Chicken Shawarma

I like to look at other cultures for new flavor ideas. But I also like stuff that is simple enough to use for everyday meals. This is both, a new flavor to enjoy but simple enough to make in a hurry. 

We enjoyed it the first night with couscous and green beans on the side and the leftovers the next day in wraps. I tossed the romaine with a little olive oil, sliced green onions, and a pinch of salt. I think a drizzle of tzatziki would be great too.

 4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbsp. Coriander

2 Tbsp. Cumin

1 tsp allspice

4 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Several large squirts Texas Pete

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 c. olive oil

Combine all the seasonings and rub all over the chicken. Cover and put in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours. 

Put a cookie sheet with a cookie cooling rack on it in the oven. Heat the oven to 500 and let the pan heat up. Once the oven and the pan are hot spray it with cooking spray and put the chicken on the cookie cooking rack. 

Cook on the top rack in the oven for 5 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook another 5 minutes. 

Put the chicken on the bottom rack in the oven, turn to 400, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Bacon Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

These are by far the best deviled eggs I have ever eaten. I kind of love them. A lot. I like regular deviled eggs too, but they aren't something I think of making all that often. Mostly Easter or when I am making snacky foods. These though I have made two days in a row and can't wait for an excuse to make again and share them with other people. It also got me thinking of other flavor combinations that I might like. I think next I am going to try sauteed jalapenos, bacon, and manchego cheese. 

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, I need to tell what these are first. 

I'll start with the eggs themselves. So I boil them a little funny, i read somewhere a long time ago and I can't remember where to give credit a way to boil them so the yolk doesn't get that gray ring around it. Anyway, put the in a bot of barely simmering water and bring to a boil. Boil them for 5 minutes and remove them from the heat. Cover and let them stand like that for 10 minutes and chill until ready to use. 

Once you are ready to use them I smashed the blue cheese with the mayo. Not to a perfect blended consistency. You want some cheese chunks in there. Then season them with Nature Seasons. Mix in the cooled yolk, sliced green onion, and crisp bacon. Then just squeeze it back in to the egg like normal. The first day I didn't actually garnish them just to eat. When I decided I wanted to take a picture though and share them I made the eggs all pretty.

For the bacon I like the bacon that is pre-cooked and bagged for salad. I do crisp it slightly in a non stick pan. It has the same flavor and it stays crisper, it doesn't get soggy. Just make sure and use real bacon bits, not bacon flavored bits. That would be nasty.

I think for amounts I use about a heaping teaspoon amount of blue cheese for 3 eggs, One green onion, sliced for 3 eggs, and about a tablespoon of bacon for 3 eggs. For a dozen eggs that works out to 4 green onions, a quarter cup of bacon bits, and a golf ball sized chunk of cheese.

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette II

I was excited when I made this, it was the delicious accompaniment that dinner needed that night. And I thought maybe I would come and post it over here. As I was looking around over here, it has really been a while since I used this regularly I noticed I had already posted a strawberry rhubarb galette before. The reason I had forgotten was that it was good, but nothing really special and not where near strawberry rhubarb pie. But this version was and I can't wait to make it again. 

For starters I made my own crust. It's a totally different type than store bought crust is and it made a works of difference here. Also the filling was a lot fuller and chunkier. 

Crust Recipe

I really liked that crust recipe. I made a second one a few days later with apple pie filling and caramel mixed together and baked and it was just as good. Before baking though I brush the crust with cream and sprinkle with large sugar. It helps the crust turn golden and it looks pretty. 

It was a last minute idea to make, and I didn't have all the ingredients I would have normally used so I had to improvise some but it worked out perfectly.

2 c. frozen rhubarb

1 c. frozen berries, thawed slightly and chopped

1/2 a small box of strawberry jello

sugar taste

2 Tbsp tapioca starch

I tossed everything in a bowl and stirred it up before making the crust. You want it to be sticky and no powdery bits left before you add it to the crust. 

Two things I learned, the hard way.

1) Put the crust on the pan you are baking it on, not the one you rolled it out on, before adding the filling. Once you add it, you can't move it. 

