Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Couscous

Well, like I said posts are going to be a bit rare for awhile. Josh is busier and busier with each passing week, making a lot of dinner effort hard to muster when he won't even be eating it several nights a week. The grocery budget is getting tighter for us too, just like it is for so many other households. Just doesn't allow for as much freedom as I once had in planning the weekly menu and shopping list. This is a recipe that I actually made quite awhile back. I didn't think the picture turned out all that appetizingly, but I decided to go ahead and share it with you guys. Chicken thighs can be a very cost effective protein choice, so a good option for meat eaters these days. And with only 5 ingredients required, several of which might be staples in your kitchen, it could be a recipe that keeps your weekly grocery spending down.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Couscous
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4












8 chicken thighs
2 zucchini (about 1 pound total), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in upper third. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place, skin side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes.
• Remove sheet from oven, and turn chicken, skin side up. Scatter zucchini around chicken, and season with salt and pepper; toss with pan juices. Return sheet to oven, and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan; season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and stir in couscous. Cover, and let stand until all the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Stir in parsley, vinegar, roasted zucchini, and 2 tablespoons pan juices; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with zucchini and couscous.

My notes: My chicken stuck a little bit to the pan, so maybe a light rubbing with olive oil could help with that. Other than that this was a good, easy recipe that I'd probably make again.

Bonjour Breakfast!

Okay, I'll give you a little break from the spinach with a yummy breakfast. Sorry the posts are fewer and far-between, but I've just got a lot of stuff going on. It's just one of those times when it's easier to make fast and familiar things, meaning not much new to share. Anyway, recently I decided to do a little experiment in freezing bread. I love to buy fresh sourdough and challah from the Central Market bakery, but with just the two of us we either have to throw ourselves under the power of white flour full-time (not too healthy) or some of it goes to waste (not too frugal). This time I packaged up pairs of slices in plastic wrap, then foil, and popped them in freezer bags. This has turned out really well, so far. Last weekend I made some really yummy french toast with the challah. I used a Martha Stewart recipe as a sort of guideline, and did some tweaking based on serving size.

French Toast
Adapted from Martha Stewart; Serves 2












4 slices challah bread, about 1" thick each
4 eggs
3/4 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Butter

• Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt in a bowl; set aside.
• Place bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak 10 minutes.
• Heat butter in skillet over medium heat. Fry bread until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve warm.

My notes: I used this Martha recipe, eliminating a few things I didn't care for (nutmeg) and adjusting a bit for what I had on hand (soy milk) and serving size. I probably could have done with one less egg too. The recipe tells you to soak for 20 minutes, 10 on each side. My bread filled my shallow pie dish, and from the lack of space was very well soaked through with just the first 10 minutes. Also, Martha suggests using butter and vegetable oil for frying, but I just went with butter and have no regrets. :) If you're making more servings then you can keep your first batches warm in a 250 degree oven.

Spinach Fest 2008- Spinach Quesadillas

Boy, you'd think I'd married Popeye the sailor man what with all these spinach recipes in a row. And I even have one more in my pocket! This is a little something I whipped up a couple weeks ago. I had one night open on my menu plan that I just couldn't think to fill. I wanted something that would be really easy to put together, so I decide I would just come up with some kind of quesadillas. I decided on using chopped spinach and black beans for my filling, along with some cheese of course. These were really great! I think I might make a batch to tuck into the freezer for emergency meals. I can't remember now what I served with them, aside form our usual salad. I think we just had some chips & salsa with them. I would have liked cilantro-lime rice, but I think cilantro and peppers were off the shelves at the time.

Spinach Quesadillas
Recipe by me; Makes 6












6 wheat flour tortillas
1 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chiles
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
Ground cumin
Shredded cheese- I used cheddar and pepper jack
Olive oil

• Mix the drained beans, spinach, and chiles together in a bowl. Add salt, pepper and cumin to taste.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat. Rub surface with paper towel dipped in olive oil. Place one tortilla into the pan. Top with shredded cheese. Once the cheese starts to melt place about 1/3 cup of the filling on one half of the tortilla. Gently fold the tortilla over the filling and press down. Let sit for a moment on each side of the tortilla to warm the filling through and finish melting the cheese. Remove quesadilla from pan and repeat process with remaining ingredients. Serve, cutting into wedges if you like.

My notes: The chile amount is a guess. Jalapeños were hard to come by, and I had a 7 oz. can of chopped green chiles, of which I used half or more. And the cumin I really did just sprinkle liberally over the filling, so just use your personal judgment. I love using wheat tortillas to make quesadillas this way. They are a little sturdier than white flour tortillas, so the don't tend to split when folded or become soggy from cheese or fillings. What are you favorite quesadilla fillings?

Spinach & Feta Hand-pies and Roasted Carrots with Honey

I've been relying on some of the goodies I had stashed away in the freezer earlier in the season. These hand-pies are one of the recipes that I stocked the freezer with. Everyday Food called them turnovers, but I prefer my title, ha. These things were a little bit of a pain to make at the time, but having something I can just pop in the oven has really made up for any frustration I felt at the time. Of course, I only have one more pair in the freezer, so I may be remembering that frustration very soon indeed. This side dish is so easy, and so delicious. A really great alternative to glazed carrots, which I often find too sweet. This is also a fast and easy fix when I know in advance that I'll be making them. I just cut my carrots while prepping the rest of my weekly produce, then have only to toss with oil and toss in the oven.

Spinach & Feta Hand-Pies
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 8












2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 10 oz. boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups crumbled feta
2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash
All purpose flour, for work surface
1 box (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold

• In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium; add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in spinach, feta, lemon juice, and cayenne. Season filling with salt and pepper, set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each portion of dough (still folded in thirds) into a 12" square; cut each into quarters to form a total of 8 equal squares.
• Dividing evenly, spoon filling onto center of each of the 8 squares. Lightly brush two adjoining edges of each square with some egg wash. Fold these edges over filling to form a triangle; press firmly to seal (dough should be tightly pressed around filling). With a floured fork, crimp edges.
• Transfer turnovers to two baking sheets; brush tops with remaining egg wash. Bake until golden and puffed, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating sheets half-way through.
• To Freeze: Freeze unbaked turnovers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, wrap turnovers individually in plastic wrap; store in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• To Bake From Frozen: Unwrap frozen turnovers, and bake as in step 4, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.

My notes: I had trouble getting the puff pastry rolled out properly. I ended up doing squares, and they are smaller than the recipe intended, but still substantial. I had filling leftover, which I put in the freezer. I have used some of it for another recipe, and still have plenty in there to make more pies with or use for something else. Since I typically only bake two at a time I don't have to worry with rotating the pies, and usually just bake with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Roasted Carrots with Honey
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

1.5 lbs. carrots, cut on the diagonal into 2" lengths and halved lengthwise if thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon honey

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots with oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, and toss with honey.

My notes: All I have to say is yum!