Sheet Pan Roast Chicken Dinner. Sheet pan recipes are very popular these days, especially recipes for sheet pan chicken. If you are a person who is cooking only for one or two people, dinner cannot get much easier than this.
Everything roasts on one pan. Your whole dinner. This makes for ease in cooking and an easy clean-up when you are done. Sometimes you just feel lazy. I get it. I feel lazy sometimes too. You cannot beat this kind of meal for times like that!
You may not think it is possible for you to cook your meat, vegetable and potatoes all in the same amoun of time using a sheet pan, but it is ABSOLUTELY possible.
With this recipe the chicken gets a head start in the oven first and then you add the potatoes and vegetables afterwards. Everything finishes at the same time. Easy peasy.
You can of course use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this and put them into the oven at the same time as the potatoes, etc. They cook a lot faster than bone in/skin on chicken.
I actually prefer (for roasting) bone in/skin on chicken breast meat. The bone helps keep the breasts moist and tender because it helps distribute heat evenly through the meat. The skin also seals in moisture and juiciness.
This is especially important when you are "roasting." Chicken breast meat drys out quite easily, which is why I prefer it bone in skin on when prepared in this way.
We eat a lot of broccoli in this house. Not only is it considered a "super-food" but it is delicious and lends itself perfectly to roasting in this manner. It also goes exceedingly well with chicken.
Did you know that Broccoli is just as rich in Vitamin C as Orange juice? Plus it is an excellent source of fibre and other important vitamins, including iron which is so important for our diets, as well as potassium.
You can use either regular potatoes or sweet potatoes for this dinner. If I am using regular potatoes I try to use a russet or a King Edward/Maris Piper (in the UK). These are potatoes that are well suited to being roasted.
They have a lovely white flesh with a mealy texture and will not fall apart as easily as some other potatoes. You can keep the skin on if you wish. I normally do because, again . . . fibre. We all need to have as much fibre in our diets as we can get.
If you scrub them really well this isn't a problem. I actually love the skin on potatoes. Its one of my favourite parts of the potato and I know I am not alone in this way of thinking.
Because bone in chicken takes slightly longer to cook than boneless chicken, I start the chicken off in the oven first. I create a tasty mix of flavourings that will flavour everything.
Onion powder, garlic powder and paprika are mixed with a bit of seasalt and freshly ground pepper. The chicken gets drizzled with a bit of oil and then some of the seasonings get sprinkled over top before you bang it into the oven.
The potato and broccoli go into the oven after the chicken has baked for a while. I like to cut the potatoes into chunks that are roughly 1-inch square, and I break the broccoli into large florets.
These sizes ensure that both will cook evenly and in about the same amount of time. You could also use other vegetables if you wanted to. Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, diced carrot or butternut squash, turnips, beetroot, all work well.
Just bear in mind if you are using harder root vegetables, such as turnips or beetroot, they may take longer to cook. Celeriac, or celery root is also very good as is Kohlrabi.
If you want you can make a mix of vegetables. Bear in mind that beetroot will bleed its colour into other things.
You will also drizzle them with oil and some of the seasonings as well. Interestingly enough, although you might think that broccoli or cauliflower would cook faster than potatoes . . . they don't!
In fact you will find that in roasting them like this, you get a crispy tender finish. If that is not something you really like, then I would blanch them first.
You also sprinkle a quantity of finely grated parmesan Cheese over everything. I really love the flavour this gives to the chicken and the vegetables. Its really quite nice.
Then again, I love cheese. I probably eat too much of it, but here it works really well.
The end result is a delicious Chicken dinner with perfectly cooked, tender and moist chicken with a crisp and flavour-filled skin and perfectly cooked vegetables on the side. The potatoes have golden brown caramelised edges and the broccoli is wonderfully crispy tender.
The mix of spices and herbs that you sprinkle over top really compliment everything, so each article although cooked the same and in the same time, come out tasting individually really nice.
I blame the cheese. 😋😋😋
Sheet Pan Roast Chicken Dinner
Yield: 2
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 35 Mintotal time: 45 Min
This delicious sheet pan dinner for two is not only incredibly tasty, but quick and easy to make also. You can easily double or triple it to feed more if you wish.
