Despite the long list of spices in the ingredient list, the resulting chicken isn’t spicy hot.  If you prefer more heat, feel free to add a small amount of red pepper until you reach the heat level that works for you.

Rounding out the Shawarma bowl we have some yellow rice, a simple salad, and a yogurt sauce.  The yogurt sauce is what really makes this delicious, adding a little zesty flavor.  The original recipe called for equal parts yogurt and mayo.  I’ve reduced the mayo in this version, and I’ll probably reduce it even more the next time.  The sauce can be thinned with water and drizzled over the entire bowl, or served in a dollop and mixed in as you eat.  But either way, it’s really the star of this bowl meal.  I’ll be making this one again and again.

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Chicken Shawarma Bowl

Course Main Dish

Keyword chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 ½ – 2 lbs. chicken thighs cubed into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Yellow Rice

• 1 ½ cups basmati rice
• 3 cups water or vegetable broth
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Yogurt White Sauce

• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• optional: 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons water – or as needed to reach desired consistency

Instructions

• Mix the marinade ingredients in a small bowl or glass measuring cup, and taste. Add additional salt or optional red pepper if needed.
• Add the cubed chicken to a large ziptop bag and pour in the marinade. Let the chicken rest for 30 minutes to overnight.
• When you’re ready to cook, heat a large skillet to medium high. Pour the chicken into the pan and cook until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
• Put olive oil in a saucepan and cook over medium high heat to soften onion. Add add remaining yellow rice ingredients and cook according to rice directions. (Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low, simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender).
• In a small bowl, mix all yogurt white sauce ingredients together.
• Serve with simple salad of chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, lettuce and/or cabbage. Dress the salad with a swirl of olive oil, a shake of vinegar and a little salt.

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Casado consists of rice, beans, meat, a simple salad, and fried plantains.  Top with Lizano if you can.  And dream of rainforests, macaws, toucans, monkeys and sloths and your next trip to beautiful Costa Rica.

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Costa Rican Casado

Course Main Course

Cuisine Costa Rican

Keyword black beans, chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups rice
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cans black beans
• 1-2 plantains sliced diagonally into disks
• Chopped raw salad vegetables of your choice lettuce, tomatoes, fruit, cabbage, etc.
• Vinegar, salt, and neutral oil to dress the salad
• 1 ½ – 2 lbs. chicken thighs cut into bite sized cubes

Chicken Marinade

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder or minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried minced onion optional
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, for a spicier version
• ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste

Instructions

• Mix together the chicken marinade ingredients in a small glass measuring cup or bowl. Place the cubed chicken into a large ziptop bag, and pour the marinade over the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes to overnight.
• Start the rice and cook according to package directions using the broth. Or cook in a rice cooker – my new favorite kitchen appliance.
• Dump the black beans into a small saucepan or bowl. Heat on the stovetop or microwave. Add garlic salt to taste.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Dump the chicken and marinade into the skillet, and cook until cooked through, stirring from time to time. It should take about 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your cubes.
• Peel the plantains, and slice into diagonal slices. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium to medium high heat. Add the plantains in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Cook until lightly browned, then flip and continue cooking until the second side is also browned.
• Chop the salad vegetables. Dress the salad with a swirl of olive oil, a sprinkle of vinegar, and a shake of salt to taste.
• To serve, fill your plate with a scoop of rice, a scoop of black beans, a scoop of chicken, and a scoop of salad. Add the fried plantains around the edge, and top with Lizano sauce if you can.

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Butternut squash and eggplant are both new veggies for us this year.  They’ve been a huge hit.  Rutabaga, on the other hand, didn’t work out as well. 

Butternut squash needs to be peeled then cut in half length wise so the seeds can be removed. Those are time consuming steps that I recommend doing ahead of time or on a weekend when you have more time to cook.  And be sure to peel the butternut squash deep enough or the edges will have a slightly woody texture. 

Eggplant doesn’t need to be peeled before it’s cubed.  But to be honest, I’ve had mixed results.  I think the skin is thicker on some eggplants than others.  But the eggplant itself is like a sponge for olive oil and garlic salt, and it has a rich texture and flavor.  It’s worth the trouble.

For each of the vegetables listed below, the preparation is the same.  Peel, if necessary, then cut the veggies into cubes.  Toss with olive oil and garlic salt.  I like to line my sheet pan with aluminum foil to make clean up easier, but it’s not necessary.  Add the veggies to the sheet pan, starting with the ones that cook longest.  Roast for 5-10 minutes, then add the faster cooking vegetables.  Continue roasting until everything is lightly browned around the edges and cooked through.  Sample a bit to be sure they’re done. 

