Here’s another good one from Almost Meatless: okra, chard, onions, and just a bit of chicken in a richly-flavored broth made with peanut butter and chicken stock. The recipe makes quite a bit, and was so good that in addition to Lisa, I brought in leftovers for lunch the following day! (Those of you who know us realize how monumental that is!) The original recipe calls for dark-meat turkey (attention to those of you looking for ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers!), which we substituted for chicken.

Yum, this sauce is so good — and the rice just soaks it all up.

Chris says:

Yeah, I really like this — and even though you’re not the biggest fan, I heart the okra in it.

Lisa says:

Hey, I guess I won’t have to have my ritual spoon of peanut butter tonight!

Chris says:

Ha, guess not — and although you definitely taste the peanut flavor in here, it’s not like those Thai peanut sauces that are *super* peanutty.

Lisa says:

Nope — definitely not… not that I’d mind. I’m glad this is “almost” meatless, I’m almost ready for another vegetarian week.

Chris says:

…I’ll gladly eat whatever you aren’t in the mood for!

Lisa says:

Hey, fork off! I didn’t say I was ready for vegetarian week just yet…!

African Peanut Stew
2 tbsp oil, divided
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb), cut into strips
4 oz okra, sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced into strips
4 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1 cup canned diced tomatoes (or fresh, if you have ‘em)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
4 cups thinly-sliced rainbow chard
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
6 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for five minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer meat and juices to a plate.
Add the 1/4 cup water and deglaze the pot, scraping up the bits from the bottom. Pour the liquid and bits over the chicken and set aside.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot, add the okra, and saute for five minutes on medium heat, until it starts to look sticky. Add the onion and saute another five minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of the stock and deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Stir in the spices, tomatoes, peanut butter, reserved meat and juices, remaining stock, and chard. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes.
Serve over brown rice and garnish with red bell peppers, chopped peanuts, and green onions.

6 Servings

Here’s a quick & easy, packed-full-of-flavor slurpy bowl of goodness from Super Natural Cooking: Noodles, tofu, and onions swimming in a rich, creamy coconut curry broth. Just the right amount of spice, and a garnish of cilantro and shallots provide nice color contrast to the yellow broth.

Ooooh, good choice! This is different than what we usually make.

Chris says:

Yeah, I’m usually not in the mood for coconut-broth-type dishes like this. I certainly never order them out.

Lisa says:

Well I’m glad you made this one; and I actually like the spiciness level.

Chris says:

Yeah it’s perfect — could always kick in additional hot sauce if you want it hotter.

Lisa says:

What makes it yellow, the curry paste?

Chris says:

It was a little closer to orange before the turmeric. Adding that and the coconut milk gave it the nice yellow color. I think the only thing I don’t think the recipe as shown in the book needs is the peanuts. I’ll leave them out when I make this next time.

Lisa says:

Agreed — they don’t really add much. It’s plenty awesome without them!

Big Curry Noodle Pot
8 1/2 oz. dried whole wheat udon noodles
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp red curry paste
12 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 1″ long columns
1 14 oz can coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 shallots, sliced into rings
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Cook noodles according to package directions in lots of boiling water with a dash of salt. Drain, stop the cooking by running cold water over, and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, onion and curry paste, stirring until the curry paste is well incorporated, 1-2 minutes. Add the tofu and gently stir until coated. Stir in the coconut milk, broth, turmeric, soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a slow simmer and keep it there for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice and noodles, and stir.
Add the noodles and some extra both to each of 4 bowls. Top with the shallots and cilantro.

4-6 Servings

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a while, looks like I had bookmarked it about a year ago and finally got around to making it.  Originally from a Cooking Light recipe, this modified version from The Kitchen Sink features chicken, potatoes, and other veggies in a smoky-tasting, creamy broth — using just 1/4 cup of cream.

This is bueno — I knew I’d saved that link for a reason…

Lisa says:

It’s pretty creamy tasting…

Chris says:

I know! There’s a little cream in there, but not a lot — most of the texture is from pureeing the broth and onion, celery, and carrots.

Lisa says:

Oh good, I like that the potatoes aren’t pureed in. I like the chunks.

Chris says:

Same here… and I just want to add lime and cilantro to every recipe.

Lisa says:

Don’t we already?.

Chris says:

Good point.

Lisa says:

Good dinner.

Chipotle Chicken Chowder
1 chipotle chile canned in adobo sauce, minced with 1 tsp of the adobo sauce *
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken broth
2 small chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3/4 lb yukon gold potatoes, in 1/2″ dice
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more to garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
lime wedges

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped chile, adobo sauce, onion, carrot, celery, cumin, oregano, and garlic; cook 7 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Remove pan from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in the potatoes and chicken; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cream and cilantro; simmer 5 minutes. Top with additional cilantro and serve with the lime wedges.