Ingredients
- 2 bone in, skin on chicken breasts (I use free range, organic corn fed)
- 1/2 head of cauliflower or a medium broccoli crown
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2/3 cup (60g) grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with baking spray. Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, and paprika.
- Place the two pieces of chicken in the middle of the pan. Drizzle with 1/2 TBS of the oil, and 1/3 of the spice mixture.
- Place into the preheated oven and roast for 10 minutes.
- While the chicken is roasting, cut the potatoes and vegetables into small chunks. Put ito a bowl and toss together with the remaining oil and spice mixture.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and spread scatter the vegetables around the chicken on the baking sheet. Scatter the parmesan cheese over all.
- Return to the oven and roast for a further 20 to 25 minutes until the potatoes and vegetables are tender and the chicken juices run clear.
notes:
Variations - You can use sweet potatoes cut into chunks instead of the red potatoes, or a mix of both. Use Cauliflower, baby carrots, sliced butternut squash or pumpkin for the vegetables. Or even a mixture. All are very good. (Today I used half a Romanesco Cauliflower)
You could of course make some gravy to spoon over top of this if you really wanted to. I like it just as it is. I do like a salad on the side also, but then again, I am a person who love, LOVES salad!
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!
Sometime over the Christmas period I purchased a litre of eggnog at the grocery store. I had in mind that I was going to make am Eggnog Cake for us to enjoy. It never got done.
I kept thinking about making it, but other things kept getting in the way. Every time I opened the refrigerator I would spy it sitting there and think to myself I must make that cake. Finally I just grabbed the bull by the horns and made it.
Eggnog was not an ingredient which we had readily available in the UK. You could get it at some American supply companies, but always at a premium price I was not really willing to pay.
I did make it from scratch several times and it was very good. I used to look at recipes for eggnog cake online and think I wanted to make and would love to make one. My dream finally came true.
I do apologize in advance for the poor quality of these photos. I had to take them at night in the kitchen light. I still think they turned out fairly well irrespective of that fact.
My photos have never really been the best anyways. I know you will forgive me if these are less than perfect! Don't let that dissuade you from trying this lovely cake however. You will be missing out on a real gem!
Its a lovely dense cake, very similar to a pound cake. In fact I took my regular pound cake recipe and substituted eggnog for the cream in the cake. They are about the same consistency.
The eggnog of course has a flavor that isn't there in the cream. So if you are in the UK, you can use cream instead of eggnog and just increase the spices in the cake batter. You will still have a very good cake.
Use double or heavy cream. It will work beautifully. But, of course, if you have eggnog, do use that.
Have you ever wondered why it is that you have to beat your eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy when you are making a cake? Its very simple really.
This act of creaming/beating the butter and sugar together actually helps to melt the sugar into the butter. It helps it to dissolve. Have you ever noticed a cake come out of the oven looking somewhat "freckly" on the surface?
This happens when the sugar hasn't melted enough into the butter. If you don't really beat them together and give the sugar a chance to dissolve, you end up with granular sugar which leaves darkish freckles/speckles on the surface of the cake.
Have you ever wondered why it is that you need to beat eggs into a cake one at a time? There is a very good reason for this action.
This is to help prevent the butter/sugar mixture from curdling. Adding them slowly and one at a time prevents this from happening. You don't want your cake batter to curdle. A curdled batter produces a cake with an uneven texture.
This is because the fat hasn't been evenly dispersed throughout the batter. When cake batter is properly emulsified, it traps air into the batter, producing a cake with a lighter, more evenly baked finish.
If your batter starts to curdle when you are beating in the eggs, this can be rectified by beating in a tablespoonful of the flour required for the cake, just until the batter emulsifies again. Generally speaking this will correct it.
For better cakes it is also better if you can have everything at room temperature. I know we are often in a hurry and don't want to wait for this to happen, but if you know you are going to be baking a cake today, it is quite easy to take the refrigerated ingredients out of the fridge and leave them on the counter for about an hour before you start.
These simple steps taken always result in a cake with a better texture and finish.
I have seen quite a few eggnog cake recipes out there that require the use of a cake mix. I am sure they are very good. I didn't want to use a cake mix. I really wanted to make a from scratch cake.
Over in the UK, especially when I first moved over there, cake mixes were not readily available. Even when they became more available they were not really available in many different flavors.
