Sheikh-el-Mahshi

This is Corrie’s favorite Lebanese dish.  Since he loves Lebanese women err…I mean food, that’s saying a lot.  I honestly typically don’t care for eggplant, and I happily eat this.  My mom pretty much either always makes this when we’re home or has a dish of this in the freezer to send back with us for him.  See, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s fun to spoil him rotten!

Sheikh-el-Mahshi

Meat and Onion Stuffing

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (or blanched, slivered almonds)
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• Salt and pepper
• Cinnamon, to taste

In a small saute pan, fry pine nuts in 1 Tbsp. of butter.

In a non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Saute onions over medium-high heat.  Add meat and saute until brown.  Add pine nuts, salt, pepper, and cinnamon and mix well.  Set mixture aside.

Sheikh-el-Mahshi

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 – 28 oz. can whole tomatoes
• 1 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Allspice, to taste
• 1 recipe sauteed meat and onion stuffing (recipe above)

Recipe from my Mommy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pull out a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Remove stem and hulls from eggplant.  Partially peel eggplant (from top to bottom) so that you have alternating purple and white strips.  Cut eggplant horizontally into 1/2″ discs.

Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet.  Meanwhile, line a plate with paper towels.  When hot, saute eggplant on each side until they are golden brown.  Place the eggplant on the paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess grease.  When finished sauteing all the eggplant, place each slice of eggplant side by side in the 13 x 9 dish.  Top each eggplant slice with approximately 2-3 Tbsp. of the meat and onion stuffing mixture.

On top of the meat, on each slice, place 1 whole canned tomato.  Pour the remaining tomato juice over the eggplant evenly, and then cover with the tomato sauce.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and add allspice to taste.

Bake for 20 minutes and serve on top of Lebanese rice.

Spaghetti with Red Pepper-Toasted Almond Pesto

I know I’ve said it before, but I am a big pesto fan.  They’re just so flavorful.  This was another easy weeknight dinner from The Best Simple Recipes cookbook.

Spaghetti with Red Pepper-Toasted Almond Pesto

• 1 cup drained jarred roasted red peppers, patted dry with paper towels
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti

1. Bring water to boil in a large pot for the pasta.  In a food processor, combine red peppers, Parmesan, almonds, basil, garlic, and lemon juice and process until smooth.  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until its all incorporated in the pesto.  Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add spaghetti and 1 Tbsp. salt to boiling water and cook until al dente according to the package directions.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.  Add pesto to the pasta and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce.  Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Recipe from The Best Simple Recipes – Cook’s Illustrated

Spicy Peanut Noodles

My friend Brooke and I were enjoying a lovely lunch at Jimmy John’s (salt and vinegar chips on the vegetarian, I’m like yes) discussing the finer points of life, the impending birth of her sure-to-be adorable Valentine’s baby, and oh, yeah, how annoying it can be to make meat based meals.  Chicken particularly requires just too much effort some days.  First you buy, then often have to freeze, then you have to know at least a day ahead of time that you want to start defrosting it, then it’s probably still 1/2 frozen, then you freeze your hands off trying to clean off nasty stuff, then you have to sanitize everything, then you have to be completely paranoid that it’s completely cooked through. ICK.  Thank God, most days, my darling husband will immediately start on the chicken while I’m doing other parts of the recipe, because he knows that I hate it. #yesiknowhowgoodihaveit #spoiled

I have a thing for peanut noodles, and we actually made another recipe this week that was freaking awesome that will also be shared shortly.  In the meantime, this version was also pretty darn delicious and chock full of veggies.  My only change is that next time I would increase the peanut butter and decrease the water slightly to add a little more body to the sauce which is reflected below.  The original version had chicken, and well, that didn’t quite happen for reasons aforementioned, but I don’t think either of us missed it!

 

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Dressing Ingredients: 

• 5 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 minced serrano chile, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/3 cup peanuts

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup julienned red and yellow pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed in a paper towel to remove excess moisture
• 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 8 oz. cooked soba noodles or linguine
• 2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh basil
• 2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Combine all the dressing ingredients, except peanuts, in a food processor and puree until smooth.  Add the peanuts, and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.  Season with salt and crushed red pepper flakes to taste.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the dressing to the salad ingredients, and toss to combine.

Top with cilantro and basil before serving.

Very slightly adapted recipe discovered at Pink Parsley

Baked Chicken Taquitos – Two Ways

One of my friends had a beautiful baby boy (to match her adorable little girl ), and I wanted to bring some dinner so she could avoid cooking dinner when I went to see them.  However, I knew it couldn’t be anything spicy so I made two versions of these – one of us, the “original” recipe, and an altered version for them that I made up based on the original recipe that I took with some homemade mac and cheese!

