Moroccan Chicken

April 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

When you’re in the mood for something completely different try Moroccan chicken.  This is another recipe from Simple and Delicious.  This easy crock pot meal is full of unique flavors. It may look like a lot of ingredients, but the only thing I had to buy especially for the recipe was the squash… everything else I already had in my pantry.

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 6 hours

1 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup raisins
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 pitted green olives
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cold water
Hot cooked couscous

Place squash, beans, onion, broth, raisins, and garlic in the slow cooker. Combine coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper; rub over chicken. Place chicken in slow cooker on top of other ingredients.

Veggies

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender. Add tomatoes and olives during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Moroccan chicken

Remove chicken and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into cooking juices. Return to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with chicken, vegetables and couscous.

Fancy persentation

Do you like my fancy presentation? That’s what it looked like in the magazine! We enjoyed the chicken rub most. I don’t think I’ve used cinnamon on chicken before so that was different and yummy. I made only a few minor changes to the recipe. I used yellow squash instead of butternut because I bought it frozen and that was the only choice. I skipped the olives because I don’t care for them. Obviously, I didn’t use the cornstarch, I used arrowroot. And we had rice instead of couscous. When I make it again I think I would only do half a can of chickpeas, even though I like them they made it a little dryer. I would also double the amount of raisins, because I love raisins and they are so juicy when cooked.

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What’s Yours Like?

April 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you haven’t played this game yet, you should.  Basically, everyone except the guesser knows the word that everyone is describing.  The guesser then has to ask each person what their’s is like.  Each player has to give a truthful answer as to what their’s is like… but their answer doesn’t necessarily have to be helpful to the guesser.

Game

The object of the game is to guess the word by asking as few questions as possible. But they only have vague and not-so-helpful answers to form their guesses from.

Physique

Sounds easy enough, until it’s your turn and you have no idea what people are talking about.  The first word was physique.  So, when asked what’s your like, answers ranged from could use some improvement to larger than it used to be to the result of too much chocolate!

DadsMoms

The answers make perfect sense when you know the word they are intended for, but not so much when you don’t.

Jesse guessing

We had a good time laughing at answers and guesses with both sets of our parents.  My parents hadn’t had a chance to see Jesse’s parents yet, so last night was their last chance before they left. Nothing goes together better than family, dessert, and a game!

Filed Under: Family, Food Reviews Tagged With: ,

Nutritionally Challenged

April 13, 2011 By 2 Comments

I have a friend who likes to refer to my food allergies issues as being nutritionally challenged. I think that is the perfect way to put it because it has become such a constant challenge. When our group of friends get together there are two of us that deal with food allergies so there are always warnings about foods that are not intended for the nutritionally challenged. I really appreciate that they understand my needs for safe foods and love that it doesn’t stop the rest of them from having the foods that they enjoy.

The Allergic Girl book that I read encourages the nutritionally challenged to rethink how they view their food by becoming a foodie. Foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. Foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food.

Cooking toolsSo I have been challenging myself to try out new foods and make new recipes and it’s been fun. I now view cooking as a hobby rather than a necessity to survive. As my cooking skills continue to improve I am being more confident to substitute ingredients based on what I happen to have in the fridge or even cook without a recipe and make it up as I go. I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly anymore, there are almost always adjustments needed for ingredients that I can’t have.  But I don’t focus on what I can’t have anymore and I don’t automatically rule out a recipe because I can’t have some of the ingredients.  It just means that I get the challenge of making it my own version which makes the meal that much more satisfying when it does turn out well.

We also love to watch and learn from cooking shows. Our favorites are Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, and Man versus Food among others. Lately we’ve also been watching The Next Great Restaurant. We like to see how these people create their food and figure out how we can make a similar dish. I think my most favorite cooking show is Good Eats because it is so educational. I hear the theme song for the show playing in my head as I write that sentence. I love watching that show because he explains the role each ingredient plays in a dish and the history behind how our favorite foods came to be. The show really gives a different perspective on food preparation and makes me want to try what he makes.

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