{recipe} chickpea & feta salad

This photo taken by The Kitchenist

All other photos by me

My mom makes something pretty similar to this recipe. I always forget to get all of my favorite recipes from her whenever I go home, and I started to get a craving for this particular salad, so I just found a recipe that was somewhat like it to make at school! There is quite a bit of prep work (chopping up all of the vegetables) but the ingredients were really cheap and healthy. I will definitely be making it often!

Recipe adapted from The Kitchenist

Yields enough for 6 as a side and 3 as a main dish.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup + 2 Tbs. olive oil

1 leek, sliced lengthwise and chopped (white and light green parts only)

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 mini red bell peppers, chopped and de-seeded

1 mini orange bell pepper, chopped and de-seeded

4 tsp. chili powder

3 teaspoons of pre-chopped garlic from jar (or 3 finely chopped garlic cloves)

15.5 oz can of chickpeas (drained)

Half container of feta, crumbled

4 green onions (dark and light green parts only)

2 Tbs. finely chopped mint

1 Tbs. finely chopped basil

zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Directions:

 I recommend chopping up all vegetables before heating the olive oil.

Heat 2 Tbs. of the olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Gently cook the leek and red onion for 8-10 minutes, until very soft and beginning to turn golden. Add the chili powder, mini bell peppers, and garlic and cook for another minute or two until very fragrant- be careful not to brown the garlic. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Place the chickpeas, feta, green onions, mint, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining olive oil in a large bowl.

When it's cool enough not to melt the feta, add the mixture from the frying pan and gently stir everything to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Leave salad for at least one hour (or as many as 24) before eating in the fridge because the flavors will meld together!

Tomorrow night I am making Jamaican Jerk Chicken Bowls with plantains, coconut rice, pineapple and black beans for dinner with my roommates. So look back for that recipe :)

xox, Jen

Eggplant Parmesan (Baked Eggplant, not Fried!)

I had a craving for Italian food, but I have been trying to cut back on the amount of pasta I eat lately, considering that is pretty much all I had time to make during the school year! I found an awesome recipe for Eggplant Parmesan on the best college friendly food blog ever, Budget Bytes. She lists out the prices of all of the ingredients in her recipes and keeps most of her recipes priced under $10.00. This recipe takes a bit longer than others I have on my blog, but it is mostly just waiting on the dish to bake, so make sure you leave enough time to prepare and wait!

Recipe adapted from budgetbytes.blogspot.com 

Yields enough for 6

Ingredients:

2 medium (2 lbs.) eggplant

1 tbsp salt

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

2 cups Italian bread crumbs

  1/2 cup grated parmesan

3 cups of your favorite pasta sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella

Non-stick spray (as needed)

Fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Directions:

STEP 1: Wash the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place it in a colander, sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of salt, toss to coat and let sit for about 45 minutes. The salt will draw out moisture from the eggplant allowing for more crisp slices once breaded and baked. I placed the eggplant a single layer and then put a paper towel on top, another layer of eggplant, another paper towel, etc., etc. After 45 minutes, give the colander a good shake to let extra water drip out the bottom (it will look brown).

STEP 2: Press the eggplant slices between a few sheets of paper towel (or a clean, lint-free cloth) to absorb excess water. Place the slices in a ziplock bag with 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour. Toss the bag so that the slices become coated with the flour.

STEP 3: Prepare the second two steps in the breading process as follows. Lightly beat three eggs in a bowl until they become a fairly even consistency. Pour the Italian bread crumbs into a separate bowl. Dip each slice of eggplant into the egg (turning to coat both sides) then into the bread crumbs (coating each side again). Place the breaded slices on a plate or baking sheet until all slices have been breaded.

STEP 4: Position your oven racks on the top third and bottom third of the oven so that they have at least 6 inches between them for air to flow. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place two baking sheets in the oven (one on each rack) as it preheats so they will be preheated as well (this helps with crisping).

STEP 6: Once all of your eggplant slices are breaded and the oven/baking sheets are preheated, carefully remove the baking sheets and coat them with non-stick spray. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the sheets and spray the tops of them with another coat of non-stick spray. Place the sheets back in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Switch the position of the baking sheets half way through (the top rack is often hotter and browns faster than the bottom).

STEP 7: After the slices have baked, reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Place 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the dish. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer over the marinara. Top with a second cup of marinara and one cup of mozzarella. Arrange the rest of the eggplant slices over top and then cover with a third cup of marinara and a second cup of mozarella, etc., etc.

STEP 8: Bake the casserole for about 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly. (Check it every now and then, my cheese ended up a bit too brown, as you can tell from the picture at the top of this post!) Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.

