Recipe:

Rachel's Not-so-healthy, Not-so-authentic But Really Tasty Chicken Curry [With Saffron Rice and Creamed Spinach].
*serves 1 hearty appetite or 2 if you include room for dessert

So Jason comes into town for a week and I don't cook a thing. He leaves town and I fix a meal fit for a king. I guess it's okay, he got to eat at Noodles yesterday -- THE asian restaurant at Bellagio.

I fixed this chicken with two sides: saffron rice and creamed spinach, the recipes of will be explained.

You need:
For curry chicken--
3/4 lb chicken breast strips
3 cups plain yogurt
curry powder
coarse ground black pepper
ground cayenne pepper
garlic powder
chili powder
salt
lemon juice
sugar
1 small can tomato paste
frozen baby peas (optional)

For saffron rice --
a Mahatma brand saffron rice packet
1 tbs margarine or butter

For creamed spinach --
3 big handfuls of raw spinach
1 tbs margarine or butter
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
salt & pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese

Okay. Follow the directions on the rice packet -- it cooks in 20 minutes. Then, while that's simmering, cut that white vein thing out of the chicken strips because it gets rubbery when cooked. Put the chicken strips into 1/4 inch of water in a large skillet. Let the water slowly boil, turning chicken until fully cooked and white but not browned.

In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, tomato paste, and about a tsp of curry powder, then start adding the other ingredients a little at a time until it suits your taste. I like a sweet and tangy sauce, so I add a good bit of sugar and lemon juice. Go easy on the cayenne and chili powder. And you may want to add more or less curry later. I mix it until it has a ton of spice speckles, and the sauce is an orangey pink color.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, cook one handful of spinach with only a teaspoon of margarine or butter on medium heat until it wilts. Stir occasionally to coat the leaves in the butter. Add a second handful, let it wilt down. Then the third. When it's all cooked down, pour the excess liquid off (spinach is surprisingly moist) and add the cream of mushroom soup. Let it cook to a slow boil while you finish the chicken...

Pour all the water off the chicken, and add enough of the yogurt curry sauce to coat it. Then cook on medium heat until the chicken starts to brown - then add the rest of the sauce and let the chicken simmer until the rice is done. If you want a sweet kick or just need an extra vegetable, throw a handful of peas into the sauce and let them simmer for just about a minute or two.

Add a little parmesan cheese to the spinach and voila! You're ready to eat!