Dinners Recently

With my travel slowing down for the rest of the year, I've loved having a little more time in the kitchen!

Ian even commented last night that I was on a roll of creating great dinner after great dinner after great dinner.  Hearing that definitely never gets old.

And for me, cooking never gets old!  I am definitely in my element in the kitchen with some music playing and an apron on.

Here's a little peek at some of our dinners recently.

Moroccan chicken tagine with onions and dried apricots (made using this spice base)
Chickpea salad (rinsed can of chickpeas, kalamatas, parsley, s&p, olive oil, red wine vinegar)
Broiled tomatoes with basil chiffonade, olive oil, parmesan cheese

This dinner packed quite a punch!  The entree was pretty spicy for me.  The chickpea salad is so easy and good, and we love the tomato side as well.  I got about 75% done with my entree and then had to throw in the towel because it was so spicy.

Grilled chicken with cold goat cheese sauce (crumbled goat cheese, olive oil, dill, parsley, s&p)
Mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with s&p
Broiled avocados with parmesan cheese, oregano, and kosher salt

An all-around easy but yummy meal.  I used the grill pan indoors since it was chilly outside.  The herbed feta topping for the grilled chicken was delicious.  And while I used to hate mushrooms with a passion, I love them sauteed now with a good dose of EVOO and seasonings.

Pepperoncini beef (1-2 lbs chuck roast, jar of pepperoncinis + their juice, crockpot on low for 8-11 hrs)
Greek salad with kalamatas, feta, onion

I can't say enough good things about this meal.  Honestly -- it was divine.  I'm not normally a beef lover ... I'd rather have fish or chicken over beef any day.  But the flavors in this and the tenderness took it to a new level.  I've seen where people shred the beef and serve it hoagie-style with melted provelone on top.  We just had ours in a bowl with a side salad to keep the carb count low.  I'll be making this again very soon.  Plus, the long cooking time allows me to put it in the Crockpot when I leave the house at 8am and have it cook all day without fear of overcooking.

Honey Sesame Chicken

Sauteed baby bok choy

Roasted broccoli

I cooked this meal last night and our house smelled amazing.  The chicken is one of the very first recipes I pinned on Pinterest.  I'm not sure what took me so long to make it, but I'll definitely be making it again soon.  I cut my chicken breasts in half lengthwise so it would cook quicker, and it only took about 2-2.5 hours on high in the Crockpot, which meant that I didn't have to start it until I got home from work yesterday.

What have you cooked recently that you have loved?