Goat Cheese Pasta

One of our current favourites for dinner at the moment is pasta with an amazing goat’s cheese sauce.  The flavours are unbelievable!  We always make sure we use a quality cheese and you can’t go past the Meredith Diary Goat Cheese.  You can eat it on its own with some crackers or add it to your cooking as it’s packaged with olive oil, peppercorns, garlic and herbs.  Just amazing!

To make this dish, we firstly get the pasta out of the way and ready to cook.  We like to make fettuccine-sized pasta for this recipe.  Once that’s done, we brown some onion and start cooking the chicken.  The sauce is made with the goat’s cheese and some cream, plus we add in some favourite herbs such as basil.  Once that’s all going, we sometimes add some pitted olives and then right at the end, some halved cherry tomatoes.  Cook the pasta for a few minutes until al dente and stir through the sauce!
Delicious!

Chicken & Veggie Rice Paper Rolls

The long-awaited end to my hiatus is finally over!  I’m so sorry for taking this long to post again but I do have valid reasons!  Firstly, we moved house.  That in itself is a huge task which look about two weeks out of my cooking time.  When we were finally moved and settled, out internet took another three weeks to get connected and working!  So here I am again, finally!  I promise there will be a lot more cooking from here on.

This first meal to begin with after my time away is something I have been making to take for lunch at work.  I am in love with these rolls and they’re super healthy too!  If you don’t want to add the chicken, they’re just as nice with just veggies and seriously, try mixing it up with all your favourite veggies too!
I have three of these for lunch – usually two with chicken and one with just veggies.  It’s great for my lunch-time protein but I don’t get bloated as the rice paper is a great substitute for bread or bread rolls.

In these ones, I’ve used capsicum, zucchini, carrot, chicken and some crushed raw almonds on top.  Add whatever you like though!  You just buy the rice paper from the grocery store.  I soak mine for about 10 seconds in a bowl of warm water and then put it on a teatowel.  You have to quickly add everything into the middle of it – so have it all cut and prepared beforehand.  Once you’ve got it all placed in the middle, roll one side over, then the middle sides and then keep rolling the whole thing until it’s a long roll.

I also make a dipping sauce which is just delicious! 
1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, some dried mixed herbs and some pepper.  Once again, I’m sure you could use/make whatever you like best.  Experiment!

Baked Apricot Chicken with Winter Vegetables

Poppit – Be prepared for lots of warm, delicious dinner meals in the coming weeks!  As I’ve been feeling a bit chilly during the days, all I’ve felt like eating is a comforting meal when I get home.  To step away from a curry or casserole, I thought I’d try making this recipe with some roasted vegetables.  It was really delicious and I think this will be joining my favourite dishes list with some regular appearances on our dinner plates!

Ingredients:
– 2 chicken breasts
– 3 tbsp apricot jam (no sugar added)
– 2 tsp Moroccan seasoning mix
– Onion, pumpkin, turnip – cut into pieces
– 2 tbs oil
– 8 thyme sprigs

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 240°C.
2. Place the apricot jam,  Moroccan seasoning and 2 tablespoons of boiling water in a bowl and mix well.
3. Toss the vegetables well in a large bowl with half the apricot mixture, the thyme sprigs and 1 tablespoon oil.
4. Place vegetables on one baking tray and chicken breasts on another.
5. Pour remaining apricot jam mix over chicken breasts.  Place one thyme sprig on each chicken breasts.
6. Put both trays in oven.
7. Bake for approx. 45 mins or until chicken and veggies are cooked.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Winter Chicken Casserole

As the cooler months are arriving slowly, it’s the perfect time to start cooking warm, hearty casseroles and stews.  I was feeling particularly cold today after being inside for classes (and also a bit of shopping in between) in the freezing air-conditioning!  My hot car actually felt comforting this afternoon which made me realise that something filling and warm would be the perfect meal for dinner.

This casserole was really delicious and the strong flavours from the tomato, paprika and chicken really added to the whole warm casserole feel.  Very easy to make too and as with lots of our favourite recipes, you can add whatever vegetables you want.  It probably looks like too much sauce on the plate but it definitely was all gone by the end! 

