Morrocan Chicken and Lentil Stew with Peppers

I found this great recipe in Chatelaine magazine called Moroccan Lentil Stew; I liked it so much I cooked it a bunch of times in a really short period of time, fancy dinners, lunches and then I started thinking...I bet it would be magic with chicken in it. Ooh, and peppers! Yeah! Peppers! And then this is what happened:

You will need:

2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasteses
1 large onion
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Madras curry paste
1 c lentils, dried
3 cups water
796-ml can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper

Frist, prep!! Chop up your pepper and onion, mince your garlic and slice your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Rinse your lentils, open up your can of tomatoes

Heat one teaspoon of the oil in a large heavy pot / pan dealie (Smurf-bum lid optional),

add in chicken and cook until no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes. Ish.

 Remove the chicken from the pan and add in the remaining teaspoon of oil. Cook the onions and peppers for 3-4 minutes, until almost softened and then add in the garlic and cook for just one more minute. Just until you can smell it! Don't you burn that garlic! I'm such a garlic nerd nagger.

Stir in the curry paste, lentils and water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan, pour in the tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, stirring here and there, with the lid off

As t thickens, it will go from this

To this. Ish

This works out to 6 big protein-rich servings at 223 calories per, according to MyFitnessPal, you could serve it on it's own, or over rice, either way, es delish.

Enjoy!

Sorta Lasaga Soup: SHV

Quite a while ago, I read this recipe in a shared space and was interested in blogging / sharing it; but had some issues with provenance. For one thing, the person that posted the recipe wasn't the author, but where she got it from wasn't the originator either. Messy! Plus I really don't know how any of that works.

So, I decided to do the recipe anyway, almost a year later, but with all the changes I thought would make it all the more awesome, and also somewhat healthier along the way. And voila!! Zut alors! And alla that jazz (hands!).

You will need:

600 g hot Italian turkey sausage (8 med in this case)
2 tsp Olive oil, divided (NEVER EVOO for cooking! Nevair!!)
Chili flakes
2 med onions
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
4-6 cloves of garlic
1-156 ml can tomato paste
1-2 tsp oregano
Salt, pepper
2 bay leaves
796 ml  (28oz) can diced tomatoes
6 c chicken stock ( I use unsalted-ish)
3 c egg noodles, 4.5 oz (I use No-Yolks brand out of habit, but whatever you have is fine)

Optional: 6 oz light shredded cheese

Not pictured: bay leaves. It's always SOMETHING!

Prep!! First, de-skin your sausages (not a euphemism); I've found that the easiest way to do that is to cut along one side, like zo:



Then just peel them off around. Voila! Touche! Lots of other words that mean Easy Peasy!

Heat one teaspoon of the oil in a large, heavy bottom pot. They make the cooking world go round.

Add the sausages and chili flakes, breaking the meat into bite-sized chunks.

While that is cooking (jk, you know  did it in advance. But you totally could do it while the sausage is cooking), chop the onions and peppers.

When the meat is all nicely browned, scoop it out and set aside.

I absolutely HAVE to take a picture every time I see a nice fond like that. Lookit it!!

Add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and the onions and peppers, cook stirring over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Now mince your garlic! No earlier. The air does things to it.

Add in the garlic, cook for ONE MINUTE ONLY.One!!

Add in the can of tomato paste, cook for 3 or 4 minutes until it turns a dark rust colour.

Add in 1 teaspoon of oregano, salt, pepper and return the sausage to the pot. Stir until well mixed. Coat that sausage (also not a euphemism).

Add in the tomatoes, stock and bay leaves, and another bitta oregano. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, add in the egg noodles and cook for 10 more minutes or until the pasta is tender.

This is a very big soup, it makes 6 very healthy-sized portions at 294 calories per serving. 



To make it more lasagna-ish, you can top it with as little or as much cheese as you would like. This is half an ounce of light cheddar blend, but I also recommend adding Parmesan. People use cottage or ricotta in the bowl, more power to you. Just add in the calories and Bob will be your uncle.

Enjoy!

Turkey Parmesan Meatballs with Rose Sauce: SHV

It's Wednesday! Which means it's odd food night. I wanted to do another pasta with a cream sauce, mostly so I could use another finishing salt, but was also obsessed with the ground turkey I picked up the other day. Throw in some parmesan cheese and blammo! Supper! Using ground turkey and whole wheat pasta means I get to call this a Somewhat Healthier Version, yay!

