Chicken Cacciatore

I made this at the beginning of November, but as I had my university exams around then, I decided to prioritise, and study for those instead of writing a blog post.  Wise choice, because I passed all my classes!

This recipe comes from a recipe book my family has had forever, and I decided I wanted to make this because I felt like pasta, and we had chicken leg pieces to use.  Sometimes it's a matter of finding a recipe that suits what you have in the pantry to use up, instead of going out to buy stuff new and fresh specifically for a recipe, which can end up quite expensive!!

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken leg portions (or 8 drums/thighs, or 4 thighs + 4 drums)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced into thin wedge
1 garlic clove
sprig of fresh thyme (I only had dried, so I used a tsp)
sprig of fresh rosemary
150ml dry white wine
200ml chicken stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
40g black olives, pitted (we didn't have any olives, so I just left them out)
15g capers, drained (again, we didn't have these either, so left them out)
salt and pepper
freshly cooked fettuccine, linguine or pasta shells

METHOD

• Heat 2 tsp oil and lightly brown the chicken pieces for 2 - 3 mins each side
• Remove from pan and set aside
• Add remaining 1 tsp oil to juices in the pan
• Add red onion and gently cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally
• Add garlic and cook for a further 5 mins until beginning to brown
• Return chicken to the pan
• Add herbs, then pour in wine and allow to bubble for 1 - 2 minutes
• Add stock and tomatoes, then gently simmer for 15 mins
• Stir in olives and capers (if you have them!)
• Cook uncovered  for a further 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened
• Remove (fresh) herbs and season with salt and pepper
• Serve over freshly cooked pasta (500g dry pasta)

This was WAY yummier than I expected and I really loved the chicken with the tomato!  It was a lot easier to make than I thought as well, so that was a bonus!  Definitely one I shall make again in the future, because you all know how much I love pasta.

Recipe Inspiration: Everyday Cookbook: Low Fat (2006), edited by Gina Steer, p114

Arroz Con Pollo (Mexican Chicken & Rice)

This is a recipe I have wanted to try for a very long time, but all the versions I found included some spice mixes that are not available outside of USA (typical haha!) so I was keeping my eyes peeled for one I could make without them.

Cue my friend Fien, whose house I was at last week.  We were thinking about what to have for dinner, and looking through cookbooks to find something because her partner is gluten-free so obviously had to be something he could eat.  Then I saw this and was like "let's make this!  I've always wanted to try it!".  

So all our good intentions were there.  And then, just after the slowcooker was turned on and we just sat down to start watching a movie... powercut.  -_-  Less than ideal.  By the time it was eventually turned back on, it was almost 8pm, and dinner would need a further 2 or 3 hours to cook! By which stage, we had given up and got pizza.

The dish however, did keep cooking, and when it was done, was put into leftover containers, for Fien and Hamlin to eat the following night, and they said it was delicious.  So tonight, I made it at my house too!

INGREDIENTS
1 chicken (3-4lb/1kg ish) cut into serving pieces or 6 chicken pieces of your choice (I used chicken breast cut into large cubes)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1 tablsepoon paprika
1 tablespoon chilli powder (or less - it is very strong!)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (gluten-free if you're intolerant)
1 bay leaf
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 cup peas
salt and pepper

METHOD

• Put tomatoes, wine, stock and bayleaf in slow cooker
• Brown chicken (but don't cook all the way through) and add to slow cooker
• Heat oil in a pan
• Add onion, garlic, and capsicum
• Cook 3 min
• Reduce heat to low and stir in paprika, chilli powder, cumin, and oregano
• Cook 1 min, stirring constantly
• Scrape mixture into slowcooker and stir well
• Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, or HIGH 2-3 hours, or until chicken is almost cooked through.
• An hour before it finishes, cook rice in a pan and some oil, until it goes opaque (maybe 3 or 4 minutes), stirring often
• Pour rice into slowcooker and raise heat to HIGH if cooking on LOW
• 15 minutes before end, add peas
• Salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot

 
 To be honest, while it was nice, it didn't taste as strongly or flavourfully as the smell of it cooking.  It was spicy, and I even skimped on the chilli, so you don't need much chilli to get a kick.  It was filling, but the chicken was a little dry, so in future I may either add more stock, or use bigger pieces of chicken.

Recipe: in "Gluten-Free Slow Cooking" by Ellen Brown, pg. 133

Satay Chicken

Most of the time, I follow the recipes I find.  But sometimes, I find several recipes, and then use bits from all of them!  This is what I did tonight, and it turned out well.  Felt like satay chicken but didn't have a jar of the sauce I normally use, so decided to try to make it from scratch. 

