Morrocan Chicken

This is a great recipe and is served over couscous.
It is hearty and filling and tasty. Give it a try one chilly Autumn evening.
It makes a wonderful dinner party dish too.



Ingredients


1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), skinned
Cooking spray
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
24 pimiento-stuffed olives, coarsely chopped
8 lemon wedges

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Add chicken; toss to coat. Arrange chicken in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.

Combine flour, juice, and broth, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Sprinkle flour mixture over chicken, tossing to coat. Top chicken with olives and lemon. Bake at 325° for 1 hour

Mashed Potatoes for a Change

"Hi Annie,
You say to serve mashed potatoes but don't they contain milk? How can I serve them with a meat dish?"

Mashed potatoes do not have to contain milk. If, however you like that texture that creamy milk gives, soy milk will do just as well.
There are other ways to make mashed potatoes though.
One of the most flavorful ways is to use Kraft or Gefen Mayonnaise .
Boil your potatoes, red, golden yukon or any kind of baker until soft but still a bit firm. You don't want them mushy. Drain them very well.
Rice or mash them as you prefer.
You can leave skins on or off as you prefer. If you have opted to leave them on, be sure you went over them carefully with a soapy(Rokeach soap does a nice job as does Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap) vegetable brush first and rinsed them well.
Now add some Kraft or Gefen Mayonnaise (we love the taste of Gefen) it is pareve.(neither meat nor dairy) so you are safe with it. Begin with a tablespoon and whip it into the potatoes. Add some pepper if you like. White pepper gives potatoes a particularly nice taste.
If they are not as smooth as you like, add more mayo or add a wee bit of soy milk to make them creamier.
This makes hearty and filling mashed potatoes but be warned .. they are high in calories this way. Well, aren't most comfort foods?

Another way to prepare mashed potatoes to serve with meat is to use non dairy sour cream and non dairy margarine. Add those slowly to the riced or mashed potatoes to give them a smooth and creamy texture.

As always, if you whip your potatoes with an electric mixer they will be fluffy and light.
Adding too much liquid will make them runny so go slow on adding any additions and make sure the potatoes were thoroughly drained before mashing them.



For variety, try adding garlic mashed into your potatoes.
Take one pound of washed , cooked and drained potatoes and mash them
Add in a few cloves of mashed roasted garlic. You can roast a whole head in aluminum foil in the oven or in a skillet!
Take the whole bulb..cut off the top so the inside shows a wee bit.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350F til the garlic is soft and sweet.
Takes from 30 mins to an hour depending on your oven. Check often for the garlic insides to be pretty soft.
Add a few cloves of this to your potatoes along with other ingredients you decide to use. Roasting garlic makes it sweet but still retains the garlicy flavor.

Adding Horseradish or Crayonnaise to mashed potatoes is also a delicious change of pace. Try it ..add slowly !

Crock Pot Chicken

This is a quick and easy crock pot dish you will enjoy.

Crumple up some aluminum foil in the bottom of your crock pot.
Place a whole cleaned chicken on top and season it with garlic, paprika and whatever chicken spices you like. There are many of them out there that enhance the flavor of chicken so choose your favorite. You can even use dry salad dressing mixes if you like. Italian works very nicely. Season inside birdy too if you wish.


Set your crockpot on a high setting and allow to cook for one hour.
Then, reset the crockpot to cook on low for 7 more hours.
No liquid is used. The foil will keep the chicken from sticking and the paprika will lend a golden color.

Serve with Mashed Potatoes and green beans or salad for a lovely meal.

Chocolate-Toffee Trifle

This dessert if quick to make but looks and tastes like a million dollars and if you love chocolate you will certainly like this.
If you have a lovely trifle bowl you can put it to good use in making this lucious dessert.


You will need to bake a box of brownies from a mix. That is the 'hardest' part of this recipe.
You can bake two boxes if you wish to make tons of trifle!
You will need chocolate pudding mix .
Prepare according to box instructions. If you are pressed for time, buy chocolate pudding in the plastic tub and use that.
Next you will need some Heath Bars (OU-D) about 10 of them that you will crush up.
And some whipped topping in a container

Raspberries, fresh or frozen for topping. Raspberry syrup if you can find it. Kedem makes a nice one.

Once you have prepared the brownie mix, Fold about 3/4 of the whipped topping into the chocolate pudding.
Now place some crumbled brownies into the bottom of your trifle bowl.
Top with some of the pudding/whipped topping mix.
Now layer with some of the crushed Heath Bar.
Now top the Heath with a bit of plain whipped topping.
Continue this layering til you have filled the bowl and finished off your brownies.
You want to end the layering with a layer of whipped topping.
On the very top you place the raspberries to garnish. Some mint leaves look lovely also. As does a little handful of crushed Heath bar.

