I have long sung the praises of a brined chicken; a whole chicken soaked in water, sugar and salt for a prolonged period of time before baking. This is spectacular, but I hate the waste (or so it seams) of salt and sugar just for a soak. It takes 1 cup of each for each gallon of water, and it needs enough water to be submerged. This is a spectacular way of making a whole chicken and it always turns out delish for us…. however… Continue reading “Salt-Baked Chicken”
And if any of you haven’t picked up on my Type A personality… I don’t do well with messes, and this place looks like it is undergoing MAJOR construction! We went to the playground today and spent a lot of time outside because I couldn’t’t deal! Also poor baby Aisling hardly went downstairs except to go outside today. I just didn’t want her hands on the concrete sticky floor and in her mouth… YUCK.. .talk about chemicals… and who knows what else is in the air after ripping up carpet and vinyl… best to just get outside in the fresh air!
So if you are in a time crunch, this is a great recipe. MUCH quicker than a lot of my recipes and I don’t like spending longer than an hour preparing dinner in the first place! The only caveat to add is that I did soak the chickpeas in water and a splash of vinegar over night and then simmered on low for much of the afternoon before cooking them with the rest of the veggies.This recipe I found from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine from November 2011 and it’s definitely a keeper! And another bonus: BHG claims it is only $0.43 a serving if calculated as a side dish for 8. It was a main dish for us, added meat, and it easily served 2 adults and 2 kids.
I’ll also make my usual disclaimer, that I’ve changed/edited/perfected the recipe to my liking. The original can be viewed here!
Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas (I added the meat)
Ingredients:
1 lb kielbasa – nitrate, nitrite free preferably
5 carrots, peeled and cut in 2-inch pieces
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1 large red onion, peeled, halved, and cut in 1-inch wedges
1 pound red or russet potatoes, cut in cubes
12-15 cloves garlic, crushed but still whole
⅔ cup dried chick peas soaked, cooked and drained (equal to about 1-16 oz can)
2 – 3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 TBSP maple syrup or molassas
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Let me know what you think! Any changes for you?
Just this week we had these for dinner with fish instead of steak. I had forgotten how good they are! We had dinner with some friends and they agreed they were tasty as well!
I think I’ve mentioned it 1000 times before, but I don’t cook fish very often. This is a favorite and will be repeated! Hopefully we don’t get tired of it! It is so simple and delish! The slaw to go with it is what makes them so yummy! I’ve used this same slaw with steak tacos as well and it is just as good.
The original recipe is from Cooking Light in April of 2007. I don’t think we tried it until last year, so either I had some one’s hand-me-magazines (and I’m glad they didn’t rip out this recipe!) or I just kept the recipe that long! I’m really not sure which it is. The original can be viewed here and was for steak, but I almost like the fish better.
The first part of the recipe is for seasoning the steak, which is also amazing. If you are using this recipe for the fish, then just bake or broil til done. I used salmon and didn’t season it at all. The slaw had plenty of seasoning that blended well with the salmon.
As usual, the recipe listed here is VERY similar to the original, but with my own additions/subtractions/clarifications.
Ingredients
Steak:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves grated
1 pound flank steak, trimmed
Cooking oilSlaw:
¼ cup fresh lime juice (lemon works just as well)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons peeled finely grated fresh ginger
1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce (we like [amazon_link id=”B004M050W2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Red Boat[/amazon_link])
½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce
4 garlic cloves, grated
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
2 cups finely grated carrots
¼ cup sliced green onions
½ cup chopped fresh cilantroRemaining ingredients:
8 (6-inch) fat-free flour tortillas (corn tortillas are much better for the fish tacos)
Or for a grain free option try my tortillas!
Instructions:
To prepare steak:
- Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add steak to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning occasionally.
- Prepare grill or broiler.
- Remove steak from bag; discard marinade. Place steak on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.
To prepare fish:
- Place in baking dish and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes or until desired dress of doneness. Or grill or briol.
- After finished, shred fish into small pieces.
To prepare slaw:
- Combine juice and next 6 ingredients (through garlic cloves) in a large bowl. Add cabbage and next 3 ingredients (through cilantro); toss well to combine.
Lia Huber, Cooking Light
APRIL 2007
Enjoy these tasty tacos and let me know how they turn out for you!
We rarely eat noodles but every now and again it is nice to have. We probably haven’t had any noodles in the last year. I had heard of the [amazon_link id=”B004CLCEDE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]miracle noodles[/amazon_link] or [amazon_link id=”B002GDH5Y8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]shiratake noodles[/amazon_link], but didn’t really research it too much since they were made of potato starch. I did look for them once or twice at our local Asian grocery, but they were made of soy which isn’t in our menu! Continue reading “Curry-Spiced Noodles”
Enchiladas
Ingredients:
- 1 lb cooked chopped chicken
- 2 cups fresh spinach chopped
- 2 cups soaked and cooked black beans
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 or 2 chopped red peppers
- ½ of enchilada sauce (recipe below)
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped
Instructions:
Mix all above ingredients together.Pour ¼ of enchilada sauce (see recipe below) in bottom of 8×13 pan to completely cover to bottom so that the tortillas don’t stick. Divide ingredients into 10 tortillas, wrap and place in pan. Cover with rest of enchilada sauce and sprinkle additional cheese if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and enchiladas are hot.
Serves 6
Ten Minute Enchillada Sauce
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 TBSP coconut flour
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion salt
- salt to taste
Instructions:
Original instructions are to cook this to thicken. I put all the ingredients into the [amazon_link id=”B003VN7VDW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]VitaMix[/amazon_link] and blend on high until all ingredients were well mixed and coconut oil was completely melted. I continued to blend on high until it was steaming and slightly thick. About 5 minutes.
Home of the Hymn of the Month Community
Striving to preserve what we have graciously been given.
Striving to preserve what we have graciously been given.
Green & Grateful 