INGREDIENTS
500g chicken breast, sliced
1 onion, sliced
peas 
1 pack vermicelli
1 can of coconut milk (or cream)
3 tbsp peanut butter
sweet chilli sauce (to taste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 or 3 tbsp of sugar
1/2 cup water
salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger

METHOD

• Set some salted water to boil, for the vermicelli.  Once it boils, add the vermicelli then turn off the heat.
• Meanwhile, brown chicken and onion in oil, in a fry pan
• Add ginger and garlic, cook for 2 min
• Add coconut cream, peanut butter, chilli sauce, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar, and salt
• Stir and bring to a simmer
• Reduce heat and simmer until thickens
• Add peas and cook until tender
• Serve on drained vermicelli noodles, or rice

So this was kind of an ad-libbed recipe, but it tasted good, and photographed terribly.  I think I'll make it again in future, but on rice.

 

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Ordinarily, when Sweet & Sour Chicken is on the menu, it's a la jar, or a la can.  A long time ago I found a recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken made from scratch, and got the can of pineapple ready to make it, since it's one of my favourites!  I went through a phase of wanting to try and make from scratch that which we normally make from a ready made sauce.

However, the can of pineapple sat in the pantry unused until now.  Due to lack of time and motivation to make it.  Jars and cans are just way faster and easier right??  Laziness.

Well actually, in spite of all the steps, this recipe is really easy!!  And do you want to know a bonus??  ALL the other ingredients are ones that are usually in the pantry!  Super convenient.  Apart from the pineapple... obviously not something we ordinarily have. ;)

INGREDIENTS
450g boneless skinless chicken breast
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cornflour

1 400g can crushed pineapple (save the juice!)
1/4 cup juice from crushed pineapple
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup tomato sauce (aka ketchup)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp and 1 tsp cooking oil

2 small-medium onions (cut into chunks)
1 carrot (cut into small sticks)
1 tsp crushed ginger (or 1 tsp fresh grated)

METHOD

• Combine chicken with egg white, 1/4 tsp salt, and cornflour
• Stir to coat chicken evenly
• Let sit for 15 mins at room temp, or up to overnight in fridge
• Whisk together pineapple juice, vinegar, tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, and brown sugar
• Heat large frying pan over high heat
• Pour 1 tbsp oil into pan and swirl to coat
• Make sure the pan is very hot, and then put the chicken in in one layer to fry untouched for 1 min
• Flip and fry other side the same for 1 min.  Chicken should still be pink-ish in the middle
• Put chicken to the side on a clean plate
• Turn heat to medium
• Add remaining oil, and add the ginger, onion and carrots
• Cook 5 mins or until soft
• Add pineapple chunks and the sauce mixture
• Turn the heat to high until the sauce simmers
• Add the chicken back in when it does
• Cook until the chicken is cooked through.
• Taste the sauce and add some more brown sugar if you like
• Don't forget to season with salt, and if you feel like something is missing, toss in some sweet chilli sauce!

Well.  I thought it smelled a bit weird.  But OH MY GOODNESS does it taste amazing!!!!!!!!!!! The excessive use of exclamation marks is definitely justified.  Seriously the BEST Sweet & Sour Chicken sauce I've ever had.  Even better than bought ones!!!  I'm not even kidding.  We will never buy ready made jar/can sauces for it again.  And SO easy!!

A few adjustments I made were adding some Sweet Chilli Sauce, and about 1/4 cup water to just water down the sauce a little bit.  Also, the original recipe called for 2 capsicums as the vegetables (not onions and carrot) but we didn't have any of them so I improvised and it was still amazing.  I think in future, if we have capsicum, I will definitely use only one small onion, carrot, and capsicum.  A good balance of veges!!  Oh, and I also chucked in some peas towards the end.  Gotta have some green hehe :)

Another thing is that the step with the egg and cornflour on the chicken... seems like a bit of a waste of time and a bit messy.  Not sure what it's supposed to achieve so will skip it next time, but still pre-cook the chicken.   :)

Recipe Inspiration: www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sweet_and_sour_chicken/

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

Another recipe that appears repeatedly on www.pinterest.com is for chicken parmesan (or chicken parmigiana) which is essentially a chicken breast, crumbed, baked (or fried) and covered with a tomato (marinara) sauce, and grated parmesan cheese, then grilled.  This was a dish my mum and I used to order a lot at one of our regular "haunts" when we lived in Malaysia.  Something we never made or ate at home.

