Tahini Bowl

WOW! This dish is soooooo good! So easy, so tasty and so healthy. Do yourself a favor and make this for dinner. Tonight! The following is the recipe the way I was given it (no idea what it is called by the way, someone posted it on Facebook). Under that will be the way I made it and I'm pretty sure I like my way a little better. BTW, kids loved it too!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup tahini sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup kale, chopped
1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped (optional)
brown rice
black beans (1 can)

Directions:
In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine garlic and tahini sauce and salt. In a bowl whisk the lemon juice and sesame oil then add the tahini mixture to the bowl and mix. Pour over a big bowl of brown rice, black beans and raw, chopped kale. Top with some parsley and dig in!

*The Jo Way:
Bought my Tahini sauce from Trader Joe's (near the hummus) since the grocery store only sells Tahini paste. Tahini paste is not the same thing and if you don't live by a Trader Joe's or store that sells Tahini SAUCE then there are plenty of recipes on-line for actual Tahini sauce that are simple. Trust me, it makes a difference and you need the sauce not the plain paste. I've tried it with the paste and the consistency was like peanut butter and not that great. I don't have a mortar and pestle or a food processor, only a blender and a Magic Bullet. I used our Bullet and added way more garlic then recipe calls for, about half the amount of tahini sauce (I probably used about 1/4 cup of tahini sauce), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 diced jalapeno (didn't give the jalapeno mixture to the kids) and mixed in the bullet. Then for the lemon mixture I used 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup of lemon. Really good meatless meal. My husband even told me he wouldn't mind eating it 2 nights in a row if we have leftovers. :)

Spicy Chicken Salad with Bell Pepper and Cilantro

Not the best picture to show how tasty the salad was because the dressing wasn't on yet but I promise, this salad did it's job. I didn't want to go to the grocery store and wanted to eat something light for dinner. I found this spicy chicken salad recipe on Epicurious and made it for Shea and I the other night. I modified it to our liking. Many of the reviews had said to cut the oil in half and they were right. I also added radishes. This is great if you have left over chicken to use, Trader Joe's grilled chicken strips in the freezer, a rotisserie chicken from the store. I didn't have any of those so I just baked some chicken breast with a little salt and pepper and very little olive oil and cut into strips.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 cups diced cooked chicken (about 1 pound)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeno chili

1 bunch sliced radishes (optional)

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

2 cups grape tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges

Directions:

Whisk 1ST 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Mix in chicken, bell pepper, onion, radish, cilantro and chili. Season chicken salad with salt and pepper. Add lettuce to chicken salad; toss to combine.

*Serve with warm tortillas or top with a little plain yogurt or light sour cream.*

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

100% without a doubt the best homemade macaroni and cheese recipe you will ever eat. The mix of cheeses give it a gourmet taste w/out taking away from the OG goodness of good ol' Mac and Cheese. This recipe has been tried and tested by some of the biggest food lover's I know. Another recipe from the kitchen of my bestie Elishia. I made it a couple times last winter and the entire family was happy. I normally only crave something like this when it's cold outside but I resurrected it for my step-dad's birthday since I'm pretty sure Mac and Cheese is one of his favorite foods ever. My sister-in-law made this recently for a friend's birthday also and served it with ribs. Great idea and great pairing! I think I'll make that combo next.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup oil
1 stick of butter or margarine cut into pieces
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (or substitute 1/2 the Velveeta with a blend of grated sharp cheddar cheese, Jarlsberg and jalapeno cheese)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/16 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 egg
1 cup milk + a little more milk
1 (8oz.) bag shredded sharp Cheddar (2 cups)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
1. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water and 1/4 cup of oil. Bring to a boil. Cook macaroni in boiling water, approximately 9 minutes, until tender.
2. Slice butter and drop into crock pot. Turn crock pot on to melt butter while cooking pasta.
3. Drain macaroni, but do not rinse it. Place in slow cooker.
4. Add cubed Velveeta or grated cheese. Mix gently.
5. Mix egg, milk, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. If you like it spicy you can add 1/4 tsp. of Tabasco sauce to egg mixture. Pour over macaroni. Add additional milk if necessary, to come up to 1" from the top of the macaroni. Don't cover the macaroni with milk!
6. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over top of macaroni.
7. Sprinkle top of cheese with 1/4 cup of bread crumbs.
8. Cook 4 hours on Low or 2 hours on High.
9. 6-10 servings.