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Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Junior Masterchef Chicken Enchiladas

 {image from Junior Masterchef Series 2 Cookbook}

Recipe By: Junior Masterchef
Serving Size: 4
Yield: 8 Enchiladas

Summary:

Seriously delicious! I am not buying those enchilada kits from the supermarket ever again.

Ingredients:
Chicken
500 g chicken breast
1 onion, halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 sprigs flat leaf parsley
1 red capsicum, quartered
200 g feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
8 corn tortillas, 15cm
8 toothpicks
60 g cheddar cheese, shredded
coriander, leaves, to serve
Roasted Tomato Sauce
1 long red chilli
1 kg vine ripened tomatoes
1 tablespoon Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 onion, small, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions:
1. Place chicken, onion, garlic and parsley in a saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover chicken. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1o minutes. Remove pan from heat and stand for 5 minutes. Remove chicken from stock and reserve. Cool chicken for 10 minutes then roughly chop and place in a bowl.

2. To make the sauce, heat a barbecue or char grill pan to a high heat. Pierce chilli with a knife to prevent it bursting. Chargrill whole tomatoes and chilli, turning frequently, or until skins are charred. Transfer to a chopping board and cool for 5 minutes. When cool, peel skins from tomatoes and chilli. Discard stem from chilli, cut in half lengthways and remove seeds. Process chilli and tomatoes in a blender or food processor to a puree.

3. Heat oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add tomato mixture and 180ml (¾ cup) of reserved chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened.

4. Meanwhile, preheat a grill to high. Place capsicum, skin side up, on a foil lined tray and grill for 8 minutes or until skin blackens. Wrap in foil and stand for 10 minutes. Peel and roughly chop. Add to chicken with 125g feta and cumin. Season and toss to combine

5. Preheat oven to 180℃. Dip a tortilla in sauce, tun over and dip other side. Place on a clean work surface an place ⅓ cup chicken mixture along centre of tortilla. Roll up tortilla and secure with a toothpick. Place, seam side up, in a shallow, 3 litre (12 cup) capacity ovenproof dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, sauce and chicken mixture. Spoon remaining sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining feta and grated cheddar. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbling.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday

Curry Night
One of my favourite ways to share food with friends. Everyone brings a dish to share. On the menu tonight:
  • Lamb Samosas
  • Yoghurt & Mint Raita
  • Cashew Butter Chicken
  • Paul's Lamb Kofta in Spicy Tomato Sauce
  • Simple Pilau Rice
  • Gulab Jamon

Tuesday

 
 Perfect Pasta

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Coconut Curry Fish with Steamed Jasmine Rice

Saturday

Casual (store bought!) Hamburgers on the BBQ

Sunday


Garlic Roast Lamb with mixed roast vegetables
This recipe is from the Donna Hay Autumn 2013 Magazine

Lunchbox


Get Ahead Sunday

  1.  Lunchbox baking. Allow to cool, cut into individual servings and freeze in a large airtight container.
  2. Make the tomato sauce for the Chicken enchiladas on Sunday. When cooled, store in an artight plastic container (or even a large zip-lock bag!). Store for 2-3 days in the fridge or, if you need longer, freeze. Just don't forget to take it out of the freezer the morning you want to have it for dinner!
  3. If you want to make your own pasta, do this on Sunday too. Pasta dough does not keep very well though (the fresh eggs start to turn green! Eeewww!). So allow your noodles to dry a little then freeze in a zip-lock bag or airtight container.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Meal Plan Monday

MONDAY


I've got to be honest, we found the flavours of the ground cumin and coriander a bit overpowering in the vege dish. Far be it from me to think I know better than the great Curtis Stone, but if I were to make this again I would substitute the ginger for some crushed garlic, omit the ground spices and add a little fresh thyme. The chicken however was DELISH!

TUESDAY


Curried Sausages, Creamy Mash & Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

WEDNESDAY

Nachos Supreme - YES, AGAIN!

