Although I have a partner who really isn't that fond of pasta, I do cook it from time to time. He knows I love pasta and he doesn't mind me feeding my craving for it every now and then!
He eats it too, even if he doesn't really like it all that much.
He is from the old school that eats what is put in front of him.
And to be honest, even if it isn't his favourite he will be the first one to tell you that when I cook it, its not half bad and quite tolerable!
This is one of my favourite kinds of meals, an all in one dinner for two, with only a very few ingredients.
Pasta, sauce and protein cooking all in the same pan on top of the stove. I love cooking pasta this way.
It doesn't get over cooked, staying al dente, and the pasta absorbs even more of the flavour from the sauce . . . it gets right in there . . .
I created this to use up leftover cooked chicken. It is semi-based on another recipe I saw for something similar here.
In looking at her recipe I thought to myself, why can't I use already cooked chicken cubed, instead of cutting up chicken breasts and browning them in the pan.
Why indeed? Although if you don't have leftover roast chicken use fresh by all means. For this recipe you could use two small chicken breast fillets.
Just cut it up and cook it in the vinaigrette dressing as per the recipe, until the juices run clear.
You know about five years ago now, I came down with a bad case of food poisoning. I was so sick. That day I had eaten leftover pizza for breakfast and for dinner, Chicken Parmesan.
Oh boy . . . I thought I would never be able to eat either one again in a very long time!
I will admit that I still feel a bit queasy when I am faced with Chicken Parmesan, with the breading and all . . . but this was quite good.
There is no breading on the chicken, just plain roasted chicken.
Oh, I love breaded chicken . . . but not with marinara sauce and cheese . . . not yet anyways . . .
Maybe some day I will regain my taste for it. Some day . . .
And there is plenty of cheese in this . . . look at that ooze . . .
So, so, so good . . .
Interestingly enough, I wasn't put off pizza for very long. Thank goodness! Its one of my favourite food groups!
Since then I have been extremely pedantic about leftovers. I was actually in bed for four days. I never want to be that sick again.
I remember thinking that death would actually be welcome. You know you are really sick when death is welcome!
Anyways, not to put you off your food or anything . . . sorry if I have!!
I have a rule of thumb now. Food that has been made in house, I have a 3 day rule as far as leftovers go. I don't keep any after 3 days.
And anything takeaway . . . I get rid of the leftovers on the day. I don't keep them at all.
I know it might seem a bit wasteful, but I never buy more than we can feasibly eat at once. (I am so not a Gilmore Girl.) You know . . . you never know how long the toppings in a Pizza place have been sitting around waiting to be used on pizzas, or even how clean the person is that is making them.
That's why I don't like to see the people who cook my food in a restaurant. And also why I am really picky at Pot Lucks, unless I know exactly who has cooked what.
Yield: 2 - 3
Chicken & Parm Pasta Skillet
An all in one skillet meal which only uses a few ingredients and makes great use of leftover cooked poultry. This can easily be doubled.
ingredients:
- 1 TBS Italian Vinaigrette style salad dressing
- 150g cooked chicken, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups dry rigatoni pasta tubes (8 ounces)
- 340g good marinara sauce (1 1/2 cups)
- 340ml water (12 ounces)
- 90g grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
- 60g grated mozzarella/cheddar mix cheese (1/2 cup)
- salt and pepper to taste
- parsley or basil to garnish
instructions:
How to cook Chicken & Parm Pasta Skillet
- Heat the Italian vinaigrette dressing in a medium skillet with a lid. Add the chicken. Cook and stir until the chicken begins to absorb the dressing. Pour the water and marinara sauce over top. Stir in the pasta, bring to the boil. Stir again, then reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent sticking. At the end of that time the pasta should be al dente. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Scatter both cheeses over top. Cover and allow to melt. Sprinkle with the parsley/basil and serve immediately.
Hope I haven't put you off your dinner. I didn't mean to, just being honest! In any case, this was really tasty!
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.
I didn't have a lot of energy to do much today. I have had more than a few nights of terrible sleep. I think it is being caused by my change in blood pressure medication.