I know that cake mixes are really very convenient to use, and doctored up cake mix cakes can be very nice. Chocolate pound cake for instance, which uses a cake mix and a packet of chocolate pudding mix, is dense and delicious.
Generally speaking however, I prefer to make my cakes from scratch. That way I know how fresh my baking powder is and, well, I just like the finished product better. To me they just taste, feel and look better.
I don't think my grandmother ever used a cake mix in her life. If it was good enough for Grandma, its good enough for me. In any case I hope you will give this cake a go, even if it is well past Christmas, and if you want to wait until next Christmas then I hope you will try it then.
I think you will be very happy with the end results. My sister, who doesn't generally tend to eat a lot when it comes to sweet things, has really enjoyed this cake. That makes me very happy. And like I said, if you don't have any eggnog, you can use cream in its place or even undiluted evaporated milk. Just amp up the cinnamon and eggnog.
Eggnog Bundt Cake
Yield: 8-10
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 45 Mininactive time: 10 Mintotal time: 1 H & 4 M
This wonderfully flavoured cake is dense like a pound cake and incredibly moist. i thought it was quite delicious and a great way to use up some eggnog we had in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter at room temperature
- 1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
- 1/4 sp salt
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
- 4 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (240ml) full fat eggnog
For the glaze:
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- milk to thin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a medium sized bundt pan and dust with flour, shaking out any excess flour.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Add to the creamed mixture in thirds, alternating with the eggnog. Mix together until well combined and the pour into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top spings back when lightly touched.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then tip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk together all of the ingredients only adding enough milk to give you an icing thin/thick enough to drizzle decoratively over the cake. Allow to set.
- Cut into wedges to serve.
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!
Fish for Friday here with the Ultimate Fish Finger Sandwich. Fish fingers are something we all probably keep in our freezer. They can get really boring however, and we may often find ourselves wishing that we had a fish finger recipe to help to save us from that boredom!
If you like fish you are going to love this delicious, spicy Fish Finger Sandwich. It blows the fish sandwich from most of those fast food places totally out of the water.
In fact I might even so go far as to say that once you taste one of these delicious sandwiches, you will never settle for one of those fish sandwich again!
I am sharing my latest small batch recipe with you today for a delicious Chicken Con Queso bake. Translated into English, Con Queso means with cheese, so you can assume that this dish is a chicken dish with cheese.
But it is really so much more than that! This Chicken Con Queso bake is loaded with spicy chicken, rice and a rich and spicy cheesy sauce. And, best of all, it is perfectly sized for two people, or one with leftovers!
I was not lucky to have grown up with accessibility to Mexican Food or flavors. My parents had very simple tastes and it just wasn't something we had in our home. I have no idea if it was widely available outside of our home either.
It just wasn't something I had even heard of until I was an adult and raising children of my own. I believe I first experimented with Tex Mex flavors back in the early 1980's when I tried a recipe from one of those sunset cookbook/magazines for Chicken Enchiladas.
And I have to say that it was really very simple. The recipe used very simple ingredients which were very easy for me to find at that time. A tin of tomatoes, cooked chicken and a tin of green chilies.
I adapted it to use leftover turkey from our Christmas turkey and my family fell in love with them. Totally and completely in love. From then on I had a family which would have been terribly disappointed had I not made them Turkey Enchiladas after Christmas!
Our thirst for Mexican food and flavors was kindled and I gradually started to expand my repertoire to include tacos and the like. We discovered a Mexican restaurant in London, Ontario where I lived at the time and our Tex Mex Palate expanded.
I started to make fajitas and chimichangas and nachos. I am not sure how authentic the food was, but it was surely enjoyed by us all at the time.
I still really enjoy Tex Mex flavors, and love to use them in my cooking. I have never been to Mexico, or to Texas for that matter. One of them might laugh me right out of town for this.
I only know for sure that this tastes good and is Tex Mex to me. That is enough. Its delicious and spicy, but not overly so. I am not really a fan of food that bites back.
I like a bit of spice, but I really want to "taste" what I am eating. I am not in favor of my tastebuds being burnt or overpowered by really "hot" stuff.
I want to be able to taste the chicken and the cheese, the chilies, the rice, the salsa. I think all of those flavors should complement each other and no one should overpower the other.