If you can find the raspberry syrup, you can alter the recipe a bit by drizzling a tiny bit of the raspberry syrup on each layer of brownie as well as the pudding mix.
It 's bright deep jewel red color looks beautiful in the dish and it gives added interest in taste to the final dish.
Do not add syrup on top though, since it melts the topping and will make the dish look kind of sad.
Layer carefully to prevent a whopping mess!
It will taste good no matter how it looks though.

Alternate toppings include: chocolate curls, crushed chocolate bars.

To make it even more special here is a trick you might try:
If you enjoy Kahlua or any coffee flavored liquors, brush some of the liquor lightly over the brownies before crumbling them into the trifle dish.
This will add a bit of a kick to the dish.
Don't get too wild with the liquor or you will have mush instead of brownies.

Cincinnati's Famous Chili

Use Non Dairy Cheese substitute on top! 

This chili recipe is really famous and one of the most unique and delicious I have ever tasted, though I never tasted it at the restaurants themselves but by making it at home.


It is served in Cincinnati Ohio at the famous Skyline Chili restaurants.


There are many soy or non dairy cheese substitutes now that are very tasty and you can pile them ontop just like in this photo. Ths is how it is served in their restaurants but I like it just plain with onion on top. Served over spaghetti or on hot dogs it makes a wonderful meal

1 qt. water2 med. onions, finely chopped

2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce

5 whole allspice or 1/2 tsp. ground

1 1/2 tsp. red pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

3-4 tbsp. chili powder

1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 lbs. ground beef

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 whole bay leaf

5 whole cloves

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Put the ground beef into water in 4 quart pot. Stir until beef separates to a fine texture. Boil slowly for 30 minutes. (YUP! you will NOT saute the beef in this recipe. You can if boiling bothers you but the authentic way is to just boil it. Give it a try.)

Now, all other ingredients are put into the mix. Stir well and then bring it all to a boil.

Next, reduce the heat and simmer it all uncovered for about 3 hours.

You might have to cover the pot after a while when a good thick consistency has been reached. You don't want it to dry out.

This chili is best served the next day for two reasons. One, it just tastes better that way and two because after it sits in your fridge over night you can skim off any fat that layers on top.

If you used a very lean ground beef though, you can serve right away.

The key is to serve it over hot spagetthi.

Now at Skyline they serve it several different ways. Piles of onions on top, piles of cheese, piles of everything .. etc.

You decide what embellishments you prefer and add them to the plate.
This recipe is delicious served on hot dogs too so if you make up a bunch of it, freeze it in small batches for just that purpose. Your cook out guests will really enjoy it.

Chocolate and vinegar give this chili is addictive flavor. I never met anyone who didnt rave about Skyline chili!
I have never eaten it at the restaurant as I eat strictly kosher ..but I have made this at home and let me tell you it is really scrumptious.

If you are allergic to chocolate I can tell you it tastes almost as good without it. Just as always sample as you go along and regulate to your own desires.

Food isn't any good unless YOU like it no matter what anyone else thinks!

Bon appetite.

Kahlua Chili

Kahlua gives this Chili the best flavor and a bit of a kick too. This recipe will make a large amount, but you can cut it down or freeze some for later use.
Here's how to make it:







In about 1/2 cup of olive or other veggie oil, saute 4 chopped yellow onions til they are transparent along with 4 cloves of minced garlic.
Now add 1/2 cup of chopped green peppers and 4lbs ground beef and cook the beef til all red is gone and crumbled nicely with a fork.
If you prefer sweet red or yellow peppers or none at all, that's just fine too. It's your recipe so you adapt it as you see fit.
Some people like to add Mexican green chilies to the recipe and that is also fine.
Taste along the way , though, to be sure how things are going.

Now add in:
2 teaspoons Cumin powder

2 teaspoons Dried marjoram

2 teaspoons Dried oregano
2 tablespoons Tomato paste

4 teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Red cayenne pepper

1 cup Kahlua

1/2 cup Parsley -- chopped

6 tablespoons Chili powder


Simmer all this together for a good hour or up to 10 hours in a crock pot if you like.
The results will be pretty doggone good.

Serve with a nice big dollop of sour cream. There are excellant non dairy sour creams that are light and low in fat.
Corn bread or crusty French bread make a great compliment for a real hearty meal.

Next up will be a recipe for Cincinnati (SKYLINE) chili!