chicken curry.

Once upon a time, when I was in 3rd grade, I went to a friend's birthday party. For dinner, we had what her mom called "chicken curry". I was skeptical, because I was only used to the foods my mom made. I tried it, LOVED it, had seconds, and then spent the next 6 years begging my mom to call and ask for the recipe. 

She finally did, and in 9th grade I made it during finals week for lunch. I remember this day distinctly. As it was baking, I sat in the family recliner (which I had pulled to be about 1 foot away from the TV) and played Zelda on the GameCube. Why do I remember exactly what happened on an otherwise insignificant day so many years ago? Because after 6 years of waiting, I FINALLY got to have chicken curry again. 

And guess what happened? The recipe got lost. How does that happen!? So, for the next 4-5 years, I once again went Chicken Curry-less. It was a sad time.

When I was getting ready to move out of my parents house, I decided I needed to have a recipe book of my own with all of my favorite family recipes. My mom had an idea to give recipe cards to my sisters, grandma, etc. to have them write down their favorite recipes for my book. Now my recipe book is filled with handwriting from everyone in my family and I can think about them whenever I look at the recipes.

Something awesome happened: that friend's birthday party that I went to when I was in 3rd grade? Well it turns out that her mom works with my sister's mom, and had given her the recipe for Chicken Curry. My sister's mom then gave it to my sister, who wrote it down on one of the recipe cards that my mom had given her! 

Cheers of celebration were heard around the world. Since I got the recipe back, I have made Chicken Curry at least once a month. I.LOVE.IT. And everyone that I've ever made it for loves it. Even D, hater of mayonnaise and skeptic of anything new or different, LOVED it. If I were to ask him what he wants for dinner, I know for sure that he would say one of three things: beef stew, chicken pot pie, or chicken curry. (Recipes for the other 2 will be up here eventually, promise!)

Here you are, "my" recipe for Chicken Curry. From my friend's mom, to my sister's mom, to my sister, to me, to you. 

Chicken Curry

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can  cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

3/4 tsp lemon juice (from bottle)

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 tsp curry powder (I use the McCormick kind, it's yellow)

1/2 cup sharp cheese (shredded)

Cook chicken. (I boil mine until it is completely cooked). Cut chicken up into bite size pieces, the smaller the better. (I actually cheat and use a slap-chop like device so that it kind of turns into chicken dust. It's also WAY faster.) Put chicken into the bottom of a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. 

In a separate pan, combine the rest of the ingredients. Heat over medium heat until cheese is melted and everything is combined. Pour mixture over chicken and stir to combine. Spread mixture evenly in baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly at the edges. (Everything is cooked so you are just letting it combine/heat) Once I put the dish in the oven, I start boiling a large pot of water. I then cook a whole bag of egg noodles. Once the noodles are done, I take the dish out of the oven. It's usually perfect timing.

Serve over egg noodles and enjoy! 

(PS: I make this for just D and I.. we eat 1/4 of the dish over a bowl of egg noodles each, and that leaves 1/2 of the dish for dinner another night! So it makes the perfect 2-person meal for 2 nights!)