It thankfully appeared to turn out well, because her two year old apparently loved them so she asked for the recipe.  We demolished our version, so overall I would say this recipe is a keeper.  I particularly love the idea of making some to freeze…if they would ever last long enough to do so!

 Baked Chicken Taquitos – The “Non-Spicy” Version

•  3 oz of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup of chicken, shredded
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup salsa, mild
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• Flour tortillas
• Cooking spray
• Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a cooking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients up to the flour tortillas together.  Place a couple tablespoons of the filling about an inch up from the bottom end of a  tortilla,  and roll it up as tightly as possible.

Place the rolled tortillas, seam side down on a baking sheet; you don’t want the taquitos to be touching each other.  Spray the top of the tortillas lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes or until the tops of the tortillas become golden brown.

Baked Chicken Taquitos – The “Original”

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup green salsa
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. sliced green onions
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
• Small flour or corn tortillas
• Kosher salt
• Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic.  Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

At this point, you can refrigerate the mixture if  you’re doing these in advance.

If you’re using corn tortillas, working with a few tortillas at a time.  Heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet, making sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze:  Before baking, chill the taquitos on the baking sheet in the fridge.  Once completely cooled, wrap each taquito individually with plastic wrap.  Place in a labeled freezer bag and freeze.  To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites; Recipe found at Pennies on a Platter

Salsa Rice Burritos

Why hello there. You’re easy uh, I mean, simple. This recipe came together in minimal time with minimal ingredients and was surprisingly delicious.  I honestly wasn’t holding out high expectations on this one, but it far, far exceeded even normal expectations. I told my vegetarian brother he should make this I think the next day if that’s any indication!

Salsa Rice Burritos

• 1 jar of salsa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup uncooked instant rice
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 package flour tortillas for burritos (8-inch)

In a 10-inch skillet, heat salsa, cumin and chili powder to boiling. Stir in rice; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in beans, corn, cheese and cilantro.

Spoon about 1/2 cup rice mixture onto center of each tortilla. Fold up bottom of each tortilla; fold over sides.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Recipe source: adapted from Betty Crocker, found at Cassie Craves

Pierogi Bake

Somehow I apparently didn’t share this recipe the first time I made as I discovered when I went to search for the recipe this week while making the grocery list.  Foolish, foolish girl.  Considering you buy the main part of the meal, it’s easy to throw together.  Honestly, I think it’d be fun to try it with homemade pierogies sometime considering it would be just that much better.  We ate it (in its entirety, I might add) for lunch on this blustery afternoon.  It was pretty easy to do since I kept going back for “just one more” pierogi.

Not that I’d ever advocate for omitting the bacon, but I would think you could easily do so and use vegetable stock to make this a vegetarian friendly meal.

Pierogi Bake

• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen potato and onion or potato and cheddar pierogies (such as Mrs. T’s)
• Cooking spray
• 3 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Spray an 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Arrange the pierogies in the dish.

Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until crisp; remove from pan. Set aside.  I tend to remove about 1/2 of the bacon grease at this point.

Add garlic to drippings in pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over pierogies. Spread the cheddar cheese evenly over the top.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with bacon, green onions, tomato, and pepper.

Recipe found at: Cooking Light

Taco Pasta Salad

It’s been a while, huh? Truth is, Corrie has been doing a large chunk of our dinner cooking lately.  I have a 40 minute commute home, and he generally at least starts if not completely finishes dinner by the time I get  here.  It is both insanely wonderful and very much appreciated.  Right now, my only contributions seem to come through making a menu for the week and any meals we might make on the weekend.  So, I think perhaps a few guest posts might be in order especially given that he’s has mad writing skills.  While I’m obviously biased, he occasionally writes for a sports website, etc. so I’m pretty confident it’s true.

Taco Pasta Salad

Serves 8-12

• 1 pound bow tie or wagon wheel pasta
• Salt
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn
• 1½ cups salsa
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 large (or 2 small) avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup olive oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and then stir the frozen corn into the pasta to cool the pasta and defrost the corn. Stir the salsa into the pasta and corn, then add the beans, tomatoes, cilantro, and cheese.

Combine lime juice and avocado in a small bowl, and stir to coat avocado. Remove the avocado from the lime juice and add to the pasta (if you’re serving that day otherwise keep it separate until ready to serve), reserving the lime juice.

