Making a new meal for my family a few times a month has been working out nicely! It just takes a little planning and time to prepare ahead of time. Manfriend and I are both so busy in the evenings that pre-planning and scheduling has helped a ton.

This was my first time preparing and eating lamb. If you’ve ever tried goat meat, the taste is very similar.

(I grew up with a Mexican mother, so I had goat birria in Mexico – delicious!)

I got this recipe from my November 2011 issue of Sunset Magazine. It’s quick and easy, but the flavors are great! I went a little heavy on the cayenne pepper – if you want an extra kick (and a tissue while you eat) I recommend doing the same.

Shawarma Lamb with Couscous Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup couscous (I used gluten-free brown rice couscous)
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons, divided
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1.5 lbs. top round lamb steak, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin (I’m not the biggest fan of cumin, so I used half.)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne (I doubled this)
• 1 tsp. .each kosher salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

How to Prepare the Lamb

1. Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add couscous, cover tightly, remove from heat and sit 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff, and add carrot, parsley, 2 tbsp. oil, and zest and juice of 1 lemon.
2. Cook onion in remaining oil in a large frying pan over high heat until edges are charred, 10-12 minutes. Add garlic, lamb, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until lamb is cooked through and browned, about 10 minutes.
3. Divide couscous among 4 plates and top with lamb mixture. Mix yogurt with lemon and serve!

In an effort to not be so wasteful, I’m committing to plan for and create one new meal per month. If I can do it more frequently – great! I’m hoping this will ensure I buy only the foods we need, and more importantly my family [I] won’t grow tired of my cooking.

I keep a recipe binder in my kitchen cupboard in which I collect (in laminated folders) recipes I’ve torn from some of my favorite magazines. I’ve even separated the desserts in its own tab within the binder. My selection for this week was from the August 2010 issue of Sunset magazine - Mango and Paprika Pork submitted by Mindy and Adam Krakow of Oakland.

If I make this again, I would add more spice and zest. I tend to add lemon or lime to most of my meals, as well as lemon pepper or pico de gallo pepper. While the mango smelled delicious during the cooking process, for some reason the taste was not as powerful. Nonetheless, a great meal!

Do you have any favorite mango recipes?

Mango and Paprika Pork Recipe

Serves 4: 30 minutes

What you’ll need:

• 4 boneless pork chops (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 2 to 3 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large mango (about 1 lb.), peeled and cubed (I used frozen mango. Maybe my problem?)
• 1/2 red onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• Couscous
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1.  Heat oven to 375°. Pat pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with paprika and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper.
2.  Heat oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown pork chops on both sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add mango, onion, bell pepper, and remaining 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper to pan. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Set pork chops on top of mango and bake until meat is no longer pink in center, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve pork and mango over cooked couscous and sprinkle with cilantro.