Orange Israeli Couscous with Snow Peas

I have been thinking about trying Israeli couscous for a while, but have never seen it in the stores. I tried a salad from the Goode Shop at Lancaster Central Market that had Israeli couscous (their salads are so so delicious). They had a honey lime salad. Then, I finally found it sold in bulk at Rhubarb's, the health food store I like to shop at. The store is a little pricey for some things (not as cheap as Trader Joes unfortunately) but their bulk packaged items are a great price.
So I had to pull together a quick dinner idea for tonight. I had the couscous, and had my husband get oranges, green onion, and snow peas on his way home. One ingredient I am excited about is my Tunisian Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. I got this at S. Clyde Weavers. I noticed once while shopping there for imported cheese they had about 6 or more different olive oils you can buy. You can bring your own bottle, or buy one of their own for 50 cents. I found a recipe for smoky chickpea dip I am planning to make next week that called for lemon olive oil. A perfect excuse to buy it! It has a great flavor.

Orange Israeli Couscous with Snow Peas
3/4 cup Israeli couscous
1 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
about 1 cup snow peas
6 small green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp slivered almonds
1 orange, peel and white pith removed, sliced into1/2 inch piecess
salt and pepper
Dressing:
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 tbsp lemon olive oil
3 tbsp olive oil (I just poured some into my salad dressing shaker. You could certainly add more.)
salt and pepper

Heat some olive oil in a small pot. Add the couscous and toast for 2 minutes. Add the broth and simmer, covered for about 8-10 minutes. Take pot off of heat.
In a salad dressing shaker or a jar with a lid, add dressing ingredients and shake.
Steam the snow peas for about 4 minutes. Put into an ice bath to stop cooking.
In a medium bowl, add the couscous, snow peas, green onions, almonds, oranges, and some salt and freshly ground pepper. Re-shake and pour some dressing on. Mix and serve at room temperature.

Deconstructed BLT

I wanted to enter an additional recipe for the chicken contest. I had some bacon at home so I thought up this. I called it a Chicken BLT Salad when I entered it....but really like calling it a "Deconstructed BLT" better.

I had seen a bread salad recipe somewhere else, where the bread is seasoned and toasted, then mixed with the other salad elements. I used that basic idea here. I think this salad will be better this summer with fresh, local, heirloom tomatoes and lettuce. We joined an organic CSA last year, and have again this year. All that good produce spoils you! I would like to try this with the arugula we get. It is the best darn arugula I have ever had. I can just eat it plain.
But anyway I loved the crust on this chicken and the mustard dressing. The bread I used is Pan Bigio, an Italian wheat bread. Using good bread is very important in this recipe. I think sourdough would be great also.

Chicken BLT Salad

8 pieces-bacon

¼ cup-olive oil

½ tsp-dried dill

¼ tsp-salt

fresh ground pepper

1 pound loaf-Italian bread, ripped into small pieces

3 tsp-mustard seeds

1 ½ tsp-black pepper corns

½ tsp-sea salt

1 tbsp.- canola oil

1 lb chicken tenderloins

1 head-romaine lettuce, ripped into bite sized pieces

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp.-whole grain mustard

2 tbsp-white wine vinegar

¼ cup-olive oil

1 bunch-green onion

2-3-tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cook the bacon on the stove top until crisp. Reserve the bacon on a plate with paper towels to cool. Save 1 tablespoon bacon drippings.

In a large bowl, mix the ¼ cup olive oil, dill, salt, pepper and bacon drippings. Add the ripped bread and toss to coat. Spread the bread out on a large baking sheet. Cook in oven, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted, 10-15 minutes.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the mustard seeds, pepper corns and sea salt. Coat the chicken tenderloins in the mustard mixture. Heat the canola oil in a non-stick pan. Cook the chicken until no longer pink inside. Remove to a cutting board, let cool then slice.

