Showing posts with label healthy options. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy options. Show all posts
I love chicken and rice. They are the ultimate combination, especially when combined with two of my favourite vegetables, peas and carrots!
This is such a simple dish to prepare also. Everything gets cooked all in the one dish. You will want a fairly large skillet for this with straight sides, if possible, and a lid that fits snuggly.
You can use fresh garlic if you wish, but I like the garlic powder. Lately I haven't liked the flavour of the fresh garlic which is available.
It tastes mildewed or moldy to me. Very yucky. I think I am going to have to grow my own.
The chicken is first browned and then you make a vegetable pilaf with chicken stock, rice, onions, and carrots.
You nestle the browned chicken into the rice to finish cooking . . .
Frozen petit pois, parsley and lemon juice complete the dish.
The Chicken is sliced on the diagonal and placed on top in an attractive manner.
Altogether you are treated to a pleasant dish, well flavoured, colourful, and delicious. Everyone loves this, and it's so simple to make, and I think quite healthy.
You can also very easily cut the quantities in half to serve only two people. Depending on the size of your chicken pieces, you may even be able to serve three with the recipe cut in half.
*Chicken & Rice*
Serves 4
Heat the oil in a large skillet with a lid. Season the chicken with
salt and pepper. Add to the skillet, presentation side down, and brown,
about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the onion and 1/2 tp
of salt to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently in the drippings, until
softened.
Add the rice and garlic powder. Cook and stir for about a
minute.
Add the carrots and stir in the chicken stock, scraping up any
bits.
Return the chicken to the pan, nestling it into the rice without
covering it. Cover and reduce the heat to low.
Cook, for 10 to 15
minutes, until the chicken tests done and the juices run clear. Remove
the chicken and set aside, keeping it warm.
Stir though the rice to
recombine, then cover and cook until all of the liquid has been
absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Stir in the peas.
Cover and let stand for a few minutes to thaw and heat through the
peas. Fork through the lemon juice and parsley.
Slice the chicken
breasts through on the diagonal and return to the top of the rice in a
decorative fashion. Sprinkle with paprika and more parsley if desired.
Serve immediately.
All you really need to serve in addition to this is possibly a nice tossed salad. You could also add some different herbs if you wanted to. Lemon Thyme leaves, Chives or tarragon are lovely. Bon Appetit!
I have been making my own granola since the mid 1980's. My next door neighbor used to make her own granola and she taught me how to make my own. I've been a huge fan ever since.
A lighter Green Bean Casserole. This tasty recipe for a green bean casserole from scratch, never fails to please.
I can remember the very first time I tasted Green Bean Casserole. I was 10 years old. We were on our way to Nova Scotia from Manitoba and my parents had decided to go through the states to get there.
My mother's cousin Polly and her family lived (and still do) in Vermont. We spent some time visiting with them and enjoying their hospitality. Supper was served out in their garden at a picnic table and Green Bean Casserole was on the menu. It was love at first bite.
I have to say that no green bean casserole I have ever tasted since has come close to the memory of the taste of that one we enjoyed in the dusk of an early summer evening, sitting at that picnic table outside that old house on top of a Vermont hillside.
I am sure it was the company which made it even more delicious.
This is a lighter version of that. There are no cream soups involved. I make my own sauce.
There is plenty of caramelized fresh onion, which more than makes up for the lack of tinned french fried onions. There is plenty of crunch on top from crushed cracker crumbs . . .
I could sit and eat a whole plate of this and nothing else. It pleases me that much.
It went very well with the Gingersnap Glazed Ham I baked the other day.
It felt good to be eating something a little bit lighter than all of that indulgence of our Christmas feasting.
This is a dish I make every now and again, and everytime I do I ask myself why I don't make it more often.
Probably because it is a dish I reserve for special occasions, choosing in my every day life to eat my vegetables simply steamed . . . were it not so, I daren't think of the size I would be.
In any case its a new year and there is no better way to begin it than with a happy memory and a delicious side dish.
*A Lighter Green Bean Casserole*
Serves 4 - 6
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
12 round buttery crackers, crumbled
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Blanche the
green beans in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well and set
aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add the chopped onion, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, over low heat until the onions begin to caramelize. This will take about 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow casserole dish.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions in the saucepan. Cook, stirring for
several minutes. Whisk in the warm chicken broth. Whisk constantly
until thickened. (It will be fairly thick.) Taste and adjust seasoning
with salt and black pepper. Stir in the thyme leaves. Add the green
beans and stir well to coat. Spread in the casserole dish. Crumble the
crackers over top.. Cover tightly with a buttered sheet of foil. (In truth I spritz it with a bit of low fat cooking spray.)
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes covered. Uncover and
bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until the beans are tender and the
sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Remove and keep warm.
Serve warm as a delicious side dish.
