Bacon and Sage wrapped Chicken

Last week I was impressed with the menu on the Gousto website so decided to order a box. One of the great things about the Gousto service is that you can choose your meals, order a one off box as and when you want it without being signed up for a subscription. 

My favourite recipe from the box this week has to be the Bacon and Sage wrapped chicken with chestnut mushrooms and herby mash, and it was really really easy to make.

1 large chicken breast, 40g clotted cream, 10g fresh sage, 150g dry-cured streaky bacon, 250g chestnut mushrooms, 1 garlic clove & 400g potatoes

 To start, boil a kettle and turn your grill on to high. Chop up the sage finely except for 4-6 sage leaves which you are going to wrap with your chicken, and tear (yes tear) your mushrooms into bitsize chunks.. Peel and chop the potatoes into managable chunks before popping in a saucepan and covering with boiling water, simmer for 10-20 minutes until tneder enough to mash.

Cover a baking tray with tin foil and lay out your mushrooms, seasoning well with salt and pepper then drizzle with oil.

Next cut your chicken breast in half so that you have 2 thinner pieces (as pictured) this means the chicken will cook quickly and evenly under the grill. Lay a couple of sage leaves on each piece of chicken before wrapping with the bacon.

Place the bacon wrapped breasts on top of your mushrooms and place under the grill for 10-15 minutes until crispy and cooked through. Meanwhile drain your potatoes, add the chopped sage and a genourouse nob of butter to the saucepan and put back on the heat for a minute. add a splash of milk to the potatoes and mash well, season to taste.

Finally remove your chicken and mushrooms from the grill and tip the juices into a small pan, add the clotted cream and heat on the hob until smooth.

Plate up and you're done!





Result: 

This was a very rich and tasty way to cook chicken. By grilling the bacon wrapped chicken on top of the mushrooms you really get the benefits of all the floavours in each different ingredient. I will definately be making this one again.

Black bean salad with BBQ chicken

This is another HelloFresh recipe. I've recently cancelled my account with them as I've had repeated problems with missing items and a couple of cold packs bursting and ruining ingredients and recipe cards.

I cup new potatoes, 3 chicken thighs, 1 tin of black beans, 1 lime, 1 spring onion, 1tbsp BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup sweetcorn, 2 tbsp sour cream, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 red pepper

1. Pat dry and smother the chicken in BBQ sauce then bake at 200 degrees in the top of the oven for 20 minutes.

2. Finely chop the spring onion and pepper.

3. Boil the potatoes in salted water then drain and chop into bit sized pieces.

4. In a small bowl mix a little lime zest and half the juice with the sour cream and olive oil and a pinch of salt.

5. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after taking out of the oven then shred with 2 forks (crispy duck style)

6. In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients and serve!

Fresh Week - Day 1 complete

Healthy lunch and dinner achieved!

I haven't eaten raw carrot sticks since my mum made me lunch, but I was actually surprised how nice it was!

The roll was packed with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, Edam cheese and crumbed ham and actually kept me full all afternoon.

  

Dinner was Chicken and Mushrooms in a tomato sauce with Carrots and Rosemary crushed Potatoes.
Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 Clove of Garlic
350g new potatoes
A sprig of thyme
A bay leaf
300g Carrots

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees and boil a pan of water.

First I chopped up the garlic finely, halved the larger potatoes, and roughly chopped the chestnut mushrooms.I peeled and sliced the carrots into equal sticks, this took a few minutes (if I had a Tefal Fresh express it would have taken seconds, hint, hint!)

The chicken was patted dry, rubbed in oil and seasoned before going in the hot oven on a baking tray for 20 minutes.

In a large pan I heated a tablespoon of oil and fried off the garlic before adding a tin of tomatoes with a bay leaf and the mushrooms. The potatoes were added to the boiling water and both pans simmered for 14 minutes. I then added the carrots to the boiling water for 4 minutes, took the chicken out of the oven and put it in the pan of tomato sauce.

Finally to make the crushed rosemary potatoes I drained the pan of water and put the carrots to one side. I crushed the potatoes gently with the back of a fork and heated a frying pan with a little oil. Once hot I added the rosemary waited a few seconds then fried the potatoes until crispy!

 Serve it all in warmed bowls and enjoy!

Kent's Kitchen: Spicy Korma Kit

This spicy Korma kit from Kent's Kitchen is award winning for a reason. I have never tasted such a flavoursome home-made curry before.

Spicy Korma Kit, Chicken, Veggies, Coconut Milk

The beauty of the kit is that you get a flavoured oil to cook your chicken and/or Vegetables, a curry paste to cook through then a spice pot to add at the end. Just provide the Chicken and Veg and a tin of coconut milk.

Method: Chop up your chicken and/or vegetables. Add the Garlic Oil to a hot pan and first seal your chicken (if using)

Add the vegetables and cook for a few minutes.

Add the Korma paste and cook for 5 more minutes.

Finally add the coconut milk and spice pot and simmer until your rice or other accompanying dish is ready.

Tip: In the winter you will find you coconut milk may solidify, just pop the tin in some warm water before opening. I added mine to the washing up bowl!






Result:

 A very tasty, fresh curry. I will definately be trying the other kits in the range.


Recipe Score:



Also a great price at £2.30