Chicken and Brussel sprout sandwich

I made a dozen or so chicken breasts I bought on clearance yesterday at Target. I baked them in the oven in homemade chicken stock and water.

So for lunch I sliced up two hunks of chicken and sautéed them quickly in extra virgin olive oil and ras el hanout. I sliced about 20 leftover Brussel sprouts in half and tossed them in too.

I made mine into a sandwich with jalapeño mozzarella cheese.

Turkey spinach meatball

We made a batch of turkey spinach meatballs tonight to serve open-faced on white Italian sliced bread.

I made chicken gravy from my homemade chicken stock to get that soggy white bread comfort food sensation. I made the gravy in the pan I baked the meatballs in. So the dried turkey drippings and chicken stock mixed with some Italian seasoning and a pinch of flour equaled my gravy.

The meatballs were one pack of Jennie-O lean ground turkey, too much garlic powder, about 2 cups raw spinach, parsley, one tablespoon fresh ground pepper, and about three tablespoons ras el hanout.

I wanted 20 meatballs but only got 12. And they were small. And yummy.

Must make double batch next time.

Pineapple Crock Pot Chicken

** This is an experiment based on recommendations from my almost ten-year-old **

In the crockpot on high about 6 hours:

- frozen chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)

- 16 ounces sweet and sour sauce

- 20 ounces crushed pineapple

- about 1/2 cup strong homemade chicken stock

- 1/2 cup water

- about 2-3 tablespoons ras el hanout

(I don't like this sweet and sour sauce. The ras el hanout is an attempt to make the flavor less sweet.)

- 2-3 tablespoons garlic pepper

When I got home from work, I added about 2 cups water and another 1/2 cup chicken stock. 

It was good. Definitely sweet, but not syrupy. Different.

The final meal

Looks delicious!

It was! The vegetables, which had no butter, cooking in their own juices... We had them in the coals for 90 minutes. They were succulent.

The ras el hanout made the spiced pack very tangy and too hot for the child.

The Morningstar hot dogs were edible but far from amazing. Vegetarian hot dogs are a tricky busy.

Crab egg rolls

I have revisited a family favorite: homemade egg rolls. A previous version of my crab egg rolls can be found in this entry from January 2010:

http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2010/01/crab-rolls.html?m=1

But these are a tad simpler, take 30 minutes start to finish, and taste incredible.

I fried them in about 1/2 inch canola oil with a few dashes of sesame oil. It's too expensive and doesn't handle high temps well but a few splashes do taste wonderful.

If you wish to make these vegan, stuff with your favorite veggies and potentially tofu if you wish and seal with corn starch and water instead of egg and water.

INGREDIENTS:
- one can crab meat, or other meat if desired. I use the Bumblebee white meat because it's cheap and i'm broke
- one bag broccoli slaw from the produce department at Wegmans (the original recipes recommends cabbage but this comes already shredded and packs an incredible nutritional wallop)
- a few tablespoons of Tzatziki (sp?) dressing just to lubricate it. It's not necessary and this is the first time I tried it.
- a teaspoon or so of ginger
- a hearty dash of fresh ground black pepper
- some country herb seasoning (or any herbs that appeal. Fresh dill is magnificent.
- I also added a hearty dose of ras wl hanout but I don't expect anyone else too

Get some Egg Roll Wrappers. Peel, fill, smear with an egg-water wash, fold up, and fry.

I like Brussel sprouts

For dinner tonight I maxed out our family's sodium content but we certainly got our colors...

I haven't tried Brussel sprouts in a few years and since Target had the Green Giant variety in butter sauce on sale so I thought it might be a good time to try a formerly disliked taste.

I liked them! Ate 2/3 of the box.

Except for the butter sauce, this dinner was vegan.

I made Gardein vegetarian beef tips by sautéeing them in canola oil, a pinch of minced garlic and a hearty shaking of ras el hanout. Served in zaatar bread for a Middle Eastern style sandwich.

Sides were sweet potato fries and Brussel sprouts. And home-brewed sweetened ice tea.

Hot tuna rolls

In a skillet:
- pour a tablespoon oil and sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
- slap 1 tortilla shell in warm skillet
- spread with Boursin herbed cheese
- scatter with prepared tuna
- sprinkle with grated extra sharp white cheddar
- leave in skillet, careful not to burn shell, until cheese gets melt
- roll

Yes, I burned mine