Chicken and Rice Comfort Casserole



I'm always in search of a new idea for leftovers either meat or vegetables. My staple turns for leftovers are frittatas, enchiladas and pizza toppings, but I needed something new. I had leftover chicken and was craving rice, so googled the 2 for inspiration. Taking a lead from this recipe, here is the result.

I have to admit that much as I love love love the summer here, I do welcome the cooler weather; now I can turn on my stove again without cooking myself at the same time. So the prospect of brown rice needing 45 minutes on the stove, was happily an option, this morning, when I got a jump start on dinner.

This is a simple take on a casserole, but from from scratch. The sauce created is very reminiscent of a Campbell's soup casserole, but oh so much tastier and better for you. It checks off all the boxes for nutrition and throws in some major comfort too.

My oldest daughter has just started full day Kindergarten and in contrast to her usual hearty appetite, is often so tired by dinner that she has lost interest in food. So, tonight I prescribed comfort food, in the hope of getting a decent meal in her tired little body, before bed. It worked! I asked her if she liked her dinner and she answered, "Love it!". Score for Mummy!! Unfortunately my 3 year old was not so convinced; I'll keep working on her!

Chicken and Rice Comfort Casserole

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup chicken or veg broth ( preferably low sodium)
2-3 cups cooked chicken (chopped)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage (or herb of your choice)
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (thawed)
1/4 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Melt butter in a pan over a medium heat
3. Add the flour and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring.
4. Pour in the liquid and whisk over the heat until smooth and thickened.
5. Add the chicken and sage
6. Taste and season as necessary
7. Lightly butter or oil a medium sized shallow casserole dish
8. Place the rice on the bottom of the dish and sprinkle over the peas
9. Pour the chicken in the sauce over the top and spread evenly
10. Mix together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan and sprinkle on top of the casserole
11. Place in the oven for approx 30 minutes and serve with a salad, or not...

Notes on the recipe:
This is an endlessly tweekable recipe; adding more cheese to the sauce would be tasty. Also, many different herbs could replace the sage; thyme would be particularly good. Broccoli or green beans would be good replacements for the peas.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Peach Salad



Chicken and Peach Salad



As a child, for many years, my choice for birthday dinner was "chicken and peach bake". It wasn't only me, in fact, I seem to recall my brothers deep love for it too. It is a recipe reminiscent of the 70's; using canned peaches and packet white sauce, with crushed chips on top. Heaven! I must get busy this winter and recreate the flavors with a "from scratch" version. In the meantime, tonight's recipe is a summer take, echoing the creaminess of the sauce and the sweet savory combination.

We have been reveling knee deep in peaches this week; the season is finally here. Mean Mummy in this house has not bought peaches since last summer so the girls have been enjoying the bounty too. We've had peach ice pops and smoothies, peaches for snack and now, peaches for dinner.

Alongside my chicken salad, I served some baby new potatoes and a green salad of baby romaines. The potatoes are worth a mention (I am Irish after all!). I microwaved them for 5 minutes, then halved them, tossed in olive oil and salt and roasted in my grill. Very quick compared to the usual roasting time, so I was happy. I should explain; I rarely turn on the oven in the summer; we don't have central air conditioning so the heat from the oven is no fun. Need I explain that an overheated Mummy is a cross Mummy! Instead, I use my outdoor grill as an oven and roast my vegetables and potatoes in a roasting pan with the burners on low-medium

Chicken and Peach Salad

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
2 medium peaches, chopped into similar sized pieces
1/3 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup 0% Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced and mashed to a paste
salt and pepper
handful of herbs (I used mint, basil, chives and parsley)


Directions

1. Whisk together the sour cream, Greek yogurt, mustard, garlic and vinegar in a medium bowl
2. Stir in the chicken and peaches
3. Add the herbs either on top or stir in just before serving.

My kid friendly tip would be to leave out the herbs; mine still object to the green flecks. This said, one ate it; the other picked out the peaches and told me she was done.

Please excuse the various errors in fonts etc in this post but I'm tired waiting for my blog host Blogspot to fix their endless glitches.

Enjoy!

"Yummy in my tummy Mummy"

Apple Butterscotch Muffins



"Mmmmmmm, these are so yummy! Mummy, you have to put these on your blog". My heart melted and I was somewhat shocked my 4 year old had taken in my blog chat in recent weeks. To put this in context, I've been struggling in the last week to get a reaction like that from any food I have put before my kids. I had really become quite despondent by yet another screwed up face, 2 days ago at dinner. So the timing was great. I'll be honest, as I perused the aisles in the supermarket yesterday, I considered buying some ready made, kid friendly meals for them. It's takes a lot for me to that!

