Lots of recipes to wrap of the end of the year! I especially liked the Chicken Tikki Masala
The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) BLT's with egg and avocado (S) leftover lentil soup
Sun (L) leftovers (S) Slow Cooked Vietnamese Soup (pho)
Mon - leftover pho
Tues (Off) (L) leftovers (S) Lamb chops and Ceasar green bean salad
Wed - Chicken Tikki Masala
Thurs - leftover Tikki
Fri - leftover Tikki
Lunches (Husband) veggies (me) Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa stew
Instant Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Stew (Ckng Lght, Nov 2018) gluten free
Slow cooker directions can be found by following the link above.
It's taken a bit to figure out, but I think I love my Instant Pot.There is something about being able to chop, plot, cook, vent, and cool a dish in about an hour that is very appealing. Yes, I still love my slow cooker, it still has a coveted place in my kitchen, but to be done in an hour is very nice.
I made this for lunches for the end of the week, with enough for lunch on Saturday. This was very tasty - the chicken turned out so tender, the quinoa made for a nice thick base, and the squash added a tich of sweetness to what could have been a bland dish. My first bowl I forgot about the olives (regular green olives), so I added them to the rest and I could go either way - good with, good without.
Serves 4-6
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 chicken thighs)
4 cups chopped peeled butternut squash
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| photo from cookinglight.com |
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 ounce pitted Castelvetrano olives, sliced
Combine chicken, squash, stock, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, oregano, ground fennel seeds, and pepper in Instant Pot. Cover with lid, and turn to manual. Turn lid valve to seal, and set to high pressure for 8 minutes.
Release valve with a towel (be careful of the pressurized steam), and release steam until it stops.
Carefully uncover, and transfer chicken to a cutting board. Stir quinoa into stew. Turn to sauté, and cook, stirring occasionally, until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Shred chicken, and stir into stew. Discard bay leaf. Divide soup evenly among 6 bowls. Sprinkle evenly with olives.
Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Soup (Ckng Lght, Nov 2018)
Folks, we have a beef Pho! I made this mostly for the Husband, I rarely make anything - if at all - with beef and thought this might be something palatable for me.
Now, I did complicate this a bit by making my own beef stock, which was really bone stock, because I really didn't know what I was doing or buying. It worked, but it certainly wasn't "beef stock" as I'm used to.
This is pretty easy to make. I broke the ingredients apart into the order in which they are used. You make a flavorful soup base (slow cooker), then cook noodles (which could be done ahead of time) and lastly, assemble the toppings and serve.
Flavors were definitely different, and okay for the first bowl. By the second bowl I wasn't enjoying them as much. In part it was the beef. I wasn't up to a third bowl so the Husband got that. This made closer to 6 servings - while it doesn't seem like it, it is a lot of liquid and food. Recommended if you like beef.
Serves 4-6
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| Photo from cookinglight.com |
3 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 medium sweet onions
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
1 cup water
4 cups unsalted beef stock
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
4 ounces brown rice vermicelli noodles
4 ounces top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 cup roughly torn fresh basil
1/2 cup roughly torn fresh mint
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
Thinly sliced red Fresno chile
Cook star anise and cinnamon in a large skillet over medium until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker. Cut 1 onion in half; place in skillet, cut side down; add ginger. Thinly slice remaining onion, and set aside. Cook onion and ginger over medium, undisturbed, until onion is charred on cut side, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker. Increase heat under skillet to medium-high. Add short ribs; cook until browned on all sides, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker. Remove skillet from heat; discard drippings. Pour 1 cup water into skillet, scraping to loosen browned bits. Pour through a strainer into slow cooker; discard solids. Stir in beef stock and salt. Cover and cook on low 8 hours.
Remove short ribs from slow cooker. Pour broth through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a bowl; discard solids. Skim and discard fat from surface of broth; pour broth back into slow cooker. Remove meat from bones of short ribs; shred meat, and return to slow cooker. Stir in fish sauce and hoisin sauce. Turn slow cooker to high; cover to keep hot.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Place 1/2 cup cooked noodles in each of 4 bowls. Top each with 1 ounce raw sirloin and 1 1/4 cups hot broth (broth will cook meat). Top each with 1/3 cup short rib meat and 1/4 cup thinly sliced onion. Sprinkle with bean sprouts, basil, and mint. Serve with lime wedges; garnish with Fresno chile.
Caesar Green Bean Salad (Cooks Country, 2017)
Oh! Happy happy tastebuds! This was sooo good! And easy! Super easy.
I honestly think this was better than a "tradtional Caesar salad. Recommended!!
Definitely serves 4-6
Dressing and Green Beans
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| Photo from CooksCountry.com |
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 anchovy fillets, minced to paste
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler
Croutons
3 ounces baguette, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Dressing and Grean Beans
Whisk lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, anchovies, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl until combined. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified; set aside.
Line baking sheet with clean dish towel. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add green beans and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, return to boil, and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain green beans in colander and spread in even layer on prepared sheet. Let green beans cool completely.
For the Croutons
Meanwhile, toss baguette,oil, and pepper in large bowl until baguette pieces are coated with oil. Transfer to 12-inch nonstick skillet (reserve bowl). Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Return croutons to reserved bowl.
Transfer dressing, green beans, and half of Parmesan to bowl with croutons and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Serve.
Lamb Chops (Food Network/Giada De Laurentiis) gluten free
Something different for us - I made this for Christmas Day dinner accompanied by the Caesar Green Bean Salad above. Simple enough marinate, cooking times were off, I would have preferred to grill these but didn't want to clean the grill. I would make them again and pay more attention to internal temp than cooking times listed.
The amount of marinade wasn't enough to use in my food processor, so I attempted to use my immersion blender. Mine didn't work so well. I would have been better off mincing the
Served 2
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
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| photo from Food Network |
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves (I used 1 tsp dried, crushed)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (I used 1 tsp dried)
Pinch cayenne pepper
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 lamb chops, about 3/4-inch thick (I used 4 lamb chops)
In a food processor fitted with a metal blade add the
garlic, rosemary, thyme, cayenne, and salt. Pulse until combined. Pour
in olive oil and pulse into a paste. Rub the paste on both sides of the
lamb chops and let them marinate for at least 1 hour in the
refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator and allow the chops to come to
room temperature; it will take about 20 minutes.
Heat a grill pan over high heat until almost smoking, add
the chops and sear for about 2 minutes. Flip the chops over and cook for
another 3 minutes for medium-rare and 3 1/2 minutes for medium.
Slow Cooked Chicken Tikki Masala (adapted from Great American Slow Cooker Book) gluten free
I had my doubts about this recipe - it's chicken and tomatoes with seasonings. That's it. Seems too simple. For it's simplicity - this was very good.
A couple of notables - next time I would add 1 cup diced onion. I would also saute the onion, garlic, spices (to bloom the flavors), then add the tomato paste to bloom those flavors before putting into the slow cooker.
This cook book offers quantities for three different sizes of slow cookers. I made the one for a 4-6 slow cooker.
With rice and naan (which I picked up from the India Palace) this made enough for about 4 meals for 2 of us (8 servings)
3 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2" pieces
24 oz can crushed tomatoes (no-salt if possible)
8 oz can tomato paste (no-salt if possible)
2 1/2 tbsp Garam Masala
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
cooked basmati or jasmine rice
Combine above in slow cooker. Cook 3 1/2 - 4 hours on low. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice.
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