We eat a lot of chicken in this house.   No surprise there.  It's usually one of the cheapest meats to buy and it's pretty adaptable to all sorts of flavours and cooking styles.  I used to only buy free range organic, but these days with a much tighter budget, I can no longer afford to be so fussy, and so I buy higher welfare chicken, which isn't the cheapest, but isn't the most expensive . . .  and hopefully it is what it says on the label . . . and is actually higher welfare.



I cook a lot of breasts, but I do love thigh meat more. It is more succulent and has more flavour than the breast meat.   It's lovely, skin on and bone in . . . roasted with nothing more than garlic, salt and pepper on it. , until the skin is crisp and crackling and the meat is juicy good.  Finger licking good.  You can't beat it in my opinion.



Today I opted for boneless skinless thighs.   When you take the skin of a lean meat like chicken you have to protect it's juiciness somehow, and so I dredged them in a highly seasoned flour and lightly browned them in a skillet, until they were golden brown on both sides.



I popped them into a shallow casserole dish.   I whisked together a jar of salsa (medium) with a heaped teaspoon of Chipotle Chili Paste, which gave the salsa a nice bit of heat and some smokiness.  I divided that equally amongst the thighs, dolloping it on top.   Then I got really naughty . . .  I sprinkled the whole thing with cheese.   Once baked the thighs were succulently tender (I love that in a thigh), nicely flavoured and spiced . . . and oozingly delicious with all of that melted gooey cheese on top.  In short . . . it was a winner.  I love it when that happens.  Good food doesn't need to be complicated.  It only has to taste good.  Simples . . .



*Chipotle Baked Chicken Thighs*

I have never made any secret of my love affair with blueberries.   If you have been reading my blog for any length of time at all, it should be really obvious to you that I adore them.



It's kind of odd really . . . because when I was a child I wasn't overly fond of them.  Or maybe it was the picking of them that I wasn't fond of.   Every summer we would be taken out into the bush and forced to pick gallon sized ice cream buckets of the berries.  As wild blueberries grow close to the ground, that was really hard work, to say the least.



And . . . it was always really, really hot . . . the black flies and mosquitoes would be pestering us to no end . . . and I was terrified of bears, because . . . truth be told.  They probably love blueberries even more than humans do and in August, at the end of the summer, when the blueberries are ready to be picked, they are storing up their fat for winter.

 

So really I guess . . . it was the picking I deplored, not the berries, coz I certainly do love them now, and I don't have to fight mosquitoes, or blackflies or bears to enjoy them . . .  nor do I have to crouch down for hours on end to pick them.  We have our very own high bush cultivated berries right here in our back garden!



They do lack the intense flavours of the wild ones from back home, but . . . beggars can't be choosers and so we enjoy them regardless of their size.  They really shine in muffins, like these  Blueberry, Maple and Corn Muffins  that I am showing you today.



These are pretty darned good muffins if I don't say so myself.  (And I know I just did.)  With a great cornbread flavour, lightly sweetened with maple syrup and then stogged full of lovely blueberries, they are real family pleasers.  A bit more rustic than most muffins and hearty with crisp cornmeal edges.   They are a real favourite around here.  Because of the fresh berries, they do need to be eaten on the day.  I have never frozen them so I don't know if they will freeze well or not.




*Blueberry & Maple Corn Muffins*

With Father's Day just around the corner, Dr Oetker has come up with some really lovely chocolate bakes to please Dad on his special day!



   




























Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160° Fan, Gas Mark 4. Line a 1kg loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Put the butter and Guinness in a saucepan over a low heat until the butter has melted.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and Bicarbonate of Soda together in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, milk, egg, Vanilla Extract, Chocolate pieces and melted butter mixture and mix together well.  

I took advantage of some of the really nice weather we had this weekend and my TeFal ActiGrill to make us some really tasty grilled chicken sandwiches.   Summer food.   Bring it on!



You can pay a fortune for a chicken sandwich in those fast food places these days, and they all taste the same when it comes right down to it.  These are a bit healthier I like to think and  a hundred times more delicious!



They are also quite economical because with only two chicken breasts, you can make four sandwiches.  The chicken marinates for an hour or so in a delicious honey mustard marinade, composed of two different mustards, honey and lemon juice.   There is also bacon on them . . .



Not just any bacon however . . . candied pepper bacon that you make yourself.  So easy to do and seriously scrummy as well.    The chicken is grilled, brushed with barbecue sauce or not as you wish, and then they are put together, chicken, bacon . . . and a nice slice of cheese on top, which melts down over the hot bacon and chicken . . .

 

Serves on a toasted bun with some shredded lettuce and a mayo ranch sauce, these went down a real treat with the Toddster . . . and I confess I was also licking my chops.  Who needs to go out to get a good Chicken sandwich . . .  when you can get a tastier one at home???  Not us, that's for sure!    This is great summer time food.  I cooked mine indoors on the electric grill, but you could just as easily do them outdoors on the barbecue.   This is sure to be a real winner!



*Grilled Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Sandwiches*

 

Today I wanted to tell you about the fabulous drinks I was recently sent to taste from the Cracker Drinks company.  They have recently introduced two new flavours which are now available , including Blackcurrant and Cherry, and Pear and Vanilla. These will both feature in Spring/Summer restaurant menus across the UK. The range is already available in Tesco and Sainsbury’s, and is now starting to expand into the restaurant sector, offering children something fresh and new.  I was sent the Black Currant & Cherry as well as the Pineapple Coconut & Lime.


  

Black Currant & Cherry

Containing nothing more than Grape Juice, water, pressed fruit and naturally occurring fruit sugars with no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives, this has a all of the sharpness and fragrance of  Black Currants counter balanced with the sweetness of ripe Cherries.  We quite enjoyed this.  No surprised there as we both love Black Currants.


 

Pineapple, Coconut & Lime 

Once again containing nothing more than Grape Juice, water, pressed fruit and naturally occurring fruit sugars with no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives, and including natural lime and coconut flavorings.  This had big Pineapple flavour, cut with the zesty citrus flavour of lime and balanced out by the wonderful taste of coconut.   A truly tropical taste which we both enjoyed very much.  

With the warm weather looming, it's nice to have something refreshingly different in the refrigerator to quench summer time thirsts and know that each serving contains one of your five a day and is all natural with no added sugar!

Founded in 2005, the Cracker Drinks Co is a privately British owned company which has dedicated itself to creating and delivering quality great  tasting fruit drinks, using  unusual fruit blends and only natural ingredients.

To find out more do check out their home page.
Follow them on Facebook.

Cracker Drinks are available in all of the major supermarkets as well as Welcome Break and a variety of eating establishments throughout the UK.

 

I like very much!