2) You don't want the filling to be frozen solid when you add it. It will stiffen up the crust and cause it to break when you fold it over. If that happens the filling can leak out making a sticky mess, but also burning on the bottom of the pan. 

Play around with it, have fun, it accommodates whatever filling you want to make.

Feta Broccoli Salad

Salad ingredients

2 c. chopped fresh broccoli

1 orange pepper, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 cucumber, chopped

2 green onions, sliced whites and green parts

1 large head romaine, sliced

4 oz. feta, crumbled

 Dressing

3/4 c. olive oil

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Toss with all of the salad ingredients and enjoy immediately.

Chinese New year

So here is my list of ideas and things we are going to do to celebrate

A brief video on the topic from the History Channel

We are starting with making a paper dragon, just his head. Every time we learn something new they write it on a piece of paper and fold that into another section. The more they learn, the bigger their dragon. Whoever has the longest dragon at the end wins a special prize

 

Red envelopes found at World Market filled with Chinese chocolate coins, also found at World Market. Or you could make your own with this pattern from Activity Village.

Food Ideas

 The local Asian market sells some really good frozen dumplings

Scallion pancakes

BBQ Pork

And a case of mandarin oranges

More info on 10 foods that are supposed to bring good luck

 

Books and Education

The book World Holidays: A Watts guide for Children has a great section on the holiday

 The story of why the rat is first in the Chinese Zodiac

Look through 100 Cities of the World at Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Then they are going to fill out a page on each city. The page has a map to pinpoint the location, three interesting facts, and a place to draw an interesting feature. 

Digital Chinese Fairy Tale book

Word Search and Questions to answer (found on page 5)

Topmarks is another site with a lot of info

Fun and Games

 Making Paper Lanterns

Chop Stick Game

Brush Painting

Learn to draw their year symbol

Paper doll girls and boy

Origami Dragon (and lots of other great direction)

Chinese Knot, very pretty, very complicated

Other Stuff 

Vacation Photos someone sent me

Gung hay fat choy!!

Christmas Around the World Festival

Our homeschooling group has Christmas around the world festival with out Christmas party.

We chose Colonial American customs to go along with our study of the American Revolution. 

Small samples of Colonial Peanut Soup as served in the King's Arms Tavern

And other tasty treats consisted of Shrewsbury cakes 

and Williamsburg Orange Cake ( added cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice)

And I add a drop of rose water to my cookies

Green Curry

One of the many varieties of food I live is Thai food. And Savannah happens to be home of the best Thai restaurants I have had the pleasure of eating at. Chiriyas is pretty amazing, I can't get enough of their green curry. Their pineapple curry is also a favorite. My entire family loves to eat there, kids too. we get them two plates of special noodles and everyone is happy. 

So now that we have the love covered, I can't get in there as often as I want to eat green curry and I like to try and make stuff at home myself. It's like a personal challenge if I go somewhere and like the food enough to want to eat it again. That means I need to figure out how to make it myself too.

So that brings us to this recipe. I am not going to claim it's quite as good, but it's pretty close.

Green Curry

3 - 4 large chicken breast, cut into cubes or strips

2 Tbsp. Oil

2 c. chicken broth

1 can coconut milk

2 Tbsp green curry paste

1 c. julienne carrots

1 sliced bell pepper

2 c. pea pods or broccoli

Saute the chicken in oil over high heat to sear the meat but not cook all the way through. Add the broth, coconut milk, green curry paste, carrots, bell pepper, and pea pods. Simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Optional - sliced jalapeno, stir in about half way through cooking the veggies

When the chicken and veggies are cooked, stir in  

1 bunch basil, chiffonade*

(before it's sliced it would say it could be stuffed into 1/4 cup measuring cup)

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped*

1 - 2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with water

4 green onions, sliced

1 Tbsp lime juice

Simmer, stirring until slightly thickened. Serve over rice or quinoa

* I usually like to use fresh herbs in a dish like this but I got these in the freezer section of Wal-mart to try. I had some fresh cilantro so I only used the basil this time. It was ok, better than dried but still not as good a fresh. But worth keeping around for a few dishes.