Kabobs!

I love kabobs. Tonight I made two types:

Ground beef:
Mix 1 lb ground beef with 2 tbs zatar + 1 tsp sumac. Divide into four pieces, shape two into a longish kabob on a skewer.

Chicken:
Cut chicken breast into big chunks. Marinate in:
1 cup greek yogurt
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Ground sage
Oregano
Paprika
Splash of red wine vinegar
Slide a few chunks on each skewer.

Usually these would go on the grill, but it's cold and I'm lazy. I put them on a rack on a pan and baked them at 350F for 1/2 hour, then broiled them for a few minutes.
I served them with some rice pilaf, asparagus and a chunk of feta.

Don't forget if using wooden skewers to soak them in water for half an hour before using!

Chicken with sun dried tomatoes in a mustard wine sauce

This chicken is so simple but it is SO yummy. Add some pilaf and a veggie and you're good to go.

I have also done this with chicken breast and potatoes. Not tonight.

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts cutlets
Dijon mustard
4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
White wine
1 tbs butter
Rice Pilaf
1/2 bunch broccoli
1 tbs butter
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Smear some dijon on the chicken cutlets and season with kosher salt and pepper, or the usual chicken seasoning (equal parts paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper). Heat a pan on the stove and add olive oil. Brown the chicken on both sides, cooking long enough to make it cooked through.

Pull the chicken out of the pan and cover with foil. Add some wine to the pan and heat on the stove, along with a dollop of dijon and the sun dried tomatoes. Let it boil down until it starts to thicken a little. Swirl in the butter and pour over the chicken. Start the pilaf when the chicken starts. Chop the broccoli into florets. Steam it for ten minutes over the pilaf while cooking or in a steamer.

I made this tonight with tomato paste instead of sun dried tomatoes and threw the Dijon into the sauce. The broccoli is great with the sauce.

Chicken, chickpea and chipotle soup

I keep seeing recipes for chickpea soup lately. I've never had it, so I gave it a shot. Yowza.

1 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Santa Maria seasoning
1 can chickpeas
2 chipotle in adobo, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped small
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 lb linguica, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup dry sherry

Pour olive oil on the chicken then sprinkle with the seasoning. Throw it in the oven for 25 minutes. Pull it out, cool slightly and shred or chop up.

While the chicken is in the oven, add the onion and garlic to the pan and saute for a few minutes. Add the linguica and cook for two minutes. Add the oregano, paprika, cumin and chipotle and continue cooking for two minutes. Once everything gets all nice and brown, add the sherry and scrape up all the gunk from the bottom of the pot.

Once the sherry starts bubbling, add the chicken stock and the chickpeas. Let this boil for ten minutes. Add it the chicken and any accumulated juices and simmer together for at least ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Frankie's Crockpot Chile Verde

4 bone-in pork chops
1/2 yellow onion, big chunks
4 garlic cloves, big chunks
1 1/4 lbs tomatillos, stemmed, quartered
1/2 cup orange juice
1 lime
1 jalepeno, chopped
1 serrano, chopped

Season the chops with kosher salt and pepper. Brown them, then throw them in the crockpot. Add in onion, garlic, tomatillos, jalepeno and serrano. Pour in orange juice and juice from the lime. Throw half the lime in, too.

Cook on high for an hour, low for five or six.

Pork Stir Fry

Pork Stir Fry Marinade: 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 1/4 cup tahini 2 tbs vinegar 1 tsp black pepper 2 tsp garlic powder Use half on the meat, save half for the sauce Cut up two pork chops and marinate in half the marinade. Mince 1/2 inch of ginger, 2 cloves of garlic and one long green onion. Heat up oil in the pan. Quickly brown the pork on both sides, high heat and fast. Pull it out when it's browned. Throw in the veggies in order of cooking time. Carrots, snap peas, baby corn, mushrooms, broccoli, water chestnuts. Then throw the meat back in. Once you've got five minutes left, throw in the trinity. Pour in the sauce, toss. Throw this over slightly over dried rice.

London Broil with smashed potatoes and gravy

I cannot get enough of a good london broil. Fun fact: apparently, that is not an actual cut of meat, but a cooking technique for a certain kind of top round roast. And I have been slicing it wrong forever. I love the "Ask the Meat Man" site.

Damn, beef has been expensive lately. Whatever, I needed it today and the boyfriend was craving mashed potatoes and gravy. I usually marinate this overnight.

2 1/2 lb london broil marinade:
Lee & Perrin's worcestershire... so that's how you spell that
A few splashes of whiskey
A splash of liquid smoke
2 garlic cloves, pressed
Turmeric
Thyme
Black Pepper

I take a pyrex pan that is just bigger than the roast and throw the liquids in and squish the meat around in it. Then, rub around the pressed garlic, throw on the spices and rub everything in. Flip, repeat. Let sit for a day, flipping once part way through.

Heat the oven to 325F and pull the meat out of the fridge so it's not frigid when you throw it in. When you put it in the roasting pan, throw down a smidge of canola oil first. Salt the roast well with kosher salt on the top side, then drip dry, flip it over into the pan and salt the other side. I don't like doing the whole "dry first with a paper towel" thing on this since it pulls off some of the spices and garlic. While this is cooking (maybe 50 minutes?), boil some yukon gold potatoes to smash. I used three, added a few tbs butter and lots of salt and pepper while smashing. I skip the other dairy products, butter is good enough for me.

I felt like simple tonight, so I had this with some corn. I drained a can of corn and fried it with some garlic and butter, with a sprinkle of s/p.

Gravy. Fucking gravy. Beef gravy is my nemesis just like rice. I'll attempt it again tonight, hopefully it won't inspire they boyfriend to open (shudder) a can of store bought gravy, as he likes a nice thick gravy and I generally don't deliver.

Here's my latest effort. It will work eventually.

Combine:
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup leftover marinade
1/2 cup red wine
Pan drippings

Throw the wine in the pan to loosen up the bits in the bottom. Use a wooden spoon if necessary, then throw it in a small pot with the rest. Boil this for at least five minutes, until it starts to reduce a bit. See earlier posts on evil marinade.

Combine 1 tbs of cornstarch with a small amount of liquid, either more broth, wine or water. Stir very well to combine and add to the liquid. Whisk, whisk, whisk! Season with lots of s/p and pray.

Arabic yogurt chicken with tzatziki, hummus and cucumber tomato salad

I can't go long without some sort of middle eastern food. This is a simple chicken dish that is super tasty.

Chicken marinade:
1 cup greek yogurt
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs paprika
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs fresh sage, chopped
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix it all together and marinade a few chicken breasts in it for at least an hour, hopefully longer. I usually cut each breast into a few strips. Shake off excess marinade and grill it up. If you're going to bake it instead, at least brown the chicken first. This is not pretty if you don't.

Tzatziki:
3 persian cucumbers, peeled
1 cup greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves, chopped small
5 grinds black pepper
Kosher salt

Grate the cucumber into a strainer. Put about 2 tsp kosher salt on them and let them drain for at least half an hour. Squeeze out any excess moisture. Stir everything together, add salt to taste. Let this sit at least an hour to let the flavors blend.

The salad is close to one a friend of mine made for me years ago.

2 persian cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 onion, small dice
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp sumac
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 bunch chopped parsley
Feta cheese

Chop the cucumbers and tomato, throw in a strainer with some kosher salt and drain. Combine everything in a bowl and toss

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans
2 tbs tahini
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
Throw the beans in a pot and boil. Once this cools, add that and everything else into the food processor and blend.

I usually serve this with rice pilaf or maybe some roasted herbed potatoes.