One pan Chicken with tomatoes

 

Serves: 2 - 4

8 small boned Chicken Thighs

1 red onion sliced

400g can Chopped Tomatoes

0.5 teaspoon Herbs

400 g can Mixed Beans, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar

Fry chicken thighs until golden in some butter for about five minutes each side.  

Add onion and fry for about 5 mins.

Add rest of ingredients.  Cover and simmer gently for for 10 -15 minutes.

Tips:

- needs large wok type pan with lid

Tweaks:

- can use any canned bean even baked beans 

- can use any complimentary herb as a final garnish such as parsley, basil, oregano

Incredibly Easy Pie Topping, using Variety Baking Mix

 

Serves:  4

Oven: 180C fan

1 cup Variety Baking Mix

0.5 cup Milk

1 Egg

Beat together and pour on top of pie filling.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Not the best example pie.  This just had leftover chicken breast in leftover gravy with some cream cheese stirred in.  Made an OK midweek meal with the topping.

Tips:

- use a wider pie dish for a thinner topping than in above photo

Tweaks:

- can add a tablespoon of sugar and use as a sweet topping for some fruit.

Pancakes using Variety Mix

 

Serves:  makes 12 small pancakes

1.25 cups Mix

1 Egg

0.75 cup Milk

1 tablespoon Sugar

Make batter with ingredients and make pancakes.

Variety Baking Mix (fake Bisquick)

 Picture to follow

10 cups Flour

1 cup Dried Milk

half cup Baking Powder

1 tbspn Salt

2.5 tspn Cream of tartar

2 cups Shortening

Mix all dry ingredients and cut fat into the flour.

This will make any Bisquick recipe you find online.  I will be adding the recipes for 

Pancakes

10" pizza base

Muffins

Fruit Bread

Impossibly easy Pie Topping

Scones

Tips:  

- it will keep indefinitely in the fridge and one or two months if kept in cupboard

- needs a large box

- for just two of us I make half this amount to reduce storage and will still be enough to be useful for a few weeks

- make in two batches

- Cut fat in with pastry blender or food processor

Tweaks: 

- I use half lard and half butter instead of shortening, maybe the butter would shorten the keeping time, so keep an eye on the use by date on the butter.

Bacon and Gnocchi Bake

Serves 2

Oven: 180C fan

50g grated Cheddar

50 g fresh Breadcrumbs

1 tspn mixed herbs

250 g Gnocchil

400g tin Tomatoes

4 rashers streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

1 tspn Paprika

1 tbspn garlic infused oil

1 tspn Sugar

big handful of baby spinach

salt to taste

small pot of yogurt

half ball of mozarella, sliced

Mix cheese, breadcrumbs herbs together for topping, put to one side.

In a large frying pan fry bacon in oil until going crisp.  Add gnocchi for about 30 seconds.  Add all other ingredients except mozarella and topping, stir well.  

Put in casserole, top with mozarella and breadcrumb/cheese/herb topping.

Bake 15 - 20 mins for crispy top.

Tips: 

 - use wide casserole to get the most out of the topping

Tweaks:  

- use English or Italian mixed herbs

- use smoked paprika if liked

- use smoked bacon if liked

- can fry in oil or butter or a half and half mix and add garlic or garlic salt if you don't have garlic infused oil

- can omit yogurt if you don't want it creamy

- I use mozarella pearls rather than slice a ball of mozarella

Original:

- came from Becky Excel website or book?

Tuna Pasta Bake

 

doesn't look very appetising, but it is very good

Serves 6

Oven 180C/160C fan/4

600 g Rigatoni

50 g Butter

50 g Flour

600 ml Milk

250 g strong cheese, grated

2 x 160 g tins Tuna, drained

330 g Sweetcorn, drained

handful of chopped parsley

Cook pasta two minutes under finish time and drain.

Meanwhile make sauce with roux and milk and add cheese, keeping some back for the top.

Break tuna into good size pieces and mix with pasta, parsley, sauce and sweetcorn

Put in baking dish, top with grated cheese

Bake 20 - 30 minutes

Tweaks

• This recipe assumes you will make a roux with the flour and butter.  I don't use those.  Just mix generous tablespoon cornflour in some of the milk, bring milk to near boiling and stir in cornflour thickener and keep stirring, then stir blob of butter and the cheese.  I also season with black pepper.
• I would use one tin of tuna for two people so for six would need three tins.
• Regard this recipe as a starting point and pretty much add in anything you like such as softened onions.  I also use peas or broccoli instead of sweetcorn.  On this one I forgot any of them.  Oops
• You can use any pasta shape
• We like crunchy top so I am generous with cheese and sometimes add breadcrumbs with it.

Chicken and egg fried rice

 

Serves 2

1 tbspn Sesame oil

150 - 250 shredded cooked chicken

250 g pre cooked brown rice

50 g frozen peas

50 g frozen sweetcorn

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Garnish:  1 egg omelette, shredded, 1 tbspn sesame oil, 1 tbspn soy sauce, sliced spring onion

Stir fry all the vegetables in the sesame oil.  

Add chicken to reheat and then add rice, allow crispy bits to form.

add soy and sesame and serve and top with omelette and onion.