 

You will need:

2 tsp olive oil (NOT ever EVOO)
360g ground turkey ( I would suggest 1/2 lb, but that's what I used)
1 lg slice stale whole grain, whole wheat bread
1/3 c 1% milk
1 tsp thyme, divided
Salt, pepper, basil
4 cloves roasted garlic (you know, if you have some kicking around), optional
1/2 oz parmesan cheese - about 14 g if that helps. I know, not really.
1/2 red onion
1/2 red pepper
4 garlic cloves
1/2 c wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 c chicken stock
1 c homogenized milk
170 g whole wheat spaghettini (about half a small box)

Not pictured: stock. Dang it

Prep! Breaking with my usual prep-absolutely-everything-in-advance style, I like to get the meatballs started right away, as they take a little while and afford all kind of time to get everything else prepped.

First, soak your stale bread in the 1/3 c of 1% or skim milk. Throw the turkey, the roasted garlic if using, 1/2 of the parmesan cheese (so 1/4 ounce. I know), 1/2 of the thyme, salt, pepper an some basil into the bowl of a stand mixer.

When all of the milk is absorbed into the bread, add it to the mixer bowl and blend with the paddle for 2 minutes. This style of making meatballs with milk-soaked bread is called using a panade, and I usually prefer it to using an egg and crackers as binding agents. Not always! But today.

After two minutes, start rolling the mixture into teaspoon-sized balls, basically bite-sized. Ish. It's your mouth, judge yourself accordingly. When you are about half done, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large saucepan (NOT non-stick. sticky) and drop them into the hot pan in a single layer. No crowding! Crowding means steaming and stewing and we just want luscious browning. On all sides, please!

While the meatballs are doing their thing, go ahead and finish your prep. Chop your onion and red pepper into a large dice, mince your garlic.

Heat the second teaspoon of oil, brown the second batch of meatballs; set all aside somewhere relatively warm. Add in the onions and red peppers. Ignore the mushrooms, I only had two so they don't really count. I bet a couple of cups worth would have been magic, though.

Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, or until almost softened. Add in the 4 cloves of minced garlic, cook for just one more minute. Just one! I mean it! Deglaze with the 1/2 of wine, stirring to scrape up delicious brown bits on the bottom

When the wine is just about gone, stir in the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, some salt, pepper, the rest of the thyme and some basil.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the paste turns dark and starts to stick. Add in the cup of chicken stock. This is a good time to start boiling water for your pasta! I wanted to use angel-hair, but I couldn't find any whole wheat stuff, so I went with the finest whole wheat noodle I could find: spaghettini.

Scrape! Cook until reduced by half. Start adding in milk, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring all the while.

When all the milk is incorporated, let reduce until you can make a full trail across the middle with your spoon, about 7-10 minutes.

Add your meatballs back in, cover and warm through, about 5 minutes.

Drain your pasta! Plate and cover the pasta with the sauce. Finish with a little of the rest of the parmesan cheese and a wee dram of finishing salt. I am using Wild Porcini Sea Salt tonight, but any kind would work, I am sure.

 

Including the pasta, this works out to 4 servings at 430 calories each, which is on the high side, but still puts us within the recommended 400 - 500 per meal. Add a small salad! Yay us!

 

Enjoy!

Thursday (But Crazy Late): Chicken Casserole

Can you tell I am happy to have use of my ovens again? Because I am so excited! As I have been stockpiling barley over the years, I always jump all over a recipe that includes it in any form. Hence this week, two times. You can use whatever veggies you have handy, I have a lot of peppers, so a red pepper and some mushrooms it is.

You will need:

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped or grated
1/2 c pearl barley (that's the prettier, more conformist one)
2 1/4 c chicken stock
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, preferably cooked and dicd
1 red pepper
1 c mushrooms, sliced and / or diced
Salt, pepper, thyme

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, prep! Look for your Dutch oven. Not there? Check in the cupboard under the counter? Not there either? Pantry! Score! Chop / grate your onions, mushrooms and red pepper into bite-able pieces. Rinse your barley under cold water until the water runs clear.

Here is a big part of prep that you can skip if you have cooked chicken breast: poaching the chicken. If your chicken is cooked already, just carry on. If not, pour the chicken stock into a large saucepan that has a lid. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Poach for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway, until cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, heat the oil in your newly found Dutch oven, add in the onion and barley and stir to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions start to soften.

When your chicken is done poaching, remove from the pan and set aside to cool. Dump all the stock into the onion /barley mixture, let boil for a minute, then cover it and bake for 45 minutes.

Chop your chicken when it is cool, reserving any juices.

Take the dish out of the oven and add in the chicken, mushrooms and peppers, along with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Back in the oven! This time for 30 minutes, until the moisture is mostly absorbed.

I portioned this into 4 servings at 265 calories each; add some steamed veggies and a salad and you are good to goooo.

Enjoy!