Low Calorie Chickpea Stew

I've just been downright lazy lately. I have things to post, but what I apparently lack at the moment is the motivation. I'm not going to promise to post more often or anything, but I just wanted all 3 of my readers out there to know that I'm alive and posting occasionally...

This was an adaptation of a recipe from a WW cookbook. I really liked it and it filled me up nicely. It has chicken in it, but I think it would be good without the chicken too.



Chickpea Stew

In a large dutch oven or sauce pan, melt and brown (but do not burn):
2 teaspoons butter

Add, saute for several minutes:
1 frozen chicken breast half (mine was huge, so I used only one, feel free to use as much as you want), thawed and cut into chunks
1 med onion, chopped
1 annehiem chili, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped big
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
1 cup diced eggplant
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon tumeric

Add, simmer until vegetables are soft, and liquid has cooked down (about 20 minutes):
1 1/4 cups chicken broth (I opened a can and used the other 1/2 cup in the Harissa sauce)
1 can diced tomatoes

Add, simmer 2 minutes more:
1 zucchini, chopped big
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons raisins

Serve with:



Red Pepper (Harissa) Sauce

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Blend in a food processor until smooth

Tortilla Casserole

This is just one of those Mexican inspired casserole dishes. Nothin' fancy, but it does taste pretty good!


Tortilla Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup
yogurt (equivalent to one can, measured with the cream of chicken soup can)
1/3 cup milk
3 green onions, chopped
garlic
1 can green chilis
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
8 oz. cheese, grated
tortilla chips

Combine the cream of chicken soup, yogurt, milk, green onions, garlic, and green chilis in a bowl. Stir to mix thoroughly.

This casserole goes together in layers. First, spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray and crush enough tortilla chips to cover the bottom of the pan. Then layer the cooked chicken over that. Then layer the creamy soup mixture over that, and finally, top with a layer of grated cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour, until bubbly and hot.

Chicken Wraps

This was supposed to be called Chicken and Spinach Salad Wrap, but spinach has been pretty scarce now for a while, with the E. coli scare going on. So I had to make do. Instead of spinach, I used lettuce and fresh parsley. A nice leaf lettuce would have been pretty, but for some reason, I only had boring old iceberg. So that's what I had to use. No one complained, lol! It tasted great! I really wish I could have had fresh spinach, though. It would have been even better!

I didn't cook the chicken the way they said to in the recipe. Instead, I cooked it on the cast iron griddle. I just didn't feel like dealing with dredging it in flour for some reason.

Oh, yeah, one last thing: I mashed some avocado and spread it on the tortilla before adding the other ingredients. You can only improve a recipe by adding avocado as far as I'm concerned!

I know the pictures are not quite in focus. I really am an amateur, learning as I go. It was shortly after taking these pictures that I learned how to use the macro feature on my camera. Duh. I really don't have any clue when it comes to photography, lol!

Thanks to Cuisine at Home April '06 issue for the recipe!




Chicken & Spinach Salad Wrap

Makes 4 wraps
Total time: 35 minutes

1/4 cup slivered almonds
3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon Cajun spice mix
salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons vegable oil
4 strips thick-sliced bacon, chopped
1/2 cup Braeburn apple, thinkly sliced
1/2 cup red onions, slivered
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (seemed like too much to me, so I used 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup apple jelly
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
4 flour tortillas, 8-10"

Toast almonds in a skillet over medium-high heat, about 6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Season chicken wtih Cajun spice and salt, then dredge in flour. Heat oil in the same skillet over medium high, then saute chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from pan and slice lengthwise into 12 pieces. Wipe out the pan and return it to the burner.
Saute bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain bacon and pour off all but 1 tablepoon drippings.
Add apple and onions to the drippings; saute until softened, about 1 minutes.
Deglaze with vinegar; simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated.
Add the jelly and mustard; cook until jelly is melted and dressing has thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in almonds and bacon, season with salt, then toss dressing with spinach and goat cheese.
Heat tortillas according to package directions or over a gas burner.
Assemble wraps by arranging about a cup of salad on each tortilla; top with chicken. Roll tighly secure wit a toothpick, and serve immediately.

Tostadas

This is basically like tacos, but actually a little easier to eat, lol! No need for a recipe, just use what you have/like.

