Spring cleaning meals.

You would expect these meals to be just some sandwiches made hastily to serve while cleaning the house for the new season. No. No way. Cleaning or no cleaning, our family expects to have a good meal on the table. So, yes, these meals are the result of the review and cleaning of my kitchen just before I embark on the mission of restocking the pantry and the freezer. So it's a kind of "Spring cleaning" for the freezer and the pantry to use whatever has been lying there for a while, so that you can start making a list of what items you'll need to buy next.

First I started with the freezer: I had a bag of lamb cubes and two pouches of chicken breasts that I had transferred from the big freezer in the basement to the kitchen freezer. They need to be used asap.

INDIAN STYLE LAMB CUBES

                                           

                                                                                                                                             

These cubes of lamb were leftover from a whole boneless leg of lamb that I had cubed and cooked. They were about 1 lb, in 1 1/2 inch cubes. I defrosted them, and thought of a new way to cook them. I needed something different, mainly because we've had leg of lamb in so many different ways from shish kebab to a whole leg roasted in the oven, or grilled. I looked around the kitchen to get some inspiration, and.. voila: I found a can of coconut milk that I had bought thinking that I would use it in some curry or Indian dish.. Hmmm, Indian you say? Maybe that's what we need: an Indian flavor. That day I was cooking okra and freek, so an Indian inspired meat dish will be perfect. The best side effect: I finally figured out how much meat I should cook for the three of us so that we don't have any leftovers.You'll need:

1 lb lamb (I used a little less than that)

1 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

A pinch of each: ground clove, curry and cinnamon

2 tbsp plain yogurt

A splash of tomato sauce

1/2 (13.5 oz) can  of coconut milk

A handful of raisins

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley

Remove all visible fat from the lamb and cut it in small cubes, less than 1 inch, bite size pieces.

In a bowl mix the lamb cubes with the onion/garlic mixture and the spices. Add the yogurt and mix well to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (In the mean time I cooked the other dishes). In a nonstick pan with a cover, cook the lamb cubes on medium high heat until they are well browned on all sides. Add some water, bring to a boil, then cover and let cook on low heat. When all the liquid is absorbed, add the tomato sauce, some more water and let cook until almost done. Add  the raisins, the coconut milk and keep cooking until fork tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve over freek.

                                               

CHICKEN WITH PEAS AND VERMICELLI

                                                

I found another item in the pantry that I had to use before restocking: vermicelli pasta. I had some chicken breasts and I found half a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. That's a no brainer: these are the perfect ingredients for a chicken dish, the kind we prefer, a one dish meal. You'll need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 pieces)

2 tbs frozen onion/garlic mixture

8 baby carrots

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 handfuls of vermicelli pasta

1 tbsp oil

 A dash of Worcestershire sauce

Chicken stock, or water

Rinse the chicken, pat dry and cut in thin strips. Marinate the chicken in the onion mixture, plus salt and pepper and lemon juice for 30 minutes. While it marinates cut the carrots and pulverize them in the food processor. Cook the chicken in a nonstick skillet until all its liquid is absorbed and it's lightly browned. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the oil to the skillet and start cooking the vermicelli stirring frequently until it becomes golden brown. Add the carrots, stir for a couple of minutes and then add stock. It should barely cover the pasta. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover the skillet. Let simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, check the pasta, if it still needs some more liquid, add it, and let cook until the vermicelli are done. Add the peas, return the chicken to the skillet and the splash of Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine for 1 or 2 minutes. Serve. You may sprinkle the dish with some toasted pine nuts, almonds or cashews.