Enchilada Quinoa and Chicken Stuffed Peppers

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Found this great blog...Ambitious Kitchen.  She's got all kinds of great recipes, and many very healthy ones.  When I found this recipe...for the stuffed peppers, well, I couldn't make them fast enough!  I'm being very stingy with my quinoa...I only brought back two boxes from France...so I want to use it with a dish I know I'm going to like.  (and I did)

This would work great as a vegetarian dish as well...just use all quinoa.  I made these following her recipe, but the recipe below shows how I would make it next time...mine came out a bit dry this first round.  It was a hit with the whole family...I use a very mild (homemade) enchilada sauce, so the hubby had to spice his up a bit.  The girls really liked the filling but weren't big fans of eating the pepper...though they both took three bites.  Rules are rules and all.  ;)

We served it up with a side of chips and homemade guacamole (hubby's recipe).  Great dinner!

Ingredients

3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish

1/2 onion, diced

1/3 cup egg whites

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup red enchilada sauce

1 cup reduced fat cheese of your choice, divided (we used gouda because it was all I had...tasted great too!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl combine chicken, quinoa, egg whites, onion, cilantro, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, and enchilada sauce. Mix well.
3. Stuff each pepper half with the mixture. Top pepper with 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce and 1 tablespoon of cheese. Bake for 45 minutes.

Slow Roasted Spiced Chicken

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We've become quite fond of cooking whole chickens.  It's easy, cheap, and doesn't require many ingredients.  I found this recipe stating the chicken would taste like a rotisserie chicken you'd get at the grocery store.  (You can't get that kind of chicken here...only at restaurants)  Sounded good to me and I've never slow cooked a chicken in the oven...usually that's the hubby's job and he does it on the smoker.  
This one required a bit of planning ahead and for once I didn't forget to let it sit overnight.  I really liked the flavors and I loved the color of the chicken!  Looked so pretty!  Nice that the recipe called for two chickens because the chickens here are very small and I always cook two...(no way one of those little buggers will feed our family of four).  
Give this recipe a try next time you want to "spice" up you roast chicken dinner.  :)  

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 onions, quartered
• 2 (4 pound) whole chickens
• 
  

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
3. Place chickens in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F. Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.

recipe from AllRecipes

One Pot Chicken Stew

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We have really altered our diet recently and have cut way back on red meat.  (you'd be totally shocked if you knew my husband...every dish had to have meat in it when we were in the States.)
The meat here, well, it's different.  Not sure why...smells funny sometimes.  It doesn't taste bad, but well, I'm not overly excited to buy it.  We did find an awesome butcher shop (in Jeddah of course) so we plan to bring a cooler on the next trip and stock up on some nice pieces of meat.  (now to find a deep freezer)  
With all that said, it means that we have been eating a lot of vegetarian dishes, fish, and chicken.  I love vegetarian, but I know we have to find ways to make sure we are all getting our protein.  I'd love any suggestions for some great vegetarian main dishes!  (just keep in mind that we don't have all the fancy ingredients you can find in the States)
This little stew had it all.  Protein, veggies, and great taste.  A very simple dish to make, doesn't take long, and well, we had not a drop left.  Keep in mind that it's a stew...not soup.  Therefore, not much broth.  Fantastic meal...hats off to Giada again for another wonderful recipe!

Ingredients  (recipe from Giada De Laurentiis)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)
• Serving suggestion: crusty bread

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.

Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.

Balsamic-Honey Chicken Drumsticks

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I love chicken wings as much as the next gal.  When we were in the States a fave treat was hitting up the local BWW.  (aka Buffalo Wild Wings) A yummy, sticky mess of wings and a nice beer.  sigh...
Okay, so no luck with the beer here, but I can make some sticky chicken!  Found this great recipe and didn't hesitate to give it a try.  
Beyond easy to make...through the ingredients in a bag, marinate for 2 hours, drop the legs on a baking sheet and 30 minutes later you've got a killer dinner.
This would make a great dish for your upcoming Super Bowl party!  (oh man, now I really miss the States...we're hoping to possibly get the game here, but well, we'd also have to get up at 2:30am to watch and not all that sure if we'll get the commercials here)
By the way...these legs should get even the pickiest eater to chow down!  (my little one sure loved them...see picture after recipe!)
Happy Cooking!

Honey and Spice Orange Chicken

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Surfing the net.  Looking for some new and interesting chicken dishes.  I get bored easily.  Need constant change in what I cook.  (a dish has to be seriously rockin' for me to cook it more than once a month.)
This one is pretty darn close.  I really enjoyed the stickiness of the honey and the flavors of the spices.  An easy dish to prepare and once it's in the oven you just need to baste every so often.  No monster cooking skills needed.
Serve up a nice side of couscous or a light salad and you've got a great meal that's budget friendly and kid friendly!  

Homemade (Feel Better) Chicken Noodle Soup

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Since I had some leftover chicken thighs AND a sick kiddo...I thought I would make some homemade chicken noodle soup.  This is my mom's recipe tweaked with a few ideas from Julia Child...enjoy!  (This is a large recipe...made to have leftovers...scale down as you see fit for your family)

*Edited Jan 2014- my old recipe called for boxed chicken broth, but I have found that with my addition of the herbs, garlic and ginger, my soup base already has amazing flavor.  I enhance it with just a bit of the bouillon but I make sure to use the low sodium.  This soup will seriously make you feel better...its worked every time for my girls.  :)