I just made this and decided to post it right away. Usually I make a dish, write the recipe and schedule the post. It is kind of a long process. Sometimes, I like the dish so much that I decide to post it right way.

As most of you know, I have been eating GG crackers for breakfast and snack on a daily basis. For those who have tried these crackers- you know how dry they are. You definitely need something on top to make them delectable.

The other day, I was listening to Joan Hamburg on WOR and she was interviewing some dietician who spoke about a low fat hummus she made with yogurt. A light bulb turned on in my head as I heard the interview. I had been spreading a bit of it everyday on my crackers and thought about the fat in a usual tub of hummus. I decided to make my own.

I experimented last week with one batch- it was good but not post worthy. I made the second batch today and it is super delicious.

I roasted some jalapenos (took the seeds out first) and garlic. I added non-fat Greek yogurt, lemon juice and a bit of tahini and olive oil to get the flavor but not too much of the fat. The result was really good. I had some with my crackers today and it was delicious and healthy since I am getting more protein than usual as the yogurt as tons of it.

Definitely make this and keep in your fridge- although it won’t last for too long….

• 1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, drained

Add the chickpeas to a small saucepan after draining. Add enough water to cover the chickpeas and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook on a simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep aside.

• 2 to 3 jalapenos, slit in half and seeds taken out
• 4 garlic cloves, with the skin
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Place the jalapenos and garlic cloves on a lined cookie sheet and drizzle the olive oil. Roast for about 10 to 15 minutes till the peppers are dark brown. Take out of the oven and squeeze the garlic out of the skins and keep aside.

• 6 oz non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Juice of one lemon

Place the chickpeas with the water, peppers, garlic, yogurt, tahini, olive oil, salt and lemon juice into a food processor. Process till smooth. Take out and enjoy!

So when the day came, I decided to make a chicken dish- something different (I usually say that in my mind- I really do). I was either watching  or reading something- I can’t remember, but Moroccan chicken came up. That was it- I couldn’t think of anything else. I bought the chicken and – everything else was in the house. Couscous comes to mind when I think Moroccan food. Instead of making a salad on the side, I decided to make a spinach and cilantro sauce and cooked the couscous in it. The colors were amazing- the orangish red chicken against the light green couscous was beautiful. The taste wasn’t so shabby either.

We all enjoyed the chicken with the couscous and some red wine- yes I am drinking wine- just on the weekends for now and Friday is part of the weekend. I do plan to incorporate wine back into the week but since I am doing a cleanse, I feel I should detox and stay away from it for a while. I digress- the evening was very enjoyable and delicious!

• 2 tablespoons white whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1½ pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large white onion, sliced thin
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon schug (hot red pepper mix)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Toss the flour and salt with the chicken in a bag to coat. Heat a non-stick skillet with the olive oil and brown the chicken on both sides, about 4 minutes each. Transfer to a plate.
Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat. Add cinnamon, ginger, cumin, schug and salt. Add the tomato, honey, raisins, chickpeas and chicken. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Sprinkle the almonds and cilantro. Serve with couscous.

Spinach Cilantro Couscous

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 green onion

Blend the spinach, cilantro, garlic and onion with some water until a smooth paste is formed. Keep aside.

• 1 cup whole wheat couscous
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup spinach paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat a medium sized saucepan and add the oil. Add the spinach paste and saute for a minutes on medium high heat. Add the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil and add the couscous and place the lid and turn the heat off. Fluff the couscous in 5 minutes once it is cooked.

I think this recipe came about while I was reading some magazine and drooling over a chef in the mid-west cooking eastern-european food. He was making meatballs and serving them in pita bread like bread topped with a tzatziki sauce like concoction. I love tzatziki sauce- creamy, garlicky and cool tasting.

While I was in college, I would go help out at my family’s deli. We would serve delicious gyros with the tzatziki sauce. My Mom would make it with sour cream and grated cucumbers. I remember eating the sauce with fries- aah, the good old days when I could eat anything I wanted and not worry about gaining weight. All of these memories prompted me to make the sauce with the meatballs I had already concocted in my mind. I made my sauce with zero fat greek yogurt. It has all the creaminess and texture without the fat. Adding some fresh mint made it delicious.

While I was putting the ingredients together for the meatballs, I thought of falafels which are the middle-eastern meatless balls made out of a chickpea mixture. I decided to add some chickpeas in mine. It reminded me of shami kebabs – which are Indian kebabs made out of lamb and chickpeas. This ended up being a multi-cultural meal. 

