The Efx3 Recipe Collection

I found a great blog post on cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com about how to use a whole chicken as the base for a week’s worth of meals.  I’ve tried most of them but this is my favourite by far. The recipe is easy and can be made fully vegetarian or with your meat of choice. Just remember to over-season the chickpea/chicken mixture because when you add the yogurt it’ll dilute any seasoning (and heat!).

Instructions below with my additions in italics.

Cook’s Illustrated’s Chicken Curry in a Hurry

Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 to 1 tablespoon curry powder (or to taste; mine is mild so I use about 2 tbsp)
Salt (I omit the salt since the stock has lots of salt in it)
4 garlic cloves, minced (optional, I hate chopping garlic so I skip it)
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
½ cup water (or vegetable/chicken/beef stock)
2 cups shredded of thinly sliced cooked chicken
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas (I don’t like peas)
1/4 cup raisins (or raisins)
1/2 cup plain  yogurt
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (I didn’t bother with this either)

1. BUILD CURRY BASE: Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, curry powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until onion is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. ADD WATER, MEAT, VEGETABLES, AND COOK: Stir in water, meat, chickpeas, peas, and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. GARNISH AND SERVE: Off heat, stir in yogurt and cilantro and serve. Over brown rice is a good option. (I’ve also served it over couscous and it’s delicious!)

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Enjoy! I know I do ^_^

Here is one for Hummus:
Hummus is a very popular dish all over the Mediterranean Basin and Middle Eastern region made out of chickpeas (hummus in Arabic). Other ingredients are tahini (sesame paste), olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz of soaked and boiled chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 2 fluid ounces of the liquid from boiling the chickpeas
• 3-5 tablespoons of natural lemon juice
• 1 ½ -2 tablespoons of tahini
• 2-3 crushed cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil

Some people add red pepper powder to the mixture. Others, just sprinkle it later on the dish.

Process:

Soak about 3 ounces of chickpeas during a minimum of 12 hours. Boil them and set aside from boiler. Keep the water. Combine the chickpeas with the rest of the ingredients in blender. Add 2 fluid ounces (about ¼ of cup) of water from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low speed until is properly mixed and get a smooth consistency.

Place in a dish, forming a type of basin with hummus, with a shallow well in the center.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of virgin olive oil in the center of the dish. Sprinkle some red pepper and garnish with parsley (both optional). If you want a low calories hummus, don’t add olive oil and reduce the amount of it you put in the food processor

Serve accompanied with warm or toasted pita bread.

Calories of a cup (8 fluid ounces or 250 grams) of hummus: from 350Kcal (low fat) to 500 Kcal. It is a rather rich food.

Hummus is very healthy. It lowers bad cholesterol, due to the cheakpeas. It is very caloric and should be eaten moderately.