Lunch: Cranberry Chicken Salad

 

Rachel's Cranberry Chicken Salad

• Prep
  15 m
• Ready In
  15 m

Recipe By:Rachel

Ingredients

• 2 cooked chicken breast halves, chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise, or to taste
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries (such as Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R))
• 1/4 green apple, shredded

 1/4 cup chopped and toasted raw blanched almonds

• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

Directions

Toast almonds in separate pan and let cool. Mix together the chicken and mayonnaise in a bowl, stir to coat well, then stir in the green onions, dried cranberries, apple, almonds, lime juice, salt, pepper, and dill weed. Serve immediately, or refrigerate several hours or overnight (the flavor just gets better).

Dinner: Kibbee (Lebanese Dish)

Ingredients: 

• Bulgar wheat
• 4lbs of 90% fat beef
• 4 yellow onions
• Lebanese spices or salt, pepper and cinnamon
• All Spice 
• Olive Oil
• Pine nuts
• Salt / Pepper

1. 1lb Bulgar #1 in pan
2. 2.5 lbs meat (PLUS an extra 1.5 lbs meat for hushwee)
3. Cut 2 large yellow onions into food processor and pulse until chopped. Will need 2 more onions
4. Throw chopped onions, meat and a 1/3 cup of salt and ground black pepper into bulgar bowl
5. With bare hands, mix everything in bowl together.  Add water slowly in.
6. Once mixed put meat into food processor a few scoops at a time (not all the meat at once). Pulse it to the consistency you like. Put it back into the bowl.
HUSHWEE TIME
7. Chop 2 onions (don't mince them too small). In the meantime put 1.5 lbs of meat into pan on high heat. Add salt and break up meat in pan like you're making tacos. Let simmer for a few minutes. Lower heat to medium high and break up more. 
8. Drain the meat from the excess water in the pan. Keep meat in strainer and add 1tbsp olive oil to pan. Add onions to oil in pan until they are soft and then add the meat in to the pan once the onions start turning a little yellow.
9. Add 1/4 tsp of AllSpice from Stop n Shop (buy it from anywhere) and 1/4tsp of Cinnamon. Mix all together. Lower the heat to medium low for a couple of minutes.
10. Add 1/4 cup pine nuts into pan and mix on very low. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.

BACK TO KIBBEE
-Put water on hands to make raw kibbee softer and press it down into pan. (See photo) Spread cooked hushwee on top. Add raw kibbee on top of hushwee. Smooth it with hands. Cut designs ALL THE WAY THROUGH meat. (See photo) -put olive oil on top of kibbee (some pple use butter)
-Cook for 60 minutes at 350 degrees

(Bay Sweet in West Roxbury has spices)

Dinner: Shrimp Parmesan Pasta

STEP #1: MARINADE SHRIMP 30 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• Garlic powder or 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 8 ounces penne or linguine 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

See a Quick Sausage Alfredo Recipe

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce. In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine shrimp and olive oil mixture; marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
• In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp and sauce mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2 minutes. Stir in pasta and gently toss to combine; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Serve immediately, garnished with Parmesan and green onions, if desired.

Adapted from: http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/15/spicy-parmesan-shrimp-pasta/

Dinner: Chicken Marsala

There are tons of Chicken Marsala recipes on the internet, but none compares to THIS one!

Total Time: 30 min

Yield:4 servings
Level:Easy

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Essence (spices by Emeril -- search online)
• 2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms ( cremini, oyster, shiitake)
• 3/4 cup Marsala
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions
In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003
Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-marsala-recipe.html