Anyway, all the recipes I saw for the chicken breast version looked long and convoluted, with many steps.  However, I'm all for simple, quick and easy, so when I saw a meatloaf version of chicken parmigiana, I was sold on the idea.  All that remained was to find somewhere that sold (or would make me) some minced/ground chicken.  Luckily there's still an old fashioned butchery in a neighbouring town who were more than happy to help me in my quest; heck, they even made the mince fresh especially for me!  :)  No such quality service like that in your supermarket butcher section, that's for sure! 

Meatloaf tends to have a bad reputation in general and I'm not sure why.  It's quite yummy, in all its' forms really.  Served with boiled potatoes and steamed greens, it's a great meal.  Or in winter, with mashed potato and gravy for some good comfort food.  I have even seen a recipe for meatloaf cupcakes?!  SAY WHAAAAAAT.  I'm going to try this one day.  Perfect little savoury bites.  Omigoodness.

INGREDIENTS

500g chicken mince

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 egg

1 small onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pasta sauce (tomato/marinara - homemade or store bought)

1/2 cup cheese (for the top... I just used Edam)

METHOD

•  Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
• Line meatloaf tin with baking paper
• Combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl
• Mix well, but try not to over-handle it (it can get tough)
• Put the mixture in the meatloaf tin
• Top with pasta sauce
• Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes
• Take out and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top
• Bake again until cheese is golden and melted
• Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving

 

This recipe has ended up in my "favourite recipes" book already, and I've only made it once!  While I have to go out of my way to get the chicken mince, and also only use 1/2 a cup of pasta sauce (leaving me with the remainder of the jar to find a use for), I fully don't mind - it's 100% worth it!!  This meatloaf was amazing.  The tomato sauce and cheesy topping works beautifully with the herbs in the meat, and arghhhh I just cannot explain how delicious it was! 

Just go and make it for yourself!!  Om nom nom...!

Recipe Inspiration: http://joelens.blogspot.co.nz/2010/06/chicken-parmesan-meatloaf.html

Spanish Chicken w Chorizo & Potatoes

I've never been a big fan of cooking television shows, but since I've had my cooking-obsession recently, I have found watching shows like 'Come Dine With Me UK', 'Nigella Kitchen', and 'The Naked Chef' to be incredibly interesting.  I have picked up a few useful tips, and a couple of recipes to try.  But mostly I roll my eyes because they use some ridiculous ingredients, things where you'd have to buy a whole PACK of something, and you'd probably ever use it for that ONE recipe... so it would kind of be a waste, because you're not likely to make that one dish once a week, every week.  I like recipes that use normal ingredients that you don't have to go out of your way to have! :)


One of the recipes I picked up was a Nigella Lawson recipe, where I saw her make this easy peasy, chuck-it-all-in-a-tray-and-chuck-it-all-in-the-oven Spanish chicken dish, and thought "I could do that!".  Plus, I've never really eaten chorizo before, so it's the perfect excuse to try it!  It is also something I don't mind going out of my way to get, because it all got used up in the one time I did make this dish (unlike spices etc.).  

The amazing thing about this recipe, as Nigella explained on her TV show, while I was avidly eying the roasted potatoes that this dish makes, is that the oils/fats/spices/flavours from the chorizo oozes out and the chicken, potatoes and onions sit in this glorious orange bath of flavouring.  It is the chorizo that flavours the chicken.  Who'd have thunk it?  Delicious. 

Now, this recipe makes A LOT.  I only made about half of the original, and it was plenty for myself and my parents.  I used bone in, skin on chicken drumsticks (because we had those, and no thighs - still good!), but that was the only thing I altered from the original recipe!  I was tempted to leave out the zest as well, because I don't like zest (as you know from lemon poppyseed muffins!), but we happened to have oranges on hand (for once!) so I figured, why the heck not.  At least in this recipe (unlike the muffins) I could scrape the zest off and avoid it if it really offended my tastebuds!

