Baked chicken thighs with horseradish

It’s likely no surprise to hear that I love trying new restaurants, including those that offer something a little different in the fast casual space.

A few weeks ago I had a bowl just like this one at a middle eastern fast-casual spot called Dez. They have all sorts of fun dishes on their menu, but the jeweled rice bowl had my full attention. The star of the dish was grilled chicken, drizzled with lemon yogurt, all served on top of bright yellow saffron rice speckled with pistachios and fresh mint. It looked almost too good to eat!

But I ate it, and then I wanted to recreate it asap. This is my ode to that dish at Dez.

The star of this dish is chicken thighs, but instead of grilled they’re baked with a horseradish yogurt sauce. The rice is all about flavor, with bright lemon and the pop of fresh pomegranate seeds. Pistachios add crunch as well as color to compliment the turmeric. The only thing missing is a creamy component, which is a quick lemon yogurt. All you need to make it is a few scoops of plain greek yogurt and a squeeze of lemon. Extra points for grating in some fresh lemon zest! Honestly, this is so easy to put together and it’ll go fast once you start digging in.

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Baked chicken thighs with horseradish

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 400.In a small bowl, combine the greek yogurt and prepared horseradish.Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides. Distribute the horseradish yogurt amongst all the thighs, and spread it evenly over the chicken.Roast the chicken thighs for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings

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Jeweled rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• Dried parsley

Instructions

Add 1 cup of rice to a rice cooker, or a pot over the stove. Add 2 cups of water and stir in the turmeric. Add the lemon (rind and all), and then cook the rice according to the instructions on your rice package.Let the rice cool, then stir in the pistachios, pomegranate seeds and some sprinkles of dried parsley.

Baked Mozzarella-Stuffed Chicken Meatballs

Feel the chill in the air? It’s officially Fall outside, and it’s time to whip out your cold-weather recipes. I might be biased, but these baked mozzarella-stuffed chicken meatballs should be on the menu!

Baked chicken meatballs on their own are great, but adding fresh mozzarella in the center is such a great treat! The mozzarella oozes out of the center when you cut into each one making it a fun and delicious surprise. Since it’s Halloween season, these could make some spooky edible eyeballs if you add a sliced black olive to the top of each! However and whenever you serve them, you’re going to love them.

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Baked chicken meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• ~ 11 mini mozzarella balls
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 26.46 oz box of diced tomatoes
• Grated parmesan

Instructions

Add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, chopped garlic, and dried parsley into a bowl. Grind some fresh black pepper and toss a few dashes of salt into the mixture. Mix everything together until just combined.To form the meatballs, take a piece of the mixture and press a mini mozzarella ball into the center. Wrap the rest of the mixture around the mozzarella ball until it forms a meatball. Repeat until you are out of the meatball mixture.Heat an oven-safe frying pan with a thin layer of olive on medium-high. Add the meatballs (in one layer) into the pan and fry each meatball until golden brown on all sides. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan. Remove the meatballs from the heat and onto a plate.In the same pan, add the garlic, onion and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Stir until fragrant, then add in the diced tomatoes. Place the meatballs carefully back into the sauce, and bring the heat up to a simmer.Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the meatballs have simmered in the sauce for five minutes, sprinkle the meatballs with grated parmesan and pop the whole pan into the oven. Bake until the parm just melts and enjoy warm.

Yield: ~11 meatballs

Roasted Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Today we are going back to basics with an easy and simple shrimp recipe. You likely have everything you already need to make this recipe, just grab some shrimp from the supermarket before you get started! Try these peppery shrimp in simple lettuce wraps with homemade salsa, or in this recipe for shrimp with lemon pepper vinaigrette.

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Roasted salt and pepper shrimp

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• 1 lemon, sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and the lemon slices.Toss shrimp, olive oil, garlic, black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl; spread onto the prepared sheet.Roast shrimp in the preheated oven for 4 minutes. Increase the heat to 400°F and continue roasting until pink, about 6 minutes more.