Hopefully it will sort itself out soon because I am really dragging my carcass today!
Dinner is something simple today I am afraid. Packaged potato gratin (like the Idaho scalloped potato mixes in North America), and chicken.
I will pop some frozen veg on and that will be it. Some days are just like that.
I have been wanting to bake this Cream Biscuit recipe however and I had it on my list to do it this weekend.
Its a good thing they are really easy and together in a flash! You can't beat a good biscuit recipe. I am always on the hunt for new ones to try.
I adapted the recipe from one I found in this old cookery book of mine, The Best of Pantry, by the Editors of Harrowsmith Country.
They were meant to be used as a topping for a curried vegetable casserole, but I thought they would also work very well on their own.
I used to love watching Harrowsmith Country on the television in the 1990's and I loved the magazine. There was a part of me that always longed to live a country life, with chickens and a nice vegetable garden . . . .
A hobby farm really . . . with maybe a cow for milk . . . or a goat . . . a kind of Little House on the Prairie kind of a life, but with some modern conveniences thrown in for good measure, like washing machines and vacuum cleaners.
I think I could probably live quite happily with just a radio to listen to . . . and I tend to romanticise doing things by candlelight and the light of a wood fire. Don't we all!
I remember when I was about 16 I wanted to live on a Commune. There was a couple I knew who lived in an old farm house up on the mountain which had very few modern amenities. Hippy dippies as my dad would say. I envied them their carefree life in a lot of ways.
I think I would have been quite happy living in an environment like that . . . growing my own veg, baking my own bread, gathering eggs, milking cows, etc.
Not so much now that I am older and not as agile as I was back then. Every now and then though I do like to channel my inner hippie and bake my own bread (not so good at that) and grow my own beans, that kind of stuff. Nothing too seriously . . . .
I do long for the comforts of a wood fire . . . sitting in my chair in the evening and crocheting as I watch the flames flicker, but alas that is not my life. I make do with a fake fire and am grateful for that.
I was really pleased with how these biscuits turned out . . . nice and light with a beautiful fluffy texture . . .
I could not resist enjoying one fresh from the oven spread with cold butter and a smattering of creamed honey . . .
I don't eat honey very often as I have Diabetes and its not so good . . . but I put 1/2 tsp on each half biscuit and I was in biscuit and honey heaven!
Doesn't that look tasty? I think it does!
Oh, if only I had had a few slivers of country ham to enjoy with it . . . ham, biscuits and honey. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.
A person is entitled to their dreams!
Yield: makes about a dozen
Cream Biscuits
These North American style biscuits (not cookies) are light and delicate. They only take minutes to prepare as well, which makes them a real favourite!
ingredients:
- 2 cups (280g) plain flour
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1 TBS sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (80g) lightly salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
instructions:
How to cook Cream Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk in the salt and sugar. Drop in the butter and cut it in using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the eggs together with the cream, using a fork to combine. Make a hollow in the dry ingredients and add the wet, combing together lightly with a fork. Tip out onto floured board and lightly knead a couple times to bring together. Pat out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out using a floured 2 inch round cutter. Place onto the baking sheet, leaving some space in between each.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the biscuits are well risen and golden brown. Serve warm.
Sigh . . . I hope I sleep better tonight! I have a brisket to cook for Sunday dinner and I don't want to be doing that when I am exhausted!
Up Tomorrow: Chicken & Pasta Parm Skillet (for 2)
I really start to struggle with finding good light for taking my food photos this time of year, when the days are getting shorter and the sun is finding its way differently in the sky.
It always takes me a few weeks to adjust to it all. I find myself having to cook my food much earlier in the day. These days of adjustment are not my favorite days! Oh well!
I hope you won't let poor photography dissuade you from baking what is a really lovely cake. I adapted the recipe from one I found on a site called Once Upon a Chef.
It looked really nice and I had picked up a couple of punnets of purple plums at the shops as they were on offer.
I adore plums, they are one of my favourite fruits. I was quite disappointed in the plums we bought the other day. They were mealy.
