Chicken Tagine with a Twist!

Some days I have to work a very long 12 hours. A 12 hours in a busy O.R. that wipes me out. A 12 hours that isn't as easy to recover from as it used to be. These are the days that cooking is the very last thing I want to do at the end of the day. Eating a hot, home-made dinner however, is just what I do need. Dilemma.

Crock Pot to the rescue! I keep most of these ingredients stocked in my pantry and only had to pick up some chicken thighs as we have been really limiting chicken lately for various reasons (read more about this life changing decision in my post/rant here). Also, I have been trying to not eat meat for dinner since IMO it isn't good for your body to be digesting meat while you sleep. Meat takes several hours of hard work for your GI system to digest and disrupts sleep.

Chicken Tagine is a classic Moroccan dish made several in several yummy variations but usually with the spices ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika and turmeric.  Tajines are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. The best thing about Chicken Tagine is that you can throw in any combination of your favorite ingredients such as dried fruits, nuts, olives, veggies, preserved lemon, honey ect. and as long as you use the classic base of spices and tomatoes you've got yourself a Moroccan Delight!

I love my veggies and so I threw in some diced eggplant along with my olives, dried apricots and fresh cranberries. *On a side note, I don't think I will use fresh cranberries next time as they were pretty tart, or maybe I'll just use less to compliment the other flavors without over powering them.

A pretty Tagine pot is on the top of my wish list. I use a 'crock pot' for now ;)

Image from Emily Avila

The traditional tajine pot is formed entirely of a heavy clay, which is sometimes painted or glazed. It consists of two parts: a base unit that is flat and circular with low sides, and a large cone or dome-shaped cover that rests inside the base during cooking. The cover is so designed to promote the return of all condensation to the bottom. With the cover removed, the base can be taken to the table for serving

Recently, European manufacturers have created tajines with heavy cast-iron bottoms that can be heated on a cooking stove to a high temperature. This permits the browning of meat and vegetables before cooking.



PRINT THIS RECIPE

Ingredients


2 tablespoons olive oil

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 large onions, thinly sliced

4 large carrots, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup green olives, sliced

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup water

1 cup couscous



Directions:
* Searing the chicken before adding it to the crock pot is important to lock in flavour.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken pieces and eggplant in the heated oil; stir and cook until the chicken is browned on all sides but not cooked through. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Place the browned chicken and eggplant on the bottom of a slow cooker. Layer the onion, carrots, cranberries, and apricots over the chicken.

Whisk together the chicken broth, tomato paste, lemon juice, flour, garlic salt, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Pour the broth mixture into the slow cooker with the chicken and vegetables.

Cook on Low setting for 8 hours.

Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Stir in couscous, and remove from heat. Cover, and let stand about 5 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

 
 
 
  I'm sending this over to Potluck Fridays at eKats Kitchen!
 

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Simple, Fantastic Pozole!

 If only a picture could speak a million words.... is that how the saying goes?

Leftover turkey dreams about being turned into this spicy, beautiful soup. Pozole is one of my most cherished meals. I've only made it a couple of times from scratch because to make it authenticly requires a lot of prep work and an attention span that I seem to have temporarily traded in for  breaking up major LEGO disputes, tending to owie after owie and wiping noses. Basically just keeping 4 kids alive all day is my full time job right now.


As I mentioned earlier, we were lucky enough to enjoy T-Day dinner at our parents homes this year. I couldn't however pass up the opportunity for a turkey of my very own. And so roast I did. A big, beautiful, organic turkey that had a spa day treatment.  Rubbed in herbs and virgin olive oil then.....  I'll post that next, stay tuned.  Christmas turkey's are all the rage!


As I was saying, the leftover turkey possibilities were dangling above my head at night as did sugar plum fairies years ago. Pozole was numero uno on my 'must have' list this year and I vowed had no choice due to previous stated excuses but to make it simple, make it fast and most importantly not sacrificing the authentic flavour I so adore!

Mission Accomplished my Friends!

You Will Need:

2-3 cups cooked Turkey, chopped

1- 29 oz. can Hominy ( about 2 cups)

1- 28 oz. can *Enchiladas Verde's  ( green )

4 cups Organic Chicken broth

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon Mexican Oregano ( use regular if you don't have)

sliced radishes for garnish, lots of radish!

lime wedges, lots of lime!

optional garnishes: chopped green cabbage .. mmmmm
sliced jalapenos ... oh yeah
low-fat sour cream .. for the kiddos 

Putting it All Together: 

In a large stock pot over med-high heat, saute onion for 4 minutes. Add garlic, saute 1 minute more. Add broth, stirring to incorporate browned bits. Add enchilada sauce, hominy, turkey, cilantro and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer till warmed through, about 10 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls, squeeze lime juice into.Garnish with a small handful of very thinly sliced radish ( my favorite part!), a small bit of chopped cabbage and jalapenos if your feelin feisty! Ole'!

