Persian Burrito

Persian Chicken Burritos

You guys know I love to make twists on the burrito from all over the world. There are even some good versions in Stuffed! The key to making this work is not just slapping a bunch of exotic ingredients into a tortilla, you really have to take the time to replace all of the burrito staples like rice, beans, meat, and salsa. This week Mandi and I made an incredibly tasty Persian take on the burrito. For the rice, we used a sour cherry rice complete with the crispy bits Persian rice is famous for. In place of beans, we used lentils. The meat was a classic marinaded chicken, salsa was a Persian tomato-cucumber salad, and for sour cream, we made a yogurt sauce.

Veggie Meatloaf

Veggie Loaded Meatloaf

I was craving meatloaf. This is a sentence I have said as many as never times in my life, but it was the case the other night. If you are following along, you probably noticed the trend of healthy, mostly meatless, and pretty inexpensive dishes recently, because that is how I try to cook this time of year. Plus I keep having to make mac and cheese stuffed burgers for the cookbook publicity so I am trying to counteract some of that. That all being said, I wanted to make a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian “loaf”. I did some research, but most veggie loafs were loaded with grains and tofu, and not actual veggies like I wanted. I decided to just wing it and do mostly veg with a little beef and some cheese, sort of like a veggie heavy lightened version of a regular meatloaf.

Brussel Sandwich with Vindaloo Mayo

Cauli-Brussel Sandwich with Vindaloo Mayo

In the summer, it’s so easy to slap a veggie sandwich together that is nice and healthy but still delicious and satisfying. In the winter, you could make the same sandwich if you wanted, but not only will it not taste as good because of out of season veggies, but it isn’t as satisfying because your body isn’t craving that type of thing right now. I made this nice hearty winter veggie sandwich last week that totally hit on everything you crave this time of year and was the best sandwich I have had in a really long time.

Hummus Cake

Savory Carrot Hummus Cake with Hummus Icing

What the what??? This came about because Mandi noticed the texture of sabra reminded her of cake frosting. She asked me to make her a carrot cake that we could frost with the hummus. It obviously had to be a savory cake to work with the super savory hummus. It actually came out pretty tasty! The cake was really flavorful and was almost the texture of a dense pancake. The carrot and curry really came through, and melded well with the hummus. I initially imagined this as a brunch dish, but it’s more of a cool and unique app for hummus lovers.

Indian Nachos

Papadum Nachos with Tandoori Chicken

When you go to a mexican restaurant, they bring you free chips and salsa to enjoy. When you go to an Indian restaurant, they bring you free papadum with chutney to enjoy. This similarity got me thinking, why not make some loaded nachos with all Indian ingredients instead of Mexican. So that’s what I did!

Aloo Gobi Pizza

Aloo Gobi Pizza

A classic pizza topped with cauliflower, potatoes, and more ingredients for the Indian dish aloo gobi.