I like having refried beans for the first layer. It helps all of the other toppings hang on.

If you have a pressure cooker, then you can have refried beans in no time at all. I put the dry beans in the cooker, add water and a little oil, and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes and then turn off heat and allow pressure to drop on its own. Once I can open the cooker, I fill the food processor with beans, a little olive oil, and a clove of garlic. Process until smooth (adding water to thin as needed), add salt to taste, and there you go! The whole process takes about 1/2 hour.

Chili Chicken Skewers with Cilantro Pesto

This was a muy muy good recipe! The chicken skewers themselves were pretty good, but when eaten with the pesto and the sweet potatoes, it was out of this world!

I grilled the chicken on a cast iron griddle on our stove inside the house. Dh refuses to buy a gas grill. When we barbeque, its only in our authentic ceramic hibachi grill, and Sean is always in charge. Our cast iron griddle has a flat side for cooking things like pancakes, and the other side has ridges, like a grill. You place it over the burners to heat it. I used it to grill the chicken and it worked perfectly. I swear that it tasted like it was grilled over coals. My house got a little smokey and I had to do a little extra cleaning around the stove, and the griddle itself is quite hard to clean afterward, but its worth it!

I got this recipe from the Feb '06 edition of Cuisine at Home, but of course I made several adaptations.



Isn't the pesto beautiful!?



Chili Chicken Skewers with Cilantro Pesto

2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 deseeded, coarsly chopped anneheim chili
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil (I used 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup water)
Kosher salt to taste
1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chiken breast halves
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Process cilantro, parsley, anneheim chili, peanuts, lime juice and garlic in a food processor until minced. Add 1/2 cup oil (I used half oil, half water), blend until smooth, then season with salt.
Cut the chicken into twenty 1 1/2 to 2" chunks. Combine brown sugar and seasonings in a bowl, add chicken pieces, and toss to coat. Thread 5 pieces of chicken onto each of 4 skewers.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a grill pan thats been coated with nonstick spray over medium-high. Grill chicken untill browned well, about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Thransfer pan to the oven and roast an addtional 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooded through (I didn't do this because I didn't read the directions thoroughly, I think it would have worked better if I had). Serve with sweet potatoes, and cilantro pesto for dipping.

Chunky Banana Sweet Potato Mash recipe accompanied this recipe, but I just made baked sweet potatoes instead. I knew that adding bananas to the sweet potatoes would be a major turn off for my family. The plain sweet potatoes were great with this recipe!

The cilantro pesto went perfectly with the next day's meal, also...

Soba Noodles

I've never eaten Soba Noodles before. Nope, not once. So, when I was wandering through the aisles of an Asian food market, I spotted some and thought I'd give it a try. When I returned home, I looked on the internet for a suitable recipe.

I found one by Emeril that seemed interesting. So I gave it a try.

It had good flavors but it wasn't really a big hit. I think it had to do with the texture created by combining the peanut butter sauce and cold soba noodles. It was a little wierd. I also think that the sesame oil flavor was a bit strong. I use sesame oil, but I use it rather sparingly. I guess I like a hint of it, not getting hit over the head with it.

I probably won't make it again.

This is the dried noodles, before being cooked. Aren't they pretty?






Emerils.com

COLD PEANUT, CHICKEN, AND SOBA NOODLE SALAD
Ingredients needed:

* 12 ounces dried soba noodles, or other buckwheat noodles
* 3 tablespoons sesame oil
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions (green tops only)
* 1 jalapeno, seeded, stem removed, and minced
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup chicken stock
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce
* 1 tablespoon Sherry
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 teaspoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 1 whole skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips and lightly poached, and chilled
* 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
* 2 tablespoons chopped roasted unsalted peanuts


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, cover and refrigerate.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine 2 tablespoons of the green onions, the jalapenos, garlic, and ginger, and process on high speed. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, the peanut butter, soy sauce, chicken stock, cilantro, fish sauce, sherry, lime juice, sugar, and pepper flakes. Toss the sauce to taste with the noodles.

To serve, toss the noodles with the chicken strips, bell pepper, cucumber, peanuts, and remaining 2 tablespoons of green onions, and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings