Strawberry Salad

Yes that's right, strawberry in a salad. Don't say no so quickly! Try it out. This really is very nice.

My lovely wife picked up some strawberries today while we were doing out food shop so this was the result when she couldn't decide what she felt like for dinner. "Something light and fresh"

I aim to please

This is really quick and simple, as any salad should be


Serves 4

You will need;

250g Strawberries, tops removed and quartered
1 bag of mixed leaves or about 200g if you grow them yourself
100g Spinach leaves
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin
100g Feta
Good handful of chopped walnuts

Dressing

1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
70ml balsamic vinegar

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pop into the fridge until needed
This can also be saved, in the fridge if you have some left over

Combine all salad ingredients and crumble the feta
Toss gently

Toss through some of the dressing


Serve with chicken, fish, or with some pizza slices like we did

I hope you enjoy

B

Ratatouille Chicken

Serves 4

4 Chicken Breasts, no skin
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 courgette, cut into chunks
4 tomatoes, quartered
4 tbsp olive oil


Pre heat oven to 200C

Into a deep roasting tin, add veg and drizzle with olive oil. Mix gently to coat evenly

Place chicken breasts on top and brush with olive oil

Roast for 30 min or until chicken is cooken through

Festive Cranberry Tarts

These are simple and very tasty. The beautiful deep red of the cranberry makes these perfect for a festive party.


Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry
Jar cranberry sauce
200g cooked chicken/turkey
150g cream cheese


Pre heat oven to 200C

Cut the puff pastry sheet into squares. You can get about 24 small ones if you are using these for a party. We did this as a lunch/dinner type thing so I cut larger ones

Leaving about a 1 cm edge, spread some cream cheese on each square

Chop the cooked chicken. You don't want it too fine but you want pretty small chunks
Sprinkle it on top of the cream cheese

Add a blob of cranberry sauce


Pop into the oven on a grease proof tray for 15 mins or until the pastry is golden

Serve warm or cold

Chicken Salad in Honey Mustard Dressing

This salad is just delicious. We had it for dinner tonight and I know we will be making this again next week. It's so fresh and filling. Really really tasty. This will also work with any LEFT OVER turkey from Christmas :) Even better!

Serves 4

450g potato wedges
2 heads baby gem, shredded
6 strips streaky bacon or parma ham, chopped
300g cooked chicken/turkey, sliced
Ready made honey mustard dressing


Cook the wedges in the oven until crispy

If using bacon, fry until cooked and then chop

You can prepare two ways

* You can toss the chicken/turkey in the dressing
Mix the salad leaves and wedges
Top with the chicken and ham/bacon

Or you can do what we did which tasted amazing but is less "fancy" for guests

* Everything in a bowl, add about half a bottle of dressing and give it a gentle
toss with your hands.


Everyone enjoyed this and it's such an easy meal with very little cooking!

Chicken Pie

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken breast, diced
1 leek, white, sliced
1 carrot, peeled & sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded & chopped
2 tbsp flour
1 packet chicken soup, powder
300ml boiling water
75g frozen peas
75g sweetcorn
60ml natural yoghurt
1 sheet frozen shortcrust pastry
1 egg lightly beaten
Salt & Pepper







Heat oil in a pan and brown the chicken for 5 mins until golden

Add carrot, leek and red pepper
Cook for 4 mins until leek is soft
Add flour & stir until combined

Mix the soup with the water then add the the pan

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until the chicken is cooked

Add the sweetcorn, peas and yoghurt

Season to taste


Spoon mix into a deep pie dish or deep baking dish

Place pastry over the top and cut to size

Brush the top with beaten egg


Bake for 15 mins at 200C until pastry is golden

Chicken Korma

A nice way to add something extra to store bought korma sauce & it wont take any longer to cook! Bonus!

