Ranch Chicken

Ranch Chicken

Ingredients

·         2 x Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or one per person if more than 2 people)

·         1 large teaspoon of Ranch Dry mix   - recipe below

·         8oz package cream cheese

·         Aromat seasoning

·         2-3 rashers of cooked bacon broken into small pieces (optional)

·         2 or 3 spring onions – chopped

·         Grated cheddar

Ø  Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Top with cream cheese, Aromat seasoning and the Ranch Dry Mix

Ø  Cover and cook for 6-8 hours until the chicken shreds easily.

Ø  Remove most of the liquid, shred the chicken with two forks, combining with the cream cheese and seasoning. Return as much of the liquid to the chicken as needed to make it ­­­moist without being runny.   Add in the cooked bacon and stir to combine.

Ø  Sprinkle grated cheese on top, cover & continue to cook until the cheese has melted (about 15 minutes.) Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and serve with toast or crusty bread.

Ranch Dry Mix

3tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dill

1 tsp garlic granules

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic granules

Mix these all together then store in an airtight jar.

Chicken & Mushroom Potato Pie

This is a tasty dish with lots of chickeny goodness enriched with an intense mushroom flavour.  (My son swears that he hates mushrooms, but I suspect it is the texture he doesn't like as he loves the taste of anything where I have chopped the mushrooms so small that they are unrecognisable.)  Making the mushrooms so small seems to intensify the flavour, I say that it is a consequence of having so many sides of the mushroom free to let the flavour seep into the sauce.

• 1 Onion
• Mushrooms - as many as you like
• Chicken breasts (allow one per person)

       OR

• Chicken thighs (2 per person)
• 1 carrot
• Chicken stock cube
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• Potatoes
• Sunflower oil (or whatever you prefer but NOT Olive oil)
• 1 knob of butter
• Boiling water
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon or mixed herbs  - optional
• Salt & Pepper to your own taste

• Dice the onion and mushrooms as finely as you can get them

• Peel and finely dice the carrot

• Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces

• Put the kettle on to boil some water

• Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan and add the butter into the centre of the oil ( I use a wok for everything, but you don't have to)  Adding the butter to the oil helps to stop it burning, but you do also need to ensure that you don't have the heat too high.)

• Although I have often said that I usually use chicken thighs as they are cheaper and tastier than breast meat, for this recipe I used Willow Farm Chicken Breast Portions from Tesco and they were lovely - very moist and succulent.

• When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces, a few at a time, and cook just long enough to give them some colour, then removed from the pan and replace with the onions, mushrooms and carrots.  Cook these until they have softened, stir them around to stop them sticking to the pan.

• When the onions etc are softened, stir in 1 tablespoon of flour and stir until it is all cooked into the mixture which will have become thick and maybe a bit hard to move.

• Add around half a pint of boiled water and stir well whilst over the heat, remember to scrape the bottom of the pan to gather up anything which has stuck to it.  As the mixture gets hotter, it will get thicker add more boiled water until the sauce is the consistency you would like it to be.

• Crumble a chicken stock cube into the mixture and stir, then taste it with a teaspoon.  If you feel it needs a little more taste, add another half a cube, I wouldn't recommend more than that as it will become quite salty.

• Add the chicken pieces back into the mixture.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, but remember that the stock cube will have added quite a bit of salt so always taste (with a clean spoon) first.

• You can add 1 teaspoon of dried tarragon, or mixed herbs if you wish but this is optional.

• Leave the pan to simmer for a while with the lid on whilst you prepare the potatoes.Peel the potatoes and slice them as thinly as you can - a very sharp knife is invaluable for this. The number of potatoes required will vary with the size of the baking dish used, but you can always peel another potato if required, so err on the side of caution
  

• Pour the chicken mixture into an ovenproof baking dish - the size will depend on how many people you are cooking for.  At this point, I would suggest that if you are only cooking a couple of portions of chicken, that you place the chicken in the dish and then pour over the sauce because you may have too much sauce for the dish, but it is easier to leave out some of the sauce than to mess with thickening a sauce which is too thin or diluting a sauce which is too thick at the pan cooking stage when you are a novice cook.  Experienced cooks will be able to alter the amount of flour used for thickening at the appropriate stage.

• Once the chicken mixture is in the pan, lay the sliced potatoes over the top, overlapping where necessary to ensure that there are no gaps.
  
   Brush a little of the oil over the top of the potatoes before putting the dish into the oven at around  gas reg 5,  electric 190° or 180° in a fan oven for around 30 - 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the sauce bubbling around the edges.

Butter Chicken

This is a rich and delicious chicken curry and although at first glance it may seem complicated, it is actually very simple to make.  If you are making this for just one or two of you, you can halve the measures of most of the ingredients, but don't halve the spices.

For the Marinade

• 2 tablespoons natural yogurt
• 2 tablespoons double cream
• 1 dessertspoon of cornflour
• 1 tablespoon of grated ginger (I usually use around half an inch but if you don't have                                               fresh ginger, try 1 teaspoon of dried ginger)
• 4 cloves of garlic - crushed
• Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• Half a teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• Half to 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (according to taste)
• 500g Chicken breasts or thighs

The Sauce

• 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• I onion finely chopped 
• Half a teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• Heaped half teaspoon of ground fenugreeek
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 1 tin of tomatoes 1 tablespoon butter
• A good pinch of salt.

• Using a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade in the order given. 
• If using fresh ginger, it can be cut into slices and run through the garlic zoom if you have one, otherwise, chop it very finely
• Once the marinade is mixed, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and put it into the mixture, ensuring all the pieces are well coated, then cover the bowl and put it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but longer if you can.

