Chickpea Shakshuka

 
After several attempts at putting a picture in here, I'll just have to go ahead with the recipe. Note: This can be made in one pot. I love that!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
• 1/2 cup diced white onion or shallot
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (3 cloves yield ~1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1-3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2-3 tsp coconut sugar or maple syrup (or omit if avoiding sugar)
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 tsp smoked or sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 pinch each cardamom and coriander (optional)
• 1 ½ 15-ounce cans cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
• 4-5 whole kalamata or green olives (optional // pitted and halved)

Instructions

• Heat a large rimmed metal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant.
• Add tomato puree or diced tomatoes, tomato paste, coconut sugar, sea salt, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper (optional), cardamom, and coriander (optional). Stir to combine.
• Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add chickpeas and olives (optional). Stir to combine. Then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to develop and marry with the beans.
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more cumin or paprika for smokiness, cayenne for heat, coconut sugar for sweetness, cardamom and coriander for earthiness (or slight curry flavor), chili powder for smoke/heat, or olives for saltiness and to balance the tomato flavor. Cook longer, as needed, to develop flavors.
• Serve as is or with bread, pasta, or rice. Garnish with fresh lemon juice, additional olives, and cilantro or parsley for extra flavor (optional).

From The Minimalist Baker

One Pan Caprese Pesto Orzo Bake

 

It takes longer to say the name of this recipe than it does to make it. I'm always going for easy. Nothing complicated gets made in my kitchen. Talk about delicious? This stuff is amazing. I wouldn't worry if you don't have fresh basil. 

Ingredients

• ▢2-3 cups cherry tomatoes
• ▢3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢4 cloves garlic, chopped
• ▢1 shallot, chopped
• ▢1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
• ▢chili flakes
• ▢kosher salt and black pepper
• 
  
• ▢1 pound dry orzo pasta
• ▢1 (8 ounce) jar basil pesto
• 2-3 tablespoons sliced peperoncinis (left these out as they weren't in my refrigerator)
• 1 1/2 cups mozarella cheese

• Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

    2. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, shallots, basil, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Roast 10 minutes. Pull the tomatoes out of the oven. To the same pan, add the orzo, pesto, and peperoncinis. Pour over 2 1/2 cups of water and stir to combine. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until most of the water has cooked into the pasta, but not all of it.

    3. Stir the pasta around, then sprinkle over the cheese. Bake another 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce bubbling. If there's a lot of oil from the pesto on top, drain off the excess. Top with fresh basil!

  
  
• From Half-Baked Harvest 

Juicy Pork Tenderloin

 

I will never cook pork tenderloin any way but this. It is just so damn delicious. And very easy. Trust me.

• 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 lb each
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons EACH: onion powder and garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon EACH: oregano, salt, and pepper
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• ½ cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter
•  Minced parsley, to serve
• 
  

1.    Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Dry the pork tenderloins well with paper towels.

2.    Mix the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Rub this spice mix over all sides of the pork.

3.    Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork, working in 2 batches if your pan is not big enough to fit both tenderloins without them touching. Sear the pork on all sides until it is brown, about 6 minutes total. Take the pan off the heat.

4.    Move the pork to a baking dish. If the spices left in the pan are black, wipe them away with a paper towel. Return the pan to the heat and add the beef broth. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck-on bits then boil for 1 minute until it reduces to about ¼ cup. Pour this sauce over the pork.

5.    Pour the apple cider vinegar over the pork then dot the top with the butter. Cover the baking dish with foil.

6.    Bake the pork for 20-25 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Let the pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Serve with a little minced parsley, for color.

Coconut Curry

It's not for everyone, but if you like coconut and you like curry, you will love this. Quite a few things to chop, but it is worth every minute. You can count that time toward your Mindfulness Minutes. Caution: No way will this serve 6. And not 4, if it's the entree. Or at least, not when I'm invited, please.

Prep 20 min

Cook 40 min
Serves 4-6

3 tablespoons rapeseed or vegetable oil
½ large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 spring onions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
1½ tbsp curry powder (mild or medium)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1-14 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1-14 oz. can  coconut milk
1 tbsp all-purpose seasoning
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 pound sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large carrot, sliced
1½ bell peppers (a mix of colours), deseeded and cut into 1cm dice
2 large tomatoes, diced (or 8 cherry tomatoes, halved)
4 sprigs thyme (or perhaps 1/4 or 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp maple syrup or soft light brown sugar (optional)
1 tbsp desiccated coconut (I did not use this)
1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole (I used a jalapeño. Scotch bonnet peppers are super hot!)

