Fruit and Nut Couscous (side to Orange- Tarragon- Glazed Chicken)

from the "Super Supper" cook book.

I couldn't figure out how to prepare this for casserole club. Although, I did give you some chopped fruit to attempt to make some variation of this on your own. I used the chopped fruit, cilantro, lemon juice mixed with the the couscous and it was pretty good and went well with the orange glazed chicken.


for four servings

1 cup couscous
1 1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon of salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

STEP ONE: Place couscous in a large bowl. Use a fork to stir in the hot water. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir in green onion, apricots, cranberris, cilantro, 3 tablespoons of almonds, and raisons.

STEP TWO: In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over couscous, toss to combine. Serve immediately, topping with remaining 1 tablespoon of almonds, or cover and refriderate.

Orange-Tarragon- Glazed Baked Chicken

from the "Super Suppers" cookbook
*a cookbook with recipes to enjoy tonight or freeze for later. This book has a lot of great recipes.

This chicken is great on its own. I think it would be great cold on a salad, or served with fruit and nut couscous as recommended by the cookbook.

makes 6 servings

6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (2 1/4 lbs. on all)
1 cup orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dried tarragon, crushed
1 teaspoon salt

STEP ONE: Place chicken in resealable bag. For marinade, combine orange juice concentrate, onion, oil, tarragon, and salt. pour over chicken in bag. Seal bag, turn to coat, Refrigerate for 2 hours.

STEP TWO: Preheat Oven to 350. Drain chicken, discard marinade. Arrange chicken on 13x9x2 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, about 20 mins. or until no longer pink. (also excellent on the grill)

Freeze ahead- Prepare through step one. Freeze up to two months. Defrost completely in refrigerator. Continue according to step two.

Vegetarian Pot Pie

Adapted from:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aida-mollenkamp/vegetarian-pot-pie-recipe/index.html
Recipe courtesy Aida Mollenkamp, Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced (not in original recipe)
1 head fennel, finely chopped (about 2 cups. 2 heads/ about 3 cups were in original recipe)
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
12 ounces mushrooms (I used Baby Bella), sliced (about 5 cups)
1 small russet potato (I used red potatos instead), peeled and diced small (about 2 1/2 cups)
¼ cup white wine (not in original recipe; I used Reisling)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (mushroom was in original)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
1/4 cup parsley
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 large egg yolk (optional, for brushing on crust)
7 ounces store-bought puff pastry or pie dough (I used pie dough), defrosted if frozen

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Melt butter over medium heat in a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan. When it foams, add fennel, onions, and carrots, and cook until just soft and onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and potato, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring rarely, until mushrooms have let off water and are shrunken, about 6 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir to coat, and cook until raw flavor is gone, about 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully add broth and milk, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.


Remove from heat, add peas, herbs, and vinegar, and stir to coat. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn filling into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.

Whisk egg together with 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt until evenly mixed. Set aside.

Note, if you are going to freeze this dish, I found it much easier to freeze at this point overnight before putting the crust on. Then put crust on and put back in freezer. It didn't sink in or get messy that way. Then wrap with foil and then plastic wrap, and put in freezer.

With kitchen shears, cut dough to fit over the baking dish. (I didn't cut the dough, just tucked the extra dough in.) Place dough over filling and tuck into the edges of the dish. (Optional: brush dough with egg wash.) Cut slits in the top to vent. Place on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and mixture is bubbling, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit at least 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If heating from frozen, keep covered with foil & bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour (remove foil after 30 minutes). Then increase temperature to 400 degrees and bake 15 more minutes to get the crust more brown.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
* 1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
* crumbled blue cheese for topping

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.
2. Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce and crumbled blue cheese to serve.

Salsa

1 onion
1 pepper - I prefer red, but you pick your fav
handful of cilantro
1 large can of tomatoes - pureed or diced
2 Tbs cumin
salt to taste

Chop onion, pepper, and cilantro in a food processor until almost a paste. If it is not chopping well, add some of the juice from the tomatoes. You can puree the tomatoes if you want them to be somewhere between diced and pureed.

Mix together and salt to taste. Add crushed red pepper or dried chipotle for extra zing.

Grilled Chicken, Red Onion & Mint Kebabs with Greek Salad

Grilled Chicken, Red Onion, and Mint Kebabs

1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 bunch fresh mint
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

8 12-inch metal skewers
Greek Salad

Mix chicken, 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, mint, oregano, salt, and pepper in
medium bowl. Let marinate 30 minutes. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons oil and lemon juice in small bowl to blend.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Pull off large mint leaves from stems.
Alternate chicken, onion, and mint leaves on skewers; sprinkle with salt and
pepper. Grill until chicken is just cooked through, turning and basting
occasionally with oil-lemon mixture, about 9 minutes. Serve Greek Salad
alongside.

