Lebanese Chicken (Frarej)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup of olive oil 
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large potatoes, peeled, 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 or 5 Roma tomatoes, halved
• 4 or 5 chicken pieces

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. In a 9X13 dish, layer potatoes and onions. Pour oil mixture over and place dish in middle of oven for 10 minutes, uncovered. Add tomatoes and chicken pieces, baste all with oil mixture. Continue cooking uncovered until chicken is well browned, about 30 more minutes, basting every 10 minutes.

When serving, I remove with a slotted spoon to let the oil drip away for the sake of calories. It's possible that you could use less oil (I've seen recipes that call for 3/4 cup!). I like dark meat so used chicken thighs, some were with skin, some without. Chicken breasts are good too. If using skinless be sure to baste frequently. Makes 4 servings.

1/3 olive oil. Calories: 649 Carbs 0 Fiber 0
Juice of 2 lemons. Calories  24 Carbs 8.1 Fiber 0.4
2 cloves of garlic.  Calories 9 Carbs 2.0  Fiber 0.1
2 potatoes peeled. Calories  290 Carbs 67.2 Fiber 4.7
4 Roma tomatoes.  Calories 45 Carbs 9.7 Fiber 3.0
4 chicken thighs. Calories 613 Carbs 0 Fiber 0
or
4 chicken thighs without skin. Calories 432 Carbs 0 Fiber 0

Per serving (including all olive oil)
Calories 407.5 Carbs 21.75 Fiber 8.2
Per serving (half the olive oil and using skinless thighs)
Calories 282 Carbs 21.75 Fiber 8.2

Hummus Bi Tahini

A recipe of mine from 18 November 2004, Debi

I'm working from home today and I think I'll have Hummus Bi' Tahini made at home.

I'm doing a substitution -- limes instead of lemons since I have no lemons on hand. It's my first time to do that, but I bet it will turn out fine.

I drained the chickpeas, reserving some of the liquid. I processed the chickpeas, adding dashes of the reserved liquid to keep the beans moving. I don't like the mealy texture of chickpeas, so I puree really well.

When done pureeing, I added the juice of two limes, a teaspoon of minced garlic (equivalent to 2 cloves), and about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pureed more.

Tahini always separates, so every time you use it, you must stir it first to incorporate the oil back in. I used every drop of a quarter cup. While it purees you can see it change to the lighter, finished color. I then added a couple dashes of salt and another quick pulse on the food processor.

Now I always finger taste and will tinker with usually more tahini or lemon (lime) juice as I feel it needs. Today I actually added the second lime after my first taste, and another sprinkle salt. My taste test also told me I could have added a little more Tahini, but it was good enough and less calories this way.

Time to prepare: 15 minutes, or less.

To garnish, I made a little well and put in a tablespoon of olive oil. Sumac or pomegranates are traditional. I didn't have either, so I sprinkled with a scant amount of zaatar -- a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. Fresh parsley, or even bare would be fine, too.

And the last thing to do is to say, Sahtain! ("To your health!")

Rima's Ratatouille

Perfect Chunky Ratatouille

4 Tbsp. olive oil (or more if you’re not afraid)

1 large onion (Vidalia or Spanish, or any other sweet onion), coarsely chopped

1 yellow or red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 eggplant, cut into large cubes (peeled if you prefer)

3 or 4 zucchini or vegetable marrow, cut into large cubes

1 can tomatoes (diced or whole, chopped)

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp. dried thyme or oregano or mix both (fresh is better for the herbs, about 1 tbsp leaves)

Optional: 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (I don’t use it, but you can add it for garnish if you like)

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.

Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5-7 minutes.

Add garlic and bell pepper; cook about 1 minute but be careful not to brown the garlic.

Add eggplant and zucchini; salt and pepper. Cook about 5 more minutes until vegetables start to soften.

Add can of diced tomatoes with juice, tomato paste and herbs.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Uncover and continue cooking for another 5 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Remove from heat.

If using basil, stir in now (If freezing, leave out basil.)

Serve at room temperature – tastes even better the next day.

Serve with Toasted Pocket Bread Points for dipping:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Cut pocket or pita or Arabic bread in triangular shapes, with about 2 inch sides, like large tortilla chips for dipping.

Arrange in single layer on baking sheet and drizzle with good olive oil. Season with any seasoned salt you like, like garlic salt, seasoned salt, celery salt – or something like Mrs. Dash to reduce sodium.

