Erin's Chickpea Salad

I've been holding on to this recipe for awhile and I am so glad that Erin shared it with me. This is a fresh and very healthy side dish that could jazz up any number of simple entrées. And aside from a bit of chopping, it's incredibly easy to whip up.


[Cook: -- / Prep: 15-20min]

Ingredients

- 1 onion
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/2 large red, orange or yellow bell pepper
- 1 can chickpeas (about 8-10oz)
- dash each of salt and pepper
- 1 Tbs olive oil


Steps

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
2. Chop the onion, cucumber, tomatoes and bell pepper.
3. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until evenly mixed and coated with the olive oil.
4. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Notes

• For this sort of dish, the proportions are completely up to you. Plus, with vegetables always varying in size, the proportions listed above are just a really rough guide.
• Similarly, you need not stop at these veggies alone. Especially for the vegetarians out there, you can expand this dish into a small meal with the addition of other classic Greek ingredients like feta cheese and olives.
• This recipe yields quite a bit of food, so I served it as both the meal's carbohydrate and veggie portion...and the whole amount disappeared.  

Suggested Entrées

• Grilled chicken with lemon juice and oregano yogurt sauce.
• Spicy or curried chicken, fish, lamb or mutton.
• Rani's Greek Chicken Kabobs

Rani's Greek Chicken Kabobs

Here's another great Greek chicken recipe to add to our collection, compliments of Rani (you may recall his veggie soup in February).

[Prep: 15min + overnight / Cook: 10-15min]

Ingredients

- 2 chicken breasts

- about 1-1.5 Tbs olive oil

- juice of 1/2 lemon

- lemon zest from 1/2 lemon

- 1.5 Tbs fresh chopped oregano (and he means fresh)

- 1 Tbs fresh chopped basil

- 1 Tbs chopped parsley

- dash of salt and pepper

- stack of metal or wooden skewers

Steps

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes.
2. Mix all other ingredients in a large plastic bag.
3. Add the cubed chicken to the bag and toss to coat. Let marinade in the refrigerator as long as possible (overnight is best).
4. Skewer the cubes and grill over high heat. You'll need to cook them for about 3 minutes on each side, turning 1/4 turn 4 times.
5. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Notes

• Rani recommends using a cast-iron pan to pan-fry/grill the skewers. Cast-iron pans get really hot and yield really juicy kabobs.
• Be cautious when using wooden skewers because they will scorch and burn. It's always a good idea to let wooden skewers soak in water before cooking.

Suggested Sides

• Pita bread with hummus dip
• Couscous 
• Spinach salad with feta cheese, tomatoes and olives

Rachel's Stove-top Mac and Cheese

It's no secret how much I love the good ole' blue box mac and cheese, but when I saw this recipe of Rachel's the other day, I just had to try it.

Rachel runs her own recipe blog called Homemade Today based on her belief that all food tastes better when you make it from scratch yourself. But what I love best about Rachel's blog is how easy some of these homemade recipes can really be- especially if you pay attention to her tips on speed and preparation! Her stove-top mac and cheese is an excellent place to start.


[Prep: 10min / Cook: 20min]

Ingredients

- 1/4 pound short pasta (elbow macaroni, shells, spirals or bow-tie)
- 2 Tbs butter
- 1 egg
- 3 oz evaporated milk
- 1/4 tsp hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground/dry mustard
-  5oz (140 grams) shredded cheddar cheese

Steps

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Remove from heat, drain the pasta and return to the pot. Throw in the butter and toss until butter is melted and coats the pasta.
3. Whisk together the egg, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper and mustard. Stir into the pasta.
4. Add the cheese and turn the heat back on. Stir over low heat for a couple minutes until cheese is melted and creamy.
5. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Recipe from Stove-top mac and cheese by Homemade Today

Notes

• The egg is pretty crucial to the flavor of the sauce, but sometimes (especially after it has set for awhile) it can make the texture a little lumpy. Maybe Rachel can shed some light on how best to avoid this, but if you really don't like the egg texture, I have made many decent cheese sauces in the past without the egg.
• Rachel advises that a lot of pre-shredded cheeses have preservatives that hinder the melting process. I don't have pre-shredded cheddar here, nor do I have a cheese grater anymore, so I had to buy a block and cut it into slices. Don't be worried if you have to do this too. Cheddar melts very well, even in big slices.
• Unfortunately, I didn't have all of the ingredients available here in Holland, so I had to skip the ground mustard entirely and make my own evaporated milk (Rach'd be so proud!). Ground mustard is one of those odd ingredients that you may not keep stocked, and although it's not the end of the world if you don't get it, I did notice a little lack of 'kick' in my mac and cheese. Also, evaporated milk comes out a bit creamier than regular milk, so it is also worth picking up, but using regular milk will still give you a decent cheese sauce. If you're crazy enough to try to make your own, you can find instructions here.