Mediterranean chicken

If you have stuck for dinner ideas for today you still have time to get the ingredients for this simple and delicious dish! It's ready in about an hour and you just have to throw the ingredients into a large tray, pop into the oven then sit back and relax until it's done.

I have seen a few versions of this kind of dish (chicken + spicy sausage + some other ingredients), this is the way I make it :)

Ingredients (feeds 4 people):
1 kg chicken drumsticks
1 kg baby potatoes, washed
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
250 - 400 g baby tomatoes
2 red onions, thickly sliced
about 15 cm ( :D ) chorizo or other spicy sausage, sliced
50 ml olive oil
1 tsp red paprika
salt, pepper

Wash all the ingredients and pop them into a large baking tray. Mix the oil, paprika, salt and ppaprika and mix well with the meat and veg using your hands. Bake in a pre-heated oven (200 C) for abot 45-60 mins, until brown all over on the top.
Serve with a green salad and enjoy!

 

Creamy courgette chicken

I learnt the original version of this recipe from a friend. It has been cooked in my kitchen several times since - despite my elder girl not liking the courgette, but I keep trying... 

A veru quick and simple recipe, but great flavours!

 Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp olive oil
400g chicken breast fillet, cubed
3 courgettes
2 garlic cloves
1 heaped tsp dill
1/2 tsp lovage
1 good pinch powdered rosmary
1 heaped tsp parsley
salt, pepper
1/2 tub soured cream
2 tbsp flour
250 ml cream
500g pasta, cooked to packet instructions

 Cut the courgettes into quarters then slice them.

 Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken until starts to brown. Add the crushed garlic cloves and cook, stirring, for a minute.

 Add the courgettes and all the spices.

 In a bowl mix the soured cream, flour and cream.

 Stir the mixture into the chicken and courgettte and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then take of the heat.

Enjoy!

Chicken risotto

After Sunday I had some leftover chicken. And roast veg. I hate throwing out leftovers, so had a quick flip through my recipe books and mags for inspiration. In the latest issue of EasyFood they had a chicken risotto recipe. Hmmm... But I was missing most of the ingredients, so I just used their trick of putting the chicken (and the veg in my case) in the oven for a while tossed with lemon juice and zest. It really gives a unique flavour to the risotto! Yummy!

Ingredients (feeds 4):

leftover chicken meat, shredded; leftover roast veggies chopped

1 lemon, juice and zest

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup rice (I used easy cook, as that's what I had at home)

2 cups chicken stock from 2 cubes

1 cup frozen veg

freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C. Place the chicken and roast veg in an ovenproof dish and toss with the lemon juice and zest. Put in the oven for about 30 mins.

 Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sautee the onion and the garlic until soft.

 Add the rice and stir, so the grains are coated. Stir fry for a few seconds.

 Add the stock gradually and simmer over a low heat.

 With the second cup of stock add the frozen veg. Simmer over a low heat until everything is cooked.

 Take the chicken from the oven. Add to the risotto and stir.

Serve and enjoy! Nice with a glass of white wine ;)

Roast chicken a la Tulip Cottage

This is a great Sunday treat. Quick to prepare (if you don't count the cooking time) and goeas down well with everyone.

Ingredients (feeds 4):

1 large chicken, 1.8-2.2kg

olive oil

5-6 potatoes

4-5 sweet potatoes

5-6 parsnips

6-7 carrots

1 onion

1 red onion

3 celery stems

1 garlic bul

1 lemon (I used a leftover lime instead)

salt

pepper

dried parsley

 Peel, chop and wash the vegetables, except the garlic.

 Season the cavity with salt and pepper and stuff with celery, the 2 lemon halves, a few pieces of onion and 1-2 unpeeled garlic cloves.

 Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Normally I don't even use added salt when cooking but in this recipe I'm always very enerous with it. Saw a friend preparing roast chicken this way and I'm always doing it like her since. Occasionally we deserve a little salt overdose...

 Place the chicken in a roasting tin and place the vegetables around. Toss the unpeeled garlic cloves among them. Place a garlic clove each under the wings and thighs. Sprinkle the whole lot with dried parsley and the herb of your choice. I added a little rosmary here.

 Cover the tin loosely with tinfoil. Place in a pre-heated oven (200 C) and cook for 1.5-2 hours.

 Take off the foil and put back in the oven. Cook uncovered for a further 30 mins so it gets nice brown all over.

Enjoy! (with a glass of white wine ;) )

Tip: The roasted garlic cloves are delicious spread over toast.