INGREDIENTS

oil (coating the bottom of the tray)
6 chicken drums (bone in, with skin)

350 ish grams chorizo sausages cut into 4cm chunks
skin on, new potatoes, halved (enough to push into all the gaps)

1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano
grated zest 1 orange

METHOD

• Pre-heat oven to 220 deg C (normal bake setting)
• Spread oil over the bottom of a shallow roasting tin
• Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil, then turn the pieces skin side up
• Spread the chorizo sausages around evenly in the pan
• Place potatoes in the remaining gaps (if it looks full, don't panic - it shrinks when it cooks!)
• Sprinkle onion and oregano over the chicken, sausage and potatoes
• Grate the orange zest and sprinkle over the tray
• Cook for 30 minutes, then baste the contents with the orange coloured juices from the bottom of the tray
• Cook for another 30 minutes
• SERVE! :)

We had this just with some steamed vegetables (broccoli, peas, carrots and cabbage) and it was delicious.  The chicken wasn't dry at all, and the little potatoes were amazing, while the chorizo was a bit spicy for my taste.  Sadly I don't think I will eat much chorizo in the future, but I liked the chicken!  And the roasted bits of onion... omigosh they were little gems!  (The ones that weren't burned to charcoal, that is!)

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/spanish-chicken-with-chorizo-and-potatoes-5160

Chicken Noodle Soup

You know how in movies and TV shows, whenever someone gets sick with a cold or flu, they always talk about having chicken noodle soup and that it makes you feel better?  

Well Mum came home the other day complaining of a sore throat, and that she might be coming down with something.  I then looked up the recipe for chicken noodle soup I had pinned on my "Recipes to Try" board on Pinterest, and decided I wanted to make it for her, since I've never had it before, it might help her feel better, and I love egg noodles.  

The recipe looked so easy too!  And super fast!  And I could finally use the chopped celery that's been in the freezer forever!  So it was a win all around.  I didn't realise quite how much it would make!!!  So guess what we're having for lunch the rest of the week?!  I don't think egg noodles would freeze so well, so we won't be freezing the leftovers haha.

Serves 4 - 6 (dependent on serving size)

Time: about 20 minutes! :)

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion (I used 2, cos I love onion)

2 tsp crushed garlic

2 medium carrots, sliced thinly

frozen corn kernels

diced celery (optional)

2 tsp dried thyme (or 4 fresh sprigs)

1 bay leaf

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken stock

8 oz (230g) egg noodles

1 & 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 tsp salt

METHOD

• Heat oil in a soup pot, and cook onion, garlic, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaf until tender/softened (but not brown) - about 6 minutes
• Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil
• Add the egg noodles and simmer for another 5 minutes, until noodles are cooked
• Fold in the chicken and simmer for a few more minutes, until heated through
• Taste-test and season with salt as needed
• Stir through frozen corn and stand for a few minutes.
• Serve immediately!

It was pretty tasty, although I cringed when I saw how much stock was used - it reduced down as it cooked, and thickened a little.  The celery could have done with a bit more cooking, and in future I'll probably leave it out.  However, I'm glad I decided to add the corn kernels, it was a nice extra addition, sweet and juicy.  And I LOVED the egg noodles.  Delicious, and I enjoyed how they were cooked in the chicken stock, so they absorbed the flavour.

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe/index.html

[Slow Cooker] Chicken Cranberry Casserole

It's Valentines Day, and I had a hot date with the crockpot and comfort food, on the couch watching a TV show about teeny tiny animals - monkeys, piggies, dogs, etc.  

Yes, even a glass of wine was involved - in the cooking!!  (I can't drink with my medication, but that's ok, when it's cooked, the alcohol cooks off, so I still get the flavour!)

Two things that always marry together beautifully - chicken and cranberry.   Seriously.  At school, my favourite thing to buy from the tuck-shop (like a cafeteria, but not) was chicken and cranberry sauce wraps - delicious!  So when I saw this recipe in my mums slow cooker recipe book a couple of years back and asked her to make it, I knew it could only come out well.  And I was right.  :)

Now it was my turn to try to make it, since we had a pack of chicken thighs in the freezer that needed using, and I had bought some dried cranberries specifically to make it.

Serves 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

8 skinned & boned chicken thighs

3 rashers bacon (I used ~200g middle bacon - less fat)

170g packet dried cranberries

1 cup red wine

1 teaspoon chicken stock powder

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons cornflour

3 tablespoons water

salt

METHOD

• Peel onion and chop
• Crush, peel and chop garlic
• Trim and discard any chicken fat, and cut thighs in half.  I had chicken thigh cutlets to use today, so Mum cut the chicken off the sides and threw the bones in too (we just cooked it longer)
• Derind bacon and chop into pieces
• Place onion, garlic, chicken, bacon, cranberries, wine, stock powder and bay leaf in the slow cooker
• Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours
• Stir halfway through cooking if possible
• Half an hour before end of cooking, mix cornflour and water together, and mix into the chicken mixture
• Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 mins
• Season with salt and serve on rice or potato with vegetables!

