Simple Roast Chicken with Vegetables

This is the simplest meal in the world.  Four ingredients, zero prep.  This isn't the healthiest ever, since everything basically cooks in the chicken fat, but it's just so damn good.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 lemon, halved
Any vegetables, chopped (or not!  I used asparagus + carrots, because that's what I had in my fridge)

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Place vegetables at bottom of a baking pan, and place chicken on top.  Cover in olive oil and 1/2 of the lemon.  Add lemon to the dish.  Bake for 1 hour if the chicken is small, 1 1/2 hours if larger.

THAT'S IT.

Thai Chicken Saute

I tried so very hard to make the last "e" on "saute" have an accent, but failed.  That's really all I have to say about this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 package Chicken Tenders
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Onion, sliced
2 Green Bell Peppers, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, diced
2 tbsp Ginger, grated
1 can Light Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Sriracha
1 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped

1. Whisk cornstarch and fish sauce together, then toss with chicken.

2. Cook chicken in a pan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, turning once.  Remove from pan.

3. Slice onion and the peppers, dice garlic, and peel and grate ginger.  Add all to the pan, and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Return chicken to the pan, and cook for 1 minute.

5. Stir in coconut milk, sriracha, sugar, and lime juice, and cook for 5 minutes or until coconut milk condenses a little.

6. Serve over rice, with cilantro as garnish.

Nice and simple.  I haven't mastered Thai or Indian food yet, probably because I don't have the right spices, but this is a pretty decent approximation.

----------------------------------------------------

Original Recipe:

Cooking Light

Chipotle Chorizo Chocolate Chili

I saved the best for last - this was my favorite chili.  Spicy and sweet all at once - similar to a mole - and surprisingly quick to make.  I combined two recipes to get this one, and turned it into a slow cooker affair.

This got super spicy as leftovers.  So I'll stick to two chili peppers next time, instead of three.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 Onion, diced
5 Garlic Cloves, diced
2 Red + Green Peppers, diced
2 Chipotle Chilies in Adobo Sauce, minced
4 Chorizo links, chopped
2 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Oregano
3 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3 14-oz cans Black Beans, drained + rinsed
1 14-oz can Corn, drained + rinsed
2 14-oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1 cup Water
3 tbsp Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Toppings:

Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Cilantro, chopped
Green Onions, diced

1. Chop onion, garlic, peppers and chorizo.

Blenders make everything easier.

2. Add all ingredients into slow cooker, except for chocolate chips.  Cook on high for 6 hours, or until chili is unified.

3. Stir in chocolate chips to taste, a little at a time.

4.  Take off heat and serve, adding toppings.

So. Good.

-------------------------------------------------
Original Recipe:

Cooking Light: Chili with Chipotle and Chocolate

Cooking Light: Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

Poblano-Jalapeno Beef Chili

This week is going to be chili week on Fig & Rose.  I had friends over for "The Great American Chili Tasting" - I made three completely different chilies and we all ate our body weight in food.  Voting was tied for favorites, and quite a few liked this one best.

The first of the trio was traditional chili.  This was a melt-in-your-mouth kind of dish - everything just melded together wonderfully.  I thought it was lacking in an oomph of some sort, but maybe that was just in comparison to the other two, which were so dynamic.  I also burned it a little, which didn't help.  But I'd definitely make it again.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 pounds Ground Beef
2 Jalapenos, seeded + diced
2 Poblanos, seeded + diced
1 Onion, diced
8 Garlic Cloves, diced
1 12-oz Corona
2 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Cumin
2 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce (1 jar)
1 Cup Vegetable Broth (or 1 cups Water and 1/2 Bouillon Cube)
2 14-oz cans Kidney Beans, rinsed + drained
2 14-oz cans Diced Tomatoes
Salt + Pepper, to taste

Toppings:

Cilantro, chopped
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Green Onions, sliced

1. Cook beef in large pot for 10 minutes or until done, stirring continuously until brown and separated. Remove from pan, drain, and wipe pot clean.

2. Seed and dice jalapenos, poblanos, garlic and onion.  Cook over medium heat in pot for 10 minutes, until onion is tender.

I used the food processor to do all the chopping - saved a lot of time and effort.  Not great if you want large onion chunks, though.

3. Add beer, and scrape pan to loosen browned bits on bottom.  Allow to reduce by half, for about 10 minutes.

4. Add chili powder, cumin and salt, and stir for 1 minute.

5. Add in beef, tomatoes, drained beans, and vegetable broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until thickened.

Don't go nap and forget about it, like I did.  It will burn on the bottom.

6. Take off heat and serve.  Heap on the cheddar, cilantro, sour cream and green onions.

----------------------------------------------
Original Recipe:

Cooking Light

Chorizo, Chard + Chive Quiche

The 3 C's were a great flavor combo in this recipe, but the base was way too dry.  Not a great recipe - it was originally for a frittata, which probably explains the dryness after baking.  I think I'll stick to my tried and true Trader Joe's quiche recipe as a base, and use the fun ingredients from this recipe.

