Pita Bread

Ingredients:

1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
Preparation:

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.

Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Storing Pita Bread

Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.

**Because I didn't have the time, I just used the SAF instant yeast and dissolved that in the 1 1/2 cup of warm water with the 1 tsp sugar. I went with the recipe from there. They actually turned out like real pita bread with the pockets and everything! The boys loved them.

Source: About.com

Chicken, Edamame, and Noodle Stir Fry

Serves 4

coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces udon noodles or linguine
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each), cut crosswise into thin strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 napa cabbage (about 1 pound), thinly shredded
2 cups frozen shelled edamame

(I added shredded carrot.)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, and rinse under cold water; drain again, and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, in a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch; season with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in two batches, until light brown on the outside and opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate (reserve skillet).

Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet; add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 3 minutes. Add cabbage, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add edamame, vinegar, soy sauce, chicken, and noodles; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until noodles and edamame are warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes.

From MarthaStewart.com

This was fast AND delicious! I added some ginger in with the soy sauce, because we like that. :)

Chili Relleno

*4 Poblano Peppers
*3 eggs
*2 T Flour
*3 oz cheddar (slice or shred)
*3 oz monterey jack (slice or shred)
*Oil for frying
*toothpicks
*latex gloves

Separate whites from eggs. Beat whites to stiff peaks, quickly beat in flour, then fold in yolks. Refrigerate batter while prepping the peppers.
Heat oil in a skillet 1-3 inches deep.
Wash outside of peppers, then dry. Wear the latex gloves (or suffer the way I'm doing now). Slit on side lengthwise. Cut seeds from stem (keeping stem attached to peppers). Fill the peppers with the cheese. Slide the toothpicks across the peppers to close up the opening. You'll need 3-4 toothpicks for each pepper.
Dip the peppers in the batter, making sure they're covered. Slide peppers into oil, cook until golden brown. If the batter slid off the exposed side, and you have extra, carefully spoon some additional onto the peppers. Flip with tongs. Cook the bottom until golden.
Remove from oil and set on paper towels to collect spare oil until ready to serve.

Serve with Quick Cooked Salsa, Frijoles Negro, and rice.

I used the Chevy's Fresh Mex cookbook as my inspiration. But they don't used canned goods and I had to use what I had at hand. Also, Chevy's said to dredge the peppers with flour before dipping in the batter. This didn't work out, it created a dry layer that allowed the batter to slip off of the pepper. I actually had tremendous success with the method described above. It was my intention to mix some salsa into the rice, but I make compromises to feed my toddler, so I just used brown basmati with butter and salt.

To time the cooking, I started the rice, cooked all onions needed for meal. Reserved 1/2 onions for the beans. Made the salsa. Transfered the salsa to a covered dish. Made the beans in the salsa pop without rinsing it out (extra flavor). Then made the Chili Relleno last. The rice was done at the same time as the peppers.

quick cook salsa
frijoles negro

Quick Cooked Salsa

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion diced
1 pinch salt
1 clove garlic minced
3/4 carton cherry tomatoes
1 can diced chili peppers
1 can tomato paste
1 can water
1 t ground pepper
1 T chili powder
1 t ground cumin

Add olive oil to small saucepan. Add onions and salt and cook until soft. Add garlic and tomatoes then cook until tomatoes split open. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook until simmering.

Pad Sii Iw

Marinade
1 garlic clove
1 egg, beaten
1 T cornstarch
1 T wine
1 T fish sauce
1 T oyster sauce
1 T sugar
1 t oriental sesame oil
1/2 t white pepper

8 oz beef, thinly sliced (I'm sure pork or chicken would work fine, too.)
8 oz fresh rice noodles(sen yai), 1/2 in wide
2 T oil
1 T fish sauce
1 T sugar
1 T oyster sauce
1 T sweet soy sauce
1 c broccoli flowerets
1/8 c sliced carrot

1. Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade, then combine with the beef. Marinate the beef for 10 minutes.
2. Cook the noodles until tender in a large pot of boiling water.
3. Add the noodles and all remaining ingredients. Continue to cook until liquid is reduced slightly and all ingredients are hot

