I recently joined a local Facebook group of Jewish moms devoted to sharing tried and true recipes. Really the group is about meal planning, but it’s brand new and we seem to be more in the recipe swap phase. I should definitely formally meal plan because it would make my life easier, but I’m not ready to commit to that level of organization.
On Sunday mornings I tend to make informed decisions about what we’ll eat on Mondays and Tuesdays and then by Wednesday, I’m just not in the mood. So we eat pasta or something along those lines from the pantry and I try to add a vegetable to every meal. By Thursday I’m prepping for Shabbat dinner for Friday night so again I’m sort of annoyed about cooking for Thursday night, too. This is why I need to get better about meal planning. The LET’S DO THIS rah-rah attitude I muster up on Sundays needs one more day of energy around Wednesday morning.
Related: I loved Zoe Fenson’s piece in the The Week last fall about the mental and emotional labor that goes into cooking. In her article, “It so much more than cooking,” she discusses the reality of always knowing what is in the fridge and what the family is eating for three meals a day. Cooking is much more than the work of cooking in the moment. She had a lot more to say. I recommend the whole article.
Anyway, yesterday I made one of the recipes that my fellow Facebook group member, Jenna, suggested. She promised it was easy and delicious, and she was absolutely right. I haven’t been this excited about a meal I made in a long time. I was standing over the pan eating the sauce-drenched onions with a spoon.
So here it is: Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma from the site Jo Cooks.
I made the chicken and the homemade garlic sauce and I already had all of the ingredients on hand. It’s a great recipe if you keep kosher (or not). The garlic sauce has no dairy, nor does anything for the chicken.
Next time I prepare this, I will use less oil than the recipe calls for. I don’t think you need quite so much. I also cooked it for 30 minutes, not 40-45 minutes as suggested. But otherwise, the flavor of the spices for the chicken and the flavor of the garlic sauce was fantastic. (Jenna says you can also grab a pre-made garlic dip at Trader Joe’s. And she suggests plating the chicken with rice pilaf, roasted veggies, and naan.)
The two kids who were home for dinner last night ate it with pita bread. For me, I made Israeli salad and put the chicken with the salad on top of some arugula. Bryan was out with one of our kids for dinner, but he ate some later for a snack and said it might be the best chicken I’ve ever made. I will definitely be making this one again, but next time I will double the batch for leftovers.
I hope this helps you with one new easy idea. I’m all for easy and flavorful.
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4 Responses
I make the NY Times oven shwarma about once a month, usually with a yogurt garlic sauce and pita, and tabbouleh or tomato salad. It is so good and easy! The Times recipe calls for chicken thighs instead of breasts, so I don’t have to worry about overcooking.
Oooh, Jenna mentioned using thighs too. I will try that for sure.
This looks so delicious and I am going to try it. I could have easily written the second paragraph myself (minus the Shabbat prep obvs) — I have lots of planning vigor on the weekend but by Thursday I’m all TAKEOUT TIME. I should be better and yet….
Glad I’m not alone!