Showing posts with label Delicious Mains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delicious Mains. Show all posts
Yesterday was my sister's 63rd Birthday. Since it was my first time being able to celebrate her Birthday in person after over 20 years, I decided to cook her a slap-up Roast Chicken Dinner.
That is what she wanted. Roast Chicken with all the trimmings, including my MIL's stuffing, along with a Victoria Sandwich Cake for dessert.
This is the cake we all enjoy for our celebratory cakes. We are cake and jam people.
I was only too happy to oblige her. We all love a roast dinner and we all love roast chicken, and the cake, well, that is a real favorite also!
As usual I cooked far too much for the main meal. We had roast chicken with gravy, fluffy mashed potatoes (as per my father's request), potato stuffing/dressing, peas/carrots and then the dessert. Because there is bread in the dressing, we don't do rolls.
Today Cindy, Dan and I are going to Jonnys Cookhouse in Berwick for another birthday dinner. That's Dan's treat for Cindy. Wednesday nights is the night my dad goes for fish and chips with his friends, so we usually try to do something together also.
I have not been to Jonnys since I was home for our Eileen's wedding, 9 years ago now. We have been talking about going all Winter. So there is no time like the present, and what better excuse than a Birthday.
My sister and I were perusing the menu this morning as we talked on the phone. There is soooo much to choose from, it will be hard to make up our minds, so we thought we needed all day to mull it over so we don't drive Dan to distraction when we get there with our humming and hawing.
Normally the people in my family always have fish and chips when we go out. We say we are going to have something else but, in the end we have fish and chips. Their fish and chips are great, but so are their Poutine!
Their Chicken Dinner Poutine looked especially good. Crisp chips, melting cheese, chicken, gravy, stuffing and peas. What to do, what to do!
How could I ever choose??? And then I remembered all the chicken dinner leftovers I had in my refrigerator.
I decided to make a Chicken Dinner Poutine for my breakfast ( a late one, don't judge) and then I could order fish and chips later on. (Or maybe I will just get an ice cream. It depends on how hungry I am.)
That way I could crack on with my work today and not have to worry about cooking any dinner. Problem solved!
Poutine is very much a Canadian thing. It originated in Quebec in the 1950's and is essentially a dish of hot chips (french fries) with gravy and cheese curds.
That was at the beginning. At its birth. You can now get all kinds of poutine. It has morphed into multiple varieties. If you can dream it, you can make it, and it will probably be pretty delicious as the basic version is pretty darned delicious!
As long as you get the three main ingredients right. The chips. The gravy. The cheese curds, and it really needs to be cheese curds to be truly authentic.
And those ingredients need to be piping hot, hot enough to melt the curds! You can see I achieved a proper melt! Yum yum!
You can use mozzarella cheese, because you will get plenty of melt, but real cheese curds for poutine are the authentic way to go.
When we were children we would visit my father's family up in Northern Quebec. There is a cheese factory near where he grew up and we always got bags of the cheese curds to snack on in the car on the way home.
Squeaky and delicious. You can't beat them! Even after mom and dad had separated in their later years, my mom always got my father to pick her up a bag when he went, and he always did.
You can get the bags of cheese curds in grocery stores now. You can eat them just as is, or you can turn them into Poutine. And why not! You only live once.
What wonderful flavors are in this dish. Poutine on its own is delicious, but add some chicken and stuffing and peas?
You got a little taste of heaven right there on a plate!
Just make sure everything is good and hot and Bob's your Uncle. You will have poutine perfection!
Poutine gravy, melting cheese curds, tasty chicken, stuffing, peas. What's not to love about that I ask you!
Its a good thing.
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Chicken Dinner Poutine
Yield: Serves 2
This is full on decadence. Something delicious to make with your leftovers from a chicken dinner. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a four serving sized package of frozen French fries
- 1 cup (238g) leftover chicken gravy
- 1 cup (200g) leftover roast chicken
- 1 cup leftover stuffing, crumbled
- 1/2 cup (65g) frozen peas, cooked
- 1 cup (210g) large cheese curds, not packed
Instructions
- Cook your fries according to the package directions. I use Cavendish Crispy fries and cooked them in my toaster oven. It took approximately 10 minutes.
- While your fries are cooking, add your chicken to the gravy in a sauce pan and heat until nice and hot and the gravy is bubbling.
