Moroccan Chicken

Hard to beat this one :) I served it with cauliflower rice that I sauted with white onions, and the spices from the chicken. Adapted and modified from this wonderful recipe: https://www.daringgourmet.com/moroccan-tagine/ 

Ingredients: 

8-10 boneless skinless chicken thighs 

1 tablespoon garlic, minced 

1 tablespoon ginger, grated 

2 teaspoons ground turmeric 

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

2 teaspoons ground coriander 

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 small onion, diced 

1 tablespoon harissa (or less if you prefer less spicy) (or other red chile paste) 

⅓ cup dried apricots, chopped 

⅓ cup white raisins, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced 

⅓ cup slivered almonds 

4 cups + chicken stock 

lots of lemon juice 

1 cup english peas, fresh if you can find. 

Salt to taste 

Extra slivered almonds for garnishing 

Cauliflower rice and 1/2 white onion, chopped (for the base if you'd like)

I started by trimming about 8-10 boneless chicken thighs. Heat up my Dutch Oven with some olive oil. I made my spice rub for the chicken with the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon (you can double if you want to hold on to some of it for the cauliflower rice). Rub generously onto the chicken, then brown each piece on both sides and set aside. In the same Dutch oven add a little more olive oil, then saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the harissa and stir in. Then add the apricots, white raisins and garlic. Add the chicken back to the pot and stir. Add about 4 cups of chicken broth and at least 2 Tbs of lemon juice. Put in about one cup of english peas. Let cook for several hours until chicken pulls apart. Serve over the flavorful cauliflower rice (doctor it with the onion, olive oil, and spices from the mixture used to rub the chicken).

Thai Curry Pepper Soup

I love cooking Thai food. This is served like a soup, with yummy fresh lime juice, avocados, fried shallots, bean sprouts on top :) I've served over rice noodles, over shiritaki noodles, and most recently over a small scoop of cauliflower rice. 

Adapted from : https://carlsbadcravings.com/one-pot-thai-chicken-noodle-soup/ 

 INGREDIENTS: 

olive oil 

8-10 boneless chicken thighs, trimmed 

1 white onion, chopped 

4 tablespoons red curry paste 

2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 

6-8 garlic cloves, minced 

 Lots of Peppers: I use 1 poblano, 5 sweet baby peppers, 4 jalapenos, shishitos, banana peppers, 1 red bell pepper - all diced 

2 small packages of mushrooms, halved or quartered into large but bite sized pieces 

baby bok choy, x 6, chopped coarsely 

 4-6 cups chicken stock 

2 14 oz. cans quality coconut milk (Chaokoh recommended from initial source and I loved it) 

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 

2 tablespoons fish sauce 

2 tablespoons brown sugar 

1 tablespoon dried basil (I use fresh Thai basil when it's growing in my garden, a large bunch) 

2 Tbs lime juice 

3 oz. rice vermicelli/thin rice noodles/sticks broken into pieces** 

1/4 cup chopped cilantro 

2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 

1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha or more to taste 

Garnish: crushed peanuts chopped cilantro lime juice 

Trim chicken thighs. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger powder. I have a crockpot insert that is aluminum and can go on the stovetop initially, so I use it to brown the chicken ahead of time on both sides. Put chicken aside. In the same pot, pour a little more olive oil and saute onion. Add garlic and ginger, stir. Add red curry paste and mix. Then add peppers and mushrooms, bok choy. Pour in chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar, all with a good squirt of lime juice. 

Can double this portion of the recipe if the sauce seems too "coconutty". Serve over rice/cauliflower rice/noodle of choice in bowls. Garnish with cilantro, avocado slices, fried shallots (can get at Asian groceries, very worth the effort), and lime wedges.

Crockpot Thai Noodles

This is so good and easy to do ahead of time!  I like with jasmine rice and scallions OR over thai rice noodles!

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 cup light coconut milk
2 Tbs tamarind chutney
1 1/2 Tbs fish sauce
3 peppers sliced (red and yellow)
3 carrots sliced
3 celery stalks diced
One handful of snap peas/ snow peas cut bite sized
3 chicken breasts, cubed
1 bunch cilantro
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp ginger
2 tbs lime juice plus more at end
2 Tbs sugar to taste

Sear all sides of cubes of chicken in pan with hot olive oil (and on chicken salt pepper ginger garlic red pepper). Transfer to crockpot.
All in crockpot for 4 hours on low
Serve with soft noodles or with rice