Bon Appétit
July 2001
2001-06-27 00:00:00.0

Greek Salad

3/4 pound tomatoes, seeded, diced (about 2 cups)
2 cups diced seeded peeled cucumber (from about 1 large)
1 cup diced red bell pepper (from about 1 large)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, halved
1/4 cup diced red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (I used regular parsley)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 2 ounces)

Toss first 9 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Gently mix in cheese. Season
with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead and highly recommended in order to combine all flavors. Let stand at room temperature.)

Bon Appétit
July 2001
2001-06-27 00:00:00.0

Polenta Lasagna

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped finely

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 small carrot, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

6 oz. frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and chopped

1 tube (18 ounces) prepared polenta
1 1/3 cup marinara sauce
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped finely

1 cup shredded cheese, mozzarella or Romano, (and I added some parmesan cheese as well!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high flame. Sautee onions, carrots and rosemary until the onions begin to brown. Add garlic. Sautee until garlic fragrances the oil, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and sautee until tender, then remove pan from heat.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x8" baking dish. Cut polenta into slices no thicker than 1/4 inch. Line the bottom of the pan with 1/2 of the polenta slices, overlapping them slightly to cover the whole bottom of the pan. Pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce over the polenta and spread it evenly. Distribute mashed feta cheese over the marinara sauce. Scatter olives over the feta, then top with an even layer of the spinach mixture. Place the remaining polenta slices in a layer, overlapping slightly. Spread remaining 3/4 cup of marinara sauce. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly across the top (included in separate baggie).

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top layer of cheese is beginning to brown around the edges. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving (use a spatula).

Thai Tofu with Red Curry Sauce over Coconut-Scallion Rice (Vegan)

Didi Emmons – Vegetarian planet

1 ½ teaspoons grated lime rind (1 lime)
10 oz coconut milk (I use lite)
2 ¾ cup water, separated
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups jasmine, basmati, or regular long-grain white rice (I used jasmine)
1 bunch cilantro, coursely chopped (2/3 cup)
2 large garlic cloves, cut in half
¼ cup dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil, separated
3 tablespoons hot chile sauce, or 2 tablespoons chile paste
1 16-ounce package extra firm tofu, patted dry and cut into cubes
½ bunch broccoli, cut into small pieces (about 4 cups)
1 cup minced scallions, both green and white parts

Let the tofu drain on paper towels.

Boil coconut milk, 2 ¼ cup water and 1 teaspoon salt and then add rice. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Let the rice cook, covered, for about 25 minutes. (Took less time for me.)

In a food processor or blender, combine the lime zest, cilantro, glarlic and peanuts. Run the machine in spurts until smooth. (For me the sauce didn’t become smooth until liquid was added.) Slowly, with the machine running, add the ½ teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons of the oil, then add the chile sauce or paste. (I added a little water to make the sauce blend smoothly.) Set aside.

Fry the tofu until golden and crispy, in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Remove from heat and don’t wash skillet.

In same skillet, add the broccoli and remaining ½ cup water. Cover, and steam the broccoli for 2 minutes. Stir in the lime peanut paste, and cook, stirring for 1 minute more. Add the tofu, and toss.

Stir the scallions into the rice. Mound the rice on plates, and spoon the tofu and sauce around it.

Note, this didn’t look like 4 servings to me, but maybe I didn’t buy enough broccoli. I added onions, mushrooms and red pepper at the end. Also, be careful - sometimes the curry paste is very salty, so lower the salt you add. I used 1 tablespoon green chile paste (salty!) and 1 teaspoon red chile paste.

Tortilla Flats

1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can refried beans
salsa
2 cups grated cheese
5 tortillas

In a greased casserole dish, layer:
One tortilla and cover with 1/2 can refried beans and cheese, add
One tortilla and cover with 1/2 can black beans, 1/4 cup salsa, and cheese, add
One tortilla and cover with 1/2 can refried beans and cheese, add
One tortilla and cover with 1/2 can black beans, 1/4 cup salsa, and cheese, add
One tortilla and cover with cheese.

Bake at 400' for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with salsa.

Quick and Easy Spinach Pie

Ingredients:
2 (10 ounce) packages of chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
3 green onions
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 (4 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon dill
10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
No stick cooking spray (I used olive oil spray)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. spray an 8x8 baking dish with no stick cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir together first 9 ingredients.
3. lay one sheet of phyllo in teh baking dish, allowing edges to hang over. Spray completely with cooking spray. Repeat with 4 more sheets of phyllo, spraying and alternating the direction of each sheet. Transfer 1/2 of the spinach mixture to phyllo lined dish. Spray and layer 5 more phyllo layers, and top with other 1/2 of spinach mixture. Top dish with 5 more layers of phyllo as in previous step. Spray rim and top layer with olive oil spray.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing into 4-6 pieces.
5. I like to top slices with greek plain yogurt. Yummy!!

Total Fat: 17.3g
Cholesterol: 188mg
Sodium: 1101mg
Total Carbs: 24.2g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6g
Protein: 19.5g