* Tip: To avoid wasting an entire can of chipotles when you only need one for a recipe, do the following: Once the can is opened, line a baking sheet with foil, spoon each chipotle chile with sauce onto the foil, and place in the freezer. Once frozen, remove from the foil (they’ll slide right off) and place into a ziploc bag or other container and keep in the freezer. Easy to remove just one when required for future recipes.

I’d been craving lamb, and Lisa was in a I-want-lasagna-but-we-just-had-lasagna mood, so moussaka seemed like the perfect bridge between our two wants. This recipe comes from the book Mediterranean Hot and Spicy; the moussaka was certainly hot (after being in a 400F oven for an hour…) but spicy? Not so much. Mouth-watering? Yes. Mouth-burning? No. Just a warning; this is not a recipe you can just whip up when you get home from work; it’s a multi-hour commitment!

I can’t believe you’re just finishing up, I would have been frustrated hours ago.

Chris says:

Ha, I actually enjoy the occasional time-intensive recipe; besides, the last hour I haven’t been doing anything but getting hungry while I wait for it to finish baking.

Lisa says:

Well I’m glad it’s done now… I’m starvin’, Marvin.

Chris says:

This smells awesome… Mmm.. and there’s the lamb I’ve been craving.

Lisa says:

Oooh, I love the texture of the baked yogurt top. And the meat is good — not super-duper “lamby”.

Chris says:

All the veggies are great; I like the layer of green peppers.

Lisa says:

The potato layer is awesome. Whoa — looks like there’s a ton leftover.

Chris says:

There is — you could totally cut this recipe in half and just bake it in an 8″x8″ pan and you’d be set for 4 servings.

Lisa says:

I guess at some point we’ll be able to report back on how this freezes and reheats.

Chris says:

Indeed — we’ll have to whip this out midweek next week. It’ll be nice to not have to work nearly as hard for it next time.

Spicy, Light Moussaka
Sea salt
2 large eggplants (about 1.5 lbs). sliced lengthwise, 1/4″ thick
Olive oil
1 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick
3 large green bell peppers, quartered and cut into 1″ pieces
1 lb lean ground lamb
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 or more pinches of cayenne
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup dried currants
2 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes with juice
fresh ground black pepper
2 pinches freshly ground nutmeg
1 pinch allspice
1 lb (4 cups) nonfat Greek yogurt
2 egg yolks

Salt the eggplant slices, place them in a colander, and let them drain for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat about an inch deep of olive oil in a deep, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and fry the potato slices until browned but not cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and layer on the bottom of a 9×12″ glass ovenproof casserole dish. In the same oil, saute the peppers over medium-high heat, stirring often, until they start to color, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reserve the oil, measure out 1/4 cup, and return it to the pan. Saute the lamb in the oil, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until no longer red. Add the chopped onion and continue to saute for another 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the cayenne and red wine. When boiling, add the currants and tomatoes. Lower and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more cayenne if wanted. Add the nutmeg and allspice and add to the heat.
Preheat the broiler.
Wipe the eggplant slices with paper towels and place them on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with the reserved oil and broil about 4 inches from the heat until golden brown on both sides.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Arrange the eggplant over the potatoes, overlapping if necessary. Layer the peppers over the eggplant and top with the lamb/tomato mixture. In a bowl, mix the yogurt with the egg yolks, stirring well. Pour the mixture over the lamb/tomato mixture. Bake for 1 hour, until the top starts to color and the moussaka is bubbly.

6-8 Servings.

This recipe from Quick from Scratch Herbs & Spices Cookbook will definitely enter the rotation as an easy to make, fast weeknight dinner. Dill highlights both the salmon and the orzo salad here; this was a great combo!

Whoa, this is dill-icious.

Lisa says:

Oh no, not a pun night…

Chris says:

What’s the dill-i-o? What’s wrong with puns?

Lisa says:

Nothing; I’d just rather talk about this awesome salmon. Fresh off the grill and covered with lemon zest and dill… so good!

Chris says:

It is pretty yummy. I got a good dill on the salmon, too… it was on sale.

Lisa says:

Really? … The puns?

Chris says:

Can’t han-dill it?

Lisa says:

Oh. My. God.

Chris says:

I can do this un-dill the cows come home.

Lisa says:

Oh, dill-ightful.

Grilled Salmon with Orzo Salad
1 cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/2″ dice
4 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2″ dice
1 tsp salt
1/2 lb orzo
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs salmon fillet, about 1″ thick, cut into 4 pieces
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

In a strainer set over a medium bowl, toss the cucumber, tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and let drain for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orzo until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly. Toss the orzo with the 1/3 cup oil, the lemon juice, the 1/3 cup dill, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Light the grill. Coat the salmon with the 1 tablespoon oil, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grill the salmon, skin-side up, for 4 minutes. Turn and sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon dill and the lemon zest. Cook the fish until golden brown and just barely done (the fish should still be translucent in the center), about 3 minutes longer. Serve the fish on the salad.

4 Servings