The great thing about oven roasted vegetables is that they’re out of your way when you’re preparing the rest of the meal.  They’re also really easy to clean up afterwards.  And did I mention how easy they are to scale up?  A large skillet can only hold so much, but a couple of sheet pans can feed a big group.  Because sometimes those grown up boys of mine come home to visit.

All times below are for a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven.

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

• Peel butternut squash and sweet potatoes.  For all other listed veggies, you can skip this step.

• Remove the seeds from the butternut squash. 

• Wash and cut the veggies into 1” cubes (or whatever size is suggested in the table). 

• Drizzle with olive or vegetable oil, and toss to coat.  Season with garlic salt.

• Spread the longest roasting vegetables into an even layer on a large cooking tray.

• Roast of 5-10 minutes, then add the faster roasting vegetables, again spreading evenly on the tray.

• Continue roasting until all vegetables are lightly browned and cooked through.  Sample to test for doneness.

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Notice that the ratio of ingredients is 1 (or 2) part yogurt, 1 part oil, 2 parts sugar, 3 parts flour and 3 eggs.  Plus 2 teaspoons each of baking powder and vanilla.  Each “part” is ½ cup, which is about the size of a French yogurt cup.  This is very common French cake recipe that is taught to young children just learning to bake.  It’s an almost magical foolproof recipe.  I wonder why it’s taken me so long to find it?

I really like cakes baked in a loaf pan. They’re easy to make, and easy to store. Try out my lemon ricotta cake, carrot cake, and chocolate zucchini cake. Meanwhile, I’ll keep trying variations of this yogurt cake. I’m kind of obsessed.

In the picture, I topped the cake with a cherry compote. Compote is just fruit cooked with a little sweetener. The nutrition below is for the cake alone, not the fruit topping.

Nutrition (using ½ cup Splenda):
10 servings
229 calories per serving
21g carbs, 13g fat, 7g protein

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Yogurt Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 229kcal

Ingredients

• ½ to 1 cup plain yogurt I use Greek yogurt
• ½ cup canola oil or other neutral-tasting oil plus extra for greasing
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup Splenda or another ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray and lining it with a strip of parchment paper. You can use either a 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch loaf pan, or the slightly larger 5 x 9 inch size.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, yogurt, oil and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat together until well combined. Or just add everything at once and mix it up, this cake won’t care.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Serve the cake in slices with berries and/or whipped topping.

Notes

Alternately, you can bake this cake in a round cake pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and prepare a 9 inch round cake pan by greasing the sides and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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I’ve tried a couple of times to get the water-to-farro ratio perfectly matched so I wouldn’t have to drain the liquid at the end, like cooking rice.  But it’s easier to cook farro like pasta, and plan to drain the excess liquid before you add the spinach and mushrooms.  The recommended ratio of farro to liquid is 1:3, so one cup of farro to 3 cups of water.  I’m cooking in vegetable broth because my water is really hard and has caused problems getting beans to soften.  You could alternately choose to cook the farro in about 4 ½ cups of salted water.

So give farro a try.  It’s easy and just a little different. And with all that fiber and protein, it’s a bit healthier than rice and pasta too.

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Farro with Spinach and Mushrooms

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups dry farro
• 1 can vegetable broth about 14 oz.
• 2 ½ cups water
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Rinse the farro in a fine strainer.
• Bring the water and vegetable broth to a boil in a medium to large sized saucepan.
• When the water is boiling, add the rinsed farro. Let it cook for 20 minutes (or according to package directions.)
• Meanwhile, sauté the sliced mushrooms and garlic in a 10 inch skillet with a little oil.
• Once the mushrooms reach desired doneness, add the spinach to the skillet. It will quickly wilt and cook down. Turn the heat off on the skillet.
• When the farro is fully cooked and a little chewy, drain the extra liquid like you would with pasta.
• Add the cooked mushrooms, garlic and spinach to the farro and stir to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
• Makes 6 servings.

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The pretzel dough is essentially the same recipe as ciabatta bread or pizza dough.  It’s a little drier so you can knead it by hand, since the ball of dough will be too small to knead in your stand mixer.  Place a piece of parchment paper on your counter to knead, and you can use it later to bake the pretzel rolls. I let my dough rise about 3 hours before I started wrapping the sausages because that’s what worked for me.  Less rise would have been fine too, since you’ll be flattening the dough to wrap the sausages anyway.