Ingredients:

– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 1kg chicken breast, cut into pieces
– 1 large brown onion, chopped
– 2 garlic cloves, crushed
– 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
– 2 tablespoons plain flour
– 1 cup dry white wine
– 1 cup chicken stock
– 400g can diced tomatoes
– 200g button mushrooms, halved
– 2 dried bay leaves
– 5 fresh thyme sprigs
– 1 capsicum, cut into pieces
– Frozen mixed veggies (peas, corn, carrot) – defrosted 
– Mashed potato, to serve

Method:

1. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan.
2. Cook chicken until browned then transfer toa bowl.
3. Heat remaining oil in pan.
4. Add onion and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until softened.
5. Add paprika and flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
6. Add wine. Bring to the boil. Cook for 2 minutes or until slightly reduced.
7. Return chicken and juices to pan.
8. Add stock, tomato, mushroom, bay leaves, capsicum, mixed veggies and 4 thyme sprigs.
9. Cover and bring to the boil before reducing heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
10. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
11. Remove leaves from remaining thyme sprig. Sprinkle over casserole. Serve with mashed potato.

Honey and Orange Glazed Chicken

Poppit’s Creative Cooking – Tuesday Night

Poppit – This is such an easy meal to make and the flavours are so nice.  I would usually serve this with a potato bake but I thought I would try roasting some potato and pumpkin with the chicken at the same time.  It wasn’t quite as nice this way as the honey and orange sauce didn’t have the same almost-caramelised flavour as it normally does.  Still, it was a delicious meal to have, especially on a colder night!

Ingredients:
– 2 chicken breasts
– 4 spring onions, sliced thinly
– 1 garlic clove, crushed
– 3 tbsp honey
– 4 tbsp fresh orange juice
– 1 orange, peeled and cut into segments
– 2 tbsp soy sauce
– potatoes and any other prefered veggie

Method:
1.  Pre-heat oven to 190°C. 
2.  Place chicken in shallow roasting dish.
3.  In another bowl, mix the spring onions, garlic, honey, orange juice, orange segments and soy sauce.
4.  Pour over chicken and bake in oven for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
5.  Serve with veggies and with sauce poured over top.

Cashew Nut Chicken and Coconut Rice

Poppit’s Creative Cooking – Tuesday Night

Poppit – Even though we only had Thai on the weekend (Mum’s choice for Mother’s Day), I really felt like making something stir-fry to have with rice.  This is a favourite dish of mine and although I have made it before, I changed a few of the ingredients.  Also, I didn’t make the coconut rice this time but it’s very easy to make and I’ll include the recipe for that as well.

Cashew Nut Chicken Recipe:

– 500g chicken breast, cut into cubes
– 1 capsicum, cut into strips
– 2 garlic gloves
– 4 red chillies (only 2 if they’re particularly hot)
– 2 tbsp oil
– 2 tbsp oyster sauce
– 1 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp brown sugar
– 2 green onions, sliced thinly
– 1/2 cup cashews, roasted
– 1 small brown onion, chopped finely
– 2 tbsp lemon rind
– 2 tbsp lemon juice
– Fresh lemon grass stick, chopping finely
– 230g can whole water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
– 300g broccoli, cut into pieces

Method:
1. Have all ingredients ready and cut up.  Stir-frying in a wok is a quick process so you don’t want to be chopping while you’re cooking.  You’ll burn everything!
2. Combine the chicken, sauces, rind, lemon juice, sugar and lemon grass in a medium bowl (can let this marinated for a few hours but don’t need to).
3. Heat half the oil in the wok and stir-fry the chicken until browned before removing from wok.
4. Heat remaining oil and stir-fry brown onion, garlic and chilli until onion softens.
5. Add broccoli, capsicum and chestnuts and stir-fry until broccoli is tender.
6. Return chicken to wok and stir-fry until hot.
7. Serve on plate with rice and sprinkle with green onion and cashews.

