Onion and Garlic Marinated Lamb Chops

So, my girlfriend really hates, HATES, the taste of lamb. I've also recently discovered that people have some hang ups about the meat, thinking that it is inhumane to eat lamb. I promise, lamb is the most humanely raised animal that we commonly consume. The lamb is allowed to roam and grass feed before it is slaughtered. Also, unlike many other animals, we use the whole lamb. It's not only humane, it's efficient... and a little gamey. I like that though.

So, I was making dinner for just myself this week and I went to the butcher and bought two inexpensive shoulder cut lamb chops. They're large and cost only $4/lb. The meat is a little tougher than rib chops and the taste is gamier, but I'm always up for that.

The recipe is really simple. All you have to do is grate half of a large onion and two cloves of garlic in to a bowl, chop some rosemary and throw in cumin, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Toss in the lamb chops, cover them with the mixture, and let them sit for at least an hour.

After the hour is up, preheat your broiler, scape off the lamb chops and broil them. You want to go for about 4-5 minutes on each side, that will give you medium rare chops. I strongly recommend against going above medium. Let's say 10 minutes total in the broiler tops.

Let me tell you, it doesn't look like that marinade will do much, but it really flavors the lamb all the way through. It's probably the strength of the rosemary and the pungency of grated onion and garlic. It's one of those very warm meat dishes that's great for the winter.

I served it (to myself) with some brussel sprouts, cooked in a pan, and cheesy cous cous. Cous cous is a serious staple for me: it's just so easy and yummy. It's also a lot of fun to play with.

Onion and Garlic Marinated Lamb Chops (inspired by Mark Bittman's recipe in "How to Cook Everything")

2 lamb chops (shoulder or rib)

1/2 large onion, grated

2 cloves garlic, grated

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 - 1 1/2 tbsp cumin

2-3 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine grated onion, garlic, oil, cumin, rosemary lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place lamb chops in the bowl and use your hands to cover the chops in the mixture. Let marinate for at least 1 hour.

2. Remove the chops from the mixture, scraping off any that is stuck to the meat and preheat a broiler.

3. Place the lamb chops in a broiling pan and stick under the broiler. Broil for 4-5 minutes, then flip and place back under the broiler for another 4-5 minutes. Total cooking time should not exceed 10 or 11 minutes.

4. Remove from broiler, let rest for about 5 minutes, then enjoy.

Pulled Chicken Quesadilla

This recipe is inspired by my mom's pulled pork made in the slow cooker. She throws a pork loin (or shoulder) in the slow cooker with some barbeque sauce and pineapple juice for the whole day and makes the house smell like barbeque. Eventually my dad can't wait any more opens the slow cooker and starts the slow process of burning the pork... oops. Luckily, we almost always save it.

Anyway, let's make this a little healthier and replace that pork with some chicken. So, here's what we start with in the morning.

We've got some barbeque sauce, onion, cumin (comino in Spanish), garlic, poblano and chicken breasts.

Slice the onion, dice the garlic and poblano (really finely please, this needs to be the first thing to cook through so that the result isn't too spicy). Put them all in the slow cooker along with some cumin, salt and pepper. Toss them all up while you're at it.

 

Now, add in the barbeque sauce (about three quarters of the container) and some apple cider vinegar and mix it up. Then, put your chicken breasts on top and flip them over a few times to coat with the sauce you made. Plug in your slow cooker and set it to low for 5 hours.

So, if you wanted to use pork instead of chicken, I would replace half of the apple cider vinegar with pineapple juice, it complements the flavor of the pork better. Also, if you're making this for more people (I made it with two breasts, serving about 4) I would use 4 breasts and use the whole bottle of barbeque sauce and the same amount of vinegar. You don't need that much more liquid for the additional food, that's the beauty of the slow cooker. Oh yeah, and if you really like smoke flavor, either use a smoke flavored barbeque sauce, or add in about a teaspoon of liquid smoke. A little liquid smoke goes a REALLY long way. It smells so good though.

