Indian and Herb Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

Indian and Herb Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

Indian and Herb Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

 

Lamb is one of my favorite meats.  Personally I like it more than beef, if given the choice between lamb and steak, I’d choose the lamb every time.  My husband on the other hand prefers steak.  He is 100% a meat and potato’s kind of guy.  After having these lamb chops he said that he’s a convert..Lol..I doubt it!   However, I’m glad that he thought that these lamb chops were delicious. I came up with the idea of marinating these with the fillings that I use for my Lamb Patties.  I added a little bit of curry powder and cumin to give the chops a little punch of flavor.  I’m so glad I did these are super flavorful, and grilling them made them more amazing than they already were.  If you only try one of my lamb recipes try this one! You will not be disappointed!!!

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1 pound of lamb chops

1/4 cup  fresh cilantro

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup fresh mint

1 large shallot (can sub with onion, use half of a small onion)

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Sea salt to taste

 

Directions: To a blender add cilantro, parsley, mint, curry powder, cumin powder, shallot and olive oil, blend into a paste.  Season the lamb chops with sea salt, then rub with the marinade.

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Once your grill is nice and hot, place the lamb chops on the grill and cook for 7-8 minutes on each side or until the chops reach you’re desired level of doneness.  Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan, Lemon and Red Pepper Flakes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Parmesan, Lemon, and Red Pepper Flakes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Parmesan, Lemon, and Red Pepper Flakes

 

 

I was at the farmers market this past Sunday, doing my usual weekly shopping.  One of my favorite vendor’s had these beautiful stalks of brussels sprouts.  I got so excited about them that a woman, who was also shopping, pulled me aside and whispered : “How do you cook those?” This isn’t the first time this has happened to me,  believe it or not, people stop me all the time, either at the farmers market, or at Whole Foods, to ask how to cook a variety of vegetables. The funny thing about people asking me cooking questions is that they almost always whisper the question?  I don’t understand why they whisper the question! I want to tell them, “you know you’re not the only person on the planet who has no idea what to do with ((insert name of vegetable here)).”   I shared this recipe for roasted brussels sprouts with the  the lady at the farmer’s market. It’s simple, easy and so delicious.  It’s one of my absolute favorite ways to cook and eat brussels sprouts.

 

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Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of brussels sprouts halved

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of olive oil ( or ghee or coconut oil)

Sea salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese

 

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 425F. Add the lemon juice and red pepper flakes to a medium sized bowl and set aside.  In a medium bowl add the brussels sprouts, oil and sea salt, toss well making sure that all the brussels sprouts are evenly covered with oil.

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Place on a foil lined baking sheet and put in the oven.

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Cook  for 10-15 minute, or until the brussels sprouts take on a significant amount of color and they become crisp and tender. Sprinkle the sprouts with  half the cheese and cook for another minute or two, just until cheese melts and becomes crisp, remove the sprouts from the oven, transfer them to the bowl with the lemon juice and the red pepper flakes, toss well to coat the brussels sprouts with the lemon juice, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, serve immediately and enjoy! These are crispy, tangy with a little kick! They are the perfect side dish for almost any meal!

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Ground Chicken and Cabbage Curry

Ground Chicken and Cabbage Curry

Ground Chicken and Cabbage Curry

Do you ever pull out something for dinner and then have no clue what you’re going to make with it? I do…all the time! Most of the time it works out, but working out on some days can be relative. Success for me is getting a nutritious meal on the table on most days. This Chicken and Cabbage curry recipe  almost didn’t come together. I pulled out the ground chicken, but all I had to go with it was the cabbage. I didn’t have any fresh onion, no fresh garlic, none of the ingredients one needs to make something taste good. My fridge was empty because I had put off grocery shopping, and now I had to pay the price. I turned to my cupboards for help. I had a bevy of ground dried spices, curry, onion powder, ground ginger and garlic.  From those dried spices, this meal was born, and let me tell you what a delicious meal it was! It is one of my husbands favorite meals. I’ve made this with fresh onion and garlic, but the dried spices give this much better flavor.

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground chicken

1 tablespoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 tablespoons of curry powder

1 teaspoon of ground ginger powder

2-3 tablespoons of  olive oil, or ghee

1 small head of cabbage, chopped roughly

4 tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a pan add dried spices and  heat for 20 seconds or just until spices become fragrant. Add in ground meat and brown. Once meat has cooked, add in the cabbage, and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until cabbage wilts a bit.

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Remove from heat, top with cilantro and serve as is, or over a bowl of brown basmati rice and enjoy!

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Lemony Chicken Orzo Soup–It’s gluten free!

Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

Last week I was out with my husband running errands and we were trying to decide on lunch.  He wanted something filling, and I wanted a really great salad.  As easy as salads are to make and obtain, very few match the salads that I make myself.  I knew it would not be easy to find a place to eat in which we would both leave happy.  After verbally running through a list of eateries, my husband saying no to some, me saying no to others, we both compromised and settled on Panera. I ordered my salad, and after some time mulling over the menu, my husband ordered a bowl of lemon orzo soup.  The ceasar salad  I ordered, was not as great as the  Ceasar salad I make at home, but I was expecting that. However, my husband really enjoyed his soup.  I didn’t taste the soup, but it looked really good, and since he enjoyed it, I decided I would try to make it at home for him.  He is such a big fan of soups in general. When I make soup, which is not often, he rants and raves, because to him, soups are a big treat. The key to any great soup is the broth.  I made some broth with the leftover carcass of a roast chicken that we had for dinner.  I will share that recipe and two other ways to make chicken broth with you later.  For this soup use the best organic chicken broth that you can find.  I used a gluten free orzo for this, you can leave it outfor a paleo version of this soup, or use a regular pasta orzo for an authentic Lemon chicken orzo soup.

