Shakshuka

Have you ever craved something you never had before? I’ve seen so much of this dish lately that I actually craved it. Almost like I had a taste of it with each video, picture, and recipe roaming amongst social media.

Shakshuka is a Tunisian dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato pepper sauce. I can say this is the first Tunisian dish I’ve ever made and it’s now top of the list of my favorite egg dishes!

I started by creating the base sauce. Onion, bell pepper and garlic sautéed before incorporating all the contrasting spices, along with tomato paste for a delicious balancing act – sweetness, acidity, richness, and heat!

To finish, I poached the eggs directly in the sauce, covering the pan to trap the heat for an even cooking. And you MUST finish the shakshuka with a generous sprinkle of feta cheese and cilantro.

Serve with pita bread or any kind of bread to mop up the sauce.

I personally think Shakshuka is the ultimate eggs-for-dinner dish, but it is a very popular brunch and breakfast dish.

Notes:

  • This is a basic shakshuka recipe. For what I’ve learned, there are no set shakshuka rules. You can add kale, sausage, avocado onto your shakshuka.
  • I used Cento Italian peeled tomatoes for the sauce and smashed-cut with a spatula. Italian can tomatoes are sweeter and lower in acidity- besides being non-gmo always!
  • Shakshuka! It’s so fun to say! But, do you know what does it mean?

 

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Sheet pan chicken and vegetables shawarma

I should start this entry with “…this sheet pan shawarma” so I respect the SEOs be-all and end-all rules. I don’t live by the rules, but I tend to not break them. Although, I should add sheet pan shawarma in every sentence I write here I’m not about keyword stuffing. My writing is already crappy enough for you to stick around so this is the last sheet pan shawarma mention you will read in this text entry.

I’m still under the full-time working mama spell and making simple dinners that can be easily heat up or thrown together on any giving week night is a must in this household. One of my main weekend goals is to have at least three prepared family meals by the end of Sunday. And, between you, me, and the rest of the world, as much as I love cooking, it is a challenge. Easy to prep and fast to make meals are essential!

So, it goes without saying that this recipe fits right in the quick-easy-versatile category that you can make ahead and eat it in so many ways. This ridiculously flavorful dish is made on a ONE sheet pan, cooks in less than 30 minutes, and you can serve it over rice or stuffed pita bread or in salad. Seriously, you can even eat it just straight out of the sheet pan – which I highly recommend.

 I started by mixing the spices, which is a recipe I always double or triple so I have some left for other dishes. I use this shawarma spice mix in roasted veggies and even as basmati rice seasoning.

After mixing the spices, reserve some to sprinkle over the chicken and veggies before sending them to the oven. I tossed the chicken in the same bowl I mixed the spices in, adding olive oil and lemon juice. I marinated the chicken for one hour for even more flavor, but you can totally skip this step.

Everything else after this is easy. Get the chicken from the fridge, toss the vegetables and chicken together adding an extra splash of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil to freshen it up.  Place it all on the sheet pan and sprinkle the remaining spice blend all over. Don’t forget to line the sheet pan with foil for easy clean-up!

To the oven it goes until all the juices clear- about 30 minutes- and there you have it.

We had the shawarma on top of Naan bread (always keep some in my freezer) because I had no pita and no time to make rice. Finished it with a drizzle of tahini sauce for the win. It was dealicious!

Notes:

  • Although I used chicken tenders cut in stripes for this recipe, you can use chicken breast or chicken thighs cut into small pieces (about 2-inch pieces).
  • Use any vegetable you like! Zucchini, yellow squash and mushrooms are great with this spice blend.
  • Add extra cayenne pepper to make kick up the heat!
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One pan curried couscous with broccoli rabe, chicken, and lime-yogurt sauce

It has been a while since my last recipe post. Life, once again, got in between my stove and I. I’ve gotten back to work full-time and it has been a tough adjustment. I’m trying to keep up with the domestic duties and mother responsibilities (not always in that order) and let me tell you this working mom thing is no joke.

