Moroccan Melts In Your Mouth Chicken

I have heard the term "melts in your mouth" before, I had never actually experienced it until I made this dish. The original recipe is from Bon Apetite (fancy right) I just adapted a few things to make it clean and viola, you have the most moist, flavorful and yes, melt in your mouth chicken ever! I would imagine that this recipe would be easy to make in the crock pot. My sister Nicole is always looking for quick easy crock pot meals being a busy mom of 2 crazy cute boys, I have been trying to work on her request of more crock pot recipes! If you try it in the crock pot, post a comment and let me know!

Moroccan Chicken

1 Medium to Large Chicken

2 TBSP Olive Oil

2 Lemons

3 Cinnamon Sticks

6 Shallots thinly sliced (you could substitute red onion)

6 Carrots peeled and chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces

12 dates halved

1 C. Chicken Broth

1 1/2 tsp Ginger

1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/8 tsp Cayenne

Salt and Pepper

1/2 C Cilantro

1/2 C. Sliced Almonds Toasted

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a dutch oven heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Put the chicken in breast up and cook for about 5 minutes to brown the skin. Flip it over and cook for 5 minutes on the breast side. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the chicken and put the rind into the cavity. Scatter the veggies and dates around the chicken, squeeze the other lemon on top and slice into a few pieces. Scatter the pieces of lemon in with the veggies. Pour over the other Tbsp of Olive oil. Mix all the spices together and sprinkle over the chicken and veggies. Nestle the cinnamon sticks among the veggies cover the dutch oven and cook for 1 hour. Raise the temperature to 425 remove the lid and cook for 45-1 hr more, or until the internal temperature reads 180 degrees. There will be the most amazing sauce on the bottom, this is the part that melts in your mouth, take the chicken out and slice it into pieces, serve the veggies on the side and spoon the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cilantro and a few toasted almonds.

aren't the veggies so pretty?

Here is the look you are going for when browning the chicken

Wait until you smell all the spices! Your house will smell amazing!

I forgot to take a picture with the almonds and cilantro, it is a very pretty dish and worth making for dinner company.

This recipe is a little more work than most of the recipes that I make, but it is well worth the work!

Mexican Shrimp Stew

Although it is spring, you wouldn't know it if you looked outside here in North Idaho. It is 45 degrees and has been raining all day! It feels like a soup day! I made this soup for my sisters over the weekend, they both loved it and even had seconds! It is pretty spicy, if you don't like the heat you can omit the chipotle peppers.

Spicy Shrimp Stew

2 tsp. Olive oil

1 Onion

2 Stalks celery

4 Carrots

2-3 TBSP. Chipotle chile's in adobo (it is tricky to find these clean, but it can be done!)

2 tsp. Cumin

2 tsp. Chili powder

4 Cloves garlic

4 C. Chicken Stock

1 14.5 oz can Fire roasted tomatoes

1 Tbsp. Lime juice

Salt and Pepper

1 LB. Shrimp (I used medium raw)

Cilantro and avocado for garnish

Pre-chop all your veggies into even chunks. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the veggies, garlic, spices and chile's. Saute over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes or until the carrots just start to get soft. Add the tomatoes and stock. Cook until the veggies are soft, an additional 15-20 minutes.

Peel and rinse the shrimp and add them to the stew along with the lime juice. Cook for about 4 minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Serve into bowls and top with cilantro leaves and avocado chunks.

My take on a bibimbap

I'm a big fan of making ethnic type foods and foods that I haven't tried or heard of. In saying that this dish was lovely. Its a clean take on a traditional Korean dish called a bibimbap which means "mixed meal". Traditionally it is made with rice, a variety of veggies, beef and egg. To clean it up I just substituted cauliflower "rice". It was so good and like nothing I had ever made before. Try this one its a winner!

Korean Bibimbap

8 oz Sirlion Steak cut into thin strips

2 tsp. Tamari Sauce (wheat-free soy sauce)
1 TBSP Fresh Ginger peeled and minced

3 Cloves Garlic minced

6 Green Onions chopped

1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

2 Large Carrots julienned with a veggie peeler

1/3 of a Cabbage cut into thin strips

1 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

1 head Cauliflower grated to resemble rice

4 Eggs

Prepare all your veggies and set aside.

Make a marinade for the thinly sliced beef using 1 green onion, 1 tsp ginger, the garlic, tamari and the red pepper flakes. Let it all set and get happy for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile steam the remaining green onions, cabbage and carrots until they are crisp-tender about 4-6 minutes. Heat the sesame oil and add the sirloin cooking 1-2 minutes per side. Add the remaining ginger, the cauliflower and the steamed veggies and cook, covered, until the cauliflower is tender. This should take about 10 minutes. Uncover and make 4 indentations in the cauliflower with the back of a spoon. Crack 1 egg into each, and cook, covered, until the whites are set but the yolks are stilll runny, about 4 minutes.

Serve with an egg on top of each plate and stir in right before eating.