I am almost too embarrassed to write about this "recipe" - but it was delicious!
Been working all day, no time for a lunch break, it's 8:00 p.m. and I'm hungry. More work is waiting and I don't want to get into much cooking tonight. What to do? Open the freezer door...
Tv Dinner Trays
A tray of "Chicken Tikka Masala" goes into the microwave. This is an Indian TV dinner described as "seasoned white meat chicken pieces in a robust, creamy sauce, with seasoned, long-grain brown rice. All natural, no artificial ingredients, flavors, colors or preservatives. Minimally processed".
I wonder if the chickens agreed with the term "minimally". But I digress...
The Central Market chain in Texas has pretty decent whole-grain-breaded chicken breasts in their frozen section and I like to keep a bag in my home freezer. These things are fully cooked and need only a couple minutes frying time. Meanwhile, I dress a handful of baby field greens and pile them on my dinner plate.
The breaded chicken breast goes next to the salad, the rice next to the chicken, and the marvelous Indian entree Chicken Tikka Masala goes like a chunky sauce on top of the chicken breast and a bit over the rice.
So, I have the crunch of the chicken breast with a rich, mildly spiced chicken ragout in my mouth, and I am in heaven! Add to this the occasional forkful of curried rice with peas and a juicy cream sauce and I couldn't be any happier with my dinner. TV dinner, that is...I'm watching soccer while I'm eating.
10 minutes cooking time, 15 minutes chow-down, and I'm back at work writing this blog post. (A 45-minutes task, if I may admit - I'm slow.)
You think I should be ashamed for being a chef and making gourmet meals from TV dinner recipes?