Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Week 21: Moroccan Chicken

Yet another freezer meal. They really make sense when it comes to crock-pot meals :)

The Recipe
3 chicken breasts
1 can beans of your choice
6oz plum (Roma) tomatoes, cut into cubes
1 large red bell pepper, cut into squares
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp peanut butter

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or until chicken is cooked through and tender.
About 15 minutes before serving, add peanut butter; blend well.

The Verdict
Really easy to make and very tasty :) I liked the special taste the peanut butter added. Originally the recipe was also supposed to have raisins, but neither DH nor I are particularly fond of raisins, so I left those out.

Will definitely make again :)

Friday, May 17, 2013

Week 20: Nell's Nutella Cookies

Credit goes to Ai-vy.

The Recipe
1.25 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (more if you use unsalted butter)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
113g softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (farin)
2 tsp vanilla extract/vanilla essence
1/2 cup Nutella, room temperature
1/3 cup milk
Extra Nutella for topping

Make the batter 1-3 days before you want the cookies.

In a freezer bag, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Toss in bag to mix well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds. Add in Nutella and beat until smooth and well incorporated.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add in the milk, mixing until well incorporated. Add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix completely.

Cover and refrigerate the dough overnight (or as long as 2-3 days).

When ready to bake cookies, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll tablespoon sized amounts of dough into balls and place them on a lined cookie sheet, allowing about 2 inches between the dough balls.

Lightly press the dough balls with the flat of your palm. Make an indention with your thumb in the middle of the dough balls. Add a scant amount (around or less than 1/8 teaspoon) of Nutella to the dip of the dough balls.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are crackly on top and soft, but starting to set. Remove from the oven and allow them to stand for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.

The Verdict
They were every bit as yummy as they looked and smelled while baking :) If anything, they may be a tiny bit too rich, so I'm thinking about adding some nuts next time... either by adding chopped nuts to the batter, or by putting nuts on top instead of the extra Nutella. I tried to add peanut butter to some which also turned out really well and was what gave me the idea.

Do NOT skip the step on refrigerating the batter! It makes it so much easier to work with. In fact, if I ever make a double portion of these, I think I'll only take half of the batter out of the fridge at a time, as it became increasingly more messy as time went on. For the same reason I'm glad I put all the cookies on baking sheets at the same time, instead of using my usual method and only preparing one sheet at a time.

But absolutely without a doubt worth a repeat :)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Week 19: Southwestern Bean Salad

The Recipe
1 can (450g) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (285g drained) corn
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 spring onion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
1 medium avocado, diced
1 diced jalapeno (optional)

In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, tomato, onion, spring onion, salt and pepper. Squeeze fresh lime juice to taste and stir in olive oil. Marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes. Add avocado and jalapeno just before serving.

Alterations: I couldn't find spring onion, so added a bit more red onion instead. The ratios looked off, so I added another tomato and another avocado. Left out the jalapenos for DH's sake, but added some chili flakes to my portion.

The Verdict
LOVED it!! I served it with paprika/oregano marinated pork chops and it just fit the bill perfectly. Extremely delicious and will definitely be made again. DH wasn't too keen on the beans, so I'll have to try something else next time... chickpeas might work quite nicely as well.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Week 18: Baked Zucchini Sticks

The Recipe
1 thin zucchini
1tsp salt
3/4dl bread crumbs
1/3dl parmesan cheese
oregano
paprika
1 egg
olive oil

Cut the zucchini into sticks - about 1x1x3cm. Put them in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave for at least 1 hour. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.
In one bowl, mix up the egg; in another, mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and paprika.
Preheat the oven to 225C. Prepare a baking sheet by drizzling it with olive oil
Dredge the zucchini sticks through first the eggs, then the bread crumbs. Place them on the baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes, turn over the sticks and bake for another 8 minutes.

Serve with sweet chili sauce :)

The Verdict
I really loved it :) I don't think I rinsed mine thoroughly enough, as it was a tad on the (too) salty side, but it still tasted great! I only ate half of them, but the recipe says that they can be reheated at 175C for 15 minutes, so I'll have to try that.

It's a lot of work, so I don't know how often I'll be making them, but they're very delicious :)