 

Coconut Rice:

– 250ml water
– 2 cups coconut milk
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 2 tbsp sugar
– 2 2/3 cups Jasmine Rice

Method:
1. Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
2. Put water, coconut milk, salt and sugar in heavy pan.
3. Add Jasmine Rice.  Cover tightly with a lid and bring to the boil over medium heat.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, without lifting the lid unnecessarily for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender.
5. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 – 10 mins.
Hint – Don’t have the heat too high as it will burn easily on the bottom of the pan.

Chicken & Mushroom Pasta

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Poppit – Like most people, we have a few favourite dishes which are often making an appearance on our dinner plates.  This easy but delicious meal is that type of dish for us – we just love it!
As I try to avoid gluten as much as possible due to being intolerant to it, this is an especially versatile dish as I can cook two batches of pasta – one gluten-free and one normal.  I would just use gluten-free but someone (nudging Puppet) prefers the normal pasta.  Fair enough, and it’s so easy that I don’t mind.  Plus it means we always have enough for dinner the next night too.  Tasty, simple and economical!

We like the veggies to be quite chunky but they can be cut however you prefer.  As we’re also huge chilli fans, we always serve with a couple of chillies on the side for some extra bite!  This is definitely optional, it’s perfectly fine without the chillies, we’re just seriously crazy about them!

Also, if you are actually celiac and can’t have gluten at all, you’d have to make your own sauce as most of the bottled varieties contain a thickener.  This doesn’t bother me personally though as I’m only intolerant to the gluten.

Ingredients:
– Pasta (we use both gluten-free and normal, cooked separately, of course)
– Bottled pasta sauce (I like to use either an Alfredo-type sauce or a mushroom white pasta sauce)
– Red capsicum (chopped into pieces)
– Broccoli (chopped into pieces)
– 1 brown onion (sliced finely)
– Olive oil
– Chicken breasts (1 per person, cut into smallish cubes)
– Mushrooms (chopped into slices)
– Spring onion (sliced thinly)

Method:
1.  Boil the water for the pasta and start cooking.
2.  Heat the saucepan with a bit of olive oil and cook the onion until starting to go clear and soft.
3.  Cook the chicken pieces then add the pasta sauce.
4. Add the broccoli, capsicum and mushrooms, stir until all mixed in and put lid on to leave to cook for about 5-10mins.
5.  When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse.
6.  When the veggies and sauce mix is cooked, add the spring onion and stir in.
7.  Add the sauce to the pasta (both lots if you’re also doing gluten-free) and stir in.
8.  Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh chillies (optional).

With the regular pasta:

The super-hot chillies!

 

With the gluten-free pasta

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and Feta Cheese

This is such a delicious meal and looks very impressive!  Perfect for when you have some friends or family coming over as it’s very easy to make and they’ll definitely be in awe of your amazing cooking skills!

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Serves: 2 people – just increase ingredients depending on how many people you’re cooking for.

Ingredients:
– 2 chicken breasts
– 1 bag of baby spinach leaves, chopped finely
– 60-80g feta cheese, crumbled
– salt & pepper (to taste)
– Pinch of nutmeg
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
– 2 green onions, finely chopped
– 2 tablespoons butter, melted
– Bottle of basil or spinach pesto paste

Method:
1.  Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees celsius. 
2. Gently combine in a small bowl the spinach leaves, feta, salt & pepper, nutmeg, garlic, breadcrumbs, onions and butter to form loose mixture.
3.  Cut pockets into the middle of the chicken breasts.  Be careful not to cut the whole way through.
4.  Carefully pack the spinich mixture into the chicken breast pockets.
5.  Place chicken breasts on baking tray lined with baking paper.
6.  Sprinkle any remaining spinach mixture over top of chicken breasts.
7.  Cook in oven for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
8.  Mix 1 tablespoon of water with pesto paste and heat in microwave for approx. 1 minute or until warm.
9.  Serve chicken breasts on bed of mash with other favourite veggies with pesto paste on top.