Here's the recipe as it should be next time:

Makes 1 Quiche

Ingredients:

3 Eggs (2 Whites and 1 Yolk), beaten
1 small container Cottage Cheese
1 cup Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese, grated
1 frozen Pie Crust
1 Chorizo link, quartered
1 small bundle Chard, chopped
1/2 bundle Chives, sliced
Salt + Pepper, to taste

Exclude the frozen hash browns even if trying the frittata - they made the texture weird and everything too dry.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Chop the chard and chorizo.  Slice the chives.

3. Wilt the chard in a large pan over high heat until reduced, 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the chorizo, then take off heat after 1 minute.

Should have added in the chorizo afterwards, as I say above - cooking it together took some of the juice out of the sausage.

4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Combine them with the shredded cheese and cottage cheese, and add salt + pepper to taste.

I made two quiches, hence the number of eggs in the picture.

5. Combine all ingredients in the bowl, and spoon into the pie crust.  Bake for 1 hour.

That should do it.

-----------------------------------------------------

Original Recipe:

Eating Well

Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Rosemary

The original recipe called for lots of peppers and mushrooms, neither of which I had on hand.  I made up for it by adding carrots, diced and stewed canned tomatoes, and more celery.  I also didn't have red wine, so added more broth.

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
4 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 package Mushrooms
2 cups Broth
3 cups Water
1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
2 8oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1 package Chicken (on the bone - I used drumsticks)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt + Pepper, to taste

1. Chop peppers, onion, garlic, carrots, celery.  Add these to the slow cooker, as well as rosemary and mushrooms.

2. Add in broth (or Bouillon cube), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic powder and water.

3. Cut the fat off of the chicken and add in whole.

You just sort of have to get in there and pull it off.  Mmm.

4. Set slow cooker to low, and cook overnight, or until chicken falls off the bone.  Fish out the drumstick bones.

Great alone, and also over rice/barley.

--------------------------------------
Original Recipe:

Jeanette's Healthy Living

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Peppers

Delicious.  Two peppers per person was perfect.

The original recipe was only for two, and called for everything to be microwaved.  I went oven, and made enough for four.  I couldn't find currents, so I subbed in a mix of raisin and cranberries, which was great.  Turkey was a great sub for the ground beef, too.

Halve if only feeding 2

Ingredients:

8 Bell Peppers, tops cut off and seeded
20 oz. Ground Turkey
1 tsp. Coconut Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, diced
1 Red Onion, diced
3/4 cup Brown Rice
1/4 cup Currants/Raisins/Cranberries
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Cumin
2 cups Vegetable Juice (V8), divided
3 tbsp Fresh Mint, chopped
Salt + Pepper, to taste

Added in the onion to make the filling more delicious. And ignore the bouillon cubes.

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Put the rice and 1 1/2 cups of water in a small pot.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until cooked.

3. Prepare peppers, chop onion, garlic and mint.  Place peppers open-side-up in a baking pan with raised sides.

The red peppers were freakishly tall, so one of those was enough for me as a meal.

4. In a large pan, cook onions and garlic in coconut oil for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add in ground turkey and cook until turkey becomes white.  Chop with a spatula as you cook, in order to separate it.

6. Add in cinnamon, cumin, and raisins.  Stir well and take off heat.

7. In a large bowl, mix rice with turkey mixture.  Add in 1 cup of vegetable juice, mint, salt and pepper and stir well.

8. Fill the peppers with the mixture, and pour the rest of the vegetable juice into the dish.

9. Cook in oven for 15 minutes.  When you remove, spoon in a little vegetable juice into each pepper for added moisture.

-------------------------------------------------
Original Recipe:

Eating Well

Turkey, Spinach + Mushroom Tacos

Ok.  This may be the least original recipe I have on this blog.  Except that I tried to make my own taco seasoning for the ground chicken, instead of using one of those packets that are usually my go-to So I wanted to throw it up here, so that I remember which recipe I used.

I put the Sauteed Spinach + Mushrooms in these tacos, which is just the best.

Ingredients:

1 package (1 lb) Ground Chicken or Turkey
2 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Chile Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Water
Canola Oil
1 can Black Beans
1 Tomato, diced
Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms
Soft Flour Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Salsa

I didn't have onion powder.  Oh well. I also didn't put the spices out that I needed for the chicken - so here they are:

1. Place black beans into a pan and cook on high until most of liquid is evaporated.  Stir occasionally.

2. Add ground chicken to pan and cook until thoroughly browned.  Stir constantly to break it up into small pieces. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, CAREFULLY drain into trash can.

(Consider yourselves warned - this is difficult).

3. Add 1/2 cup water and all spices to the chicken and mix well.  Cook until water is absorbed.

4. Dice tomatoes and grate cheddar cheese. Cover tortillas in tinfoil and place in pre-heated oven or in toaster for 2 minutes.

If you don't have tinfoil, as I realized too late, you can still do it - the top one just gets a little crispy.

5. Put everything in a tortilla.  Add copious amounts of cheddar cheese and salsa, and the sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

So simple. So messy. So good.

You can also do these with just the veggies in the taco, and it's still delicious.  I'd add corn then, though.

-------------------------------------------------------

Original Seasoning Recipe:

About.com Mexican Food