• When you are ready to cook the chicken it is time to make the sauce. 
• Ensure that the onion is very finely diced - it should be in very tiny pieces, looking as though it has been minced.
•  Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok.  Fry the onions until they are browned - this is a really important step and makes a great difference to the taste of the finished dish, so don't rush this.
• Add the turmeric, cumin, fenugreek and salt, cook this, stirring all the time for one minute, then turn the heat down a little and add the butter.  Let the butter melt slowly, stir it into the mixture, then add the cornflour stirring all the time. Let it cook for about a minute whilst still stirring.  Tip in the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until it thickens.
• Add the chicken and the marinade and cook on a low heat for around 20 minutes until the chicken is done.

Serve the curry hot with, rice or naan bread or both.

Fried Rice

I am assuming that if you are cooking Chinese you will be with friends and will need rice for more than one person

• Approximately 4oz rice
• 1 - 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1oz blanched almonds or cashew nuts
• 2 spring onions finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Pinch of salt

1. Boil the rice then place in a separate dish and allow to cool
2. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan 
3. Beat the eggs and salt together and add to the oil in the pan stirring all the time, until it is half cooked (slightly runny)
4. Add the rice to the mixture, breaking up any lumps, coat all the grains in the egg, stirring quickly.
5. Add the spring onions and nuts
6. Sprinkle the soy sauce over the mixture 
7. Fry for 3 - 4 minutes stirring constantly

Serve in a warm dish

As it is Chinese New Year . . .

This year Chinese New Year falls on January 31 so I have added this recipe for Chinese Pork, which is a dish I often cook when I have some cold pork leftover from the Sunday roast, but you can do it by dicing a pork loin chop and frying it off in the pan before add the rest of the ingredients.

The specified vegetables are not crucial, you can substitute whatever you have to hand and you don't have to add bean sprouts, but they make it so much better.

• 2 tbsps oil
• Cold Roast Pork - roughly cut into bite sized pieces    (or a couple of pork chops, diced and fried in the oil for a couple of minutes, then remove from the pan and set aside for later use)
• 2 teaspoons of brown sugar ( you could use white, but I don't put any in)
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree (you could use ketchup but if you do, definitely omit the sugar)
• 4oz bean sprouts
• 2oz skinned almonds (not vital but I prefer to substitute cashews)
• 1 carrot cut into thin sticks
• 1 large leek, sliced or a large onion sliced into strips
• 2 sliced or chopped mushrooms
• 1 apple, sliced
• Juice of half a lemon (or a few splashes of  bottled lemon juice)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ pint of chicken stock 

You could substitute or add sliced, deseeded bell peppers,  fine green beans, broccoli (cut close to the floret leaving off the stalk) or anything else you wish to. 

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat
2. Add the densest vegetables first (carrots, broccoli etc)  and fry - stirring all the time
3. Add the rest of the vegetables, keep stirring
4. Add the meat
5. Finally add the ketchup, lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar if using, and stock, 
6. Simmer for no more than 5 minutes.

Serve with rice or noodles

Beef Keema with Potatoes

Tasty, warm and filling - just the thing for a winter's evening.  Oh, and it can have a bit of a kick!    If you don't have have all the spices just put in the ones you do have, it won't be the same but it won't be too bad, although you do need the ginger, coriander and chilli.

• 500g  minced beef
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 tsp ground ginger OR 2 inches of fresh ginger root, peeled
• 3 cloves of garlic - chopped
• 2 Bay leaves  
• 4 cloves  or 1 tsp of ground cloves
• 4 cardamom pods - split them open slightly
• 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes OR 2 small chillis chopped and deseeded
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• ¾ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 14oz can of chopped tomatoes
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped into fairly small chunks and parboiled
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• a little oil for frying.

• Peel the onion and cut it in half, then lay it cut side down and slice it thinly
• Heat the oil in a large pan (I find a wok is the best pan for this)
• Add the spices to the oil and cook for about a minute on a low to medium heat - be careful not to let them burn
• Add the onion and garlic to the oil, mix in with the spices and cook until the onion softens and looks translucent, stirring from time to time to ensure that they don't burn
• Add the beef and brown for a while - if it is very fatty beef, it may be better to brown it first and set it aside until you need it, having drained off the fat.
• Add the tomatoes and tomato puree ( rinse out the can with a little water and put the water in too)
• Add the potatoes and stir in well.  
• Cover and simmer on a low heat for about half an hour

Easy Chilli Con Carne

• 250g minced beef
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 can of  tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1 tsp chilli powder or flakes    *
• ½ tsp cumin                           *
• 1 tsp paprika                          *
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• Water

1. Chop the onions and garlic and set aside
2. Brown the minced beef in a large pan; when it is well browned drain the accumulated fat into the container the meat came in, or into another disposable container.
3. Add the onions, garlic,and spices and continue to cook until browned
4. Stir in the flour and let the mixture cook for a minute to ensure that the flour is cooked
5. Rinse the kidney beans, then add them to the mixture along with the tomatoes
6. Add a little cold water to the tomato can, swirl around to gather up the tomato juices which are clinging to the side of the tin, then add to the pan and crumble a stock cube into the mixture.
7. Stir well, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

*You can add more or less of the spices according to your own personal taste, but remember that although the first mouthful may not seem too hot, succeeding ones will be hotter, so when tasting, it may be better to put a little into a cup and eat a few mouthfuls.