Masala Masoor with Wilted Spinach and Brown Rice

Our friend Trisha's mom is an expert in traditional Indian cooking. When Trisha found out that I want to learn how to make delicious Indian food, she told her mom, who sent us a packet of recipes from a cooking class she used to teach in State College, PA. Her mom also sent us several containers of different delicious Indian spices to make her recipes! We were so excited and we couldn't wait to try out one of the dishes. Tonight was our first attempt at Masala Masoor, and it was incredible. Masoor dal - red lentils - are used in this dish. I followed the directions exactly as she wrote them (which I don't normally do), and I am so glad I did because it was perfect.

Masala Masoor

(Recipe from Sadhna Agrawal)

2 cups masoor dal (whole)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 long green hot pepper, minced (we used a jalapeno)

1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp. ghee (purified butter) or oil (we used olive oil)

1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. red chili powder (optional)

2 tsp. coriander powder

Salt to taste (about 2 tsp.)

Pick over masoor dal and wash and soak for at least 4 hours.

Heat the oil or ghee and add the cumin seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds (I cooked them for about 1 minute). Now add the onions and fry for five minutes and then add the minced ginger, green chili and garlic. Fry until golden.

Next add the turmeric powder and fry again for a few seconds and fold in the rest of the ingredients. Add about 3 cups of water and cook in a pressure cooker and give it at least 10 minutes after the whistle starts. If cooking in a pot, add some more water and cook on medium heat until the dal is well cooked (I cooked in a pot - it took about 45 minutes).

If desired, garnish with chopped fresh tomatoes and fresh coriander. Always serve hot with a little bit of butter drizzled on top. Goes very well with plain basmati rice.

We also wilted some spinach as a side, along with cooked brown rice. I can't wait to make this again!

Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

Mike sent me the link to this recipe a few days ago. It looked pretty good so we decided to try it. The original recipe called for way too much time on the rice portion (simmer 1/3 cup of rice and 1 cup of broth for 45 minutes?! Not unless you want to burn the bottom of your pan...not to mention the rice), so I edited it a little bit. The finished product turned out really well!

Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

(Adapted from On My Menu's recipe )

1/3 cup brown rice

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium zucchini, chopped or thinly sliced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (canned chicken would work, as well)

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tsp cumin

Salt, to taste

Cayenne Pepper, to taste

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies

1/3 cup carrots, chopped small

2 cups shredded swiss cheese (we used TJ's light Mexican cheese blend)

Mix the rice and chicken broth in pot on stovetop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low,

cover and simmer for 15-ish minutes, or until rice is tender. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a medium-sized casserole dish (we used 9x9) with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, chicken, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned and chicken is heated through. In a large bowl, mix the rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, chilies, carrots, and half of the cheese. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover casserole dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Chicken Paprikash

Brit found this recipe in the December issue of Food Network Magazine. I don't know why, but I was a little skeptical at first, but the more I looked at the ingredients, the better it looked. I'm really glad I got over my gut reaction, because this meal was sooooo good. The sauce is incredible and the chicken turned out really, really, really, really tender. Brit and I are definitely going to make this dish again.

Chicken Paprikash
(very minimally adapted from a Food Network Recipe)

Serves 4

1 package (8 oz) egg noodles
6 slices turkey bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup flour
2-3 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cubed
2 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the diced bacon over medium heat. Since I used turkey bacon, I used a little olive oil to help it cook. After 2-3 minutes, add in the onion and bell pepper and saute 2-3 more minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, paprika, marjoram, and 1 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Toss the cubed chicken until it's well coated.

Push the bacon and veggies to the side and increase the heat to high. Add a little olive oil to the space in the skillet and add in the chicken. Cook and turn until browned on the outside. Stir everything together and cook another 1-2 minutes.

Now, add the chicken broth and bring everything to a boil. Reduce to the heat to low or where needed to let it simmer. Cook another 10 minutes until the chicken is done. Once cooked through, increase the heat to high for 1-2 minutes. Again reduce the heat to low, stir in the sour cream, and cook another 1-2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over the noodles.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage

Brit found this recipe in one of her food blogs she follows through Google Reader. It looked very light, healthy, and delicious and was perfect for our Thanksgiving recovery week recipes. We decided to throw in some chicken sausage to make the dish a more complete meal and ultimately threw in some more last minute additions which really helped with the flavor. This is a definite repeat meal and will probably show up again in our rotation fairly soon.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage
(Adapted and modified from a recipe publised on SimpleRecipes.com)


