Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Yesterday I was asked to make a Teriyaki Chicken and Vege Bowl for dinner

So I checked on the net for a recipe for a Teriyaki Sauce and this was the one I liked best

A lot of them used honey but that is not the favourite sweetener in this house so I used soft brown sugar

The marinade was very simple and it was agreed this recipe was a keeper

Lots of vege, succulent chicken and some sushi rice to soak it up

For 4 people

You will need

1 1/2 boneless and skinless chicken thighs per person approx more or less depending on the appetite 

For the marinade

300 mls hot water

30 grms soft brown sugar

150 mls dark soy sauce

30 gms freshly grated root ginger

6 garlic cloves peeled and crushed

1-2 tsp chilli flakes optional, or adjust to taste

2 cups sushi rice

1 cup frozen edamame beans

1 shallot peeled, finely chopped

French dressing 

Red Cabbage

Sesame dressing

To Garnish

Roughly chopped fresh coriander

Sesame seeds

Sesame Dressing   This is essential, delicious               

Method

Grate the ginger 

Finely chop the garlic with the chilli flakes 

Mix hot water and sugar in a bowl

dissolve and let cool a bit

Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic and chilli flakes

Add the chicken thighs to the marinade

Put in the fridge

Marinade as long as you can but if you are short of time it does need about 2 hours

When you are ready to go 

Heat the oven to 200C

Remove chicken from the marinade

Place in a lightly oiled roasting pan

I sprayed a little oil on top of the chicken but that is optional 

It will take about 25 - 30 mins till the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced with a skewer

Leave to rest for about 10 minutes

While the chicken is cooking, cook the sushi rice, to the manufacturers instructions

I then brought the remaining marinade to the boil, 

Simmered it for about 5 mins

Skimmed off the scum and put aside

This can be used for extra juice on the rice if you wish 

Finely chop the shallot and add 2-3 tbs French dressing and let sit while the chicken is cooking

Chop the red cabbage 

Cook the Edamame beans and drain

Slice the cooked chicken

Time to serve

Build your bowl

Rice on the bottom 

Sliced chicken 

The vege

Coriander and sesame seeds

and drizzle over the beautiful Sesame Dressing 

Dinner is served 

Delicious, colourful and healthy to boot 

Cheesy Chicken and Vegetable Bake

I have been pet sitting and here is my little charge, she was my constant companion for the last 10 days

her name in Lola and yes of course I sang the song many times during my stay 

The Kinks have a lot to answer for

I was cooking for one so I managed to make some of the food that I cooked "morph" into more than one dish.

i.e. Chicken stock made from roasted wings became Chicken Soup which then was used to poach some Chicken Breasts, which then were turned into this Chicken and Vegetable Bake

It doesn't look particularly attractive but it was very tasty and I got to use up the Vegetables that were sitting in the fridge

So you will need

Chicken Stock about  2 cups enough to cover the breasts 

1 Chicken Breast per person

50 gms butter

3-4 mushrooms chopped

I onion peeled and chopped

1 carrot washed and chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 yellow pepper chopped

6 Brussels sprouts chopped

Big handful of spinach  roughly chopped

For the roux

50 gms butter

50 gms flour

500 pls of milk

Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup Grated Cheese (Spilt in 2)

Fine breadcrumbs about 3 tablespoons 

So first gently poach the chicken breast in simmering chicken stock

this will take about 20 mins

Set aside and let them cool in the stock this will help to keep them moist 

Then cut into 2 cms pieces

Meanwhile in another pan 

On medium to high heat 

Melt butter and throw in the mushrooms

Season with S & P

Saute and remove from pan

Meanwhile in the same pan sauté the Onions, Carrots and Peppers and put aside

Prepare the Brussel Sprouts and Spinach

Wipe the pan and add 50 gms of butter

Melt and add the Brussels sprouts , sauté for a few minutes

Add the flour and stir well,

                                                                                                            

let the flour cook out for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly

Slowly add the milk stirring until the sauce is lovely, silky and thick 

Meanwhile grate the cheese

Add the1/2 the  cheese and the chopped spinach

Add the rest of the vegetables and the chicken to the sauce

Then lightly grease a baking dish and fill up your dish

Sprinkle with the remainder of the grated cheese and then sprinkle fine breadcrumbs onto

just to lightly cover

Pop into 180C preheated oven and bake till cheese in melted and it is bubbling away nicely 

Probably about 25 mins 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the dish before it went into the oven and also when it came out so you will have to trust me that it looks and smell divine

I dished up this helping and wolfed it down

Yum

Making The Best Of Leftovers

 I have always been The Leftover Queen, I can't abide throwing good food out. This is not a recipe, just a good tasty idea for Waste Not Want Not... I am also a believer that soup is not just a Winter Dish. It's an AnyTime Dish

In the fridge were 2 containers of food, leftover from yesterday. Some mushroom soup, incidentally which was store bought. Plus cold boiled potatoes, corn cobs and a little broccoli for that touch of green, all leftover from last night's dinner

Instead of making croutons to sprinkle on the soup, I decided to chop up the Vege and sprinkle them on top...as simple as that

The soup needed a little extra zing, so I heated it up with some cream, just enough to thin it down a bit and make it extra creamy.

Meanwhile I chopped up the potatoes, stripped the corn off the cob, broke up the broccoli, popped them into a pan, on medium heat, which contained some butter

Turned the heat up...so that the potatoes would get some colour, seasoned them with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 4-5 minutes was enough

I grabbed a pretty serving bowl, filled it up with the hot soup, scattered the Vege on top and                        

Voila... Lunch and Delicious it was too 

Eat Your Greens!!!

