Tag Archives: cumin

Leftovers

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! Holidays are centered around food and drink. So let me share a Spanish inspired recipe with you that I threw together this weekend with a bunch of leftovers. Feel free to chow down with a fresh and strong margarita! Ole!

  • 4 large green bell peppers
  • 1.5 cups of rice (I used left over Spanish rice that I made from a store-bought package)
  • 1 cup of chopped yellow Spanish onion
  • 1 tbsp. of crushed garlic
  • 1 packet of taco seasoning (do not add your own salt & pepper, there is plenty in the store-bought taco mix)
  • 1 lb. of ground turkey* (I had some leftover from a taco salad)
  • 1 tbsp. of ketchup
  • 2 tsp. of sriracha
  • 1/2 cup (or 4 tbsp.) of shredded cheese (Anything works I did a Mexican blend, but plain cheddar is good too).

**Add frozen corn or canned beans (About 1/2 a cup should do the trick) to stretch the ground meat further in case you don’t have that much leftover. Although if making fresh do a 1lb. package of ground turkey. (chicken or beef would work just as well).

Brown the meat with a little vegetable oil, taco seasoning, the onions, & the garlic in a nonstick pan over medium heat. My secret tip is that when the meat is done, stir in the ketchup and sriracha. It adds a good tomato-ey flavor and keeps the meat moist. Plus the sriracha adds a yummy spice/kick. Once the meat is cooked, crumbled and cooled, mix it with the corn (or beans) & rice. Note that while the meat is cooking, prepare the peppers by slicing off the tops and cutting out the ribs & seeds. Rinse and dry before stuffing. Lastly, stuff the pepper and top with the shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min or until the cheese has melted & pepper has charred. Serves 4 people, 1 pepper per person.

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Happy Eating, XO.

 

Tandoori Chicken Y’all

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So I figured you are almost done using all those spices you have in the pantry from the Simla Mirch Paneer recipe. I thought I’d toss one last Indian staple your way since it is served at most restaurants & easy enough to make at home. Now, a tandoor is a clay oven so this chicken is typically charbroiled and hence has the name Tandoori Chicken. Since most of us don’t really have a tandoor laying around our backyard, grilling or baking in the oven is just as sufficient. Having said that, this is nice way to get the India feel without having to order from your local Lakshmi Grill.

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder (aka dried cilantro powder)
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 6 tablespoons plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons ginger paste
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1 lb. chicken (preferably bone in pieces)

To prepare the spice rub: In a small bowl, combine the salt, chili powder and lemon juice to make a thick paste. Rub the paste evenly over the chicken. Set the chicken aside for 15 minutes to let the flavors absorb & for the chicken to get that red color. To prepare the tandoori sauce: In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, cumin, coriander, paprika, & garam masala. Whisk everything together until it is well mixed. Rub the sauce evenly over the chicken, thoroughly covering it. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 4 hours. Preheat an oven or charcoal grill to 350 degrees F. Roast for 10 minutes, then remove and baste with some melted butter and drippings from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken back to the heat and roast for another 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with a sliced onion and lemon wedges.

Happy Eating, XO.

You fancy huh?

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Lamb Chops scream special occasion. They don’t however have to scream hard work. This is one of the easiest recipes and will please any meat loving man on the planet. I mean ladies, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So keep this puppy on hand the next time you are in the dog house. Right, like we women ever screw up?! Oh and another great thing is that some of the ingredients overlap from other blog recipes and so you should already have them lying around the pantry!

  • 1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint (buy it! use it in a berry salad or a mojito if you have leftovers).
  • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of dry mustard (I bought this for the recipe, but I doubt if you used Dijon mustard it would change the flavor greatly. Perhaps it would lower the heat kick and make it more tangy, so try to use the dry mustard if you can but don’t be afraid that you will ruin the dish if you are in a pinch).
  • 2 teaspoons of honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (not to be a snob but try & do freshly ground if you can, if not no worries)
  • 8 (4-ounce) lamb loin chops, about 1 inch thick, trimmed (have that done at the store, I wouldn’t even know how to advise you on how to do that yourself).
  • Cooking spray

Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well.
Place lamb in a single layer in a shallow dish; rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of lamb. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Place lamb on a grill pan coated with cooking spray (or in a non stick pan. I don’t have a grill pan so whatevs).
Cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. (I did this on high heat at first since I wanted a crust to form. I then cut to medium heat for the remaining 1-2 minutes. Also I would say 5-6 minutes on each side if doing in a non stick pan vs. grill). Regardless it cooks fast so serve immediately. I served with a side of cous-cous, but anything works!

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Happy Eating, XO.