Becuase I'm lazy....oh, and a yUmMy recipe!

I am going to post a picture of what my hair looks like...on someone else. haha. It's in the morning and currently my hair kinda has a "pebbles from the flintstones" look...a pony tail sticking straight off my head. Since it's Saturday and I make my hair look presentable all week, I plan on NOT doing my hair today. Thus...no pics of it in the near future. So, here's what my hair looks like, minus the bangs. I think bangs are cute but my forehead is way to greasy to have bangs. blah. So, this is basically my hair more or less...at least what it looked like when I left the hairdresser! :)

Anyways, there you have it. It's quite fun. It's short and I love me some short hair. So much more manageable. Also, when the hair's short it actually looks like I have a EVER so slight amount of body. haha, What a concept! :)

In other news. We had a friend over last weekend from San Diego. He was in Chile with us. It was fun to see him. When he was over I tried out a new recipe. I've been exploring a woman named Melissa d'Arabian from the Food Network. She does meals for under $10. She does it well though. I've been looking for something like this but I find that most of them take a cheap boxed base like, mac and cheese, or Hamburger Helper and then add ingredients. That's fine and all but it's not exactly what I was looking for. This lady does it though exactly as I was thinking and so far...almost all her recipes I've chosen have been so good. So my latest jewel is called North African Meatballs over Couscous and YUMMY yummy it was. It was different too...not a normal flavor you would find in your home cooked meal. We all three loved the fact that it was different and ... it was decently easy and fast! I would highly recommend it! The recipe list may seem long but it's really a pretty fast meal.

North African Meatballs over Couscous

Ingredients
For the North African Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, zested
1/2 cup pitted and chopped briny olives (I didn't use this because I didn't have it!)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1 (14-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (I doubled this because we like it SPICY)
Pinch ground cinnamon
salt and freshly ground black pepper


For the Meatballs:
1 egg
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch ground cinnamon
3/4 pound ground beef
1/3 cup finely ground rolled oats or fine bread crumbs (I used the bread crumbs)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking (I used olive oil)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (I think I put in 1 tbl. dried parsley)

Couscous with Dried Dates, recipe follows


Directions
To make the North African Sauce:
In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and olives and cook for 1 more minute. Add the white wine, deglaze the pan, and let it reduce for a 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, canned tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon, and simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To make the Meatballs: In a medium bowl, add the egg and tomato paste and stir until smooth. Add the cilantro, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and mix until well blended. Stir in the ground beef and oats, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and combine gently after each addition. Do not overmix. Rolling with your hands, make about 32 meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter.
In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat, and brown the meatballs in batches until golden on all sides. Add more oil, as needed. Transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve over the Couscous with Dried Dates.


Couscous with Dried Dates: (I didn't use dates because they are pretty pricey and we also used whole wheat couscous. Loved it!)
1 cup water
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped dried dates
1 cup quick-cooking couscous
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water, stock, and oil to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the dates followed by the couscous. Cover the pan tightly with a lid, remove from the heat, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Yield: 4 servings