Bake until crisp and brown (takes just a few minutes).

Make Ahead and Freeze Breakfast Burritos

Make Ahead and Freeze Breakfast Burritos

Equipment:

1 Large Crock Pot, I use a 4.5 Quart one.

2 Large Cookie Sheets coated with Olive Oil or enough sheets for 24 burritos widely spaced.

1 Large Plastic folding cutting board. Nice to have, but can use counter/table surface instead.

1 Plastic Straw

Sausage/Egg Mixture:

24 Flour Tortillas or Wraps, Burrito Size

2 Lb Pork Sausage, frozen or fresh

1 Lb Ground Turkey, frozen or fresh

2 Large Onions, chopped small. Spanish are best, but may use any kind.

1 ½ Cups Green Chiles, chopped small. May be fresh, frozen or canned.

18 Large Chicken Eggs or 36 Guinea Eggs or combination

Salt and Pepper To Taste

Assembling Needs:

1 Recipe of Egg/Sausage Mixture

1 ½ Cups Grated Irish Potatoes, frozen or freshly grated

3 Cups Cheese, Grated. May be Longhorn, Cheddar, Mexican Blend, Colby etc.

Oiled Cookie Sheets

Cook sausage, ground turkey,onions and in crock pot until well done. Add add eggs and chopped chili and cook until eggs are done. Add salt and pepper to taste. Assemble burritos: Warm tortillas if they are likely to break, otherwise use as is. Lay a tortilla on a clean surface, I use my fold up cutting board. Add 2-3 tablespoons of sausage/egg mixture, 2 tablespoons potatoes, 2 tablespoons grated cheese. This is pretty subjective depending upon the size of your tortilla and how well you can roll them once filled. Roll into the traditional burrito shape, first folding in the ends, then roll and place on but not touching each other on the oiled cookie sheet.

When a complete sheet is full place in freezer overnight. The next day you can take the burritos out of the freezer and place in gallon sized bags and *remove as much air as as possible to prevent frost from forming on the burritos. We find that our 1200 watt microwave will cook these nutritious breakfasts on high for 2 minutes, then turn over and cook another 20 seconds.

* To remove the air from the bags after filling: Fill a soup pot with water, deep enough to immerse the bag. Zip up the bag except for the corner where the straw has been inserted, then immerse into the water filled pot, keeping the corner out of the water. The air will magically whoosh out the straw then you can use the straw to suck out any remaining air pockets. Then in one swift motion, remove straw and quickly zip the bag shut.

Rima's Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Rima's Chicken with Peanut Sauce

(edited from Canadian Living Magazine)

Serve with rice or pasta

Prep and cooking time:

30 minutes

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced or cubed

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 onion, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 Tbsp minced gingerroot or ½ tsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp mild Indian or Thai curry paste (much better than powder)

1 ½ cups cauliflower florets (optional)

1 cup chopped green beans (can be frozen green beans)

½ sweet red pepper, sliced

Sauce:

1 cup chicken stock

2 Tbsp smooth peanut butter (can be low-fat peanut butter)

¼ tsp salt (optional)

Preparation

In large skillet, heat oil over high heat; stir-fry chicken until no longer pink inside, about 3 minutes. Remove to plate.

Add onion, carrot, garlic and ginger to pan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add curry paste; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add cauliflower, beans and red pepper; cook for 2 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Stir in stock, peanut butter and salt; cover and cook until cauliflower and beans are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.

Mexican Dirty Rice

I didn't know this would turn out to be such a tasty dish, else I would have taken pictures of it. It was a little invention I made yesterday that Antigone dubbed a "keeper":

1 cup dry brown rice, prepared as per package instructions
13 oz. ground beef (I divide a 5 lb package into 6 rather 5, that's why the funny oz)
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
1/2 yellow squash, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves crushed with salt (I do this in my mortar and pestle)
cumin

Brown ground beef and onion, using a fork to make the ground beef into small pieces. When beef is completely cooked, I cleared a little well in the center to dump the vegetables and garlic. When the vegetables are soft but still a little crispy, add cooked rice and cumin to taste. Stir all ingredients together. It will look a little like Cajun Dirty Rice.

I served with chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, and extra cumin (and garlic salt for Antigone) on the table. A squeeze of lime might be nice, too.