Tips:  prepare everything ready for the wok, cook egg in the wok first, then slice ready to add.

Use Uncle Bens or Tilda precooked rice to make everything much quicker.

Tweaks:   the tweaks are accidental.  I always forget to add sesame, soy and egg and onion after serving so the egg and onion are mixed in, the dish is served and sesame and soy go to table for people to add their own if wanted.

Origin:  I think this is a Becky Excell gluten free recipe

Chicken and bacon casserole, one pot

 

Serves 4

Butter to brown chicken

1.5 kg chicken pieces

70 g streaky bacon, chopped

2 carrots sliced

2 onions, chopped

1 tbspn tomato puree

40 ml white wine or cider vinegar

500 ml chicken stock

2 tblsn double cream

300 g halved small new potatoes

150 g mushrooms, quartered if large

1 tspn dried mixed herbs

Brown Chicken in batches and put in casserole

Cover with potatoes

Sizzle bacon until going crisp, add carrots and onions, cook for five minutes

Add tomato puree and cook for one minute

Add wine and herbs and stir well, bring to a simmer

stir in cream  and seasoning

Pour contents of the pan into the casserole.  Stir everything to mix well. Try to submerge the potatoes.

Put on lid

Cook for 40 mins 200C/180C fan/6

Add mushrooms, cover and cook for further 10 minutes.

Faggots

 

1/2 lb pigs liver, minced

1/2 lb streaky bacon, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 lb fresh breadcrumbs

small handful fresh sage leaves, or 1/2 tspn dried

1/2 tspn dried mixed herbs

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 lb oatmeal

milk if needed

(beef stock optional)

Mix all ingredients together well.  Mixture should be fairly moist but able to be shaped.  Add some milk if too dry.  Shape into eight squares or twelve smaller ones and pack into a baking tin.  Bake at 180C for approx one hour.  I add a little beef stock to the pan to keep them moist and to make a gravy.

Tips:  

If you don't have a mincer the bacon and liver can be finely chopped

Tweaks:

I don't use all the oatmeal I just add a small handful so it isn't even detectable when cooked.

I also use lamb's liver for a milder flavour but the pig's liver is more authentic.

Origins:

Old family recipe, don't know its source.

Malt Loaf - fake Soreen

 

1 tsp Yeast

500g Strong Plain Flour

2 tsp Black Treacle

3 tbsp Malt Extract

320 ml Water

150 g Mixed Fruit

This was a slightly tweaked version of the Malted Fruit Loaf recipe in the Panasonic Recipe book which came with the machine.  It was baked on baking option 1.

I suspect I will be coming back to this to tweak some more.....

If not using a machine this is a nice recipe:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/malt_loaf_95881

Yorkshire Puddings - never fail

 

100 grams Cornflour

3 large or medium eggs

150 ml Milk

pinch salt

oil/lard/fat of choice for the tins

1. heat oven to 220c/200C fan

2. using twelve hole muffin or cupcake tin or four hole Yorkshire tin put a little fat in each space.  I use lard but you can use oil or dripping or goosefat - whatever you prefer.  put tin in oven for about ten minutes.  the fat needs to be very hot.

3.  beat eggs and cornflour and then beat in milk.  You can do this by hand or with electric whisk

4.  CRUCIAL STAGE:  you need to get the batter in the hot fat as quickly as you can.  Remove tin from the oven and divide batter between the spaces and get it back in the oven as fast as you can.  Cook for 15 - 20 mins keeping an eye on them.  Do NOT open oven door until they are ready.

Tips:  Can be cooled and frozen.  Reheat from frozen for about three to five minutes when needed.  Time depends on temperature of the oven.

(Gluten free)

Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

 

Serves two

2 small chicken breasts, sliced or cubed

2 tbsp tinned black beans, drained and rinsed and crushed

3 tbsp garlic infused oil

1 onion, chopped in large pieces

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

250 ml chicken stock

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp white rice vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water

Mix half the oil and mashed beans.  

Put remaining oil in wok, stir fry onion until softening a little

Add chicken and fry until turning golden.

Add peppers for two to three minutes.

Add bean mix, stir to coat chicken, peppers and onion.

Add stock, soy, vinegar, maple syrup, simmer for three minutes

Stir in cornflour in water and mix in quickly to thicken

Serve with boiled or egg fried rice.

Tips:

• If you prep all the ingredients first it makes it very simple to cook and takes about fifteen minutes.
• Before I start (if we are having it with plain rice) I measure 2/3 cups of rice into a small casserole with good fitting lid, add 4/3 water and put in the oven at 180C fan.  Cook for 20 - 30 mins depending on the rice chosen.  If it is ready before you finish the wok food,  just turn off the oven and open the door a little.  The rice will keep warm just fine
• Freeze left over beans divided between two small freezer bags for future use

Tweaks:

• Lots of ingredients can be switched for similar things if you don't have what's in the recipe.  For example brown sugar or honey etc for the maple syrup, almost any vinegar for the white rice vinegar. Garlic infused oil can be swapped for oil and a chopped garlic clove or teaspoon of chopped from a jar.
• If you want to make this gluten free, check your soy sauce is gluten free.

Originals:  

I got a beef version of this recipe without onion from 'How to make anything gluten free' book by Becky Excell

(Gluten free)