Mom's Nite Out

Bittman's Chicken and Rice

CHICKEN WITH RICE, THE EASY WAY

Time: 30 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, about 8 ounces, peeled and sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 chicken, cut up into serving pieces

1 1/2 cups white rice

Pinch saffron, optional

Freshly minced parsley or cilantro for garnish

Lemon or lime wedges.

1. Set 3 cups of water to boil. Place olive oil in a large skillet that can be covered, and turn heat to medium-high. Add onions and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and become translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove skin from chicken.

2. Add rice to onions; stir until each grain glistens; sprinkle with saffron, and stir. Nestle chicken in rice, add a little more salt and pepper and pour in the boiling water. Turn heat to medium-low, and cover.

3. Cook 20 minutes, until all water is absorbed and chicken is cooked through. (You can keep this warm over a very low flame for another 15 minutes; it will retain its heat for 15 minutes beyond that.) Garnish and serve with lemon or lime.

Pasta Puttanesca

Spaghetti Puttanesca
Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Prep: 10 minutes Total: 30 minutes



INGREDIENTS

Serves 6.

1 pound spaghetti
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 rinsed anchovies, (optional)
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, and their juice
2 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

DIRECTIONS

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions; drain; return to pot.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and anchovies, if desired, mashing them with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 2 minutes.
Add whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking up tomatoes with hands. Stir in capers and olives. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Toss with pasta; season with salt and pepper.




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Homemade Tabouleh

Prep Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cup chopped, with stems discarded)
1/4 cup coriander
2 tablespoons of fresh mint, chopped
I red medium onion, finely chopped
6 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup bulghur, medium grade
6 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Romaine lettuce or grape leaves to line serving bowl (optional)
Preparation:

Soak bulghur in cold water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until soft.

Squeeze out excess water from bulghur using hands or paper towel.

Combine all ingredients, except for salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Line serving bowl with grape leaves or romaine lettuce, and add salad.

Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on top.

Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.


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Homemade Hummus

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
cayenne pepper (if you like it spicy)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.
There are variations of course. For those who like to change it up you can add chipotle in oil or minced olives or jalepenos for a kick.


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Quick Chicken Stroganoff

I had a can of cream of mushroom soup and knew that there was a recipe out there that could turn it into a quick dinner. I looked up the Campbell's site, as much as I hate product placement :) This was actually good, and made me realize that I can really just throw some chicken breasts on heat and turn out a filling meal. I don't know why I lean towards the complicated when it comes to dinner...

Quick Mushroom Chicken Bake - from Campbell's Kitchen

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
Lemon pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
Ground black pepper
12 ounces extra-wide egg noodles

To make:
1. Season both sides of the chicken with the lemon pepper seasoning. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until well browned on both sides. Place the chicken into a 2-quart baking dish.
2. Stir the soup, mushrooms, milk, cheese and garlic in a small bowl. Season with the black pepper. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken.
3. Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (use a thermometer to cook to an internal temperature of 165 F). Prepare the noodles as per package instructions. Serve the chicken and sauce over the cooked noodles.

Lamb and Spinach Stew

Lamb and spinach stew

2 lb of lamb shoulder
2 bags of fresh or 4 boxes of frozen chopped Spinach
Salt and Pepper
½ tsp of all spice
½ tsp of Cinnamon
2 bay leaves
½ tsp of Cardamom
2 onion cut in small pieces
2 14oz cans of garbanzo beans

1. Wash the lamb pieces with some salt and a little vinegar.
2. Bring to boil and rinse.
3. Sautee the lamb pieces with onions and a little Olive oil
4. Add water to cover and boil until lamb is tender.
5. In the mean time add salt, pepper, the bay leaves, cardamom, and cinnamon to the boiling water.
6. If you have fresh spinach you need to cut the stems off and wash the leaves very carefully. Place in a deep pot and soak with water then rinse and strain.
7. If you using frozen, just defrost and add to the pot on low heat until water is almost drained.
8. Add another chopped onion and sauté with olive oil until green color turns darker.
9. When the meat is well cooked, add the Spinach to it and the garbanzo beans after you wash and strain them. Let it cook all together and add salt and pepper if needed.
10. Also add more water if needed but not too much.
11. Cook for another 30 min and serve over rice. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

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Spanish-style Chicken with Rice

I love a good one pot meal and Arroz con Pollo always looks delicious when they make it on tv. This took me around exactly an hour and wasn't complicated at all. Though it was a little under-spiced for me, of course my husband thought there were enough spices. I added some smoked paprika to the chicken before browning it though the original recipe only called for salt and pepper. If you're using a smaller chicken you can use a 12-inch skillet, but that was too small for my 4-lb chicken.

Spanish-Style Chicken with Saffron Rice (Arroz con Pollo)
1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 1/4 cups + 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes including juice
3/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)


Garnish: chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Pat chicken dry and season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a dutch oven over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken on all sides, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate.

Add onion, bell pepper, and salt to taste. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and rice, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 1/4 cups broth and boil, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice, rest of chicken broth, saffron, and bay leaf. Nestle chicken in rice, adding any juices from plate.

Cook, covered, over low heat until chicken is cooked through, rice is tender, and most of liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peas, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.



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Mary Alice's Deviled Eggs

I saw this one made during an episode of Ace of Cakes. Yummy!




Mary Alice’s Deviled Eggs
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

12 hard boiled eggs (use the oldest eggs that are still ok to eat. Put them directly into gently boiling water and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Shell.)

Slice eggs in half and remove yolks into large bowl.

Smoosh up yolks really good with a fork, then add:
6 tablespoons mayo
6-8 teaspoons of minced fresh tarragon, fresh Italian parsley, and fresh chives (no substitutions here – this is the key to the yum)
4 teaspoons dijon mustard
3 teaspoons champagne vinegar
3 minced shallots
1 splash of Worcestershire sauce
lots of ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot curry powder (more to taste)

Use pastry bag to fill eggs. Sprinkle with hot paprika.

Enjoy!



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Spinach Dip

This was a request from a friend for an easy Spinach Dip. I love CI. Nuf said.

Creamy Herbed Spinach Dip

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
From Cook's Illustrated

Note: Partial thawing of the spinach produces a cold dip that can be served without further chilling. If you don't own a microwave, the frozen spinach can be thawed at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours then squeezed of excess liquid. The garlic must be minced or pressed before going into the food processor; otherwise the dip will contain large chunks of garlic.

Ingredients
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons thin-sliced scallions , white parts only, from 3 medium scallions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill leaves
1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small clove garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce , such as Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 medium red bell pepper , diced fine (about 1/4 cup)

Instructions
1. Thaw spinach in microwave for 3 minutes at 40 percent power. (Edges should be thawed but not warm; center should be soft enough to be broken apart into icy chunks.) Squeeze partially frozen spinach of excess water.
2. In food processor, process spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, dill, parsley, garlic, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and stir in bell pepper; serve. (Dip can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 2 days.)