Meanwhile, in the same large bowl, whisk together the grain mustard, vinegar and ¼ cup olive oil. Add the lettuce. Thinly slice the green onion and add to the bowel. Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces. Add bacon, chicken and bread pieces to the salad. Toss all ingredients to coat well in the dressing. Put in the fridge for 45 minutes.

Chop and de-seed the tomatoes. Add to the salad and toss again before serving.

Serves 4-5

Chickeny-goodness

I am trying some chicken recipes. I am considering entering this one in a contest. It was inspired by an appetizer I ordered in a restaurant last weekend. It was asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. The appetizer wasn't so hot (the asparagus was totally dried out, definitely needed some olive oil.) I made this for my husband and another couple. As you can see from the picture, I tried putting the prosciutto inside and outside the chicken. The consensus was that it is better outside. I think I will also try to use more cheese next time, or maybe even grate a little on top to brown!!

Asparagus Chicken Roll-ups

1/4 cup olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
8 pieces chicken breast tenders (about a pound)
1 bunch asparagus
6 oz. Fontina cheese, cut into 4 pieces
8 slices prosciutto

In a large plastic zip baggie, lay each chicken tender flat. With a small heavy pan, pound the chicken tenders until they are thin. Pour the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, oregano, basil, salt and pepper into the bag with the chicken. Close and shake to mix. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 375 F.
Cover a baking sheet in foil. Lay the eight pieces of prosciutto on the sheet. Place a chicken piece on top of the prosciutto. Then put the fontina and three pieces of asparagus on top. Then roll the chicken and prosciutto around cheese and asparagus, and secure with a toothpick. Drizzle some olive oil over the roll-ups, especially the asparagus ends sticking out of the roll-ups. (I used a pastry brush to really make sure the asparagus was coated in oil.)
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside.

I also served crostini with a olive tapenade-type dish. I found citrus-stuffed green olives at Giant (made by the Simply Enjoy brand). I chopped these up then added:
a squeeze of lemon juice
a little lemon zest
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
lots of fresh ground pepper

It was pretty tasty. The citrus olives had a lot to do with that, they had a lot of flavor. My husband also enjoyed them in his martini!!

Filling Southwest Turkey Soup

Usually I am a planner-aheader. I like to know what meals I will be cooking all week long. And usually I get the recipes from a cookbook or magazine.
I am trying to make up more of my own though. And today provided a good opportunity. I thought we were going to have dinner out, but when we did not I looked at what I had already and came up with this soup. Originally might have been nachos or a rice-turkey-cheese casserole. But the discovery of a little box of Campbell's Southwest Corn soup in the pantry turned it into.....soup!
NOTE-I get the habanero cheese from S. Clyde Weavers, a local store here in Lancaster, PA. They have some high quality cheese. Pepper jack would be a good substitute.
Ingredients: Serves 3-4 people.

1/2 cup Texmati (Basmati) rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 medium onion
1 hot pepper (I used serrano)
1/2 lb-3/4 lb ground turkey
a few shakes of chipotle powder (or cayenne pepper)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 small box (18.3 oz) Campbells Southwest Corn soup
Toppings (Optional, select the ones you like)
fresh cilantro
hot sauce
sour cream
tortilla chips
grated cheddar cheese (I used spicy Habanero cheese.)

Directions
Put the rice and broth in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down, put the lid on and simmer for about 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, chop the onion and the pepper. Spray a non-stick pan and saute for a few minutes, then add the ground turkey. Season with salt, pepper, the chipotle and cumin. Cook until turkey is no longer pink.
When the rice is done, add the turkey mixture to the pot. Then add the box of soup. Cook for a few minutes, until heated through.
Spoon into bowls. Top with whatever combination of the toppings you like!!!

This was a very thick soup. You could add more soup or add some chicken broth to thin it out also.
If you like things spicier, try using a hotter pepper. Maybe half of a habanero!
Or if you don't like spicy food just use a red bell pepper instead.