Matt’s Meals

Information:

Time: 45 minutes, 15 minute prep. Serves 4. Goes well with pasta or rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
• 1 bunch chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and coriander. Place the chicken in the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and rub on all sides with the spice mixture.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in the skillet. Cook 10 to 15 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet. Cook and stir the onion, ginger, jalapeño peppers, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Mix in the tomatoes and continue cooking 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Serve over the chicken. Garnish with the parsley. Be sure to let the sauce warm up to a simmer after you add the coconut milk, which is probably coming from a room temperature can. In addition, by the time the sauce is ready to be poured, the chicken has been sitting unheated for at least 10 minutes. So it’s important to heat the sauce if you want this meal to be warm.

Assessment:

In addition to tasting great, it was exciting to pour the simmering sauce over the golden spiced chicken at the end. The coconut and jalapeño are really present. While cooking, the seasoned chicken releases aromas aplenty. I think the 15-minute prep time is a bit optimistic, as this meal took me half an hour. But most cooks are probably more efficient.

Lessons Learned:

The recipe called for 3 tomatoes, and I used one can of diced tomato (draining the juice from the can beforehand.) Also, I made this at a friend’s house and forgot to bring cumin. Beyond that, I would definitely use larger chicken breasts next time. I don’t care for tomato or onion on their own (although I like the flavors), and it seemed that my plate was mostly covered in them. But had the chicken been larger, it would have been more balanced. A side of rice would round out the meal, especially as one could mix the vegetables and sauce with the rice.

Recipe from Allrecipes.

Info:

Time: 1.5 hours, 15 minute prep. Serves 8. Goes great with warm grilled pita bread and a crisp Greek salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• half cup chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1.5 cups chopped onions
• 8 cups water
• 24 ounces beef stock or broth
• 2 cups dry lentils, rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1.5 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1.5 teaspoons chopped mint (optional)
• half teaspoon salt
• half teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 10 ounces of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

Directions:

• In a large stock pot, heat the oil and saute garlic, celery, onions, and carrot until veggies are tender. Make sure the oil covers the bottom of the pan before throwing the vegetables in. The oil will get runnier as it warms. Keep the heat somewhere around medium. If the oil is crackling, it’s too high. Toss the vegetables around so that they are heated evenly. I just waited until the carrots were soft enough to stick a fork in one without hearing a “crisp”.
• Add the water, stock, and the rinsed lentils. To rinse the lentils, put them in a bowl or pot, run water over them, and drain.
• Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (low or medium-low), cover and cook for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add the tomatoes, along with the juice in the can, as well as the chopped herbs, and salt and pepper.
• Stir in the spinach and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes more. I rinsed my spinach too. Rinsing produce is generally a good idea.
• Re-check seasoning before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assessment:

Thick with lentils and spinach, this soup was hearty and filling. The carrots are tender and steeped with flavor.

Lessons learned:

I didn’t have any tomatoes, so I poured in 8 ounces of tomato juice instead. This worked well enough, but the diced tomatoes would have added some color to the soup and given it more texture, so I recommend using actual tomatoes. Also, my carrot slices were too thick (I didn’t see the “finely chopped” part above), so although they were moist and delicious, there were only one or two slices per bowl, which was too sparse, and boring.

Recipe from Recipezaar.