Category: Main Dish

Peanut Chicken Curry


My sister Sara opened my eyes to Indian food with this chicken recipe. I never imagined peanut butter and chicken would make a good combination, but she urged me to try it, and I’m so glad I did. Now I’ve broadened my horizons and have taken to experimenting with Indian spices like garam masala, chicken curries, coconut rice, and more.

I wasn’t quite sure if my kids would take to this recipe. One of my daughters loves peanut butter, so once I elaborated on the peanut-butteriness of the dish, she was willing to give it a go. The younger one is willing to try anything new, and thankfully, both of them absolutely loved it. So if your kid loves peanut butter, just tell them you’re making extra special “peanut butter chicken” and they’ll be singing your praises around the dinner table.

Peanut Chicken Curry

1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 pkg chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup water
Basmati rice, for serving
scallions, diced, for garnish

Method:

Saute onion and garlic in a bit of oil until translucent. Add curry powder and continue to saute until fragrant. Add chicken and stir over medium heat until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well to incorporate. Cook, stirring until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.

Serve over basmati rice and garnish with scallions.

Post a Comment

Black Bean & Chorizo Chocolate Chili

Chorizo chocolate chili is a real tongue twister, and, a real tongue pleaser too! :) I happened to read a few recipes recently that used chorizo as a base. Having seen Jack’s Gourmet at KosherFest a few months back, I knew that their amazing array of gourmet kosher sausages had recently hit the market, including spicy Mexican Chorizo, and I wanted to give them a try. To me, the absolute best chili offers sweetness, spice and depth of flavor. That’s where the chocolate comes in. It adds that little something that takes the chili from delicious, to over the top.

Chili makes a great kids meal when served in Taco shells or Tostito scoops. Serve alongside diced tomatoes, corn, salsa, guacamole and scallions with a side of rice. I was lucky enough to host my nieces and nephew (who live across the globe) when I made this for dinner, and they loved being able to eat their dinner out of miniature chip bowls!

In general, the longer you cook the chili, the better it will taste as the flavors will have a chance to blend. It tends to taste even better the second day, but this is pretty next to perfect when fresh!

Black Bean & Chorizo Chocolate Chili

2  Jack’s Gourmet Mexican Style Chorizo sausage, finely diced (use 1 if you don’t want it too spicy)
1 spanish onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 2 lb. pkg ground beef
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
salt, to taste
juice of 1 lime
1/2 bar Noblesse 72 percent cocoa bittersweet chocolate
tortilla chips (optional)

Method:

Heat a large nonstick pot over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until it renders some of its fat and gets slightly crispy. Remove chorizo from the pot (leave the fat for sauteing the vegetables). Add chopped onion, bell peppers and garlic and saute until tender. Remove from the pot. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat until it is browned. Drain the fat from the meat and add chorizo and vegetables back to the pot. Add beans and tomatoes and mix well. Add remaining ingredients, besides for chocolate, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chocolate and simmer for an additional 30 minutes-1 hour, until the chili has thickened and the flavors have blended.

NOTE: If you are decreasing the amount of sausage, you may want to cut down on the brown sugar as well, otherwise it may come out too sweet.

TIP: Use your leftover chili to make Shepherd’s Pie! Spoon chili into bottom of a greased ovenproof dish. Top with mashed potatoes, sprinkle with paprika and bake until set.

Post a Comment

6-Spice Moroccan Stew

This stew is really chock full of flavor. All the warm earthy spices complement the naturally sweet vegetables for a satisfying meal, when served over couscous. If you wish, you can add beef or chicken as well. The stew freezes very well so I like to freeze single-serving containers that I can eat for lunch. I just cook up some fresh couscous, which takes no time at all.

To view the reel on Instagram click here.

6-Spice Morrocan Stew

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp coriander
1 32oz. container vegetable stock
bottom half of butternut squash (I reserve the top for butternut squash fries), diced
2 medium zucchini, diced
4 small carrots, diced
1 small sweet potato, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 lg handful golden raisins
1 1/2 tsp salt
slivered almonds, toasted, for garnish
Couscous, prepared according to package directions

How to:

Saute garlic until fragrant but not brown. Add diced onion, saute for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, chilli and coriander. saute for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add stock, vegetables, salt, chic peas and raisins. Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Ladle stew on top of couscous and top with slivered almonds.