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients: 1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or 4 cups of pre-cooked chicken cubed

1 cup of diced carrots (3 medium carrots)

1 cup of diced celery (4 celery stalks)

1 large onion diced

2 large cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1 cup of spinach finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro

3-4 Tablespoons of Lemon juice less or more depending on your taste

6 cups of organic chicken broth

1/2 cup of orzo gluten free brand

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoon of olive oil

 

Directions: Season chicken with sea salt and black pepper and set aside. In a stock pot heat oil, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Saute until onions turn translucent, add chicken stock, and chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. image Add in orzo and cook until orzo is al dente (10 minutes), then stir in spinach, cilantro and lemon juice, turn off fire, serve and enjoy! image image

Chicken Enchilada’s with Salsa Verde

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

 

Chicken enchilada’s are so easy to make. You can throw almost anything in enchiladas and not mess them up and they’re done in less than 30 minutes. A friend gave me some homemade salsa verde, and the moment I tasted it, I knew that it would make these enchiladas sing!  For the chicken in these I just threw a chopped onion and 1 pound of chicken thighs in my pressure cooker with enough water to cover, and cooked the chicken for 20 minutes–easy peasy.  But if you have leftover chicken you can use that.

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Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb of cooked chicken (shredded)

2 cups of cheddar cheese (grated)

2 cups of salsa verde

1/2 cup of black olives, sliced

10-12 corn tortilla’s

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Lightly greese a 9×11 baking dish, then line the bottom of  the baking dish with corn tortillas.  Top the tortillas with the shredded chicken, top the chicken with salsa verde, top the salsa verde with cheese, and  finally add a layer of  black olives.  Cover the olives with one more layer of corn tortillas, add a  layer of salsa verde, a layer of cheese and the last of the olives. image Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted, remove from the oven, serve and enjoy! image

Moroccan Spiced Grilled Lamb Kabobs

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Kabobs

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Kabobs

I don’t know where you live, but for the last week or so it’s been in the high 90’s here in Southern California.  When it’s hot like this, I resort to making my husband cook on the grill.  No one wants to cook in this kind of heat, but we must eat, so grilling it is. I love grilled meat period, but lamb was made to be grilled.  I remember several years back introducing my southern family to lamb grilled on the barbecue. I had invited them over for a cook out, and in addition to grilled chicken, I was serving grilled lamb.  When they found out that chicken and lamb were their only meat options, I had a family mutiny on my hands.  “Lamb?!!! We don’t eat lamb! You just wasted your money!” “Where is the real food? What happened to the ribs?!” Haha! I still laugh thinking about that day, because, after a bit of convincing, I got one of them to try it, and they all quickly fell in line! Ten seconds into them all trying it, they were fighting over who was going to get the last piece!  Now when we have a barbecue, lamb is on the menu, and I’m not the one bringing it, they are!  I’ve also converted several friends of mine who aren’t  fans of lamb into eating lamb by serving it to them grilled. I personally love lamb anyway you serve it. But there is just something about grilled lamb that speaks to everyone’s taste buds.

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Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

 

 

Ingredients:

1 pound of lamb loin cubed

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of coriander

1 teaspoon of garlic paste

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of finely chopped mint

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

Directions:

In a  small bowl mix the cumin, coriander, lemon juice, mint and olive oil together.

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Season lamb meat generously with sea salt and black pepper. Pour the marinade over the lamb and mix well.

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Add the seasoned lamb to skewers, then grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until the lamb reaches your desired level of doneness–about 15 minutes for medium.  Serve with veggie skewers or this cucumber and tomato salad,  or this Cucumber with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette and  this Lemon Cauliflower Rice and enjoy!

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Citrus Marinaded Chicken Thighs

Citrus Marinated Chicken Thighs

My husband gave me a food saver for Christmas. Most women would balk at such a gift, but not me, I’ve wanted a Food Saver for a long while now. Among the many great things that a Food Saver does, like resealing opened bags of chips, and preserving veggies for an indefinite amount of time, is marinating meat in under 15 minutes. Who knew that sucking the air out of something would create such great results. You don’t need a food saver to make this, just marinate your chicken the old fashioned way, 30 minutes in this marinade is great, but longer is always better.

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Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
5-6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup of green onions sliced
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/4 cup of mandarin juice/ orange juice
1 teaspoon of mandarin or orange zest
3 cloves of garlic grated
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Juice of 1 small lime
1 tablespoon of cilantro finely chopped
2 tablespoon of olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Directions:
In a medium bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the chicken, mix well, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven 425F. Line a baking sheet with foil, remove the chicken from the marinade, and place it on the foil lined baking sheet. Cook on 425F for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Top with cilantro and enjoy!