 

Tonight we had the casserole with potatoes Mum had grown in her tubs, and steamed veges.  

It was a bit runny even with the cornflour step at the end (which was in the original recipe), so I'm thinking next time maybe only half a cup or 3/4 cup of wine, to see if that helps.  I'll edit this post if it does (or if not).   

Either way, it's delicious.  The saucyness is less of a problem when served on rice, but when it's not, you kinda want it to be a bit thicker.  Good excuse to mop it up with bread though ;)

Homemade Pizza

One of my favourite weekend lunches to make is homemade pizza.  It's fast and easy.  Often we have ham, and shredded cooked chicken for during-the-week-lunches to put in sandwiches, but it doesn't all get used up.  Homemade pizza is the perfect way to use up these things before they go off, and makes a delicious lunch.  

I'm going to share with you my personal favourite toppings.  Of course, homemade pizza is so simple, and versatile, you can make it any which way you want to.  

INGREDIENTS

2 pre-made pizza bases

Topping #1: Hawaiian Wannabe

spaghetti from a can (instead of tomato sauce/puree base)

diced onion

ham

pineapple (optional)

grated cheese on top

Topping #2: BBQ Chicken

baked beans (instead of tomato sauce/puree base)

sliced red onion

shredded chicken

sliced capsicum (optional)

BBQ sauce, squirted in a lovely swirl

grated cheese on top

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C (fan bake)
• Chuck all the toppings on the pizza
• Cover in grated cheese
• Put the pizzas in the oven and bake until cheese is melted and golden
• Cut and serve immediately!

in the oven

Hawaiian Wannabe

BBQ Chicken

Delicious!

Chicken, Tomato and Parmesan Pasta Bake

Oops, I cheated again.  HA!  OK so I never promised outright that I would always 100% make stuff from scratch,  but that was kind of my goal on my culinary journey.  However, when there is a jar of stuff in the pantry to use as a recipe base, you use it.  You don't just let it sit there forever.

So I had a jar of "Creamy Tomato and Parmesan Pasta Bake" from Heinz (they were on special at the supermarket one day, so we thought "why not" and got one to try).  Lemme just say, when I cracked it open, it didn't smell too good; it wasn't off, I think it was just the parmesan aroma haha!  You can tell I'll never be one for fine dining huh?  I've put a pic of the jar below, so you can see which one it was.

Anyway, I had found a recipe online for a chicken pasta bake to make with this jar, which was all well and good.  Except when it came time to make the pasta bake, silly little me didn't read how much pasta to cook.  HA!  It said 200g or something of pasta for this 500g jar of sauce (plus the chicken).  Out of habit, I cooked 500g of pasta.  -_-  Oops.  

When I realised, I thought "oh snap - there's not going to be enough sauce in that jar to cover TWICE as much pasta, AND chicken AND the onion I'd added - we're gonna have a dry pasta bake - yuck".  DOH!  So I improvised.  Luckily, although we had run out of canned diced tomatoes (which would have been a lovely juicy addition), we still had some cans of tomato puree.  So I chucked that in too.  And you know what?  It worked well!  Yay me! :)

Serves about 6, I guess - we had 3 main meals, and 3 meal sized left overs too... yum!  One thing I have to complain about though, is that it made & used a LOT of dishes.  Poor Dad, he had to do them all haha!

INGREDIENTS

500g cooked penne pasta (al dente)

500g chicken breast (skinless), diced

1 onion, sliced

500g jar of Heinz Creamy Tomato & Parmesan Pasta Bake

1 can tomato puree

Grated cheese (about 1 cup?)

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
• Put the pasta on to cook to al dente (as per packet instructions). Drain, and set aside.
• Meanwhile, brown the onion and chicken in a fry pan with a lil bit of oil.
• When it's cooked, toss in the pasta bake sauce, and the can of tomato puree.
• Mix the pasta into the chicken sauce, making sure all the pasta has some sauce on/around it.
• Pour the pasta into an oven safe casserole dish, and sprinkle over grated cheese.
• Bake for 20 mins in a moderate oven (180 deg C) or until the cheese is golden

I may or may not have got a bit distracted and let my pasta bake overcook a little last night... but I just pulled out the blackest bits of pasta and threw them away haha.  It still tasted ok!

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.foodinaminute.co.nz/Recipes/Chicken-Tomato-and-Parmesan-Pasta-Bake