Meal prep on weekends has become mandatory. If there are not at least a couple of meals ready to heat and eat during the week I’m a warrantied a hot mess. On top of that, if I don’t pack my own lunch every day, I’ll surrender to all the office junk food, snacks, and endless lattes.

My meal plan has been working so far. I make two to three dishes ahead and have ingredients ready for a couple of dinners that are easy to throw together just like this one-pan curried couscous with  broccoli rabe, chicken, and lime-yogurt sauce. It is so easy to make and turns out good every time. It takes very little effort and the couscous cooks in 5 minutes.

This one-pan curried couscous is packed with greens – I used broccoli rabe but spinach, kale, or any vegetable would work too. The lean chicken breasts are the perfect pairing for an easy to cook protein.

I seared the chicken breasts on both sides and set aside. I used the SAME PAN to cook the veggies on the chicken broth! Yes, same PAN. Then I added the curry powder, place the seared chicken breast on top, covered the pan, and let the chicken finish cooking in the broth. Everything simmered together for about 10 quick minutes.

Once the chicken was cooked through, I removed it and added the couscous which soaked up all the ‘dealicious’ flavors. The raisins are my favorite part of this dish. I added them right into the couscous- they plumped and gave the couscous a sweet contrast.

The lime yogurt sauce cools off the dish and adds a creamy tang touch. I only had Greek yogurt available this time so I had to water it down a bit in order to drizzle the sauce.  Drizzles or dollops don’t pass on the yogurt sauce. It brings this dish to the next level.

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Mole Loco Moco with chipotle macaroni salad

It is that time of year again! No I’m not talking about summer BBQs and backyard cookouts. Not yet! It’s Father’s Day and around here we cook for dad. And we cook the same thing EVERY Father’s Day! Breakfast Loco Moco and macaroni salad.

Our dad-in-chief has Hawaiian roots. Deep Hawaiian roots, especially when it comes to food, so we give him gifts, cards, lots of love and some good homemade Hawaiian Loco Moco.  This traditional Hawaiian dish consists of: white rice topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy (arguably in that order).

But I had to make an executive decision this year. Our Father’s Day will be spent in a convention center watching our oldest play the last volleyball tournament of the year. We most likely have to be there early so there’s not much opportunity for Loco Moco making in the morning. Therefore, Father’s Day Loco Moco have been moved. We are celebrating Father’s Day a bit early and having Loco Moco TONIGHT!

As if moving Father’s Day DAY wasn’t enough, I’m disrupting the traditional Hawaiian Loco Moco. I’m switching out the gravy for mole (yes MOLE! Store bought because I’ve not yet discovered the ways of the mole).  I also changed up the traditional Hawaiian mac salad and made CHIPOTLE mac salad. And let me tell you, this chipotle macaroni salad packs a bit of a kick, just like our dad-in-chief likes!

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there, doing your magic and the things only dads can do. May your Father’s Day be as delicious, saucy and full of aloha as this Mole Loco Moco dish.

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Kimchi pancakes with soy dipping sauce

Fact: There’s very little kimchi doesn’t improve. Try adding it to fried rice, plain rice, omelets, tacos, and-my favorite- quesadilla. Dealicious!

I had tried Korean pancakes before, but this was my first time making and trying kimchi Korean pancakes. I love kimchi and pancakes, so absolutely nothing could’ve gone wrong with this recipe.

There are many recipes out there and they are all very similar. Flour, egg, water and, obviously, kimchi. I had all the ingredients for the recipe and played around with the amounts. I could have added more kimchi to the batter but I used all it was left. If you are a kimchi lover like me you know there no such a thing as too much kimchi!

Here is the recipe for now. I’m working to add a video so you can see how ridiculously easy they are to make.

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One-pot chicken Marsala pasta

The idea that you can throw a bunch of ingredients in one pot and 20 minutes later have an actual meal is pretty amazing. I was not a believer of one-pot anything; except for Paella which can take hours to make. But, after a couple successful try outs, I’m convinced.

These one-pot pasta dinners work, and they are delicious, and super quick to prepare. There are a few tricks, for sure, but the result is usually worth it!