You can certainly amp up the heat in this if you want by adding extra chilies. Or by adding some hot sauce or using extra hot salsa. That is not me.
I think this is pretty perfect just as it is. The recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You need to cut the in half lengthwise. This helps to tenderize them.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are like a blank canvas, just waiting for you to write flavor on them. Their mild flavor goes with just about everything. They are perfect for recipes like this one.
If you can afford it, I would always go for free range and organic chicken, but I totally understand when people can't afford to do so. Food is very expensive these days and we all need to trim our wicks accordingly.
I used a Mexican cheese dip for this and a good jarred salsa. I chose the "mild" version of each and it was perfect for me. I also used a small quantity of red pepper.
I like to buy my peppers when they are on offer. Then I chop them all up and freeze them in double zip lock baggies or airtight freezer containers. You can also do that when you get your hands on a lot of onions. They are very convenient to have ready to scoop out and use in things like this.
Convenience without having to pay the access price you would pay at the shops to buy frozen already chopped peppers and onions. A tiny bit of effort and you're set to go! You can even do this in the late summer when the local farm shops are filled with fresh peppers and onions.
It can be a real money saver long term. And for recipes where the peppers are only going to be cooked such as this one, they are perfectly acceptable.
I also cook extra rice when I am cooking rice and freeze it in 1 cup measures in freezer containers. Also very handy to have in the freezer when you are making something quick and easy like this. I am all for convenience and making things easier whenever I can.
Altogether this is a really delicious and satisfying one dish casserole. It would go beautifully with some crusty bread on the side for your heartier appetites, or a simple salad on the side.
I like to garnish mine with a dollop of sour cream. Tex Mex and sour cream. A match made in heaven for me. If you are interested in a larger version of this tasty recipe, you can find that version here.
Chicken Con Queso (small batch)
Yield: 2
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 35 Mininactive time: 10 Mintotal time: 55 Min
Quite simply delicious. Tender pieces of chicken and rice with a fabulously spiced cheesy sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
- 1/2 package of taco seasoning mix
- 3 1/2 ounces (1/4 of a 300g jar) Mexican cheese dip (scant half cup)
- 3 1/2 ounces (1/4 jof a 300g) jar tomato salsa dip (scant half cup)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) half and half or single cream
- 1/2 green jalapeno pepper, trimmed, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 red bell pepper, trimmed, seeded and chopped
- 1 1/4 cups (200g) cooked rice
- 1/2 cup (60g) of four cheese blend
- chopped tomatoes and fresh coriander to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Spray a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Prepare your chicken. Cut as required and then sprinkle the poultry with the taco seasoning mix, patting it into the meat on both sides.
- Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the poultry and brown it on both sides until golden. It will not be cooked through. Set aside.
- Mix the cream, cheese dip and salsa dip together in a bowl. Stir in the jalapeno and red pepper. Remove one fourth of the mixture and reserve.
- Stir the cooked rice into the remainder. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Lay the browned chicken cutlets on top. Pour the reserved cream/cheese/salsa mixture over all. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
- Cover the casserole dish tightly with a sheet of buttered/sprayed foil, sprayed side down.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and discard. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce bubbles. Cool for 10 minutes then garnish as desired and serve.
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! 
One of my absolute favorites of all the soups has to be Tomato Soup. It is the ultimate in comfort food to me, and probably one of the very few tinned soups I will eat and enjoy. Although in all honesty, even in the world of tomato soup homemade is infinitely better!
Tomato & Rice Soup is my favorite of all the Tomato Soups. There used to be a restaurant where you could get really great Tomato & Rice Soup here in Canada. I can't remember which one it was, but they had bits of spinach in the soup. It was lovely.
Growing up, the thought never occurred to me that anyone would make tomato soup from scratch. Mom never did, and she was the Queen of the homemade soups! Her homemade soup was legendary.
I guess I just always thought that if mom never made homemade tomato soup, then it must have been too hard, or it must have required highly unusual ingredients that nobody could get, etc.
It was when I was married to my first husband that I realized that people could make their own tomato soup at home. Completely from scratch. Without opening a tin from Campbells or Heinz.
And that it wasn't all that difficult to make. Not difficult to make at all. My sister in law was making homemade soup for my brother in law and my curiosity was piqued. I had to taste it. It was very good. VERY good.