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, diced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
500g jar Korma sauce
3 tbsp raisins
50g dried mango, diced
Salt & Pepper
Basmati rice


Pop the rice into boiling water and cook as instructed

In a hot pan with the oil, cook chicken until golden
Add coconut and cook for 2 mins

Add korma sauce, raisins & mango
Cook for 15 mins

Season if needed

Chicken Cacciatore

***MUST HAVE***


Serves 4

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
2 tbsp olive oil
10 black olives, pitted & quartered
50g pancetta, diced
1 lrg onion, finely diced
125ml white wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes, drained
225ml beef stock
Salt & Pepper


Portion chicken into 8
2 wings, 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs
Season well with salt and pepper by rubbing both into the skin

In a pot, fry onion & pancetta in olive oil until onion is soft
Add chicken & brown

Add white wine and bring to boil for 2 - 3 mins

Add tomatoes & stock & bring to boil

Reduce to simmer and cook for 45 mins - 1 hour

The longer it cooks the better it tastes

Serve with mashed sweet potato and enjoy!

Chicken Wraps

An easy one

Serves 2

Ingredients

6 crumbed chicken goujons
1 chopped beef tomato OR 2 normal tomatoes
Fresh crispy lettuce
4 tbsp Mayo
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 Fresh Tortilla

Mix the may and sweet chili and spread over the tortilla
Slice goujons length ways
Layer tomato and lettuce

Fold the tortilla and enjoy and easy meal!

Red Pepper Pie

Serves 4

1 Red Bell Pepper, deseeded & chopped
200g Broccoli, roughly chopped with stalks
1 lrg brown onion, sliced
3 chicken breasts, sliced
4 tbsp cream cheese
Handful fresh chopped chives
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper


Very simple dish

Pre heat oven to 180C/356F

Heat oil in a pan and brown the chicken

Add the onion. Using a wooden spatula, scrape the pan to loosen any chicken bits. This adds flavour

Add red pepper & broccoli. If using frozen broccoli insure it is defrosted first

Season with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Once chicken is cooked, move all to a baking dish

In a small bowl gently mix the cream cheese and chives to combine

Spread the cream cheese over the top of the baking dish. There is no strict way to do this. You can add it in lumps too

Cover with the sheet of pastry and trim to fit

Pierce the pastry several times with a fork

You can brush the top with milk or egg to glaze (optional)

Bake until the pastry is cooked.

Around 20mins

Moroccan Chicken & Chickpeas

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1-3 tsp Ras-El-Hanout spice
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced on angle & peeled
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 chicken fillets, sliced thinly
300ml boiling water
400g tin chickpeas, drained & washed
Handful chopped coriander
Crusty Bread to serve


Sweat onion and carrot in a hot pan with oil until soft

Remove and place aside

Add chicken to pan and brown. Add Ras-El-Hanout spice and cook for further 2 mins

Return carrots and onions to pan and now add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 20 mins until chicken is cooked through.

Serve with some fresh crusty bread and enjoy!


**note**
My 2 year old was eating this meal so we only added 1 tsp of Ras-El-Hanout as it is quite hot. If you enjoy a hotter meal then add up to 3 tsp.

Italian Chicken

Serves 2

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 chicken fillets
8 mushrooms
1 chopped red onion
2 tins of chopped tomato (roughly 750g)
2 tsp mixed italian herbs, dried or fresh
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 cubes of chicken stock crumbled in
Ground Black Pepper
200g Pasta

Pre heat oven to 180C / 356F

Brown onions in a pan with olive. You want them to be soft and fragrant.

Add ALL ingredients to an oven proof dish. Cover and bake for 40 - 50 mins. Cook pasta on stove top.

Once the chicken has been cooked through, add the drained cooked pasta to the oven dish and mix. Serve immediately.


(please note in my picture the pasta was not tossed through the mix)

Chicken Aubergine Bake

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 chicken fillets, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
220g Aubergine(Eggplant), sliced thin
125g Mozzarella, sliced
350g Tomato Pasta Sauce, Jar or Homemade
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
3 tbsp breadcrumbs


Pre-heat oven to 200C

Press slices of aubergine between 2 sheets of kitchen paper towel. Absorb as much moisture as possible. In a pan brown both sides of each slice.