Bon Appetit mes amis!! ! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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We are real soup lovers in this house. I don't think I have ever met a soup I did not like and neither has Todd. There is a cafe at the market in town that does lovely bowls of soup and for a really good price. Todd just loves to treat himself to a bowl when he goes into town in the winter.
This is a great soup for cold and windy days and a great soup for using up what is in the vegetable bin. You can vary the vegetables according to whatever you have on hand.
This is hearty and delicious. Today I used carrots, swede, celery, onion, leeks, cabbage . . . and I might even have added a splash of tomato juice. I can't remember. But if I did it was only a splash.
The barley makes it especially hearty. I do so love barley or rice in a soup, don't you?
You could add a handful of dried peas as well if you wanted to. They would go very well. In any case this basic recipe can be a canvas for you to work upon and create your own speciality!
*Hearty Vegetable Soup*
Serves 4 to 6
a few handfuls of chopped cabbage
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 litres chicken or vegetable stock (about 6 1/2 cups)
60g of uncooked pearl barley (1/3 cup)
Heat the olive oil and butter together in a large saucepan. Add all of
the vegetables except for the garlic. Stir to coat. Sweat over low
heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until beginning to
soften. Add the garlic and thyme. Cook for a few minutes longer. Add
the stock along with some seasoning. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a
simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the barley. Simmer
gently for about half an hour until the barley is cooked. Taste and
adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper as desired. Serve hot with
some crusty bread.
(Don't forget to fish out and discard the thyme stalk!)
Todd has his with a roll. The Canadian in my loves it with crackers and the commoner in me likes them crumbled over top like croutons. ☺
Happy Friday and Bon Appetit!
The people at debbie & andrews recently sent me a package of their new Buttered Onion & Mustard sausaged to try and so I created a delicious supper dish with them that celebrates not only the flavour of these delicious sausages but also lovely autumn flavours.
There is a delicious mustardy apple sauce to serve with these meaty sausages and a butternut and sweet potato mash. Altogether quite fabulously delicious!
My Todd is a real sausage and mash man. I love mash too, but I like to shake things up every now and again. This is a really healthy version of mash. I love butternut squash and I love sweet potatoes. The two together are bliss and go so well with sausages.
Especially with these lovely sausages which are created with Sauteed buttered onions, mild wholegrain mustard and a splash of blossom honey. Rugged, rustic and gluten free. Sausages produced the old fashioned way using British meat from Red Tractor approved farms. The perfect autumn banger! We loved them. (No surprise there as we love all of the debbies & andrews Sausages!)
*Sausage with Autumn Mash*
Serves 4.Printable Recipe
A simple and delicious weeknight supper that your family will love.
8 good quality pork sausages
(I used debbie & andrews Buttered Onion and Mustard)
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges(I like to use Granny Smith because they hold their shape well and have a lovely tartness
2 TBS whole grain Dijon mustard
2 TBS runny honey
a good splash of cloudy apple juice
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Put the sausages onto a baking tray along with the apple wedges.
Whisk together the mustard, honey and apple juice. Pour over the sausages and apples, tossing to coat all over.
Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking stirring now and then to prevent sticking.
While the sausages are baking place the squash and sweet potatoes into a lightly salted pan of boiling water to cover. Bring back to the boil, then cover and simmerto 15 minutes until tender. Drain well and return the vegetables to the hot pan. I then placed the pan back over low heat and mashed them until they dried out a bit. I stirred in a knob of butter and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.
Serve a generous scoop of mash piled with two sausages, some apples and some of the sticky pan juices to each lucky person.
Sausages are such a versatile meat and they don't need to be only eaten for Breakfast. With the wide variety of flavours that debbie & andrews offers, you can use sausaged to put extra meatiness into a wide variety of meals.. Sausages are always easy to cook and you can trust debbie & andrew's sausages to be delicious and add a special touch to any dish whether it is a potato bake, meaty pasta dish or simple sausage sarnie. For those who prefer their meat free range, debbie & andrew's make a selection of great regional sausage recipes based on meat from pigs that live safely outdoors. For more information of debbie & andrew's latest products, new ranges, charity projects, micro sponsorship schemes, recipes, and products just visit www.debbieandandrews.co.uk or Facebook www.facebook.com/debbieandandrews or Twitter @d_a_sausages.
debbie & andrew's sausages are available through Amazon Fresh, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco, priced between £2.00 and £3.50 dependent on retailer and promotions.
debbie & andrew's sausages are available through Amazon Fresh, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco, priced between £2.00 and £3.50 dependent on retailer and promotions.
Bon Appetit! 🐖 👌
Note - I was sent a pack of sausages free of charge but not required to write a positive review. (Many thanks to debbie & andrew's!) Any opinions are my own. I quite simply like these sausages and they are always my sausage of choice. I use them all the time. My favourites are the Harrogate 97% and the Cumberland. These were lovely too.
