What's For Supper?

Persian Chicken Kabobs

1 ½ half pounds of boneless chicken, I used white meat, but you can of course use dark.   Cut into cubes/chunks because you will be putting these on skewers.  I have a set of metal ones.  If you use wooden ones, be sure to soak them in water for about 15-20 minutes.  This will make sure they don’t burn during grilling.

Marinade

·      1 TSP salt

·      ¼ TSP pepper

·      3 cloves of garlic minced

·      1 small onion fine dice

·      ½ TSP saffron –expensive but well worth it I used a lot less and it still very tasty

·      ½ TSP Turmeric used extensively in Middle Eastern and Indian cooking.  Gives it that rich yellow color.  Also very good for you.

·      3 TBL fresh lime juice. Don’t even think about substituting lemon juice. 

·      ¼ cup of olive oil

Mix marinade in bowl.  Put the chicken in bowl, coat well and put it back into the refrigerator for at least ½ hour.  I marinated it for an hour, and you can even marinade overnight. 

Heat the grill to 400 degrees.  Thread the chicken on the skewers.  I dumped the rest of the marinade onto the chicken and then put it on the fire.  NEVER use a marinade on the side after it has had chicken in it.  Either make more marinade, OR set some aside for dipping.  Cook each side for about 10 minutes or until the inside is NOT pink.  You can use an instant read thermometer to check doneness.  160 degrees.  Enjoy!

Serves 6

Watermelon Feta Salad

http://theshiksa.com/2011/06/29/watermelon-feta-salad-with-mint/

She is my new best friend in the blogosphere. 

Serves 8

Saffron Quinoa

1 medium onion diced

3 cloves of garlic minced

¼ TSP saffron threads

1 cup quinoa

2 cups of water

1 TBL extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan heat the oil on medium.  When the oil starts to shimmer, add in the onions and salt and pepper to season.  Sweat them for a few minutes until they just start to turn golden.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the quinoa and stir.  Add the water and saffron.  Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Check every now and then.  Give it a shake and remove from heat when done. 

Serves 4-6

Roasted Vegetables

Anything in the house.  Tonight I used

1 onion sliced

4 ounces of mushrooms halved

1 small head of broccoli  florets

¼  head of cauliflower florets

1 TBL extra virgin olive oil

Cut up the vegetables and put in bowl.  You can salt and pepper to taste or an herb blend. I love Penzey’s spice blends.  Tonight I used Sunny Paris.  You can use whatever dry herbs you like.  Add the spices and oil.  Toss well.  You either roast at 450 degrees in the oven until done or if you have a grilling basket, use that.  The cauliflower usually takes the longest so you might want to put that in first, wait about 5-7 minutes and then toss in the rest.  You can use carrots, peppers, squash, whatever you like as vegetables.  The roasting brings out the natural sweetness.  Experiment and you will wonder how you ever made vegetables otherwise.

Serves 4

Depending on how many you are going to feed and amount of left- overs you want, adjust the amounts appropriately.  I used one chicken breast and that was enough for both my wife and me and leftovers for tonight. I used one half of a watermelon and still have about half of the salad left over.