Moroccan Vegetables

I love making Moroccan Roast Chicken and never know what other than grains to serve with the chicken. So the last time I made my Moroccan Roast Chicken I began looking all over the web to try to find a veggie side dish, I didn't find one, but I learned more about some of the flavors and ingredients used in Moroccan cooking and came up with this really colorful and tasty dish.

Moroccan Vegetables
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large red bell pepper, diced in large pieces
1 large onion, diced in large pieces
Left over purple roasted potatoes
2 tea spoons of dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
The juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon of olive oil

In a large skillet heat olive oil to medium/medium high add in veggies, sprinkle with parsley and cumin and cook on medium for about 5 minutes or until onions are just beginning to turn translucent. Stir up the vegetables and squeeze lemon juice over mix, turn heat up to medium high and cook stirring frequently for about 3 minutes, remove from skillet and serve with Moroccan Roast Chicken.

Mexican Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salad

Like I said in the wine post, it was girls night so we decided to go south of the border for our flavors and attempt a recipe that my husband makes much better than I do. I will have to update this post after he makes it one night so I can figure out what he does differently with the marinade, but for now here is my version.

Mexican Grilled Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 bottle of Mexican Beer (I recommend Pacifico)

1 lime

1/4 cup of coarsely chopped onion

1/4 cup of Tapatio

In a large bowl combine beer, hot sauce, and onion. Cut lime in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into beer mixture and add the lime halves to the mix. Taste and if flavors are all present add chicken. Cover bowl and marinade overnight. Heat grill on high and cook chicken for around 10 minutes on each side. Serve with black bean salad.

Black Bean Salad

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup of frozen or fresh corn

1/2 cup of diced red onion

2 serrano peppers, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, diced

the juice from 2 limes

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate, serve when cool.

Green Bean Salad with Feta

I have started checking out cookbooks from the library to get some inspiration and int he South Beach Diet Cookbook I found a recipe that sounded too good to pass by. It is From the menu of Pacific Time by Chef Johnathan Eismann, Chinese Long Bean Salad with Feta. Here is my version:

For the Salad:

1 pound of green beans, end trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces

1 cup of crumbled feta

1 cup of mung bean sprouts

1/3 cup of chopped scallions

1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes

1 red bell pepper julienned

Blanch green beans in boiling water for about 4 minutes, In a large bowl combine beans, sprouts, scallions, cucumber, and bell pepper.

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons of strong brewed black tea

2 tablespoons of lime juice

1 tablespoon of lemon zest

2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives

1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to agitate and combine flavors, pour over salad and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Add feta before serving.

Crab Ceviche

As an added touch to our Mexican meal the other night I decided to whip up a quick ceviche. I was way in the mood for crab and felt that this would be a nice accompaniment to our meal.

Crab Ceviche

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 Serrano pepper, sliced thin

1/2 red onion, diced

the juice of one lime

1 pound of crab meat

In a small container combine red bell pepper, onion, sliced Serrano, and lime juice. Place container in refrigerator and let sit for at least 3 hours. Right before serving, fold in crab meat and serve. Note: if pepper is too hot, deseed, dice, or cut down on amount used.