 Ice cold cerveza optional but highly recommended!

Nope, there's nothing missing. That's it! Enjoy!

*If you'll be serving this to small children or for those of you who don't like any spiciness, I recommend Hatch's mild  Enchilada Verde sauce. Otherwise, I recommend Las Palmas Enchiladas verdes sauce.

                    

 

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Spinach and Turkey Salad with Cranberry-Orange Dressing

Sugar free, Guilt free, Delicious-ness  ;)

I realize I'm a bit late in posting leftover T-Day turkey recipes. I'm sure most people have either ate up all of their turkey or are sick of the thought of turkey all together. Next year I will make a turkey early so as to get these delicious, healthy 'left over' turkey recipes out to you all sooner.

* disclaimer of the day ;-)

I'm still new to this whole blogging thing and how to be helpful and actually get people to try healthy foods. Also, I made my turkey a few days after T-Day since we ate the official meal at our parents homes this year. The only reason I made our turkey was for a few spectacular recipes I want to share.

 This salad was actually yet another last minute, 'What the heck are we going to have for dinner' recipe. Salad is a simple, healthy and perfect dinner especially following the Big T-Day stuffing of ones-self. 

The Cranberry-Orange dressing was spectacular! For those of you who still buy canned cranberry 'sauce' shame on you! Fresh cranberries are cheap, better for you and take less than 10 whole minutes to cook up! As I like to say, 'So simple even I can do it!' I was out shopping and running errands all day today and came home exhausted and was able to throw this together, cooking the cranberries and all, in 10 minutes flat. Fresh cranberries are so tart and delicious I buy several bags and freeze them for throughout the year.

I was so disappointed when browsing the Internet and blogs recently and saw that every cranberry sauce recipe ( that I came across) was literally loaded with sugar. I'm talking 1 1/2 - 2 CUPS of sugar per 12 oz. bag of cranberries!  Yikes!  That's more sugar than cranberries people! The upsetting part for me was that people were actually commenting things like " Wow, looks great!" and "Yum, wonderful recipe!"  I don't get it. Either people are totally addicted to sugar or don't actually read or care about the recipes and only want to put their face on popular sites or both. What's so wonderful about turning something so good for you into something so bad for you? Cranberries are supposed to be tart, their special that way. They get their feelings hurt when you smother them with sugar! I used a bit of Agave Nectar to balance them out along with fresh orange juice and zest. Perfect!
My kids ate them all up..... and without all of the added sugar!   * applause, cheer!!

For the salad: 

6 cups fresh baby spinach

2 cups cooked turkey, diced

1-12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries

1/4 of a small red onion, thinly sliced

1 juicy orange, juiced ;)

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon orange zest

3/4 cup Agave Nectar

Raw Almonds, slivered or sliced

 In a sauce pot place cranberries, water, juice and zest. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool in refrigerator for a few minutes.
Place all other ingredients into a large salad bowl. Drizzle some of the cranberry dressing over salad and toss to coat. Top with more of the in tact cranberries.

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Harvest Turkey Soup with Jamaican Spice

My favorite part about thanksgiving other then chillin with the fam is left over turkey. I look forward to it all year and even buy an extra big turkey to cook and freeze for turkey soup, posole and other savory goodies.


I had butternut squash and asparagus in my crisper and decided that they would be perfect in a turkey soup. Crisp corn, garlic, mushrooms and a pinch of Jamaican allspice made this a wonderful  sweet  and  savory  soup the whole family loved.



Ditch the canned soup and try this the next time your body craves some comfort food.

Harvest Turkey Soup

2 cups cooked, cubed turkey
6 cups home made or good quality chicken broth
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1 cup sweet corn
1 cup chopped asparagus
1-8 oz can mushrooms, drained
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced                                                                                          

1 teaspoon olive oil                                                                                                                               1 teaspoon Bragg's Season All                                                                                                       1 teaspoon Jamaican allspice
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy based soup pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion, cook till golden brown. Add garlic, cook 1 more minute. Add broth and squash, cook for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, lower heat, cover and cook till heated through, about 7 minutes.

What's your favorite way to use left over turkey?

