see you trying different cuisines – you are really opening up my boring food world!
You have been busy! These all look super-yum. We recently tried our first egg pizza and it was fantastic!
I didn’t realize that you could make Indian food at home with ingredients on hand. Whenever I see Indian recipes, they always call for things I don’t have!
wow your pizza is amazing great idea for the bread and great job on the curry love your cooking, thanks for visiting my blog Rebecca
that breakfast pizza looks GREAT!
I love Tikka Masala, yum. I’m glad you didn’t substitute the cream – sometimes there really is not substitute! Love the breakfast pizza idea – I’m stealing that for sure.
I’ve never made Indian food before….for some reason, it’s intimidating to me! And sometimes the recipes call for weird things I don’t have. Your Tikka Masala looks SOOOO good, though!
yum. I LOVE eggs on pizza! Such a fun ingredient to use.
Is the recipe for the breakfast pizza on your blog? I haven’t had time to go through it. Also can you freeze the dough? I was thinking about making a big batch and freezing it into single servings.
All the recipes look wonderful!! Have a great day.
If you go to my Index of Recipe Page at the top – you’ll find my recipe for no rise pizza dough – that will work.
Freezing dough works great! I recommend putting it from the freezer to the fridge the day before you use it, and let then remove and come to room temperature (about 30 minutes) so its easier to roll out.
Let me know how it turns out!
mmmmmm that TM looks good!
I have to try egg on pizza! There’s a restaurant here that has one & I’ve been wanting to try it. Everything looks so gourmet!!! That chicken dish looks wonderful and full of spices mmm much better than a frozen meal. A lot of people in my office eat frozen meals every single day too. I haven’t had scallops in ages, jealous!!
It all looks delish.
It’s always so great to see how WELL you eat and still maintain weight loss. You’re proving that it’s possible! Oh, and Indian food rocks.
Love the sounds of that Indian dish! One of the reasons why I like curry so much is it has the same sort of heat sensation – not too spicy at first but give it a few seconds!
PS. I’m sorry I missed the big day but HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to Hannah!!
The Indian food looks yummy, but good lord, 1 cup of cream??? That’s a diet buster! I usually add yogurt to my Indian sauces. At first it looks yucky when you add the yogurt because it breaks down, but keep stirring and cook it some more and it will smooth out.
Wow Biz that dish looks delicious! How sad of your coworker to say “the best food she’s had in years.” I don’t know what I’d do if I had to wait years b/w having truly delicious food! I think on a weekly basis I love one thing more than the next!
I once worked w/ a lady who was on some kind of low-carb diet and EVERY SINGLE DAY for a good 18 months she had 2 hot dogs she would put on a paper plate and microwave and then dip in a squirt of mustard. It absolutely sickened me to smell them and she’d cut them in these tiny pieces so it’d last longer. I can’t even imagine what her sodium levels were at or how freaking bored her tastebuds must have been!!!
We had fried sage leaves the first time at Christmas! I had never really worked w/ sage before, either – ground sage, not fresh. I thought it was cool – like a furry, herby potato chip! hehe
The scallops look beautiful! Probably my favorite seafood!
I love scallops!! That dish looks so good. I also love the indian dish. I totally agree with your indian friend… some things you just can’t substitute! Heavy whipping cream makes a world of difference!!
That pizza is incredible… And it always amazes me how amazed people are that someone cooks in this day and age… Let em all be jealous!
The scallops look perfect!
I love Indian food, and this one looks amazing! As do the scallops! And the pizza…dang, girl. You always make me hungry.
I love breakfast pizza. I think I could have pizza for every meal…lol! My co-workers also gawk at my food. Most know about my blog, so I refer them to that for the details.
You are so creative in the kitchen! I was impressed with the breakfast pizza (looks delish) but that tikka masala is out of this world! Way better than a frozen dinner.
i have a hideous aversion to indian food- the curry makes me sick to my tummy.. but yours looks SO good biz!!! awesome job- and frozen dinners.. beat that!! haha
That is the lost amazing looking pizza ever! People in my office tend to subsist on frozen meals too which seems just insane to me, and boring!
I want that pizza AND those scallops!
Hmm, I’ll have to see if I can come up with anything for carrots…
Biz your recipes today looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous- straight out of a cookbook! I love love love the gourmet feel to them. I think the scallop dish would be right up my alley!
I don’t cook with sage all that often either, but I love the flavor! The indian food looks wonderful — and spicy! Those chillies! Ow ow!
Congrats on the award : )
I’d definitely help you out on that Indian chicken dish. I love me some good Indian food. Your family doesn’t know what they’re missing!