NOTE: If desired, add stew beef or chicken with the vegetables and cook for an additional 30 minutes (or longer for the meat).

Post a Comment

Meat Lasagna

Growing up, we weren’t big dairy eaters. I think it had a lot to do with the milk allergies around the house. There was the occasional pizza, and the once-in-a-blue-moon fettucine alfredo. But on Shavuous, my mother went all out. She made the most delicious cheese blintzes, eggplant rollintini and her famous mouthwatering lasagna. We couldn’t get enough of it. The situation seems to be repeating itself in my house, having a daughter who is severely allergic to milk. We too have the occasional pizza, macaroni and cheese and cheese latkes. We reserve the other delicacies for that once-a-year milchig binge. But no-one can make lasagna like Ma’s, so I haven’t even tried. We always make sure we are free for her milchig meal so we can savor her delicious recipe!

Why am I rambling on about Ma’s milchig lasagna in a meat lasagna post? Well, since we absolutely LOVE the dairy recipe, I basically adapted it into a meat one that we can eat all year round! Of course nothing will ever replace the original, but this version is really delicious, and worth the effort (you’ll need a lot of pots to make it!) My kids just gobble it up, without even noticing the spinach!

Meat Lasagna

1 pkg lasagna noodles
2 lb. ground beef
1 medium spanish onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, finely diced
1/2 yellow pepper, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
20oz. frozen chopped spinach
3 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 12 oz. cans tomato paste
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

Boil water for lasagna noodles. Add salt and a little oil to keep them from sticking. Cook no longer than al dente.

In a separate pot: saute onions and garlic, add peppers when onions are translucent.

In another pot, brown the meat, breaking it up as you go. Drain, return to pot and add sauteed onions and peppers.

In the microwave or pot, defrost the spinach (or take it out early and thaw in a strainer). Squeeze well to remove water.

Mix the tomato sauce, paste, sugar, salt, oregano, basil and pepper. Stir, over low heat, to smooth out and incorporate the tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings, if needed. Add spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.

Assemble the lasagna:

Start with a layer of noodles in a greased 9×13 pan, add the meat mixture and then tomato sauce mixture. Repeat. Top the last layer of noodles with the tomato sauce mixture.

Bake, covered, at 350 until the flavors have blended and the lasagna is piping hot (about 30-40 minutes).

Post a Comment

Sesame Linguini with Marinated Chicken Breast

After having a baby recently, I was lucky enough to have some friends and family send me over dinner for the first two weeks. Needless to say, I felt really pampered to have hot and delicious food delivered to my door each day! Making dinner for a kimpeturin is such a wonderful mitzvah, one which I enjoy doing myself, and I encourage others to do as well. My friend Dina sent over a variation of this dish and it was a huge hit. Here is my adaptation:

Sesame Linguini with Marinated Chicken Breast:

For the pasta:

1 box linguini
1 onion, cut into half circles
1 zucchini, cut into half circles
1 container mushrooms, sliced
1 head baby bok choy
1/2 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup sugar
3 scallions, for garnish
sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish

Method:

Prepare linguini according to package directions. Saute onion until translucent and add zucchini, bok choy, and mushrooms. Continue to saute until zucchini is tender-crisp. Add vegetables to pasta. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar and pour over pasta.

For the chicken:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
4-5 boneless chicken breast

Method:

Mix soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and sugar. Pour into a ziploc bag to which chicken has been added. Marinate for 2-3 hours (or minimum 1 hour). Remove from marinade (you can discard it) and pan-fry the chicken over medium heat, using sesame oil to coat the pan. Cool and slice over pasta.

Note: Feel free to grill the chicken breasts. I, of course, was too lazy to shlep down my George Foreman, but if you have yours handy, I would recommend grilling over pan-frying (for health and taste!)

Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Post a Comment