04 March 2011

Chicken Sloppy Joes

Easy and relatively quick dinner. Had some wholewheat rolls.
Into the hot pan went some olive oil, chopped onions, chopped green peppers. When those were softened, in went a few tsp of minced garlic and half a tsp of minced ginger. 1/4kg chicken mince followed, with some salt, crushed coriander seeds and tumeric. When the chicken was cooked, added in some chopped tomatoes, and miscellaneous sauces. Reduce down to a yummy thick consistency, spoon onto rolls, top with some lettuce and serve (salad or chips on the side).

03 March 2011

Quinoa, Chickpea & Spinach Salad

This is definitely one that is going to be repeated! A salad that's pretty simple to throw together, yet looks great and tastes even better. Incredibly filling as well.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed, then (perhaps damp rather than dry) toasted in the pot to get a bit of nuttiness into it. Add 2 cups of water to that, let it boil then reduce heat and cover, for about 20 minutes until the water's all absorbed and it's lovely and fluffy. Once it's done, it's into the fridge for a quick cooling (stir a few times to quicken the cooling time).

While that's on the go, the rest can be put into a (very large, to allow you to mix easily) bowl:
1 can of chickpeas, drained
2 rather large handfuls of baby spinach. I cut the leaves in half to make it more manageable (I hate large salad leaves and trying to shove it into my mouth gracefully) and chopped up the stems for some crunch
About half a cucumber, sliced into quarters lengthwise, centres removed so the salad wouldn't get soggy the next day, and then slices
A few cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters and seeds removed (see note about not wanting it to be soggy)
As much feta as you think is a good idea, some in largish chunks and some crumbled
A decent amount of mint leaves, chopped up
A good sprinkling of toasted flaked almonds (or you can just top the salad with this when serving, so it retains the crunch nicely)

When the quinoa is cooled, mix it into the salad.

Time for the dressing. 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a good few drops of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. These are mixed together, then mixed into the salad. And toss toss toss. I might make more of the dressing in the future.

Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Tastes great as leftovers the next day too!