Dinner From a Hat

So Ian and I decided to launch a new weekly food moment. We already have our Thursday Night Pizza Nights (which are muy delicioso), but we decided to start doing an international cuisine night. Basically we put about 50 different countries into a bag (which was then placed in Ian's hat, hence the "dinner from a hat") and we randomly drew one out.

Last night we pulled out Moroccan. Yep. I have never cooked Moroccan before, so it was exciting. We pulled up a few recipes online and then went shopping. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the couscous at Smith's, so we settled for putting the dish over rice.

So I'll post about our adventures in cooking every week...well, I'll try to (and next week I'll remember to take pictures).

So Moroccan. We decided on two dishes. Moroccan Couscous (err... rice) and Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives. So incredibly delicious! Especially the chicken. I'm posting the recipes below...

So this first one is kind of a curry. It is most excellent!

Moroccan Couscous (or rice)
serves 5-6

1 c. couscous (or 3 c. rice cooked)
1 lb. tofu
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. sliced celery
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 med onion chopped
1/2 c. walnuts chopped
1 can chickpeas
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 c. water
curry powder
cayenne pepper
paprika
salt

Brown tofu, veggies, and nuts. Add remaining ingredients except couscous (spices to taste). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 40 minutes.

Boil 1 1/2 c. water with 2 T. oil. Add couscous, stir, cover. Reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve veggies over couscous or rice.
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This chicken recipe is absolutely delicious. Even more so if you love green olives!

Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives
serves 4

4 chicken breasts
1 T. olive oil
1 onion sliced
1 onion chopped
salt
pepper
paprika
ginger
1/4 c. green olives
1 lemon

Heat oil. Add 1/2 c. water slowly. Layer onion rings. Sprinkle with spices. Lay chicken on top. Add more salt and pepper to the top of chicken. Cook over low heat, covered, for one hour.

After an hour, add chopped onions and sprinkle more spices (lightly) and parsley (if desired) on top.

Place olives in a pan of cold water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes. Add to chicken. Cook together for 5 minutes. Take off heat and squeeze juice from one lemon over the entire dish. Serve with rice or couscous (or we just ate it with the above recipe and rice).
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Seriously good. Pictures next week.

As for anything else going on... the remainder of February was pretty tame. I am going to make an effort to post more often... really. With pictures... :)