- Warm your stuffing up in the microwave until hot. Pour boiling water over your peas and then drain.
- Divide the hot chips between two dishes and layer up as follows: hot chips, cheese curds, chicken and gravy, crumbled stuffing and peas.
- If everything is nice and hot your cheese curds will melt beautifully and become nice and stringy.
- Serve immediately.
I am a salad lover. I have always said that I have never met a salad I didn't fall in love with! (Although I am sure there are probably some I might not like.) Salads are fabulous meals, especially in the summer months when the temperatures are rising.
I could actually eat salad three meals a day, especially when you are talking about as delicious a salad as this Crispy Chicken Salad is! Its fantastic!
What you have here is a delicious mix of salad greens, topped with a mix of fruit and vegetables. Spring and red onion. Cucumber, carrot. Radishes and sliced apple.
Add to that cubes of sharp cheddar cheese and sweet and tangy dried cranberries.
Now top it all off with scrumptious little bits of shredded chicken breast that have been coated in a spice mixture and fried until crispy golden brown.
And lets not forget the toasted cashew nuts. Have I captured your interest yet??? How about adding a drizzle of a lush sweet and tangy honey Dijon mustard dressing?
Combine all of those things and you have a salad made in heaven! Filled with plenty of taste, crunch and color! Its phenomenal, and its sized for just two. You can however double it to feed more.
Not only that but it is the perfect way to use up leftover cooked chicken, or you can cook chicken specifically to use in the salad. I like to poach mine, and if you freeze your chicken breasts singularly its not that hard to do it from frozen.
I do it all the time and haven't killed myself yet. I either poach the whole lot and freeze it that way, or I freeze the breasts individually so that I can take one out at a time to use.
This makes perfect sense when you are a singleton like myself or a couple of empty nesters. You just take your chicken breast (and with this salad one breast is ample enough for two people) and pop it into a saucepan, cover it with water, or stock.
You can add a few peppercorns and a bit of salt if you want. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes, then remove from the heat, cover and let sit until it cools down enough so that you can handle it.
Presto chango! Perfectly cooked, tender, juicy chicken breast meat. Ready to cube or shred and use in whatever dish you want to use it in.
I love, LOVE the dressing for this salad. It is a simple honey mustard vinaigrette and has only a few ingredients.
White wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard and seasoning. That's it. Whisked together and you have a scrumptious dressing that is sure to please.
It is so tasty that you may want to double it. Just a suggestion. Especially if you are making two salads.
Its always nice to have a bit extra to drizzle over the salad a bit later on if you need to.
Of course the star of this salad is that crispy chicken. Its such a simple make. You will need one cooked chicken breast, which you need to shred coarsely.
I just use two forks for that. You can have some big pieces and some smaller pieces, and maybe even some eensie teensie pieces. Nothing will be wasted.
You will be mixing a quantity of corn starch (corn flour) in a bowl along with some seasonings. Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powders. The chicken gets tossed in this and coated with it.
It is then fried in a tiny bit of hot oil in a skillet until it is golden brown and crispy. You may want to do it in batches. I did. That way you can control it a bit better and make sure every piece is perfectly crisp and golden brown.
Its so easy to do, I don't know why I don't do it more often! (Yes, I do, its very naughty. 😋 But very nice.)
That's the hardest part of the salad, other than the chopping of the vegetables. I have julienned my vegetables because I like the way they look.
I like to do this by hand. You can use a mandolin if you want to, but for this small a quantity, a knife works just fine.
If your knifes are really sharp it doesn't take long, and is very easy to do. I have never minded hand shredding vegetables. Its a kind of mindless job that you don't really have to put a lot of thought into.
My mom always did her shredding by hand as well. Especially coleslaw. I like a thicker cut with coleslaw than you get with a grater. I do grate the carrot on a grater for coleslaw however.
This is a really nice mix of vegetables, giving you plenty of texture and color. That is what you want in a good salad. Plenty of texture and color. Never boring, and because all of the vegetables are julienned, none of it is hard to chew.
You should also never have to cut your salad with a knife and a fork. That always really irks me when I am in a restaurant and they serve me a salad with huge leaves that you need a knife and fork to cut.
There is a reason why you have a salad fork, not a salad knife and fork, its because you need to be able to eat your salad with just a fork. Everything should be bite sized for the most part.
I used a mix of baby salad greens today. Again, there was a variety of colors and textures. I love salad greens that come in a nice mix like that.