I hate mealy fruit. It is so disappointing. The only way to really use them was to cook them, hence the cake.
I'll be honest here and say I think its really bad that you should buy punnets of mealy fruit at this time of year when fruit is so fresh and readily available!
Bad. Bad. Bad. Shouldn't happen! I don't understand why it is so difficult for our shops to get in perfectly grown and ripened fruit? How do they do that!
Mind you, checking the label, upon closer inspection I see that they came from Spain. Why are we importing plums from Spain??
Especially at a time of the year where fresh plums are ripe and ready for the picking and eating here in the UK? So disappointing! Again, it shouldn't happen!
I shake my head when I think of it all. It is such a disappointment. We are a country that grows beautiful stone fruits, especially down south.
Cherries, plums, apricots. Admittedly we don't get the sunshine for good peaches, but our plums in the UK are gorgeous.
When we lived down South in Kent on the Manor Estate where I worked there was an abundance of beautiful deep purple plums. The trees in their orchard drooped under their weight.
It was a rush to get them picked before the wasps took over. Wasps really love ripening plums. I can't say that I blame them!
Anyways, this is a really lovely cake. I am afraid I over-cooked mine a
tiny bit. The skewer kept coming out looking like it wasn't cooked in
the centre.
I kept popping it back in for a few more minutes. So my edges got a bit crispy, but not in an unpalatable way at all!
It was actually quite nice . . . the crisp finish on the edges.
As my husband was eating it he kept mumbling all the while, this is a really good cake . . . love this cake . . . more cake please . . .
He could not get enough of it. Served warm with lashings of cold cream.
He is a very lucky man. He can eat cake until it comes out his ears . . . and pour cream all over it when he does.
And he never has to worry about any of it sticking to his thighs, like I do.
Or anywhere else on his both. I swear to God the calories in anything just slide off him. Not like me.
I only have to sniff things like this and I gain ten pounds. Seriously.
He can eat and eat and eat and none of it sticks to his bottom, or his neck, cheeks, arms, etc. . . . I really don't think its fair, but it is what it is!
I am sure there must be a simple reason for this, but I am damned if I can figure it out. If I could I would be a millionaire!
This is a beautiful cake . . . filled with the lovely flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and that almost jammy fruit, which is tart and sweet at the same time.
For brunch or for dessert, this is one cake you won't want to miss out
on . . . and the perfect way to use up less than perfect plums!
If you are a fan of cooking with plums you might enjoy these other recipes I have shared through the years:
PLUM & HAZELNUT CRUMBLE SLICE - This slice has a nutty buttery base almost like a pastry, and then a layer of hazelnut cake, stogged full of lovely plums. The whole thing is topped with a crunchy nutty streusel. Moreishly scrummy!!
PLUM FUDGE PUDDINGS - Delicious single serving puddings made with simple ingredients. Fresh bread crumbs, thinly sliced fresh plums, butter, cream, honey and a bit of brown sugar and spice. After making a very simple fudge sauce of butter, cream and honey . . . you simply layer everything up in little ramekins . . . and then bake.
Yield: 8
Spiced Plum Cake
A beautiful cake that is perfect served for brunch with hot cups of coffee or as a dessert with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
ingredients:
- 210g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp each ground nutmeg and ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 115g butter softened, plus more to butter the pan (1/2 cup)
- 190g white sugar, plus 2 TBS, divided (1 cup + 2TBS, divided)
- 1 large free range egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 120ml whole milk (1/2 cup)
- 1 pound fresh plums, pitted and quartered
instructions:
How to cook Spiced Plum Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch spring form pan really well and dust with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Stir in the salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and 190g/1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla, adding a spoonful of the flour mixture if it starts to curdle. Add the milk alternately with the flour mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, levelling it off. Scatter the plums over top decoratively. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 TBS of sugar.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
- Run a knife carefully around the edge of the cake to loosen, and then loosen the sides of the pan. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Cut into slices to serve. You can dust this with icing sugar if you want to pretty it up a bit!
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: theenglishkitchen@mail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons