Our Fabulous Bites

 I thought this sounded and looked kind of weird when Isla made it, but turns out, it was yummy. Serves 4 Prep 10 minutes Cook 6-8 minutes Ingredients : 1 cup plain yogurt (greek is fine) 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated zest and juice from 1 lemon 1/2 lemon cut into wedges salt 4 eggs 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil 4 T butter 2 T crushed red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper 1/3 tsp paprika 1 T sesame seeds Fresh parsley, basil, mint, and/or dill for serving (any combo works)  Good hearty bread, or flat bread Directions : 1. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic, lemon zest and juice and a pinch of salt.   2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sesame oil, butter, lemon wedges, red pepper flakes, paprika and pinch of salt.  Cook until lemon is browned, 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and discard lemon wedges.  Stir in the sesame seeds. Set aside. 3. Poach or fry the eggs. 4. Spread the yogurt into the bottom of 4 bowls and add...

 I haven't tried this yet but want to.  I'm putting the recipe here to remind me.  I like beans for breakfast so I was excited to see this recipe under a breakfast section.  Serves 2-4 Ingredients : 2 large naans or pita bread 2 15 oz cans of white beans (navy beans work. So do canned baked beans) 4 tsp harissa A handful of baby spinach 4 eggs 4 green onions, chopped Directions: 1. Preheat the oven broiler to medium.  Place naan bread on baking sheet and set aside. 2.  Add the beans, harissa, and spinach to a sauce pan.  Heat gently over medium heat. 3. Spoon the bean mixture on top of the naan.  Create a dip in the beans so there is a little cup for each egg.  Crack 2 eggs on each naan. Sprinkle green onions onto the eggs and beans.  Don't worry if eggs run a bit. 4. Cook under the broiler for 5 minutes.  This will just set the egg whites and leave the yolk running.  Cook longer if you don't want running eggs.  Serve hot....

 2 1/4 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained 2/3 cups butter 1 tsp salt 1 quart boiling water 1. Put the butter into a large pan on high heat until it becomes golden brown.   2. As soon as the butter is golden brown, add the rice and salt and stir.  Add the hot water and keep stirring until it comes to a boil.  When it does, keep stirring until much of the liquid has evaporated.   3. Cover with a lid and let the rice steam on low heat for 10 minutes.

This is a hit in our family.  I make chicken for the meat eaters and chickpeas for the non-meat eaters and everyone is happy.  I serve this along side a slaw, sliced tomatoes, basmati rice or naan, and Tzatziki.  Serves 4  Ingredients: For the Chicken Shawarma 2 T cornstarch 1 T salt 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 T cayenne 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 2 T vegetable oil 1 lb 10 oz boneless chicken thighs, halved For the Garbanzo Beans  2 cans Garbanzo beans, drained 2 T cornstarch 1 T salt 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 T cayenne 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 2 T vegetable oil Directions : 1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan 2. For the chicken, mix together the cornstarch, salt, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne and cinnamon. 3. Put the oil into a bowl, then add the chicken and stir it around.  Add the dry spice mix and stir to coat all the chicken pieces well.  Layer the pieces o...

 I loved this recipe, a lot.  Jeff wished the poblanos had been roasted and peeled, which I usually would say yes to that too, but I thought they softened up nicely in the instant pot. I worry if they were pre-roasted they would have dissolved in the instant pot. Ingredients 1 pound dry pinto beans 1 small sweet onion, diced 3 poblano peppers, diced 2 tsp oregano  2 tsp cumin 7 cups broth (only do 5 if you want it thicker, but I wanted it more soupy) 1 bay leaf t sp kosher salt 2 -4 T lime juice Instructions 1. Combine the beans, onions, peppers, oregano, cumin and broth into the instant pot. Stir them up then add the bay leaf. 2. Program to High Pressure for 30 minutes then let come to a natural pressure release.  (you can try a quick release after 10-minute natural pressure release if you are in a hurry).   3. drain the liquid in a colander if you want thicker beans. I wanted this more like a soup so I kept the liquid.  Stir in the salt and lime juic...

 Ingredients 1 tsp each of dried basil, parsley, and oregano 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder 1/4 tsp pepper 1 pound fake italian sausage 2 T butter 1 small yellow onion, diced 3/4 cup carrots, diced 2 ribs celery, diced 1-2 small potatoes, peeled and diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 T flour 1-2 tsp hot sauce 1 tsp worcestershire sauce 6 cups broth 2 cans pinto beans (or you can use dried beans that you have soaked and cooked, which I prefer) 3 cups chopped spinach Instructions 1. Cook the sausage, breaking apart as it cooks. Once cooked, moved to another dish. 2. In the pot that you cooked the sausage, add the butter, cooking on medium until it melts.  Add the all the veggies (not the garlic) and cook until they have softened.  Then add the garlic and flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. 3. Add the hot suace, worcestershire sauce, basil, oregano, parsley, mustard powder and pepper and the beans. 4. Add the broth and use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot to get the flavor stuc...