If you double the recipe, you can wrap two packages of sausages.  And 3 cups of flour are about the minimum amount to knead in a stand mixer.  Use a dough hook to mix the pretzel dough ingredients in your stand mixer on low speed, and continue mixing after the dough comes together for about 5 minutes of kneading. Sounds great, right?  But the five minutes you save in kneading will be eaten up in wrapping those extra sausages and quickly boiling them in baking soda water.  And if the dough might get stuck on the dough hook and not really knead. If it does, you can just pull it off and finish kneading by hand. It’s not a big deal and shouldn’t scare you away from these pretzel and sausage bites.

Even with packaged crescent rolls, these little treats are a bit time consuming.  What’s an extra 15 minutes really?  It’s the time it takes to take pigs-in-a-blanket to the next level. Soft pretzels – yum.

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Pretzel Pigs-in-a-Blanket

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Rise Time 1 hour hour

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups bread flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 package cocktail sausages about 30
• 12 cups water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Coarse salt

Instructions

• Mix first 6 ingredients (flour, salt, yeast, sugar, oil and 2/3 cup water) in a large bowl until a dough forms. Place a piece of parchment paper on your counter and sprinkle it with flour. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
• Coat the inside of the mixing bowl with olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl and let rise at least 1 hour. You can let it rise longer for better flavor.
• When ready to cook, divide the dough into 4 pieces, then divide each of those pieces in half giving you 8 pieces. Divide each of the 8 pieces into 4 small pieces, giving you a total of 32 small dough balls.
• Fill a large stainless steel stockpot half way (or measure out 12 cups of water). Add the baking soda and sugar and bring the water to a boil, stirring from time to time.
• Start preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Place a baking dish filled with water into the oven to create steam which will help the pretzels brown.
• Open the cocktail sausages and dry them off on a paper towel.
• Flatten the first piece of dough into a small rectangle. Wrap the dough around a cocktail sausage. Continue until all the sausages have been wrapped. You may be left with a few extra dough pieces.
• At this point, you can let the dough rise again for about 10-20 minutes. Or start boiling them immediately beginning with the ones you wrapped first.
• Working in small batches of 4-6 sausages, gently place the wrapped sausages into the boiling water. Allow them to boil for 15-20 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain on a paper towel. Boil the extra dough pieces the same way. The dough should puff up slightly during boiling.
• When all sausages have been boiled and drained, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Don’t skip the parchment since the baking soda solution will be corrosive to an aluminum baking sheet. You may have to rewrap the dough around the sausages since the seam tends to come apart in the boiling water.
• Sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until deep golden brown.

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Green Chile Mac and Cheese

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz. elbow macaroni pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 4 oz. Monterey jack cheese
• 4 oz. white cheddar cheese
• 1 or 2 4 oz. cans green chile
• 2 green onions
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes

Instructions

• Using a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and cook macaroni according to package directions. 8 oz. are half of a 1 lb. box of pasta. Double the recipe if you want to cook the entire box.
• While the noodles are cooking, shred the cheese using a cheese grater and slice the tomatoes in half. Reserve a little of the cheese to the side if you plan to sprinkle it on top and bake the dish before serving.
• Drain the noodles and set aside.
• Returning to the medium saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook and stir over medium high heat for about a minute. Add in the cup of milk and continue cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens, just a couple of minutes more. Add in the grated cheese and stir until it melts in.
• Add the pasta back into the pot along with the onions, tomatoes and green chiles. Stir until everything is well combined and the pasta is evenly coated with cheese.
• From here, you can serve immediately or transfer the contents to a baking dish. If you choose to bake it, add the reserved cheese on top and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and browns slightly on top.

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Obviously, you can buy a packet of taco seasoning mix and follow the instructions on the back of the package.  Brown 1 lb. of ground beef, drain, add the packet and some water, stir and serve.  I make my own taco seasoning blend, but otherwise stick to the basic idea.  And how do you serve taco meat?  Unlike enchiladas (which always use corn tortillas), tacos can be served any way you choose.  I like the crispy corn taco shells from the 1980s, but you can opt for regular corn or flour tortillas of any size if that’s what you like.  Taco meat is also great served “nacho style” over a bed of tortilla chips or over a bed of lettuce for taco salad.  Your choice.

What about other taco toppings?  I like cheddar cheese, lettuce, chopped tomato and chopped onion.  Sour cream and guacamole are popular too, and of course pico de gallo.  Do you like sliced black olives?  Sure why not, they’re great on a taco.  Your favorite salsa would be outstanding as well, but be careful of too much liquid or your taco may get soggy.  We usually have a stash of extra Taco Bell hot sauce around for that little extra zing.