That simple experience started me on the journey of making my own from scratch Tomato Soup and I have never looked back. Making your own from scratch is simple, using nothing at all out of the ordinary. In fact, I am sure you have everything in your house right now to make a delicious pot.
And it really isn't much further of a stretch to make Tomato & Rice Soup. I quite adore it. If you are like me, and you keep cans of good tinned tomatoes in your store cupboard, with a few other bits, you are never far away from a tasty bowl of tomato soup.
When I was in the UK, I always used Cirio brand Italian tomatoes. They were the best in my opinion. I haven't sorted out who the best would be here in Nova Scotia yet. It will take a bit of trial and error.
It just stands to reason however that if you are making a homemade tomato soup, with tomatoes as the main ingredient, you want a good brand of tomatoes. And you want tomatoes packed in tomato juice. These will give you the best flavor for your soup.
A bit of carrot, some onion, celery, garlic . . . nothing outrageously out of the ordinary. Things most people keep in their refrigerators most of the time! The Basics.
Tomato & Rice Soup is also a great way to use up leftover cooked rice. I prefer brown rice myself as it has more fiber and a higher nutritional value. As an older person, this might be my main meal of the day and I like to pack as much fiber and nutrition into it as I can.
Likewise I use a bit of whole-wheat flour to thicken it, but you can of course use just all purpose flour if that is all you have. Fiber and nutrition wherever I can sneak it in.
You do also need a bit of chicken stock. If you want to make it vegetarian, by all means use vegetable stock. You can use powdered or cubes, or if you are really lucky and happen to have some, fresh chicken or vegetable broth. It comes in tetra packs here in Canada. Very impressed with that!
I use a few dried herbs. Oregano and basil for that real Italian flavor. You could also use some basil pesto if you really wanted to pack an Italian punch into this soup. Personally I just like the herbs.
I do like to add a splash of hot sauce. Tabasco preferably. Its just what I have always used. How much you add depends on how much heat you want to add. I err on the side of caution because I don't like things overly spicy/hot.
If you have fresh basil, you can add some of that by all means. I often add a handful of fresh spinach (stems removed) just prior to serving this. That way it keeps its dark green color. You could add the basil at the same time.
You don't want to be adding much however. Remember there is already dried basil in the soup and basil is one of those things that can very easily be overdone.
One thing I really love about this soup is its texture. I love that it is not pureed, and that the vegetables are all kept whole, especially the chunks of tomato.
It makes for a heartier feeling finish. It also looks really nice I think, to see all the flecks and chunks. Most attractive.
I do like to add a bit of cream at the end for added richness. Normally I use undiluted evaporated milk. Its much lower in fat and cost for that matter. You can buy it in small cans for smaller families also. But if you aren't worried about fat or calories, just use the cream!
I am at the point now in my life where I almost don't want to worry about the fat and calories of cream. I have nobody to impress and its not like I have it very often. So why not enjoy what you can in life while you are still here to enjoy it.
In any case I hope you will make this and enjoy it as much as I do. I like it with crisp saltine crackers (Italian crackers in the UK) but a crusty roll is just as nice along side of this fabulously tasty soup!
Tomato & Rice Soup (small batch)
Yield: 2-3
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min
Wholesome, delicious and perfectly sized for the small family.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 stalks celery, plus leaves, chopped
- 1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 TBS butter
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup (130g )cooked brown rice
- 1 (14 oz/400g) tins whole plum tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained
- 1/2 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp each oregano and basil flakes
- 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
- 1/2 cup (120ml)light cream
- (I use low fat evaporated milk)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- a splash hot sauce if desired
Instructions
- Heat the butter and the oil in a large saucepan until the butter begins to foam. Add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally over medium low heat until the onion is golden. Stir in the flour and rice, breaking up the rice. Continue to sauté until the rice begins to brown a bit. Add the tinned tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, the chicken stock, brown sugar, oregano and basil and a splash of hot sauce if using. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very slow simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with some salt and black pepper. Stir in the cream and heat through without boiling. Serve immediately.
If you are more interested in cooking a larger recipe of this soup (feeding 4 to 6) you can simply double all of the ingredients, or you can find my full sized recipe here.
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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