Anyway, my confidence and resolve to feed them healthy home-made food has been restored. Last night I made the simplest chicken dinner; an old fashioned Sunday Dinner in fact (even though it was Saturday night), with whole roast chicken, roast potatoes and asparagus. The munchkins gobbled up the chicken and potatoes heartily, but the asparagus was a bridge too far. A major step in the right direction I decided.

While I didn't take photos, I do think the recipe is well worth a mention. I was inspired by a Delia Smith recipe Roast Chicken recipe in her How to Cook Book 2. And as usual she came up trumps big style.

Simply put, I smeared the inside of my whole chicken with a tablespoon of softened butter, mixed with a few cloves of minced garlic and a couple tablespoons of chopped rosemary. Then I cut a lemon in half, chopped it into 4 wedges and stuffed them in too. Roasted the bird at 450°F for 54 mins then dropped it to 400° until the internal temperature hit 165°F. Then I removed the bird to rest, tented it with foil, and put the roasting pan on a burner with the lemons from the inside of the chicken. I added about a glass of white wine to the drippings, stirred up the tasty bits on the bottom and simmered the lot until gravy consistency.

All in all it was totally simple and delicious Roast Chicken, particularly with the gravy. Try it!

Anyway, back to the reason my daughter wanted me to write up my blog tonight; Apple Butterscotch Muffins. I've been experimenting for a few weeks with Lorna Sass's muffin recipe. She has the bright idea of making up a big batch of the dry ingredients for muffins, and storing in the fridge for quick muffins anytime. I'm all over the idea, and really like her base of wholewheat flour and oats. However, I've been testing out how little fat I can get away with and still have them taste good. Also, what combination of "add ins" we like best in this house has been under debate. By far the best received to date, has been today's combination of apple and butterscotch chips.

Muffin Mix

(based on a recipe in Lorna Sass' book Whole Grains for Busy People)

Ingredients

5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the flour, oats, sugar and salt together in a bowl then sift in the baking powder and soda. Mix well and store in a large box or ziplock bag in the fridge for up to 4 months.

Note: Don't be put off by the volume of mix this makes; if the apple butterscotch muffins don't appeal to you, this mix is still well worth making up as I will be using it for more healthy muffin recipes in time.

Apple Butterscotch Muffins

Makes approx 16 muffins

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups muffin mix (stirred the lighten before measuring)

1 cup peeled, chopped apples

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. Oil the muffins tins well (these tend to stick in my tins if not oiled carefully)
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
4. Stir in the flour mix until just incorporated then fold in the apples and butterscotch chips
5. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffins cups approx 2/3 full
6. Place the muffins tins in the oven.
7. Bake for approx 7 mins then rotate the tin and bake a further 6 or 7 minutes (until a tester comes out clean)
8. Carefully remove the muffins from the pan; they may stick a little so run a palette knife all the way around them before easing them out.
9. Cool on a wire rack or eat right away!!

Enjoy!



A Seriously Tasty Dinner

Syrupy Chicken with Cauliflower and Chestnut Gratin

I may have outdone myself; I made the tastiest dinner tonight and tomorrow night is my husband's birthday. Honestly, it's going to be hard for me to something more delicious tomorrow night when tonight's yumminess will be so fresh in our memory. Oh well, that's tomorrow's problem. In the meantime lets get on to sharing the love.

I had been pondering how to dress up my 2 cauilflowers and chicken thighs which were waiting in the line to be given the treatment. I have been craving a cauliflower gratin, it has to be said, but it isn't exactly the healthiest side dish, so I had to get creative. I've been experimenting with an "eating well" magazine version of the gratin and today decided to use that as a base and add a few chestnuts which were needing used up also. Cauliflower and chestnut gratin was the result.

Since the cauliflower has mustard flavoring it, I wanted to echo those flavors with the chicken. I opened an Ellie Krieger book for inspiration and there sprung some maple mustard chicken thighs. With my 2 year old at my side, I got to work. We're having to carve out a new routine in our house at the moment; naps are a thing of the past, sadly. On the up side, my 2 year old is very interested in helping in the kitchen, so it looks like that's going to be our replacement activity.

The chicken recipe could not be quicker or easier and since it uses chicken thighs, is very forgiving to the forgetful Mum who may leave it in the oven a little longer than strictly necessary. The reason I'm particularly excited to share this recipe is because both of my girls (who seem to be going through a particularly picky phase) LOVED it! So much so, we decided to have a naming ceremony for the chicken; Syrupy Chicken was decided upon.

