SHADAN'S WIMPY CHILI

sorry guys...i've been slacking on the food blog. it's been a crazy summer. so...this is called wimpy chili because, in case you don't know, i'm the biggest baby when it comes to spicy food so this is just about the most spice i can tolerate. you can add more chili powder than I did if you are brave ;p

6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. chili powder, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
10 roma tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
1 yellow onion, sliced crosswise
10 cloves garlic, halved
3 poblano chiles
1-24 oz. container vegetable broth
1-15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. ground cumin
3 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded

preheat oven to 450.

grease a baking sheet with 2 tbsp. olive oil. in a small bowl, combine the chili powder, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. place the tomatoes, seed side up, and onion on the prepared baking sheet. Push a garlic clove half into each tomato, making sure it's secure. Drizzle the remaining 1/4 c. olive oil over the vegetables and dust with the chili powder/salt/pepper mixture.

bake until onions begin to brown, about 25 minutes.

meanwhile, roast the poblanos until charred all over. (Since I don't have a gas grill to easily char them, I stuck my poblanos in a separate baking dish in the same oven with the roasted tomatoes and onions, making sure to turn them occasionally so they could char evenly). Transfer them to a bowl and cover for a few minutes with cling wrap. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel, stem, and discard all the seeds. chop the poblanos.

In a large pot, combine the roasted tomatoes, 2 roasted onion slices and the roasted garlic. Add the vegetable broth. using an immersion blender, puree the mixture to desired texture. Chop the remaining roasted onion and add to the pot. Stir in the poblanos, kidney beans, cumin, and remaining chili powder. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. stir in 2/3 of the cheese to melt.

Serve topped with the remaining cheese.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN AND COUSCOUS

2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. honey
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 pkg gardein chick'n filets
1 c. vegetable stock
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 c. couscous
1/4 c. craisins
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish. Marinate chicken in this, turning once or twice, for at least 3 hours or up until 1 day in the refrigerator.

In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat, add onions, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook until softened,stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Add half of the stock and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in couscous, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

While couscous is cooking, cook the chick'n filets in a saute pan over med heat with a little oil. Cook a few minutes per side until cooked through.

When couscous is done, add the other half of the vegetable stock, the craisins, and the cilantro and cook over low heat for 2 minutes.

Serve couscous along with chick'n.

SHADAN'S "BETTER THAN SONIC" LIMEADE

so here's the deal....one of my favorite things...especially in this stupid texas heat....are sonic limeades. I don't know why I never thought about how to make them myself...now that I know how I have formed a slight obsession with them.

all you need is:
sprite
fresh lime

the quantities really depend on how sour you like your drink. I personally love limes...I eat them raw all the time...so I like it pretty sour....

I generally use 1 lime per 2 c. of sprite. squeeze as much juice as possible out of the lime and then put it in the cup. Add the sprite and there you have it...a limeade way better than the ones you get at sonic!

CHICK'N TERIYAKI SUBS

french bread
3-4 tbsp. teriyaki sauce (try to get one that is low sodium or else it will taste like a salt sandwich)
1 pkg gardein chick'n filets (if you have never tried these you need to go get some now! they are so good...by far my favorite "veggie meat" out there. in fact...all gardein products are amazing....but this is my favorite. ok...ending my rant)
romaine lettuce
maynoaisse (or in my case...nayonaisse...a vegan mayonaisse substitute which is just as good and WAY better for you)
cheese

Place the teriyaki sauce into the bottom of a saute pan. Add the chick'n...making sure to coat thoroughly. Cook until heated through, turning a few times to make sure it soaks in as much teriyaki sauce as possible.

now...assemble the sandwich with all the above listed ingredients and pour some of the teriyaki sauce from your pan on one side of the bread....make sure not too drown the bread...just maybe a few spoonfuls of sauce into the bread.

Just to prove how much I love gardein....here's my first ever link to another site in my blog....(at least I think it's my first...)

GARDEIN!

DRUNKEN SPAGHETTI

this is just some spaghetti i made with some odds and ends from the kitchen...im starting to like making my own pasta sauces!

whole wheat spaghetti
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. to 1/3 c. red wine (I like Shiraz)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 c. chopped parsley and cilantro
1/2 c. pasta sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

cook noodles to al dente.

meanwhile, make the sauce:

In a skillet heat the oil over medium heat and cook the garlic and tomatoes for a few minutes until they heat through and garlic begins to brown. Add the pasta sauce and the wine, mix well, and reduce heat to med-low. Add the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Once the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot. Pour your pasta sauce over the top and mix it together really well.

LEMON-BUTTER GLAZED GREEN BEANS

1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
2 tbsp. butter
1 lemon, zested
salt and pepper, to taste

Boil green beans in salted, boiling water for 5-10 minutes, until they are cooked through but still a little crunchy. Drain and then immediately return to pot.

Add the butter, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and toss together until melted and all the green beans are coated.

serve warm.

GREEK SALAD RICE

1 1/2 c. rice, cooked and cooled
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 kirby cucumber with peel, diced
4 scallions, sliced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, minced
1/4 c. fresh dill, minced
1/4 c. fresh mint, minced
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 c. crumbled feta
salt and pepper, to taste

combine all ingredients together...and...that's it! :)