Greek Dinner

We made these recipes from Joelle last Sunday and they disappeared - pouf! I thought I'd doubled everything and would have loads of leftovers. I scrambled to hide away plates for latecomers or they would not have eaten.

Classic Rice Pilaf from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups long-grain white rice

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pinch saffron (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until onion is lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Combine rice and onion mixture in a 9x13-inch casserole dish placed on a baking sheet. Stir thoroughly to coat the rice.
4. Combine chicken stock, salt, saffron, and cayenne pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Pour chicken stock mixture over rice in the casserole dish and stir to combine. Spread mixture evenly along the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove foil and fluff with a fork to separate the grains of rice.

Chicken

From Once upon a chef

Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs

By Jennifer Segal

Servings 4-6

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 35 Minutes, plus 8 hours to marinate

Ingredients

                  1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt

                  2 tablespoons olive oil

                  2 teaspoons paprika

                  1/2 teaspoon cumin

                  1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

                  1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if you don't like heat)

                  Zest from one lemon

                  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon

                  1-3/4 teaspoons salt

                  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

                  5 garlic cloves, minced

                  2-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts), trimmed of any excess fat and cut into large bite-sized pieces

                  1 large red onion, cut into wedges

                  Vegetable oil, for greasing the grill

Instructions

                  In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic.

                  Thread the chicken onto metal skewers, folding if the pieces are long and thin, alternating occasionally with the red onions. Be sure not to cram the skewers. (Note: You'll need between 6-8 skewers.) Place the kebabs on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Spoon or brush the marinade all over the meat, coating well. Cover and refrigerate at least eight hours or overnight.

                  Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. To grease the grill, lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over the grates several times until glossy and coated. Grill the chicken kebabs until golden brown and cooked through, turning skewers occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the skewers to a platter and serve.

Nutrition Information

                  Per serving (6 servings)

                  Calories:
350

                  Fat:
15g

                  Saturated fat:
3g

                  Carbohydrates:
6g

                  Sugar:
3g

                  Fiber:
1g

                  Protein:
41g

                  Sodium:
871mg

                        Cholesterol:
186m

Lettuce wraps

without the lettuce :)

we are in Ghana

I found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it the other night. It's a delicious way to eat chicken and rice (or quinoa).

I modified by cutting the chicken in strips, using rice instead of quinoa, and ate it salad style, rather than wrapped in lettuce.

Recipe from Natasha's Kitchen

Chicken Quinoa Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

Print

Prep time

50 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

1 hour

These are a meal in themselves. They are quick to make and easy to assemble. They’re really self serve and definitely encourage fun conversation at the dinner table. I love the addition of quinoa; making it a well-rounded meal and the quinoa keeps you full longer. About the sauce: we've tested other recipes for peanut dipping sauce and nothing compares to this one. This sauce is BOSS. It's creamy, easy, and has just two ingredients. It definitely induces serious cravings! P.S. the kiddos love these best with ranch.

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

Skill Level: Easy/Medium

Cost To Make: $20-$23

Serving: 6-8

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or sautéed and thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated, or ¼ tsp dried ginger powder
• ½ Tbsp sesame oil

For the Wraps:

• 2 heads of Boston, Bib or Butter Lettuce
• 2½ cups cooked Quinoa (*see notes below on how I made it)
• 1 medium or 3 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 large or 2 medium Carrots, sliced into matchsticks
• ¼ bunch of fresh Cilantro

For the Easy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

(I put the recipe I used below - in case you can't find bottled dressing)

• ¾ cup Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing (P.S. this dressing contains wheat so if you’re gluten free, try: Braggs ginger sesame)
• 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter (microwave 30 sec if peanut butter refrigerated)
• ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, optional topping

Instructions

How to Prepare the Teriyaki Chicken:

1. In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients of your marinade: 2 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated ( or ¼ tsp dried ginger powder) and
2. /2 Tbsp sesame oil
3. Place chicken breast in a medium bowl, add marinade and stir to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (prep your veggies in the mean time).
4. Once chicken is marinated, heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the chicken along with some of the oil in the marinade and sauté until caramelized and browned on both sides and fully cooked. If chicken breasts are very large, you might cover with the lid when sautéing the second side for the chicken to cook through.
5. Remove from heat and let chicken breasts rest on a cutting board 5 minutes before cutting into it, then slice into thin strips on the diagonal.

*How I Cooked Quinoa:

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine colander until water runs clear to get rid of any natural bitterness. Quinoa is cooked similar to rice. The ratio is ¾ cup dry quinoa to 1½ cups filtered water. I cooked mine in the rice maker on the white rice setting without adding any salt or butter and it was done after about 20 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a bowl to cool. You want it to be room temp or cooler before using in lettuce wraps.

How to make the best peanut dipping sauce

1. Combine ¾ cup sesame ginger dressing with 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter and whisk together or shake together in a tupperware with a tight fitting lid. Transfer to a small bowl and top with chopped peanuts if using.

How to Serve:

1. Place all prepared vegetables on a platter: lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced carrots and sprigs of cilantro. Add your bowls of chicken, quinoa, and peanut sauce to the serving platter.
2. You can either pre-assemble the lettuce wraps or let your hungry folks assemble their own (my favorite method!). Start with the lettuce leaf, add a heaping Tbsp of cooked quinoa, a strip or two of chicken breast, sliced cucumber and carrots along with a couple sprigs of cilantro. Drizzle with prepared creamy peanut sauce and be prepared to love this.

Recipe from Allrecipes

Asian Ginger Dressing

Rated:  Submitted By: DIETER_WEBER Photo By: LynnInHK Prep Time: 9 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Minute Ready In: 10 Minutes Servings: 20

"Terrific salad dressing for all salads - especially great for use on cabbage salads. Everyone who has had the dressing wants the recipe."

INGREDIENTS:

3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root 3/4 cup olive oil 1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons honey 1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

1.

In a 1 pint glass jar or larger, combine the garlic, ginger, olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and water. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake well. Remove lid, and heat jar in the microwave for 1 minute just to dissolve the honey. Let cool, and shake well before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Chicken Taco Bowls

This is the easiest recipe ever and it was a hit with the whole family. Yummy leftovers too.

Just dump the following in a crock pot and stir...

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
2 cups salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp taco seasoning (or cumin and chili powder)
1 can black beans, drained
1 clove garlic, minced

After 8 hrs on low shred chicken with 2 forks. It will just fall apart. Serve in a bowl over rice and top with grated cheese, cilantro, avocado and sour cream.

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

This has a really yummy sweet and spicy sauce.  I made it tonight and served it over brown rice.  I think it's a keeper for sure.  I would suggest organizing and cutting the vegetables before you start because this cooks quickly.  I was chopping and stirring and finding ingredients all with a screaming Jack at my feet and it was no fun!

A delicious and colorful Chinese dish. Serve over rice on a large platter.

SAUCE:

1/2 c. ketchup
4 tsp. soya sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth

THE REST:

2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 whole boneless chicken breasts, skinned & cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 c. oil
2 to 3 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch triangles
2 carrots, sliced diagonally & thinly
2 c. snow peas
1 1/2 c. cashews

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add chicken and toss. Heat wok or frying pan to highest heat. Add oil. Heat to hot, not smoking. Add chicken, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir until chicken is opaque. Add peppers and carrots. Stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add peas and sauce. Cook until it comes to a boil. Add cashews and serve immediately. Serves 6.