Brown Chicken in pan with olive oil.

In an oven proof dish, cover the base with chicken. Add a layer of aubergine, then a layer of mozzarella. Pour over the sauce. Top with breadcrumbs and parmesan.

Bake for 20 - 30 mins until centre is hot and the chicken is cooked through. There may be extra liquid to drain off at the end.

This was gobbled up by the whole family!

Homemade Chicken Curry

Serves 4-6

4-5 Chicken Breast (depending on size)
1/2 Pineapple
2 red onions
1 white onion
1 bulb ginger
1 lime (de-skinned)
2 Stalks lemon grass
3 tins Coconut milk
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp Garam Marsala
1 tbsp curry powder
1 chili (optional)


In a food processor, blitz pineapple, red onions, white onion, ginger, lime and chili into a lumpy pulp. You can finely chop if you don't have a food processor. It will be a very wet mixture. Place mixture into a pot and bring to the boil. Once at the boil, turn down the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens.

Pour in the coconut milk and bring back to the boil. Add in your spices and keep to the boil. You want the mixture to reduce by about a quarter. The mixture will thicken a little while reducing. Keep stirring every now and then.


Serve with some sweet basmati rice

:)

Schnitzel Parmasana

You'll need,

Chicken Fillet (1 for each)
Bread crumbs
Plastic food bag
Rolling pin
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
Finely chopped tomatoes (3)
1/2 cup cheese
Flour



First you'll need to make your schnitzel. Place the chicken fillet into the plastic bag and roll it out. You want to thin the chicken but have it even at the same time. Once you're happy with the chicken prepare to crumb it.

For this you need a bowl with the milk and eggs mixed. A plate with flour spread on and a second plate with the bread crumbs. You start by coating both sides of the chicken in flour, then dip it into the egg wash and then into the bread crumbs. This goes straight onto your baking tray. Repeat this for each serving. Please remember to WASH HANDS and keep surfaces clean when working with raw chicken.

Pop into a pre-heated oven at 180C. After 15 to 20 minutes check the chicken. It will be firm to the touch when cooked. I always cut into it to be extra sure.

Once the chicken is done / almost done, pop on a layer of the chopped tomato. Be generous as the sweet taste is divine! :) On top of that layer grated cheese. You can put as much or a little as you like.

Pop it back into the oven or under the grill until the cheese turns golden.

It can be served on it's own for lunch, or with green beans and mashed potato for dinner. Even my 21 month old loves this.


**You can also make this with store bought crumbed chicken breasts which is what I did for the picture**

Go Italian!

This is the BEST carbonara you will EVER eat!

(My husbands recipe)


You will need;
(serves 2)

1 brown onion
1 shallot
2 chicken breast (one per person)
200g field mushroom
1tbsp unsalted butter
3 strips of bacon
2 chicken stock cubes
300ml full fat cream **
pinch salt/pepper (personal taste)
1 cup penne/tagatelli pasta
50ml White wine

Pop pasta into boiled water, over heat and cook as normal.

Start by chopping your brown onion, shallot, mushrooms, bacon and chicken. Sautee (fry) chicken and bacon in 1tbsp of butter over high heat until lightly coloured. Add in chopped onion, shallot and mushrooms. Cook on medium heat until onion becomes clear and soft.

Put back on to high heat and add white wine and chicken stock cubes. Simmer until you see liquid reduce by about a half. Stiring every now and then.

Now add the cream and bring to the boil allow to reduce on medium until it becomes a nice thick sauce.

Strain your pasta and add it to the sauce (add salt & pepper now if to your taste) Give a quick mix and it's ready to serve!

Garnish with chopped chives or a sprig of parsley.


ENJOY!


** If you would rather use low fat cream, add 50g of parmesan cheese when adding the cream.