Tacos can be served with a side of Mexican rice, cilantro lime rice, black beans, pinto beans or refried beans. 

And if you make too much taco meat, it freezes great. I recommend a Ziploc bag with the contents clearly marked.  When you’re in a hurry for dinner, you can grab a bag of frozen taco meat and run it under hot water to free it from the bag.  Then dump the meat into a loosely covered microwave safe bowl and heat for 2-3 minutes. 

How much meat to serve 12 people?  Assume ¼ lb. per person, or more for big meat eaters. You can keep the meat hot in a slow cooker and let everyone serve themselves (better make a little extra in that case, or put the guys at the back of the line).

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Ground Beef Tacos

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword College meal

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning blend or 1 packet
• ½ cup water
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Taco shells or tortillas
• Sliced lettuce
• Chopped tomatoes
• Diced onion

Instructions

• Crispy taco shells are best slightly heated in the oven or toaster oven. Throw a few into the oven at about 250 degrees while you prepare the rest of the meal.
• Brown the ground beef in a medium to large sized skillet, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula as it cooks.
• Use a lid over the skillet to hold back the ground beef as you carefully drain the fat (into a can you can throw into the trash later – not down the drain where it will clog up the pipes).
• Return the skillet to the stovetop and add the taco seasoning and water. Cook and stir for a few more minutes until the meat is fully coated and the sauce thickens.
• To serve, start with the taco shell or tortilla of your choice. Fill the bottom of the shell with a small amount of meat. Layer with cheese, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Several small tacos are easier to eat than one huge one, in my opinion. Top with taco sauce if you choose.

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I often see pictures of the cooked chicken returned to the skillet and sitting in the lemon caper sauce.  This may look appetizing, but in my experience it made the chicken soggy.  It was also difficult to serve, and the sauce was mostly gone before the last person.  You could serve the sauce from a gravy boat and let everyone add their own at the table.  I serve the sauce from a glass measuring cup.  But that’s mostly because my gravy boat is on a top shelf and I can’t reach it.

The Chicken Piccata is super easy and classic.  It’s just chicken coated in seasoned flour, fried in a skillet, and topped with a lemon caper sauce.  The pasta is flavored with almost the same sauce, minus the capers and with the addition of a little garlic and parmesan cheese.  It’s a super easy meal that looks and tastes fancy.  Especially if you get out the gravy boat.

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Chicken Piccata and Pasta al Limone

Course Main Course

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 ½ lbs. chicken tenderloins
• ½ cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the chicken sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup pasta water
• ¼ cup white wine optional
• ¼ cup capers or more, to taste
• Salt to taste

For the Pasta al Limone:

• 3/4 lb. uncooked pasta of your choice
• Lemon zest from 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup pasta water or more as needed
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup white wine optional
• 2 teaspoons dried or fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese freshly grated if possible

Instructions

• Fill a large stockpot with water, salt it, and bring to a boil.
• Preheat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Flatten the chicken in a large Ziploc bag to about ¼ inch thick.
• Place the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour, and add carefully to the skillet. Cook about 3-5 minutes per side until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the pan.
• When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, about 7-9 minutes. When draining the pasta, be sure to reserve some of the hot pasta water.
• Make the chicken piccata sauce. Add the butter, lemon juice, wine and pasta water back to the skillet. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil, then add the capers. Pour the sauce into a small bowl or glass measuring cup and set aside.
• Make the Pasta al Limone sauce. Add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, wine and pasta water to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and add the drained pasta. Toss to coat. Add the parsley and parmesan cheese and toss some more. Taste it and add additional salt if needed.
• To serve, top the chicken with the reserved Chicken Piccata sauce.

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 10 slices

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 medium zucchini for 2 cups grated
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan by coating it with cooking spray and/or a strip of parchment paper.
• Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a box grater, and set aside. The recipe needs about 2 cups, but a little more or less will work just fine.
• In a medium sized bowl, measure out the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Measure the vegetable oil in a glass measuring cup, then add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well combined.
• Add the egg/oil/vanilla combination to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened. It will be really dry at this point.
• Add the grated zucchini and mix until evenly distributed. The moisture from the zucchini should help the mixture look more like a really thick batter.
• Add most of the chocolate chips (a little less than ½ cup) and mix them into the batter.
• Press the thick batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle any remaining chocolate chips over the top.
• Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (not including the chocolate chips).

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