I had some leftover chicken to use up the other day, so I must apologise in advance for showing you yet another chicken recipe. I am sure you will soon tire of me and all my chicken.
Its just so affordable and in all honesty we each more chicken in this house than anything else. It's adaptable and makes for a delicious variety of delicious dishes like this tasty casserole!
I found the original recipe on Pinterest, attributed to Delicious as it Looks, but there are about a bazillion of these recipes floating about.
I made a few adaptations and changes to suit our tastes and to make it a tiny bit less calorific and fatty.
I added some cubed sweet potato. We like sweet potatoes and they are quite good for you, being filled with beta carotine and anti oxidents.
I cut waaaaay down on the butter used. The original recipe called for about 3 times the amount I used, and in all truth, I think (after having made it) you could cut it out all together.
I don't see that it really adds much of anything other than fat.
I had some baked ham in the fridge and so I added some of that chopped instead of bacon or Canadian bacon. Again, lower in salt and fat. Also instead of cream I used low fat evaporated milk.
It worked very well. I added some hot pepper sauce for extra flavour and used a lower fat cheese which helped to keep the fat content down as well. I chose to use all of the spring onion, for flavour, instead of just the tops.
Altogether this was really, really delicious. I served green beans with it and it went down a real treat! It felt and tasted indulgent.
Next time I may add a few other vegetables as well and cut down on the potatoes. Scrummy yummy!
*Loaded Chicken and Potato Casserole*
Serves 2 - 3
A delicious potato casserole that I adapted from another site. I tried to cut down on the fat and make it a bit healthier.
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 heaping teaspoon sugar
3 heavy dashes ground black pepper
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/4 (60ml) cup heavy whipping cream (Or 1/4 cup (60ml) low fat evaporated milk)
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, poached and cut into cubes
2 TBS chopped baked ham or Canadian Bacon, or bacon bits
1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese (120g)
1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese (120g)
2 spring onions, sliced
Butter
a 9 inch square baking dish. Lightly spray with low fat cooking
spray. Place the cubed potatoes and sweet potatoes into the dish in an
even layer. Cover with plastic cling film. Microwave for about 3
minutes. Remove from the microwave. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/
gas mark 4. Sprinkle the chicken over top of the potatoes. Sprinkle
on the Canadian bacon/ham/bacon bits.
Sprinkle with the
spring onions and half of the cheese. Whisk together the salt, sugar,
black pepper, hot pepper sauce and cream/evaporated milk. Drizzle with
the cream mixture. Cover tightly with foil. Bake in the preheated
oven for 35 to 40 minutes and then uncover and sprinkle with the
remaining cheese. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the
potatoes are fork tender and the cheese is nicely melted. Serve hot.
I hope you will forgive me for showing you yet again another chicken casserole. If you are like me you probably don't think you can ever have too many chicken casserole recipes or tasty ways to use up leftovers! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I baked us a lovely quiche at the weekend. Who says real men don't each quiche! Todd loves them. This version was adapted from a recipe I found in a cookery book entitled Comfort Food Makeovers, put out by America's Test Kitchen.
It is a compendium of comfort food recipes defatted and made healthier. I'm all for that! Healtiher is a good thing, having it tasted delicious at the same time, is even better!
I never eat quiche when I don't think about that joke about the two older ladies in the restaurant who were perusing a menu which happened to have quiche on it.
That sounds good one of the women thought to herself and when the waiter came, she said . . . "I'd like to have a 'Quickie'!" Obviously, her pronunciation needed some work on it. ☺ Back to the recipe.
I know . . . don't quit my day job!
A lot of calories and fat are saved in this recipe through the use of some very flavorful cheeses. Parmesan which is used both in the crust and as a base for the filling. Parmesan is one of those cheeses where a little bit goes a very long way.
Gruyere is another cheese like that and by using it in the filling, you need relatively little of it when compared to other cheeses. I love the sweet, nutty flavor of Gruyere. A good substitute is Swiss cheese.
Buttermilk has also been used in the filling, which adds a richness to the custard without the calories of the usual cream which is normally used.
The use of corn flour also helps to set the custard.
The crust also gets an additional flavor boost from the use of a tiny bit of bacon fat, which you reserve when you cook the bacon.
The original recipe called for crispy cooked bacon and then crumbling it into the filling. But I opted to only partially cook it and then lay it on top of the tart prior to baking.
The end result was a very attractive and delicious Quiche that I did not feel very guilty about eating! I love it when that happens!
Delicious through and through, but with only half the calories and a third of a fat of a regular quiche!
Add
the water and process just until the dough begins to clump into large
pieces. Spray a 9-inch tart tin (with a removable base) with low fat
cooking spray. Add the dough and press it evenly over the bottom and up
the sided of the tin, Crimp edge. Wrap loosely in cling film and
freeze for 30 minutes.
I really hope you will give this a go. It's delicious! Bon Appetit!
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