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Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and saute for two minutes, add the garlic, ginger and the white part of the spring onions, then cook for another two minutes.

Add the curry powder, cumin and a tablespoon of water, and stir for a minute to combine. Stir in the chickpeas, coating them in the seasoning, then add the coconut milk, the all-purpose seasoning and cinnamon, and keep stirring for another minute or so.

Next, stir in the sweet potato, carrot, peppers, tomatoes and thyme. Add the salt, black pepper, maple syrup or sugar, if using, and the desiccated coconut, stir, then add the scotch bonnet. Turn the heat down to low, cover with the lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir, cover again and simmer for a further 10–15 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender. Now get yourself a really big bowl and fill it up!

Best Potato Salad Ever

 

Best Potato Salad Ever!*

Serves 4
500g waxy salad potatoes
6 tbsp mayonnaise (ready-made is fine)
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tsp dijon mustard
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 gherkins, roughly chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

1 Scrub the potatoes and boil whole in their skins (if using the waxy variety) in a large pan of salted, boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain thoroughly and allow to cool enough to handle.

2 While potatoes are boiling, make the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, natural yoghurt and mustard in a large bowl. Stir in the chopped spring onions and gherkins and check seasoning.

3 Halve the potatoes (or thickly slice if large) and add, while still warm, to the mayo mixture. Stir carefully: don’t break the potatoes. (Stirring the warm potatoes into the. mayonnaise mixture seems to improve the flavour as the dressing is slightly “cooked”.

Sprinkle chopped chives to serve.

I tried three different potato salad recipes from the Guardian and this one was that produced the best results for the efforts made. It's very easy, but so good. 

*This is the name provided in the Guardian for this recipe. Not my label, but not wrong.

Sheet Pan with Tahini & Yogurt Sauce

 

 So easy, so delicious. It's the sauce that makes this stand out from other sheet pan dinners.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs (one per person)

Any vegetables you have in the refrigerator for roasting

Chickpeas (rinsed and dried in a paper towel)

Tahini

Plain yogurt

Olive oil

Lemon  

Paprika

 

Directions

Place chicken at one end of the sheet pan. Next to that put the vegetables with the most moisture and so on until you get to the chickpeas, which are at the end of the pan. My usual lineup is chicken, bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, chickpeas.

Make the sauce to put on top of the chicken using equal parts tahini and plain yogurt along with juice of one lemon. The consistency should be between a sauce and a paste. If it's too thick you can add some hot water. Slather this on top of the chicken, being careful not to touch the chicken with the spoon to prevent cross contamination. Place one generous slice of lemon atop each thigh.

Salt and pepper all. Drizzle olive oil over everything but the chicken. Sprinkle paprika over the chickpeas. Cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Drizzle remaining sauce over all when serving.

Chicken Shawarma

There is a great Middle Eastern restaurant in Ann Arbor that I love. But what I love even more is enjoying dinner at my own house. And now, if you're lucky, I might invite you over for some delicious Chicken Shawarma.

Ingredients
2lb  chicken thigh fillets , skinless and boneless

Marinade
1 large garlic clove , minced
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground cardamon
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (reduce to 1/2 tsp to make it not spicy)
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp salt
Black pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic , crushed
1 tsp cumin

Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
 

Serve with flatbreads, sliced lettuce, tomato slices, hummus or tzatziki sauce, or yogurt sauce, recipe below.

Instructions

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag (or bowl). Add the chicken and use your hands to make sure each piece is coated. If using a ziplock bag, I find it convenient to close the bag then massage the bag to disperse the rub all over each chicken piece.
Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.
Combine the Yoghurt Sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix. Cover and put in the fridge until required (it will last for 3 days in the fridge).
Heat grill/BBQ (or large heavy based pan on stove) on medium high. You should not need to oil it because the marinade has oil in it and also thigh fillets have fat. But if you are worried then oil your hotplate/grill. (See notes for baking)
Place chicken on the grill and cook the first side for 4 to 5 minutes until nicely charred, then turn and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes (the 2nd side takes less time).
Remove chicken from the grill and cover loosely with foil. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

From recipetineats.com