Chicken Salad Pita with Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3 teaspoons dried mint, crumbled
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 4 chicken scallopine (4 to 5 ounces each)
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 unpeeled kirby cucumber, chopped
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 pocketless pitas
• 1/2 cup baba ghanoush (eggplant spread, sold near hummus in the refrigerated section)
• 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Directions

Whisk the vinegar, mint, red pepper flakes, 1 clove garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Gradually whisk in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the chicken and marinate about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the tomatoes, cucumber and the remaining 1 clove garlic in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Toss with the vegetables.
Brush the pitas with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt. Grill, turning once, until marked. Place a pita on each plate and spread with baba ghanoush. Top with lettuce and chicken salad and drizzle with any juices from the bowl.
Per serving: Calories 342; Fat 15 g (Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 74 mg; Sodium 587 mg; Carbohydrate 24 g; Fiber 4 g; Protein 29 g

Chicken & Cashew Stir- Fry

• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup salted roasted whole cashews

Chop scallions, separating white and green parts. Pat chicken dry, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and scallion whites to wok and stir-fry until peppers are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar, then stir into vegetables in wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cashews, scallion greens, and chicken along with any juices accumulated on plate.

Ina Garten's Roasted Eggplant Spread

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded
• 1 red onion, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.
Cool slightly.
Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper

Curried Quinoa with Green Beans, Carrots and Scallions

I was really pleased with this recipe.  My skepticism was birthed from the mediocre turnout of "Stuffed Peppers Picadillo" I made from the same book 2 nights earlier....I guess that's how weight-watchers recipes go.  Very flavorful and simple. I followed the recipe word for word, except for the fresh mint...I had some dried, so I just added a couple sprinkles of that instead. I will certainly make this again, and probably try adding some tofu to make it more filling. Delicious!


1 cup quinoa
1 cup orange juice
2 cup water
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 carrots sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raisins
2 large scallions, chopped
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1) Combine quinoa, orange juice, water, curry powder, coriander, salt and cinnamon in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until all of the liquid has been aborbed, 12-15 minutes
2) Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook 3 minutes; drain and transfer to a large bowl.
3) Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and onion and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes; stir in the almonds and cook 2 minutes longer. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the bowl with the green beans. Add the raisins, scallions, mint, lemon juice, lemon zest and quinoa.

Chicken Ragout with Potatoes and Olives

This recipe served as lesson #1 in my efforts to teach Brent to cook this summer, and I have to say that he did an awesome job! We covered slicing onions, mincing garlic and chopping tomatoes, potatoes and herbs...all of which he did by himself =)  The recipe turned out so well (how could something with 1/2 a cup of fresh basil not?), and I will certainly be using it again in the future.

Another pleasant surprise from Make it in Minutes- Weight Watchers

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 large aking potato, pealed and cubed
10 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-hight heat. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper and saute until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic; cook until the onion is just tender, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes, potato, olives, broth, and wine. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the potato tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

Bread and Shrimp Skewers w/ Romaine Salad

3/4 lb peled and deveined frozen shrimp (about 24)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1T grated lemon zest plus 2 T lemon juice
4 T evoo
salt and pepper
5 oz crusty bread, cut into 1 in pieces (3 cups)
1 hard cooked egg yolk, mashed
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 c grated Parmesan
2 large hearts romaine lettuce, leaves separated

1) Preheat oven to 450. In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, half garlic, lemon zest, and 1 T oil.  Season with Salt and pepper and toss to coat. In another meduim bowl, toss bread with 1 T oil and season with salt and pepper. Thread shrimp and bread onto eight 8-inch wooden or metal skewers. Transfer skewers to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until shrimp is opaque throughout and croutons are golden, 7 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine remaining garlic, lemon juice, 2 T oil, egg yolk, and mustard; season with salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined; stir in Parmesan. Add romaine and toss to coat. Sprinkle salad with more Parmesan and serve alongside skewers.

Nicoise Salad Sandwich

Decent recipe...although I didn't realize that my husband is not a fan of tuna sandwiches until I went to the trouble of making it, so I probably won't do it again =)

from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

1/4 lb green beans (boiled 3 min and chopped)
1 t Dijon mustard
2 t red wine vinegar
1/2 small shallot (minced)
2 T evoo
2-5oz cans white tuna packed in oil
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
1/4 c fresh parsley leaves
1-pound baguette
Bibb lettuce leaves
4 hard boiled eggs- thinly sliced

Whisk together Dijon, vinegar, shallot and evoo. Drain tuna, break into chunks and add to vinaigrette along with green beans. Season w/ salt and pepper. In a food processor, pulse together 2 plum tomatoes (chopped), olives and parsley leaves. Split baguette and scoop out most of insides. Arrange a few lettuce leaves on bottom half, top with tuna mixture and eggs. Spread tomato-olive mixture on top half of baguette and place on sandwich