I served the meatballs in pita breads topped with the creamy tzatziki sauce. I also had store-bought hummus which I thinned out by adding some lemon juice. I needed some color for garnish- so took some tomatoes from my backyard and let them sit in some salt and minced garlic. It was all very delicious- especially with the oven fries on the side. I opened a Malbec Rose with the meal and all was good!

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground pork
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 medium white onion, grated
• 1/3 parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ cup canned chickpeas, mashed up
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

In a medium mixing-bowl, add the ground pork, breadcrumbs, garlic, egg, onion, parsley, salt and chickpeas. Mix well till everything is incorporated. Keep aside for at least an hour. Form medium to large meatballs and coat with the flour.

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Place the meatballs in the pan and brown on each side, 2-3 minutes per side. Lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes till the meatballs are cooked inside.

• A pack of small pocket pitas, cut into half

Tzatziki Sauce

• ½ cup greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup chopped cucumber, extra water squeezed out
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

In a small bowl add the yogurt, olive oil, cucumber, salt, garlic, lemon juice and fresh mint. Mix well and keep aside.

Chopped Tomatoes

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and salt. Keep aside for at least an hour. Serve on top of the meatballs and pita.

I sprinkled salt and pepper on chicken thighs- my favorite part of the chicken. Thighs are great to use in such dishes- they can be cooked for a long time and not get tough on you, plus they have great flavor. I made a simple spice mix with cinnamon and coated the chicken. I then browned the pieces and sauteed them with garlic and onions. I decided to add some grated carrots- to add some veggies- no one was able to detect anything healthy!

The olives and apricots really gave the chicken an incredible flavor and texture. I love the two ingredients together… The sweetness and chewiness of the apricots complimented the saltiness of the olives really well. I went to a few local stores to find preserved lemons (often used in Moroccan dishes) but was not able to. The olives I had were marinated with lemons- so that is what I used. It worked really well but I am sure using the actual preserved lemons would have been delicous too.

The dish was yum- I made cumin couscous with it. My daughter until recently didn’t care of couscous, but once I told her it is pasta in another form- she was a little more receptive. I made a green salad with our dinner and opened a bottle of red wine. Delicious!

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup green olives (preferably marinated with lemon), sliced
• 1/3 cup apricots, sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Salt

Combine all the spices in a large bowl. Sprinkle the spices on both sides of the chicken pieces making sure all areas are covered. Let the chicken stand for one hour.
In a large dutch-oven, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown for 3-4 minutes on each side. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic, onion and carrots. Add the olives, apricots and chicken broth and salt. Bring to a simmer on medium heat, then lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for an additional 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and tender. Take the lid off, increase the heat to thicken sauce. Adjust seasonings and serve with couscous.

Cumin Couscous

• 1½ cup whole-wheat couscous
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin
• 1½ chicken broth

In a medium pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the roasted cumin, sauté for 30 seconds or till the cumin begins to sizzle. Add the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil.
Add the couscous, cover and turn heat off. Let stand for 10 minutes. Take lid off and fluff couscous with fork. Serve with the Moroccan chicken.

Last week we went to Nancy’s house for dinner and she brought out the yummy hummus with bread, crackers, olives and cheese. Of course everyone remarked how delicious the dip was- and so she proceeded to make me something she calls ‘heaven’. She took a slice of crusty bread, toasted it and proceeded to spread a thick layer of hummus. She then, added a grilled spicy serrano pepper (serrano peppers are grilled till charred and then cooked in olive oil and lots of fresh garlic). Well, it was delicious- definitely ‘heaven’. The crusty bread was perfect with the creamy, spicy hummus- and the small punch of the serrano chili was amazing on top. It’s definitely not for people who can’t handle spicy foods- my husband for example- did not even try it- the pepper was too intimidating.

I decided to visit Eden Gourmet the next day and made this yummy concoction. It’s very easy to put together since everything is store bought. I processed the hummus till it was smooth and delicious. I added two teaspoons of the hot schug, but you can adjust according to the spice level you can handle. The sundried tomatoes give the dish a tangy creamy texture.

I love having this spicy dip in my fridge- I have been putting it on everything, including my naked finger… thanks for the recipe, Nancy!

• 17 oz prepared hummus (preferably Sabra- family size hummus)
• 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sabra schug hot red pepper mix (quantity can be adjusted according to taste)

Process the hummus, sun-dried tomatoes and shug in a processor until everything is incorporated and smooth.
Take out and place it in the same hummus container and refrigerate.
Serve with pita chips or as a condiment for a sandwich.