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Simple Turkey Piccata with Grilled Lemon Broccolini

This light and simple turkey piccata is a great weeknight dinner when your bored with the usual plain chicken breast. The sauce is light and very fresh and flavorful. A simple side of grilled lemon broccolini pairs beautifully for a healthy dinner. If your looking for small and simple Thanksgiving dinner idea, and don't need to buy a large whole turkey, this is a great substitute. 

We have been spending a ton of time outdoors lately seeing as the weather here in Phoenix is too gorgeous to pass up a reader recently scolded me for not bragging about the weather more. Actually, what she said was "I'm so sick and tired of people not bragging about the weather in Arizona more." 

My bad. 

I'm too busy enjoying it to sit at the computer and write about it I suppose. Plus, who likes a bragger anyway? pshhh!

The boys were in a big Veterans Day parade here in the Valley yesterday and we spend all day soaking in the sights and the sun. I haven't been able to sit in front of the computer for more than a few minutes at a time because the outdoors are calling to me! It's finally hiking 'season' Yayyyy! So pardon my short posts this month please. ;}

Recipe from Cooking Light October 2013




SERVES  8        TIME 20 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 8 (3-ounce) turkey cutlets  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
• 3/4 cup dry white wine 
• 1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock 
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. 1. Sprinkle turkey evenly with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 4 cutlets to pan, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove cutlets from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and cutlets.
2. 2. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to high. Add wine; bring to a boil, and cook 2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Combine chicken stock and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add stock mixture to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter, juice, and capers. Pour sauce over cutlets; sprinkle with parsley.

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Saucy Mamma! Hawaiian Grilled Chicken-Pineapple Sandwiches with Home Made Terryaki Sauce

It's only a few weeks into Summer and already unbearably hot outside here in Phoenix. I have officially sworn off cooking or baking until October.... at least. Might as well unplug my stove. I'm done. I am however, o.k. with sending my dear husband outside to BBQ something wonderful for dinner. Hey, I'll put everything all together, all he has to do is stand there by the fire and look manly with a large pick fork and cold beer in hand. We have a nice pool that he can jump into any time he starts to scorch and feel a heat stroke coming on. Cush job right?


4th of July is coming up very soon. This Hawaiian Pineapple BBQ sandwich is my idea of a perfect backyard celebration. When paired with Grilled Corn on the cob, Watermelon Boats, Coconut-Berry Cake and Cherry Lime Aid Slushies next to the pool I'm in heaven!




Believe it or not, when asked what the fam would like to BBQ for special occasions the majority vote is always for these Hawaiian Chicken sandwiches. Maybe it's due in part to the fact that grilling steaks scares me. They never turn out good, let alone to die for. When you splurge and spend the money for high end steaks you expect them to be perfect, not fatty and grisly and either under or over cooked. I can see the raised, confused eyebrows now. Don't judge. We just don't eat read meat very often... at all. So we are far from being savvy on the grilling technique used to master a perfect steak. Not that my husband and teenage son wouldn't like engorge themselves in humongous carnivorous slabs of meat on a daily basis but I'm more than fine without.

 I'm all about the grilled veggies and home made sauces and the sides that go along with the barbecuing experience.

When at the grocery store, it's all that I can do to refrain from stopping people who have jarred marinades and sauces in their cart and shaking some sense into them. That stuff is just gross, full of sugar, preservatives and additives not to mention expensive. I don't get it. Why do people insist that making their own salad dressing and marinades is a difficult thing.  It's just not I tell you. You can make a very quick and delicious marinade for chicken, fish or veggies with just 3-4 ingredients that most people have in their pantry anyway. 

Any combination of ketchup, brown mustard, soy sauce, terryaki, brown sugar, onion, garlic, cornstarch, horse radish, juice, ginger or grill seasoning can be cooked down into a fabulously simple grill sauce. Think of how many batches of sauce you can get out of these pantry staples for the price of one pre-made jar of BBQ sauce. Experiment and use whatever you have on hand. Even just a simple mixture of ketchup, brown mustard, a pinch of brown sugar and soy sauce would be delicious.

Freshly grated ginger really adds a zingy punch to the sauce.

YIELDS  2 1/2 CUPS       TIME   20 MINUTES

Terryaki Sauce:

1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 cup peanut, avocado, coconut or vegetable oil

1/3 cup soy sauce (preferably *Organic Tamari)

1/2 cup molasses 

1 teaspoon ground ginger (use 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger if you have some) 

1 tablespoons cornstarch

1-2 tablespoon Raw (turbinado) sugar or brown sugar
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

Sesame seeds for garnish

Optional: Thai Chili Pepper Sauce to bring some heat. Bring it.



