Tabbouleh with Shredded Chicken

I apologize for the silence on the blog the last couple of days, but we’ve had a bit of an internet problem.  Yesterday we not only fixed the internet, but also our dishwasher.  Hard work, but someone has to do it, right?  The joys of home ownership!

Whenever there are many items on my to-do list, I try to make dishes that don’t require too much time, or work.  If I can use up extras from the fridge, that’s a double-bonus.

A couple of weeks ago I made pitas, but had lots of leftover dough.  I divided it into separate balls, and kept it in the freezer.  And when I had the right ingredients for some tabbouleh- I made a tasty, and fast, lunch!

Tabbouleh with Shredded Chicken
Adapted from: Cooking Light (March 2009)

Even if you don’t have any pitas, tabbouleh is great as a lunch salad- very refreshing and light.  I had leftover chicken, which I shredded and added to the salad, but feel free to omit it.  A great addition is some feta cheese sprinkled over the top!

1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
3/4 cup parsley, minced
1/4 cup mint, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine the bulgur and the boiling water in a large bowl.  Cover the bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes.  Then fluff the bulgur with a fork, drain any extra water.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, mix well.

Asian Noodle Bowl

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!  I’m sure you’re all stuffed with turkey and pumpkin pie- and need something different to eat.

This is something very filling but does not overstuff.  The great part about this noodle bowl is that everyone can pick and choose the vegetables that they would like.  For example, we had carrots, bok choy, cucumbers and green onions.  If you’d like to add mushrooms or take out one of the other veggies- feel free.  In addition, if you don’t want tofu- you can add a meat or make it meat free.  If you make this dish- I’d love to know your favorite ingredients!

Asian Noodle Bowl
Adapted from: Dana Treat
Servings: 4-5 dinner portions

2 inch piece of ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks of lemongrass, minced (outer layers removed)
6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp stir fry oil
2 tbsp water
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
12 oz tofu, blotted dry, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 oz soba noodles (or other Asian noodles)
3 green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 baby bok choys, roughly chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, halved

To prepare the marinade for the tofu mix the following ingredients in a bowl: ginger, garlic, lemongrass, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, stir fry oil, water and red pepper flakes.  Feel free to add more, or less, of each ingredient.  Mix together all of the ingredients.

Spread tofu pieces in a shallow baking dish.  Pour 3/4 of the marinade over the tofu.  Leave the tofu in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 375°F, and bake the tofu for about 30-40 minutes.  Flip the tofu pieces after about 15 minutes of baking.

Prepare soba noodles (or other Asian noodles) per the directions on the box.  Once the noodles are cooked, rinse then with cold water.  Drain well, and divide between your bowls.

Top the noodles with green onions, cucumbers and tomatoes.

In a large pot, heat up broth.  While it’s heating up, add the carrot sticks.  Once the broth is boiling, toss in the bok choy.  Turn off the heat, and let the liquid cool for about 3 minutes.

Add the baked tofu into each of your bowls, then add carrots, bok choy and cherry tomatoes.  Last, pour the broth and left over marinade over the noodles and vegetables.