I won't be cooking much this weekend as it is my friend's birthday weekend, so we are going out to eat! I am planning on cooking  Jamaican Jerk Chicken Bowls on Sunday or Monday for my roommates though, so check back to see the pictures and recipe! :)

xox, Jen

Strawberry Banana Muffins

I had a few bananas that were getting a bit too ripe for my liking so I decided to find a way to use them without having to actually eat them alone. I stumbled across this recipe while looking through For the Love of Cooking. (I promise I'm going to find more blogs to feature! There are just way too many good recipes on there to pass up!) I had a tupperware full of fresh strawberries in my fridge and the other ingredients were basic baking ingredients so I decided to give it a go. They were extremely easy to make and turned out moist and super flavorful. I especially LOVE the fact that brown sugar was used instead of white sugar.

Recipe from For the Love of Cooking

Dry Ingredients

2 1/4 cup of flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 stick of butter, melted

2 large ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. After mixing, gently fold in the strawberries, making sure to coat them with flour - this helps prevent the berries from sinking while baking. In another large bowl, combine the wet ingredients (I use a potato masher to break up the banana) until mixed thoroughly. Slowly combine the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stir until just combined - do not over mix the batter or you will have tough muffins. Fill the muffin tray with the batter, place in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

 
What to look forward to with the next post: Delicious & CHEAP Eggplant Parmesan (The two best words to describe food of course!)
xox, Jen

{recipe} cilantro lime rice w/ mojo chicken

Sometimes my roommate and I get a craving for Chipotle's rice bowls: white rice with cilantro and lime... grilled chicken... salsa, sour cream, avocado, etc. etc. Unfortunately for us, for some unknown reason there is no Chipotle within ~100 miles of Tallahassee. How can this be? There is even a Facebook group about bringing Chipotle to Tally (with over 1100 people in it!) We decided that it was no longer okay to crave these rice bowls and decided to find a recipe that was similar to the Chipotle rice recipe.

Mojo Marinated Chicken 

My own "recipe"

2 1/2 cups of store bought Mojo Marinade- I used the Badia brand

 3 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts

Large Ziplock Bag

George Foreman Grill / Grillpan 

Directions: Pour the marinade into a large ziplock bag and place the chicken breasts in it. Close the bag, leaving plenty of air inside. Shake the bag around gently, then open it up and close it tightly, leaving as little air inside the bag as possible. Place the bag in the fridge and store for 30 minutes-up to 24 hours. I left mine in the marinade for about 3 hours and it was very flavorful. Start the rice (recipe below) before you take the chicken out of the fridge. I grilled my chicken on a George Foreman grill for ~9 minutes. On a grill pan I would probably keep the chicken on the same side for about 6 minutes then flip it on its other side for about 3-4 minutes. Just check to make sure there is no pink left in the meat! Cut into strips and place on top of rice. *Yields enough for 2 servings, plus a little leftover chicken for salad/tacos the next day

Cilantro Lime Rice

 Recipe from For the Love of Cooking

 1-2 tsp olive oil

1/4 sweet yellow onion, diced

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup long grained rice (brown or white)

2 cups of water

1 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1 large handful of cilantro, chopped

Juice and zest of 1 lime   

Directions: Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5-7 minutes, until soft and tender. Add the rice and garlic then cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes. Add the water and chicken bouillon granules, bring to a boil over high heat, cover and reduce the heat and simmer, until tender, about 20-25 minutes for white rice and 40-45 minutes for brown rice. Remove from heat and mix with the cilantro, lime juice and zest. Scoop rice into two bowls and place the chicken strips on top. *Yields enough for 2 servings

Rice Bowl Toppings:

 You can add whatever floats your boat really but we added: Fresh salsa, halved grape tomatoes shredded pepper jack cheese, fat-free sour cream, fresh/ripe avocado and lettuce.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

  Tortilla recipe adapted from Food Network 

We bought a fresh salsa from the store and then forgot to buy tortilla chips. I had some soft taco tortillas laying around so we decided to make our own instead of making another trip to Publix. My roommate was completely in charge of this part of our meal. She isn't too much a fan of cooking, but she made some really yummy chips! I like the homemade baked kind much more than the super fattening Tostitos chips.

Ingredients:

5 soft taco tortillas

1/2 tblsp Vegetable Oil (we just eyeballed it)

Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper to taste

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover each tortilla with the vegetable oil and salt and pepper on each side. Place them in a stack and cut the stack into sixths to create your chips. Place them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in oven for about 9-15 minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy!

xox, Jen

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