Recipe Review from 8/6/12

Pretty mellow week all the way around.  We fit in two bike rides that enabled me to hit my personal goal for the year of 500 miles.  Woot!  Not sure I'll reach my personal best of 700, but we'll see what the latter end of the biking season brings. 

Got to see the little nieces this past weekend too.  Cute as little bugs and sassy like their Mum. 

Got a busy week coming up.  A Twins game on Wednesday and I'm assisting at the Yoga Studio's booth at the Bayfront Art Fair.  Keep your fingers crossed for good weather for both events! 


Moroccan Beef Patties With Couscous (Ckng Lght BB) 
I had some organic ground pork in the freezer and thought this would be the perfect dish for it.  I did cut back on the spices since it's easy to overwhelm the flavor of pork.  This was a really good and easy dish.  My only change would be to grill the patties next time.  The couscous you see in the picture is Israeli couscous - my go-to now.  The little stuff drives me nuts. 

Salt
1 1/2 cups couscous
Freshly ground pepper
1 pound lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1.In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. After 5 minutes, fluff the couscous with a fork; season with pepper. Cover to keep warm.

2.In a bowl, combine the beef, garlic, onion, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons parsley and 1 teaspoon salt. Form into 8 patties.

3.Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef patties and cook for about 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Fluff the couscous again with a fork, transfer to a platter and top with the beef patties and the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley.

Source: Rachael Ray 10/06

Chicken Kebabs with Creamy Pesto (Ckng Lght, Sept 2010)

This wasn't what I intened to make.  Far from it.  My plan was to have Curried Chicken Kebabs and a Mediterranean style meal.  That went out the window when I realized (upon opening the fridge door actually) that I had no chili paste.  We moved to plan two, which became this meal.   You might be like, 'Seriously? You need a recipe for kebabs?'  Well, what I need a recipe for is the marinade.  This one fit the bill perfectly.  Just a light flavoring complimented by the grill, with some pesto on the side.

So lets talk about my pesto.  I planted a variety seed pack  of basil this year.  Was certain the seeds didn't survive The Flood of July.  But Lo!  I had basil!  Needed some pesto for this recipe, knew I had some basil in the garden, and headed on out.  What I discovered was I had a plethora of lemon  basil.  How 'bout that? So lemon basil pesto it was, which complimented the dish below beautifully.

Served with some grilled asparagus and red onion, with some leftover  garlic sourdough breadbowl from Red Lobster.  Yum!

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind  

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

8 (1-inch) pieces yellow bell pepper

8 cherry tomatoes

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small red onion, cut into 8 wedges

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

1 tablespoon commercial [or homemade] pesto

1. Preheat broiler or grill.

2. Combine rind, 1 tablespoon juice, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. Toss with bell pepper, tomatoes, chicken, and onion. Thread vegetables and chicken onto 4 (12-inch) skewers. Place skewers on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 12 minutes or until chicken is done, turning occasionally.  OR grill for about 12-15 minutes or until chicken is done. 

3. Combine 1 teaspoon juice, yogurt, sour cream, and pesto. (I skipped this part and just served the pesto on the side)

Serve sauce with kebabs.

Jackie Mills, Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2010