Putting it all together:

In a small bowl whisk together corn starch with pineapple juice, set aside. Combine all remaining ingredients except Tamari soy sauce. Bring to a gentle boil while whisking. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes whisking occasionally. Remove from heat, add Tamari and let cool slightly then pour into a large plastic bag to coat chicken. Reserve 1 1/2 cups for spooning over done chicken. Lay the bag of marinated chicken on a large plate so sauce covers it and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably 2-3 hours.

*Tip:  

I pound my thawed chicken breasts with a rolling pin while they are in the zip lock bag to make

them large enough to fit a bun and to cook faster and evenly.

Other simple sides to make this 4th of July

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chile Butter

Watermelon Boats with Blueberries and Fresh Coconut

Cherry Lime Aide Slushies

GF Coconut-Berry Patriotic Cake recipe here

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Shredded Chicken BBQ Sandwiches- revisited

BBQ has never been one of my favorite things. I know, how un-American of me! I never really liked pizza either until I discovered the thin crusted ones with fresh veggies, herbs and goat cheese scattered on top. When my husband and I were first dating, he took me to this little BBQ place in old downtown Gilbert, AZ. It was sitting room outside only on picnic tables and was very popular. I thought I would just order a salad or something, I mean we were dating, I was still trying to impress him. ;-) After just a few minutes however, I was overcome by the heavy smokey BBQ sauce smell and just couldn't stomach it. Poor guy, he loves his BBQ. I guess he loved me more because here we are, 9 years later happily married.

So, the point of my little love story is well, first I like to talk, and second I want my sweet husband and my boys to eat the foods they love too. I have found that I actually enjoy my homemade BBQ sauce, especially on these delicious chicken sandwiches. This sauce is tangy and mouthwatering! Far less sugar than jarred varieties and no preservatives, fresh is best!

I have also found that using my Kitchen Aid food shredder attachment to shred my own cabbage makes a world of difference in taste. I used to buy the pre-packaged, pre-shredded cabbage. The kids wouldn't touch it and to be honest, I thought it was to thick and well, cabbagy tasting for BBQ sandwiches. Shredding your own into a fine texture actually makes the cabbage taste sweet! The kids gobbled it up!


A great trick to getting perfectly shredded chicken in just seconds.... throw the cooked chicken into your Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the cookie paddle attachment. Turn it onto speed 4-6 and in just 20 seconds you'll have perfect, restaurant style shredded chicken.  Tip: Make sure the chicken is warm/hot before you shred it. Refrigerated chicken is harder and may harm your mixer.

perfect, resteraunt style shredded chicken

Just in time for Summer!

You Will Need:

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

package of Kaiser Buns

2 cups finely shredded green cabbage

3 cups homemade BBQ sauce, recipe here.

Putting it all together:

I throw frozen solid big chicken breasts into my pressure cooker and they cook perfect and so moist in aobut 8 minutes! If you don't have one, put it on your birthday wish list and in the meantime, boil your thawed chicken in a large stock pot for about 20 minutes.

When chicken is done, place in a big bowl and shred with 2 forks. I "cheat" on this too, I put my cooked chicken in my KitchenAid with the paddle attachment and it shreds perfectly in about 15 seconds, resteraunt style! (put a KitchenAid on your Christmas list) ;-)

Meanwhile, preheat your broiler. Saute chopped onion in a pan for about 4 minutes until translucent. Shred your cabbage with a food processor.  Toast your halved buns by placing them face up on a broiler pan and putting them about 6 inches from the broiler for about 1-2 minutes. Watch them carefully, bread burns fast! Toasting them is really key for BBQ. Otherwise they will get soggy.

PRINT THIS RECIPE (and sauce recipe)

Quick BBQ Sauce:

1 1/2 cups ketchup

3/4 cup spicy brown mustard

1 onion finely grated

1/4 c. lemon juice

2 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tbsp. Worcestershire

1 tbsp. brown sugar OR honey

1/2 c. water

2 TBSP Grilling Seasoning

Combine all ingredients together in a sauce pot. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes whisking occasionally.

Other BBQ Sauce Recipes You Need To Try

Papa's Chicken and Honey Spice Marinade from Kitchen Confidante

Soda Pop Pulled Pork with Spicy Cilantro Pesto from Indigo's Sugar Spectrum

Terryaki Turky Burgers with Home Made BBQ Sauce from Good Life Eat's 

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