It makes salads much more interesting when you have some lettuces which are brilliantly green, and some read. Some frilly and some smooth. Some slightly bitter and some sweet.
I used a strong cheddar for this because that is what I had. I can tell you a gruyere or a swiss also work very well with the chicken and the fruit. Both have a nutty sweet flavor.
I have used toasted cashew nuts as well. Easy to toast. Just a few minutes on a tray in a hot oven does the trick beautifully.
Toasted pecan nuts would also be nice as would toasted pistachios. You could also add smoked roasted almonds, which would add another layer of flavor.
To be honest, I think crisp bacon bits would also be a nice addition and I had thought to add them, but forgot completely. That's me! I get so excited when I am doing something like this, its a wonder I don't forget more!
Anyways, this is a truly delicious salad. Perfect for a lunch or a light supper, especially if you add some garlic bread or crusty rolls. I am not sure how healthy it is with the fried chicken and the cheese, but meh!
Once in a while something like this really does the spirit good.
This was incredibly enjoyable. I highly recommend. I hope that you will be inspired to want to make one for yourself! Enjoy!
Crispy Chicken Salad
Yield: 2
Leftover cooked chicken is shredded and coated in a spice mixture before briefly frying to perfect crispness. It is then served on top of a delicious mix of greens, fruit, cheese and toasty nuts. With its honey mustard dressing, this is a pleaser all round!
Ingredients
For the crispy chicken
- 2 TBS vegetable oil
- 1 cooked chicken breast, shredded roughly
- 1 1/2 TBS cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1/4 tsp each of salt and black pepper
- 1/8 tsp each of garlic and onion powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
For the salad:
- 3 cups of mixed salad greens
- 1/4 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 spring onion, trimmed and julienned
- 3 inch piece of cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and julienned
- 3 inch piece of carrot, peeled and julienned
- 2 radishes, trimmed and quartered
- 1/3 of a red pepper, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1/4 red apple, unpeeled, seeded and cut into thin pieces (toss with a bit of lemon juice to keep from turning brown)
- 1 piece of sharp cheddar, the size of a matchbox, cut into small cubes
- 3 TBS dried cranberries
- 3 TBS roasted cashew nuts
For the dressing:
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 TBS runny honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together and set aside.
- Divide the lettuce between two bowls.
- Prepare all of your vegetables. Divide between two bowls, placing them in a decorative manner on top of the lettuce.
- Scatter the cranberries, nuts and cheese over top.
- Mix the cornstarch and all of the seasonings for the chicken in a bowl. Shred your chicken and toss it together with the cornstarch mixture to coat.
- Heat the oil in a skillet until hot. Add the chicken and cook in the hot oil until crispy, turning it to make sure it all gets crisped. (You may need to do this in batches) Scoop out to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Divide the crisp chicken between both salad bowls, placing it on top.
- Whisk the dressing together again and then drizzle it over the salads, dividing it between both. Serve immediately!
Notes:
This dressing is delicious. You may want to double it.
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Skillet Turkey Alfredo. I really love skillet meals like this delicious one pan pasta dish which makes great use of leftovers and store cupboard ingredients.
I love these type of dishes for several reasons. One, they help me to use up my leftovers in a really delicious way. Secondly, I almost always have everything I need to make them in my cupboards, larder or refrigerator.
Thirdly, I love that they are no fuss and no muss. Everything cooks in the same pan, even the pasta.
They are so easy to throw together and are usually very quickly cooked as well. They are also really easy to reduce, or small-batch into recipes which feed only one or two people, which is exactly what I did today.
Not only that, but they are usually quite adaptable. For instance you can use either cooked turkey in this dish, or you can also use cooked chicken, or even cubed cooked ham. All are equally delicious!
I had cooked a turkey breast at the weekend and wanted to use it up and this was the perfect way to do just that! Perfectly cooked pasta, plenty of turkey, a creamy sauce, some pasta and one of your five a day. You can't beat it.
Oh and lets not forget the bacon! Doesn't everything with bacon taste better? I dare say it does. I have yet to find a food that doesn't go with, or taste better with bacon!
I always have bacon in my freezer. Sometimes I will cook the whole package and then freeze it, ready to take cooked slices out to use in recipes, sandwiches, etc. Or other times I will just freeze the bacon in individual slices.