Sometimes it's hard to get kids to eat the leafy greens
But if you disguise the one that they really turn their nose up at like Silverbeet (Chard)
Just mix the sliced leaves with some other greens that kids seem to love
i.e.Broccoli,  Courgettes,
Add a shallot for flavour
Some peas
And Voila...Gorgeous bright green vege, who can resist this

Olive Oil
1 shallot peeled and sliced
1 head broccoli
1 courgette sliced
1 bunch silverbeet (chard)
1 cup frozen peas (blanched)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Remove stalks from the broccoli
slice into matchsticks

Cut broccoli head into "Trees "
Slice courgette

Remove stalks from silverbeet and  slice thinly
The slice leaves

Into a pan add good dash -(2-3) tablespoons Olive oil
Add sliced shallots
saute till soft
Add the broccoli stalks and silverbeet stalks

Meanwhile blanch Broccoli (trees) and courgettes slices in boiling salted water
 for 1 minute,

 drain and add to pan

Slice silverbeet leaves and add to pan
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

saute until soft
While this is happening
Blanch frozen peas in boiling salted water
Then add to  pan
taste and adjust seasoning if needed
An excellent side dish of vege for your dinner

Pair with your protein of the day and if you want some carbs
Mashed potato perhaps, always a favourite

What do you do with A Large Marrow - Stuff It

Spanish Stuffed Marrow

The Gardener in the Family came in proudly with an armful of Courgettes/Marrow

One of the Marrows was too big and it went into the compost But...we did find a use for the medium one though
I went on-line and found a suitable recipe on the bbcgoodfood.com site
And I stuffed it.
It was very tasty and went down a treat with the family
The courgettes, of course  no problem... plenty of things to do with them

It seems I didn’t get around to taking a photo of the finished product, so you will have to imagine it
If you haven’t got Manchego cheese just replace with Tasty Cheddar

1 Marrow
Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
100 gms Chorizo Chopped

1 tsp smoked/normal paprika
1/2 tps cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp each dried oregano and dried thyme
2 x 400 gms chopped tomatoes
1 red pepper chopped
Handful chopped parsley
85 gms fresh breadcrumbs
100 gms Manchego or Cheddar Cheese

Heat oven to 200C or 180C if using your fan bake
Cut the marrow in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle
Put the halves outside up in a large roasting pan and season well with S & P

Heat the oil in a pan
add the onion and sweat on low  till just tender about 10 mins

Add the garlic, chorizo, spices and dried herbs

Cook for a few minutes and add red pepper and tomatoes

Turn down to low simmer and cook for 10 mins, then stir in the parsley
Spoon the tomato mixture into the marrow halves

Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins

Test the marrow with a knife to see if the marrow is getting tender
Then sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and Cheese

and return to the oven for 10 minute

until the crumbs are golden and crisp and the marrow is tender
Cut into large slices and serve
It was excellent the next day for lunch at room temperature

And here are the Gardeners at work

Best Way to get Your Kids to eat Carrots and Parsnips - Roast them like this

Sometimes it is a chore to get your kids to eat vegetables
I can guarantee they will love these Roast Carrots and Parsnips. throw and onion in too
Everyone loves roasted onions
So simple, really quick and very very tasty

3 carrots, washed and cut into sticks
2 Parsnips peeled and cut into sticks, remove core if too woody
1 onion peeled and cut into wedges
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 200C
Peel carrots and parsnips and cut into sticks
Peel onions cut into wedges

Mix together the syrup, mustard, oil and S & P

Toss together with vegetables on a large baking sheet
Roast, stirring occasionally until browned and cooked through about 25 mins
Good served hot or at room temperature

In the 90s, a book that was on everyone must read list, was called "Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg
The thought of Fried Green Tomatoes fascinated me. I thought they meant unripe tomatoes

but as my food knowledge grew, I understood that they are a special breed of Tomato
Now in New Zealand, as all over the world we can now access almost every food available...
and YES we can buy Green Tomatoes
Found some at the local shop and decided to make these little delights
Can’t get much easier

Slice the tomatoes
Dip in seasoned flour

Dip in beaten egg

Finally into breadcrumbs

Set aside In the fridge to settle and when ready
Just fry in mix of butter and olive oil
Fry in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan

Delicious with the leg of lamb we cooked this evening


Sent from my iPad

Broccoli, Pasta, with Cheesy Crunchy Topping

Enough for a good feed for 2 people...with some pickings for late arrivals,
which is what happened our house last night
Vegetarian...as long as you eat cheese of course
This was on the NYT Cooking site

There was a couple of changes that I made, due to dietary requirements for a member of the family
and it worked really well

1 head Broccoli broken into florets
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 tsp cumin ground seeds
Sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 cups penne or similar pasta

1/3 cup finest grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper
100 gms Goats Feta

Fresh lemon juice
Heat Oven to 200 C
On a rimmed baking sheet toss together broccoli, oil, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes
Roast until tender and browned at the edges 15-20 minutes
Tossing halfway through

Remove from oven and set aside
Turn oven onto Grill function

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to the boil
Add pasta and cook to according to manufacturers directions
Drain

In a small bowl mix Parmesan, Panko, lemon zest, some sea salt 
and freshly ground black pepper

Toss cooked pasta with the broccoli, in a gratin dish
Crumble the Feta over the top

Sprinkle the Parmesan, breadcrumb mix
Drizzle very generously with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Under the griller till topping is golden brown
2-4 minutes

Sprinkle with lemon Juice and serve

You can prepare ahead then pop under the grill when you want to eat
Might take a little longer but you can judge that