Serves 4


1 lb. broccoli rabe, cut into 1 inch slices
1/2 lb. penne pasta
1 onion, chopped (a new addition of ours to the recipe)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust depending on how much heat you want)
1 package chicken sausage, sliced (we used the sundried tomato kind from TJs)
2 oz sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp goat cheese (a last second addition)
1-2 tbsp mozarella cheese, diced (another last second addition)
Salt
Pepper

In a medium pot of boiling water, blanch the broccoli rabe for 1 minute. Immediately transfer to an ice bath (I drained it first in a colander instead of trying to scoop it out with a slotted spoon) to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot of oiled and salted boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot.

Once the pasta starts cooking, saute the onion in a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until translucent and then mix in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two, while stirring, and then add in the sliced chicken sausage. Brown the chicken sausage for a few minutes and then add in the blanched broccoli rabe. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the broccoli rabe is tender, and then stir in the sundried tomatoes. We had completely dry sundried tomatoes from TJs, but the kind preserved in oil would be best. Season everything with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the veggie mix to the pot of cooked and drained pasta. Mix everything well together. At this point we decided to mix in some extra goat cheese we had lying around. Once well mixed (and this took a bit of effort) we scooped our servings into some bowls and garnished with parmesan cheese. I then decided to additionally garnish my bowl with some cubed pieces of mozarrella cheese.

The addition of the onion, chicken sausage, and goat cheese were awesome. Brit and I both agree that this dish would have been bland and boring without them. Also, I really enjoyed the mozarella cheese in my bowl, but it wasn't necessary.

Spice Rub Baked Tilapia with Asparagus and Quinoa

Tonight's meal was another variation of the baked fish dish we've done several times in the past when we want a quick, easy and satisfying meal. The frozen fish from Trader Joes has always treated us well and is good whether or not we add any significant marinade or other seasoning to it.

For tonight's meal I decided to create a spice rub out of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, dried oregano, cumin, and minced garlic. I lightly spread some olive oil on the tilapia fillets first and then rubbed the spice mix all over the fish. The tilapia was baked at 450 F for about 12-13 minutes and I tested them by inserting a knife into the fattest part of the fish and feeling no resistance.

The quinoa was seasoned with the same spice mix, minus the garlic, and the asparagus was steamed and then dressed with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

The spice mix was a winner and I will definitely use it again!

Yakisoba with Marinated Chicken

This is another remake of a dish we made a long time ago. In fact, Yakisoba was the first dish Brit and I ever blogged out. This is a recipe that I brought from my childhood and used to be a regular staple while I was growing up.

We once again didn't use actual yakisoba noodles as we're unsure as to where to find them. Instead we used about 26 oz of Udon noodles from Maxx's produce. The noodles were cooked according to the package directions, drained, rinsed in cold water, and set aside until ready to be stir fried.

The last time we cooked this dish we felt that the noodles overpowered the remaining ingredients. To help fix that, we doubled the amount of carrots and also included a package of sliced mushrooms from Trader Joes. I also increased the quantity of the sauce by 50% to help coat all of the noodles and give the whole dish more flavor.

Brit sauteed the onion and carrots in some olive oil and then added in the mushrooms cooking them until most of their liquids have been released. The veggies and noodles were then transferred and cooked in a large pot together, which was probably not the best option. We should definitely use a wok next time to help mix everything together well. The sauce was added and once everything was well coated, the previously marinated, cooked, and sliced chicken was added in and mixed well. We gave the whole dish a minute or two to heat up the chicken and then eagerly served, garnished, and dug in.

By far a huge improvement over our last experience and the last time it was fantastic. Next time we can only hope we'll find real yakisoba noodles to use.

Mediterranean Turkey and Sausage Stew

This is a re-make of the Mediterranean Chicken Stew dish that we made back in September. It was delicious then and we had high hopes for it again as a quick and easy meal to make after Thursday's Thanksgiving gorge-fest. We were originally going to just use leftover turkey from our Thanksgiving meal, but by the time we got around to making this meal, we were low on the leftover turkey. So, in addition to the leftover turkey, we threw in some leftover Thanksgiving stuffing and then some chicken andouille sausage.

We once again served the stew over some simple salt and pepper seasoned cous cous. I used at least 2-3 times as much lemon juice, but didn't have enough olives to increase the quantity as I had previously desired to do. Ultimately, the meal was delicious and there was plenty leftover for both Brit and I to have leftovers for work lunches.