Spicy Almond Currant Chicken with Couscous

My mom gave this recipe to me several years ago, but I never made it until last night. What a delicious surprise! I loved it!

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 slivered almonds

2 garlic cloves, minced

6-8 skinless chicken thighs

2 cups spicy salsa (thick and chunky)

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp honey

1/4 cup currants

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

Season both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in skillet and add almonds, cook 2 minutes. Remove. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds and add chicken. Brown 5 minutes on each side. In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients and add to chicken. Bring to boil, then simmer 20 minutes. Stir in almonds and serve over hot couscous.

Braised Chicken with Baby Vegetables and Peas

Last night I made Braised Chicken with Baby Vegetables and Peas from the current issue of Cooking Light. This dish may look simple and plain, but it is utterly delicious. The recipe calls for baby turnips, but since I could not find those, I substituted fingerling potatoes, peeled and halved. The best thing about this dish is the chicken and wine sauce with thyme.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Spaghetti

I found this recipe in my new Cooking Light magazine (thanks Mom!). Although I don't know that Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs are "light". I found it on an advertisement for Ragu spaghetti sauce and decided to make it for John's birthday dinner. It was really easy and super delicious!

Combine:
1 lb ground beef
1/4 Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg

Form into 12 meatballs inserting a small cube of mozzarella cheese into the center of each ball. Pour 10 oz jar of spaghetti sauce into large pot and bring to boil. Add meatballs, stir, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until meat is cooked.

Serve with hot spaghetti and parmesan cheese.

Close Up Crochet

Here are some cool close up shots from my latest crocheted plastic...

Arugula Pear Salad and Smothered Pork Chops with Brown Rice Medley

I spent 20 minutes at the dinner table tonight trying to get the perfect picture of each dish for the blog before taking my first bite. After about 30 pictures, I think I narrowed down the two best photos of the bunch which look almost as good as they tasted!
Arugula Pear Salad
Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp shallot, minced
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 salt
1/8 pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Toss with vinaigrette:
Arugula
Pear, sliced thin
Toasted walnuts
Blue cheese

Smothered Pork Chops

Combine and set aside:

1/4 cup beef broth

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp flour

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Season both sides of 6 boneless loin pork chops with thyme and paprika. Cook over medium high heat 5 minutes per side or until done. Remove pork from pan.

Reduce heat, add 1 cup chopped onion, and saute for about 4 minutes. Add 3/4 cup beef broth, bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Add milk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Add pork, turning to coat, and cook 1 minute longer. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Brown Rice Medley

Cook brown rice adding any remaining beef broth to the water.
Stir in:
Grape tomatoes, halved
Carrots, julienned
Scallions, chopped
Almonds, slivered
Pinch of dried thyme

Pasta Primavera

I had a crisper full of vegetables that I wanted to use up while still fresh, so I created my own version of Pasta Primavera. The beauty of this recipe is that you could use just about any combination of vegetables which provide so much flavor that you really don't need any sauce.

Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta while you prepare the vegetables.

1 garlic clove, minced

1 scallion, chopped

1 small handful baby carrots, sliced lengthwise

1 small handful of snowpeas, ends trimmed

1 small handful grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup broccoli (I used leftovers that were already cooked)

6 zucchini ribbons (using veg. peeler)

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Melt butter and olive oil (about 1/2 tbsp each) in pan over medium high heat. Lower heat and add garlic, cooking until just lightly brown. Add scallion, carrots, peas, and tomatoes, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Add broccoli and zucchini and cook 1 minute longer, stirring and shaking pan. Squirt juice from half a lemon over vegetables and season with a little salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add cooked pasta to the vegetables and sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese.

Peachy Day

Today truly felt like Spring! The air was warm, the sun was shining, and John and I got to spend half the day together which was the best part. We had a delicious brunch at a South American cafe, Cafe Colonial, and then took a walk afterwards. On our walk, we came across this bright peach wall which coincidentally was graffitied with the name "Argentina".


Doesn't John look cute here?







I wore my new dress and purse from TJ Maxx today. Thanks for the birthday gift card Claire and Joe!