That Indian looks so good! I love a good Tikka, I need to make some soon.
[...] More Indian Food! [...]
I love Indian food! That pizza looks interesting though.
Breakfast pizza looks amazing!
I’m so glad you decided to give Indian food another try! I have plenty of recipes on my blog for you to try out!
[...] lunch I have more of my chicken tikka masala with rice and my homemade [...]
[...] treated my other boss to the chicken tikka masala. When I came into his office he said “that chicken dish was awesome!” I really [...]
[...] was more of my Chicken Tikka Masala. Um, pretty sure I love this because it’s the third time I’ve made it in three [...]
[...] was multi-tasking at the grill too – I had marinated chicken for another round of my Chicken Tikka Masala – this is the 4th time I’ve made it in a month! Tony still says it smells like ass, [...]
[...] and see that boneless, skinless chicken breasts are $1.49 a pound, I can’t help but think of Chicken Tikka Masala!! Yep, this is the fourth round of making this! On the base is 1/2 cup cooked [...]
[...] dinner I made Biz’s Chicken Tikka Masala, it was wonderful! I did add in an onion (sorry Biz) and a little extra siracha and the spice [...]
Your tikka masala looks terrific, and I love your breakfast pizza. My dad is a diabetic (was diagnosed many years ago), and I have to say being one has probably saved his life. He takes MUCH better care of himself now than he ever used to, eats right and gets lots of exercise. Looks like you are doing all the right things too, keep up the good work, and the great food! Cheers – S
oooh this looks SO good – thanks, Biz!!
[...] chicken tikka masala (for my lunch as Tony won’t touch this!) [...]
[...] dish – I was trying to think what mine would be and I am not sure! Although I did make my chicken tikka masala for my lunch today – the combination of flavors is just amazing to me. And I finally came [...]
[...] desk that I munched on watermelon while I heated up my lunch. I love this lunch. It’s my chicken tikka masala and it’s been too long since I made it! with 1 cup cooked rice: 495 caloires, 90 carbs, 23 [...]
I LOVE LOVE LOVE (read: obsessively love) tikka masala. Thanks for giving me the link to this. I could literally drink the sauce at a favorite Indian restaurant that we visit sometimes. Gonna make this SOON!
And everything else looks so good. You’re quite the chef.
thanks for sharing this recipe with me Biz! I’ll need to try it soon!
[...] masala, and as they were describing the dish as flavorful spicy, I new I was in! First attempt? Complete success! I’ve probably made this a dozen times since that first try. My husband still wants to [...]
[...] I have to finish making my chicken tikka masala for lunch – I am going to have it over spaghetti squash – can’t wait for [...]
Loooove your chicken tikka recipe! I’m glad yours looks right — a lot of restaurants use red food coloring to make it bright red. Then people get weirded out when it’s not that vibrant color.
If you like chicken tikka, you should try out chicken korma. It’s my favorite!
And thank you so much for commenting on my blog. It led me to yours!
WoW Your pizza is great,i like it, love your breakfast pizza.When I got DiFara’s I always ask them to hold the mouth droppings.visit my site for indian food items click here.
[...] ago. The only ethnic things I ate were Mexican tacos and Italian spaghetti! Now I love chicken tikka masala, butternut squash with ginger shrimp soup, and artichoke pasta, just to name a [...]
[...] now my kitchen smells like an Indian restaurant – I am making me and my boss chicken tikka masala for lunch. Can’t [...]
[...] that’s music to my ears because Tony doesn’t like half the stuff I make. Like Chicken Tikka Masala, Zucchini Meatball Subs, and Sweet Potato and Black Bean [...]
[...] before as a birthday breakfast treat. One of my bosses favorite dishes I make is my Chobani Chicken Tikka Masala. I had already made the rice the night before, but the chicken had been marinating overnight [...]
I love Indian food. My favorite Indian restaurant serves a korma sauce that I want to drink off the plate, but I don’t because people would stare. It’s so good and I have yet to be able to recreate it. Your Tikka Masala looks amazing. I can’t believe your dinner only took 40 minutes. It looks so fancy. I’ve had no inspiration in my kitchen lately. I need to change that. Your co-workers are so lucky. If your office needs a nurse I’m available!
I love some Indian food every now and then. Chicken masala is one of my favorites but I have to have a good recipe, not every recipe I used turned out to be good.
Funny that Tony doesn’t like half the food you make. I have a guy like this at home too but that doesn’t stop me trying new things or make food I like
(like you do)