How I do this is I take each slice of bacon and coil it into a roll and place it onto a baking sheet. I pop it into the freezer and once it is frozen solid, I transfer all of the rolls into a thick freezer bag. They do not stick together in the bag and are very easily chopped from frozen.
Have you ever tried to chop bacon that isn't frozen or cooked? VERY difficult. I promise you if you do this, you will have a problem chopping it no more!
It took me no time at all today to chop and cook my bacon for this recipe. No time at all.
I love recipes where the pasta cooks right in the sauce. They are so easy and you don't have to dirty up an extra pan cooking the pasta. They always cook to perfection and having absorbed some of the cooking liquor, the pasta always tastes great!
I have used fusilli here, but you can use penne, or any other similar type of pasta in the same quantity. It cooks right in the sauce. You only need to cook it to al dente, well actually about a minute short of al dente.
Most good pastas will tell you on the bag the required amount of time to cook their product to al dente. Mine was Garofalo Fusilli, and it said 11 minutes to al dente, so I cooked it for 10.
The pasta cooks in the mixture of cream and stock, along with some onions and garlic. This gives it a really nice flavor.
Once the pasta has cooked, it is time to add the turkey, cooked bacon, some frozen peas and some cheese into the mix.
Then you heat the dish through for a further two to three minutes. Long enough to melt the cheese, heat everything through, thaw the peas, etc. You will have pasta perfection.
The sauce may seem a little bit loose, but don't worry, it thickens up nicely upon standing.
Do try to grate your own cheese for this dish. Use a good Parmesan. Not the stuff in the green tube or pre-grated cheese. They add things to those products to help them flow easier.
This can mess with the integrity of your dish. They can give a granular result which you won't find very appealing.
Also be very judicious when adding salt to the dish. Bacon is a salty ingredient, so is Parmesan cheese. You may not need much salt if any.
Plenty of pepper is okay though. I do so love plenty of pepper.
I adore frozen peas. I only ever buy the petit/baby frozen peas. They are always perfect. I find that when you buy the larger peas you can often get starchy or wooden textured peas in the mix and I hate that.
I am not a huge fan of peas that come from the tin, or that are old and woody textured. When we were children my mother found a dead cricket in the bottom of a can of peas once. That put me off of eating tinned peas altogether.
I thought I hated peas until I tasted frozen ones at a Girl Guide Banquet once. The armed forces base I lived on had put on a turkey dinner for the mothers and daughters and there was frozen peas on the plate.
I remember being quite amazed at how bright green and delicious they were. They converted me back to liking peas. Well, at least frozen baby peas at any rate! (Yes, I am a bit fussy I know! But I like what I like!)
I really hope that you will be encouraged to try this quick, easy and delicious one pan meal for two and soon! I think you will find it really tasty and it is sure to become a firm favorite in your repertoire.
If you are wanting to feed more than two, simply double the ingredients to serve 4, triple to serve 6. The cook timings will stay the same.
A nice salad is excellent on the side of this and I would never turn down a slice of garlic bread or crusty bread is offered one! Leftovers never tasted so good!! Bon Appetit!
Skillet Turkey Alfredo
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 17 Mininactive time: 5 MinTotal time: 27 Min
Meals such as this simple, quick skillet meal are my favorites. Everything cooks all together in one pan. No fuss, no muss. You can substitute the cooked turkey for cooked chicken or ham. This is delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 slices of bacon chopped
- 1/2 small onion, peeled and diced
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 3 ounces (85g/3/4 cup) pasta, uncooked (penne or fusilli work great)
- pinch each salt and black pepper
- 1/2 pound (230g) cooked turkey, ham or chicken, cubed
- 1/2 cup (75g) frozen peas, unthawed
- 1/3 cup (54g) grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet with a lid over moderate heat. Add the bacon. Cook, stirring frequently, until crisp. Remove and drain off all but 1/2 TBS of the fat.
- Add the onion to the fat in the pan, and cook, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the crushed garlic and cook for about 30 seconds longer.
- Stir in the stock, cream and pasta. Bring to the boil, then reduce to low, cover and simmer until the pasta is just barely al dente according to the package directions. (Mine was Garafalo Fusilli and it took 10 minutes.)
- Stir in the turkey, cooked bacon, frozen peas and cheese. Combine well. Cook for a further2 to 3 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.
- Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes. The sauce should thicken upon standing. Serve hot to two very appreciative people!
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