Hope it goes down so well at your table.

Cauliflower and Chestnut Gratin

( based on an eating well magazine recipe: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/skillet_cauliflower_gratin.html )




My healthy version of Cauliflower Gratin (before broiling)

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower cut into small florets
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
2 1/4 cups/ 530 ml non fat or 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I used a Stonewall kitchen maple mustard...mmm)
1/2 cup cooked chestnuts, chopped
pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the cauliflower, garlic, salt and 2 cups /470ml of milk in a large pot over a medium heat.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for approx 5 minutes
3. Meanwhile mix together in a bowl the breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup cheese
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup/ 60ml milk, mustard, and flour, until smooth
5. Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove the cauliflower from the pot and whisk in the flour muxture
6. Stir until thickened and smooth then add the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and chives. Then stir back in the cauliflower and chives
7. Preheat the broiler to high
8. Place the cauliflower mixture in an ovenproof dish and top with the chestnuts, breadcumbs and cheese
9. Broil until the top is golden and crispy

In the interests of cooking once and eating twice, I made double batch of the cauliflower gratin and used half of the cauliflower from step 6 to make cauliflower soup. I just added some vegetable broth (although chicken broth would be lovely with this). Then I used the hand blender to puree the soup. Delicious.



Serve with Syrupy Chicken...

Syrupy Chicken

based on an Ellie Krieger recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/maple-mustard-chicken-thighs-recipe/index.html



Syrupy Chicken

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs (bone in or not)

1/2 cup grainy mustard

1 clove of garlic, minced finely to a paste

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions



1. Preheat the oven to 375°F
2. Mix together the mustard, garlic, coriander and maple syrup
3. Smear on top of each chicken thigh
4. Roast for approx 30-45 minutes

Enjoy!



Satisfying the "less meatarian" in our house

My 4 year old Charlotte decided to become a "less meatarian" long before Mark Bittman coined the phrase and it became all the rage. http://content.markbittman.com/node/174
For whatever reason, she just does not much like meat.

Now, as much as I am a fan of minimizing our household consumption of meat for all the great reasons described so eloquently in Food Matters by Mark Bittman, there are times when meat is on the menu in this house. Furthermore our house rule is we all eat the same food. Not that this doesn't cause issue at times; only yesterday we debuted a new fancy behavior chart to address eating the food put before them without a fuss. We're trying...
　
So Mark Bittman was talking to me (through his book, you understand), and it was time to marry my chicken thighs with some vegetables. The trick was to disguise the chicken in the dish with lots of other flavors and textures. Enter cauliflower, ginger, curry and coconut milk.... Mmmmmm. I chose to try Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower with Chicken, p387 in Food Matters the Cookbook.

I pretty much made Mr. Bittmans recipe by the book, except my chicken thighs were not boned or skinned so I opted to skin them and cook them bone in, then shred after cooking. All good. Otherwise I stuck fairly closely to the recipe.

And the moment of truth; I presented it to my 4 year old, asked for a verdict on a bite of chicken and it was pronounced "YUM!". Score! Of course I had to play the cool Mum (not easy for me, sadly), and not act too excited at the chicken going down the gullet. I do need to add that I totally agree with her; this is a seriously tasty recipe.

Anyway, here goes:

Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower with Chicken (my way)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 oz chicken thighs

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1/2 cup onions, finely chopped.

2 cups of cooked chickpeas (rinse them to reduce the sodium content)

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 cup coconut milk (I used light, still delish)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 small cauliflower cored and cut into small florets

1 or 2 small dried hot red chilies (I did not have so used a pinch of red pepper flakes)

1/2 cup cilantro (again I did not have)

Directions:

1. Preheat a large dutch oven or deep skillet with a tablespoon or so of oil and add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Depending on the type of chicken you are using, cook on medium high until the chicken is no longer pink.
2. Add the ginger and onions and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Remove everything from the pan and add another tablespoon of oil.
4. Add chickpeas to the pan with more pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, shaking now and again until the chickpeas are lightly browned.
5. Stir in the curry powder, give it a minute or so on the heat then remove from the pan.
6. Place the chicken broth, coconut milk, cauliflower, chicken, chile flakes in the hot pan and heat until it gently bubbles.
7. Cook until the cauliflower is tender and sauce is thick; approx 10 minutes.
8. Remove the chicken and shred it off the bone.
9. Add the chicken and chickpeas back into the pan. Stir and serve with wholegrain flatbread, pitas or naan bread.