You might be used to seeing photos of one-pot pasta dinners on the www out there, with precisely measured ingredients, grouped in geometrical quadrants, and meticulously placed in a beautiful pot. Yeah. That’s pretty but it’s NOT how it works.

With that in mind, we put together a little video on how to cook this one-pot chicken marsala pasta. It’s amateurish and a bit repetitive but that’s exactly how I made this one-pot meal. No BS. It’s real deal. Here is the video. I hope you enjoy it and give it a try! It’s DEALicious!

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Miso sesame glazed eggplant

This Japanese eggplant recipe is all about that miso sesame glaze. The glaze is good on all varieties of eggplant (carrots, and Japanese sweet potato too). This recipe is incredibly easy to make and as promised on Instagram, I’m sharing it here.

Here is how it goes. I roast the eggplant first, then coat it with the glaze and run it under the broiler. The trick is getting the timing right so the glaze caramelizes but doesn’t burn. Most recipes called for eggplant halves. I like mine in cubes, so the glaze gets everywhere. Either way this dish is totally dealicious: a.k.a. easy to make and affordable.

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Garlic basil focaccia

Focaccia is the easiest kind of bread to make! It doesn’t require any special technic and it only needs a short amount of time to rise. You can top it with pretty much anything you want, and you can eat it with anything as long as it saucy. Focaccia is definitely a bread winner-haha!

I was able to adapted this recipe from a variety of recipes I’ve seeing in my cookbooks and from some of my favorite bloggers. Because I know my baking limitations, I started with a small batch of dough rather than committing to a huge recipe-the idea of ending with endless amount of ‘cardboard tasting focaccia’ crossed my mind. But honestly, it’s practically impossible to mess up this focaccia bread recipe. That’s why I’m sharing it here!

I topped the focaccia dough with basil, garlic, olive oil, and a generous amount of sea salt. Bake at 400F until brownish. The result; moist but airy inside and crunchy top and bottom crusts-although I think it could have used 5 more minutes in the oven for that extra crunch.

The focaccia was more than good enough to devour plain, but I served it with soup. I was hoping for leftovers to make sandwiches for lunch today but not even crumbs were left. I’m definitely doubling the recipe next time.

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Lemon bars

I choose salty over sweet most of the times, but I love a not overly sweet dessert. And these lemon bars are just that! They are zesty, slightly sweet, and so easy to make that even a non-baker like me can handle it.

But before I jump into the recipe let me tell you that the crust is like a buttery shortbread cookie that made me think twice about dumping the lemon filling over it! It looked perfectly fine as it was—I’m a sucker for shortbread!

The lemon filling is everything I love in a dessert. It’s tart, creamy, and has the right balance of sweet. And it was made with fresher than fresh lemons from our tree. It doesn’t get better than that!

Now, there’s a couple of things I’ve learned while making this lemon bar recipe. Don’t over bake the crust. Make sure it’s baked just enough to hold the filling without becoming a mess. Also, the bars need to cool completely and then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before you cut into them.  This is to ensure that they won’t go all over the place—resist the urge to spoon a corner “just to try it”. It’s not worthy of the filling leakage and the tongue burn.

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Slow-cooker unauthentic chicken cacciatore

There’s no authentic-traditional chicken cacciatore recipe. For what I gathered, it’s the most vague recipe in the history of the Italian-American cuisine. Google “cacciatore” and you get all kinds of possibilities; creamy, healthy, Italian (redundancy?), spicy chicken cacciatore and even vegan cacciatore. If you need a cacciatore recipe you’ll certainly have plenty of choices but none will be “traditional”.

I was not going to post my unauthentic chicken cacciatore recipe. But this was the best frigging chicken cacciatore I ever tasted in my life and this is, after all, my cooking blog. If one of my kids decide to make chicken cacciatore one day it better be this one.

What so special about it? Nothing! It’s all chicken cacciatore is meant to be; whatever the hell the cook wants. And to me it is tender and juicy chicken, braised in a flavorful wine sauce, loaded with peppers, carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, capers and olives.

So, to my kids and to anyone that wants to try this unauthentic-unapologetic chicken cacciatore, here is how.

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