So, five hours pass. Now, it's time to take two forks out and go to town on the chicken. Just tear at it with the two forks until it's basically decimated. Take three or four ladle-fulls of the liquid (and beautiful onions and peppers) from the slow cooker and mix it in to the chicken. Yum.

So, now place a tortilla in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat and pile on enough cheese to just cover the tortilla. Put pulled chicken on half of it and fold the tortilla over. Let the tortilla brown for about two minutes, then flip and let that side brown. Remove to a pan.

The result it not too messy, unless you're a fan of overstuffed quesadillas like I am.

We served these babies with delicious Mexican Sour Cream Rice, and you can find that recipe here: Mexican Sour Cream Rice.

Here's the recipe for the quesadillas.

Pulled Chicken Quesadillas

2 Chicken Breasts

1 3/4 cups Barbeque Sauce

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/2 or 2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 medium Onion, sliced

2 cloves Garlic

1/4 cup (about) Poblano Pepper, diced

4 Tortillas

1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Combine onion, garlic, peppers, along with cumin, salt and pepper in the slow cooker.

2. Add in vinegar, barbeque sauce and chicken breasts, comibine them so that the breasts are coated in sauce.

3. Let cook on low setting for 5 hours.

4. Shred chicken with two forks and add in some of the sauce (with onion and peppers) from the slow cooker.

5. Place tortilla in a dry, non-stick pan over medium heat and add a layer of cheese. Let melt and then add on the chicken. Fold in half and let brown on both sides. Remove from pan.

Mini Meatloaves and Orzo and Broccoli Salad

I went to the butcher today and decided that I was really in the mood for meatloaf. I asked if they had meatloaf mix, but no luck, so I got some ground chuck and made due with what I had. It was pretty good, and the orzo salad was a nice, light complement to the warm, conforting meat. Mmmm.

While I was making the meal, I figured out some possible improvements, that I mostly forgot to execute. If you're not as forgetful as I am, you can add some chopped bacon if you can't get your hands on meatloaf mix, or make it "meatloaf surprise", by putting cheese in the middle of each miniloaf. Also, if you're worried about cooking the meat in a loaf pan, since it traps the fat, shape the loaves in the pan and then turn them out onto a foiled rack and put them in the toaster oven. Make sure you put sides on the foil wrapping so that fat doesn't drip to the bottom of the toaster, that's really gross to clean. A miniature roasting pan or any pan with sides will also be fine here.

I haven't included a full picture array of the preparation, it's pretty self explanatory, but I did take a picture of the result. Doesn't it look like just like mom used to make?

Not my mom, she never touched orzo, or anything like a miniature loaf pan, but I'm sure someone's mom does both of those things.

So, this recipe is a little faster than your typical meatloaf (which takes almost an hour in the oven). I think you can get it done in 30-40 minutes. Delicious and fast, can you ask for more?

Miniature Meatloaves (serves 2)

3/4 - 1 lb. ground chuck or meatloaf mix

1/4 cup (about) breadcrumbs (seasoned)

1 egg

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves (about 2 tsp)

1. Combine ground meat, breadcrumbs and egg in a bowl. Combine, using clean hands, trying not to compress the meat too much.

2. Add in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fresh thyme, mix in gently.

3. Grease two mini loaf pans and put in the meat mixture. Place in a 350 degree, preheated toaster oven for 30 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and let cool. If you would like to drain off more fat, turn out of pans immediately and place on paper towels. Pat down the tops of the loaves before serving.

Orzo Salad with Broccoli (serves 2)

1/4 box orzo (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)

1 head broccoli, florets only, cut off and cut into smallish pieces

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1. Blanch the broccoli in salted, boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. Fish out of water and put into bowl. Run cold water in the bowl and drain.

2. In the broccoli water, cook the orzo for about 9 minutes, or until your preferred level of doneness.

3. Drain orzo and combine with broccoli in bowl, mix in red wine vinegar and salt and pepper.

4. Shred cheese on top and place in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir in cheese and serve warm.