Heat a small stick pan (not non-stick) over medium heat for a few minutes , add the spices and stir just until they start to smoke, no longer than a minute to toast them. Add the spices, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt to the lime juice, then slowly whisk in the oil.

Mix dressing into salad. Serve immediately or chill for up to one day.

Recipe found at The Way the Cookie Crumbles, adapted slightly from Cara’s Cravings

Pork Fried Rice with Pineapple

Before we left Knoxville, I was working my way through two stacks of recipes from America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks.  We had a lot of success with several recipes and they were relatively fast and easy.  I have amassed a huge stack of recipes to work down (which will never happen since I add to it pretty much daily), but the Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated recipes are usually so good that it won’t be long before I’m adding another cookbook to my list…

The only change I made here was I’m realizing I’m not an enormous fan of hoisin sauce, so I had decreased the quantity and replaced it with additional soy sauce, brown sugar, and a little additional sesame oil.  If you like hoisin, leave the recipe as is.

Initially I wasn’t sure about the pineapple even though pork and pineapple go well together, but it made the dish so don’t leave it out!

 

Makes 4 servings

• 2 boneless center cut pork chops (about 1 pound), cut into ½-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 6 scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• 1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained and chopped, 3 tablespoons juice reserved
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 (8.8-ounce) packages Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice (see note below)

Combine pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and chili-garlic sauce in bowl.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add pork mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to bowl.

Add remaining oil to pan and cook scallion whites until just softened, about one minute.  Add eggs and cook, stirring vigorously, until scrambled, about one minute.  Transfer to bowl with pork.

Add hoisin sauce, pineapple chunks, reserved pineapple juice, sesame oil, remaining soy sauce, and rice to empty pan and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Stir in scallion greens and pork and egg mixture and toss until heated through, about 1 minute.  Serve.

Test Kitchen Note: Two cups of leftover white or brown rice can be substituted for the Uncle Ben’s.

Recipe source: America’s Test Kitchen The Best Simple Recipes

Mexican Pizza

Whew…

That was a long stretch.  We obviously agreed to the move, but they, of course, never go as planned.  And although I think we’ve been relatively up-beat about it, I do actually mean NOTHING went as planned on tries one, two, or three.  I’ve been told multiple times that I should write a book (not a good sign), and people who see me daily and therefore know when various things are going on refer to it “the move from hell” (probably a worse sign .

I now have a moving hashtag, #thejoysofmoving, but I’m not on Twitter. Cest la vie.  We’re healthy, happy, and ready to enjoy the heck of out our new home!

So let’s get back to what’s important…FOOD.

I do have lots of recipes/half-finished posts/random pictures, but now I don’t know what goes with what so that may still take a little time to sort through.  I also need to quickly segway into some healthy eating recipes, because 5-ish months of relocation/temporary housing/#thejoysofmoving does not equate to me liking the way my pants fit!

However, this pizza I still remember eating despite it being all these months later.  It’s also a great vegetarian option, and I’ve mentioned once or twice fifty times that I’m always storing away for new ideas of things to make for my fantastic brother, George.

Mexican Pizza

• Pizza dough
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ tsp. cumin
• ¼ tsp. paprika
• ¼ tsp. cayenne
• 3 tbsp. chicken broth, veggie broth or water
• 3 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
• ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup tomato, seeded and diced
• 1/3 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
• 3-4 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven (with the pizza stone inside) at 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round.  Lightly brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.

Combine the black beans, cumin, paprika and cayenne in the bowl of a food processor.  Puree until ground into a paste.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  With the processor running, add the broth through the feed tube until a smooth mixture is formed.  Smooth the bean puree onto the shaped pizza crust in an even layer(like Annie, I also used about ¾ of the puree).  Then spread the cheddar and monterey jack cheese over the bean puree in an even layer.  Evenly distributethe jalapeño, red onion, tomato, corn and cilantro on top.  Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pizza to the pre-heated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing.

Source:  Annie’s Eats

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

The enchilada theme continued in our house several weeks back with these enchiladas.  My only change would be to maybe use a medium (versus mild) salsa to give them a little extra kick!

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

• 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 cups prepared salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese, divided
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Preheat oven 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl cream together cream cheese and sour cream. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.

In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Spread about 1/2 cup salsa in the bottom of a baking dish. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup filling on a tortilla, roll up and put in dish seam side down. Repeat process for remaining tortillas.

Pour remaining salsa over enchiladas, spreading to coat all of them. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Transfer to preheated oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve warm.

Source: slightly adapted from On My Menu; found at Cassie Craves