Chicken, potatoes, hummus, apple crisp and other good food

Carrot hummus, caramelized onions, pita bread

I love having dinner guests because I can make a multi-course meal without filling the fridge with leftovers. This was my menu for a Lebanese-inspired dinner (I still have sumac to use from my trip to Lebanon). I was probably most excited about the carrot hummus turning out, and successfully attempting caramelized onions. 


Brussels sprouts, potato and onion
Add sumac and some lemon juice to this recipe

Chicken 
With sumac, onion and peppers

Carrot hummus
With za'atar and caramelized onions

And for dessert... 
Simple apple crisp 
With ice cream, of course

Bonus recipe: 
Cucumber yogurt dip
Good with pita, or over spring greens as a side salad

Carrot hummus with za'atar and caramelized onions

Carrot hummus

5-6 carrots
2 cans chick peas
olive oil (about 1-2 T)
tahini (about 2 T)
lemon juice (about 1 T)
diced garlic (about 2-3 cloves)
salt
za'atar
caramelized onions (I followed these directions and used 4 yellow onions)

Cut carrots in halves or thirds, toss with olive oil and roast in oven until soft. Purée carrots in a blender (add some olive oil and water to help blend). Rinse chick peas and purée, adding garlic, salt, olive oil, water, lemon juice and tahini a little at a time until it reaches the right consistency and taste. Mix hummus with the carrots and dust top with za'atar. When ready to serve, top with a little more olive oil and caramelized onions. Serve with pita bread and these other dishes.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Cucumber yogurt dip

Cucumber yogurt dip
(also known as tzatziki, one of my favorite foods)

1 cup plain yogurt
garlic, diced
pinch of dried mint
lemon juice
1/2 English (seedless) cucumber

Remove skin from cucumber. Grate cucumber and use paper towels to absorb much of the water in it. Mix with yogurt (the thicker the yogurt, the thicker your dip -- use regular yogurt for something that will go over salad, or Greek yogurt for a pita dip). Season with lemon juice, garlic and mint a little at a time until reaching preferred taste. When I visited Greece, I had tzatziki almost every day and each restaurant made it slightly different. Enjoy as part of a full dinner with these dishes.

Chicken with sumac, onion and peppers

Chicken with sumac, onion and peppers

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 yellow onions, cut into strips
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 red pepper, cut into strips
fresh parsley, chopped
dried thyme
ground sumac
salt
ground pepper
juice from 1/2 lemon

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic, stir, then add peppers for a couple minutes. Add chicken pieces and season with salt, pepper, sumac, thyme and lemon juice. Add a little water (1/8 to 1/4 cup) to keep the chicken from drying out. Cook for a few minutes before adding parsley. Cover and simmer on low until chicken is done.
Serve with these other dishes!

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Simple apple crisp

Fast, easy, reasonably healthy, delicious: My kind of dessert. I made a few changes, but the basic recipe is from my mom (thanks, Mom!). This is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top...

Simple apple crisp
4 cups apples, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup water (unless using frozen apples that have been thawed -- they have enough extra water)

Mix apple pieces with honey and 1/2 tsp cinnamon (and water if using fresh apples). Spread in bottom of square glass dish. Combine butter and brown sugar; mix in flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and oats. Spread topping over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Muddy Buddies brownies

The fun thing about trying new recipes is that you never really know how they will turn out; sometimes recipe experiments go horribly wrong, and sometimes recipes that are in the process of going horribly wrong turn into something quite good. This was the latter. I was attempting to make "reverse" Muddy Buddies, using white chocolate and cocoa powder. But, the combination of white chocolate and honey I made was not something that would spread well over the cereal. In an attempt to save dessert, I pulled out of my pantry a box brownie mix. I crushed the cereal into the white chocolate mix and poured the brownie batter over top. The result was a sweet, uniquely flavored brownie. Moral of the story -- don't be afraid to try random recipe ideas, and don't give up halfway through if your idea isn't working!

Muddy Buddies brownies

8 cups Chex rice cereal
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
cinnamon
cocoa powder
1 box brownie mix
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites, beaten

Melt white chocolate chips and butter in the microwave and stir with honey. Mix with crushed rice cereal. Spread evenly in a greased dish. Lightly dust top of cereal mixture with cinnamon and cocoa powder. In a bowl, combine brownie mix with oil, water and egg whites (this may be different from the directions on the box). Pour brownie mixture over the cereal, letting it settle evenly in the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Brown soup bread

I call this soup bread because it's hearty and a great side for winter soup. It also takes very little time to prepare, as it doesn't require yeast.

Brown soup bread

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup barley flour
1 T amber agave nectar (can sub. honey)
2 T ground flaxseed
2 egg whites
1 T canola oil
1 T molasses
2 tsp baking soda
6 oz (one container) plain, lowfat yogurt
1/3 cup water
golden raisins (op)
oats (op)

Beat egg whites until fluffy, mix in flax, oil, molasses, agave, yogurt, water and baking soda. Fold in flours and raisins, if using. Grease and flour a cookie sheet. Shape the dough into a loaf and place on the pan (the dough is sticky -- use flour on your hands!). Use a knife to make a split in the top of the bread. Sprinkle oats over the top and bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)

Winter vegetable and bean soup

Winter is not my season. Dark, cold, sleepy. But hot soup and oven-fresh bread were made for January and February. It's inexpensive, makes the house smell wonderful, and makes lots of food (freeze the leftovers!). The best part is how easy it is to make -- throw a bunch of raw ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning, and hours later, dinner! I often plan what type of soup I will make by what frozen veggies I have in my freezer that need to be used. Here's a filling soup that I'll be enjoying for many meals to come...

Winter vegetable and bean soup

2 cups dry lentils
2 1/2 cups presoaked chickpeas
2 cups presoaked barley
2 cups chopped onion (about one bag frozen)
one small package frozen kale
2 cups frozen green beans
1 cup frozen green peas
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 T lemon juice
6 tsp chicken bouillon (sodium free)
1/2 tsp each dried oregano, parsley, marjoram and turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
sea salt and black pepper to taste (I used about 2 tsp each)
10 cups water*

Prepare dry chickpeas and barley by soaking in cold water overnight. Combine all ingredients in a large slow cooker and set on high for about four hours. Then, cook on low for another three hours. I had to keep adding water because the soup was getting so thick, but eventually I couldn't fit more water in my slow cooker. If you have a larger one, add more than 10 cups of water. Otherwise, just add some hot water before serving to thin it out a bit. Enjoy, and stay warm!

(Recipe by H. Farrell)