Moroccan Chicken Salad

3 chicken breasts, grilled or baked
Moroccan spices (or see marinade below)
4 T olive oil
3 c. dried couscous
3 c. chicken or vegetable stock
2 T. butter
2 zucchini, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
1 large sweet potato, sliced
2 T. parsley
1/4 c. black olives
3 T. lime juice

1. Coat chicken in marinade or spices of choice (see recipe below for ideas)
2. Grill, bake, or sear chicken until golden brown. Remove. Slice in strips.
3. Toss vegetables with 1 Tbs. olive oil and cook (I grill on the bbq or bake in a pan coated with olive oil)
4. Pour stock over couscous and cook according to pkg directions. Stir 2 Tbs. butter through when cooked.
5. In a serving bowl, combine the cooked veggies and olives with the couscous.
6. Combine rest of the olive oil with lime juice and a teaspoon of the seasoning or marinade then drizzle over salad.
7. Top with sliced chicken and parsley.
8. Serve warm with salad greens and flat bread on the side.

Moroccan BBQ Marinade

1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons salt (kosher)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

This is not technically vegetarian, but you could easily delete or replace the chicken with baked tofu or other meat substitute of choice. The couscous is very high in protein so it's great for vegetarians.

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans, drained reserving 2 T. liquid

1/2 jalepeno

1/2 t. cumin

1 T. lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

1 T. olive oil

2 t, dried parsley

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with tortilla chips, dried pita chips, or carrot/celery sticks. You can also cut the carrots into "chips".

(sorry the color on the photo doesn't make it look that appealing, but I promise it is delicious and so easy!)

Cashew (or Peanut) Chicken

1/4 cup oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb chicken, thinly sliced

SAUCE:
2 T fish sauce
2 T oyster sauce
2 T sugar
1/8 tsp white pepper

1/2 c. roasted cashews (or peanuts)
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 c. sliced red bell pepper

1. Heat a large skillet then add the oil, garlic, chicken, the sauces, sugar, and pepper.
2. Turn the heat to high and reduce the sauce until a glaze forms.
3. Mix in the roasted cashews and then turn the mixture onto a serving dish. Garnish with the green onion and bell pepper.
Serve with white rice.

Thai Spring Rolls

2 T oil
1 t minced garlic
8 oz ground pork
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 T Maggi seasoning
2 T sugar
1/8 t. white pepper
1 cup bean sprouts
20 spring roll wrappers
1 egg yolk, beaten
3 cups oil, for deep-frying

1. Heat a large skillet and add the oil, garlic and pork. Saute' until the pork is cooked.
2. Add the carrots, celery, sauces, sugar and pepper. Cook for 1 minute on high heat to reduce the sauce. Drain whatever liquid is left from the pan.
3. Allow the filling to cool, then add the bean sprouts to the filling.
4. Place a wrapper as a diamond with a corner towards you. Place 2 tablespoons of the filling in the lower portion of the wrapper. Fold the corner up, rolling once. Bring the sides in and brush the upper portion of the wrapper with egg yolk.
5. Roll the wrapper up, sealing the entire spring roll. Fill and roll up the rest of the wrappers in the same way.
6. Heat the oil to 350F and deep-fry the spring rolls in batches until golden brown all over, turning as needed.
7. Serve with a sweet and sour sauce, sweet chili sauce, or other dip of your choice.

Mango Sticky Rice

2 cups sticky rice, soaked overnight in water to cover
2 mangoes

SAUCE 1
1 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

SAUCE 2
1 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Drain the rice and place in an even layer in a steamer lined with cheesecloth so the rice does not fall through the holes. Steam the rice on full steam or high heat for 25 minutes.
2. While the rice is cooking combine the ingredients for Sauce 1. Remove the rice to a bowl and gradually pour Sauce 1 over the top while the rice is still hot. Set aside.
3. Peel the mangoes carefully so as not to bruise the fruit. Slice in half as close to the seed as possible, then slice each half into 1/2 in slices. (Or you can use canned mangoes.)
4. Place coconut rice on a serving plate with a couple mango slices on top.
5. Mix recipe for Sauce 2. This can be served separately or it can be poured over the top of the rice.
6. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.