THURSDAY


Chicken Skewers with Satay Sauce and Stir Fried Vegetables

FRIDAY

Beef Schnitzels, home made chips & salad

SATURDAY

Homemade Cherry Tomato & Prosciutto Pizza with Garlic Bread
 TIP: There is nearly 2 hours to wait for the dough to prove (rise), and about 20 minutes cooking time. I use this time to do other things like, put on a load of washing, vacuum, dust (or do nothing at all!) There is only about 30 minutes, if that, of active prep.

SUNDAY

This is a Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals recipe. I am totally in love with this book and tend to include at least one or two of these recipes in each fortnight's meal plan. They don't take me 30 minutes, closer to 45 I think, but that is usually for a main, one or two side dishes and a dessert! I have omitted the cucumber side salad and the dessert tonight though.

LUNCHBOX

Chocolate Slice
TIP: When cooled completely, wrap individual servings in cling wrap, place in a large zip lock bag in the freezer. Take out as required each day to add to lunchboxes.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Chicken Fettuccine Carbonara

Recipe By: Pippa
Serving Size: 4

Summary:
Great recipe from Donna Hay, though the chicken and mushrooms are our family's own addition.

Ingredients:
400 grams Fettuccine
200 grams chicken breast, cut into thin strips
6 rashers bacon, cut into thin strips
3 green onions, sliced
10 button mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 egg yolks*
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup parmesan
sea salt and cracked pepper
2 tbl chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta until al dente. Keep warm. Must be kept warm as the heat from the pasta will cook the egg in the sauce.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken, bacon, mushrooms and green onions for 3-4 minutes until bacon is crisp and golden.

3. Place egg yolks, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper in bowl and whisk well to combine.

4. Toss the egg mixture through the hot pasta, coating well, then toss with bacon mixture and parsley and serve immediately.

Notes:
It pays to reserve a little pasta water, as this sauce can tend to be a bit thick. If needed, add just a couple of tablespoons at a time to the "sauced" pasta before adding the bacon mix until you get a consistency you like.

*Save your egg whites! Crack into a small takeaway container or zip-lick bag. Label with the number of egg whites and pop in the freezer. Next time you need egg whites, just defrost and away you go!

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIP}: You can purchase your chicken, bacon and mushrooms already sliced. This will save a few precious minutes of prep time.  

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Tandoori Butter Chicken


Serving Size: 4

Summary:
I first tried this when Meg made it for our cooking club. It was so delicious I had to get the recipe. The original recipe comes from taste.com.au, I have added the baby spinach to introduce some greens for a more balanced meal.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500 g chicken thigh, cubed
3 tablespoons Tandoori paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
375m l can lite evaporated milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
15 g butter
150g Baby Spinach, washed and drained
Steamed rice to serve

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a frying pan (with a lid), add chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes or until nicely browned. Add Tandoori paste and tomato paste and stir until chicken is coated.

2. Combine the evaporated milk, sugar and cornflour and pour over chicken, mixing well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened. Add butter and stir until melted.

3. Turn off the heat. Tip in the baby spinach and pop the lid on the pan. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. The residual heat from the pan should be enough to slightly wilt the spinach.

4. Stir through the spinach, garnish with flaked almonds. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

Notes:
The best tandoori paste I have found (and the one that Meg turned me on to) is "Maharaja's Choice" brand available from Coles. Sharwoods is also pretty nice :)

This is a pretty family friendly recipe. But you can adjust the heat by adding more or less Tandoori paste. eg 1 tablespoon = mild, 2 tablespoons = medium, 3tablespoons = hot (for little kiddies anyway). Our kids like to mix in some plain yoghurt to turn the heat down if needed.

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIPS}:
  • Ask your butcher to dice the chicken thigh for you when you purchase it.
  • Some supermarkets (such as Woolworths) have pre-cooked rice in their ready meals section.
  • Try the pouches of microwaveable rice (such as Uncle Ben's or Sunrice). They cook in 90 seconds!