Honey and Oregano Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Cannellini Beans

Janu'worry' is upon us and along with the woes of 'back to work' and empty bank accounts are woes of weight gain and the need to get back to gym. So here's another recipe using some of my favourites that's simple and quick as well as easy on both the waste and the wallet (save for the parmesan I guess, but a little cream will suffice if needs be.)

The Best Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken and The Winner of The Philips Airfryer XXL

A few weeks ago I was given a Philips Airfryer XXL to try out and I have to say it exceeded my expectations. I've made some seriously delicious meals and found it to be fantastic when cooking for 1-4 people.

One Dish Dinner: Chicken, Fennel and Cannellini Beans

Who doesn't love a one-dish wonder?

The Best Chicken Soup

Yes, I add wine to my chicken soup, I add wine and butter to most things, and I assure you it makes them taste better. To make my stock I use chicken carcasses and bones, boiled in water with 1 Tbsp of stock concentrate for added flavour...This recipe is my go-to winter warmer - enjoy!

Chicken Breasts in Parma Ham with Courgette Spaghetti

 

An easy midweek meal that's carb-free and delicious - Yes please :)

Chicken in a Tarragon Cream Sauce

More rain means more decadent dinners: save salads for lunch I say, but dinner at the moment need to be a little more grown up in my books. Caramelising the onions in this dish adds a hint of sweetness which really brings the dish together and who can say 'no' to double cream? I served this with simple baked potatoes, asparagus and mange tout.

Chicken and Leek Pie

Simple and delicious - what more could you ask for? 

My monthly recipe using Mediterranean Delicacies Phyllo Pastry saw me coming up with a tasty, affordable and lighter version of the traditional chicken and leek pie. I just love the contrast of the light and crispy phyllo against the rich and creamy filling.

Easy Chicken Curry

I wanted to come up with the simplest, tastiest chicken curry possible and this is it. The key to keeping the chicken succulent is to turn the heat right down so that you're softly poaching the chicken strips rather than boiling them in the sauce, this way you don't have to marinate the chicken. 

Easy Coconut Chicken Strips

I was in the shops the other day thinking of what to make for dinner and nothing was inspiring me. I tend to flock towards the chicken section in times like these as I know I'll find something I can work with. I often coat chicken breasts in sesame seeds as I find it keeps them moist and adds a lovely nuttiness, simple but effective. This was my plan.

I got home and realised I had no sesame seeds, but I did have some desiccated coconut...interesting...I decided to go with it and it turned out to be deliciously different. I've subsequently made coconut chicken pieces for catering functions and people adore them. You can serve them as a canapé with the dipping sauce or alternatively with a herb salad as a main, using the dipping sauce as a dressing.

Chicken in Spiced Yoghurt with Pomegranate and Coconut

It's been a while :) Sorry :(
But, here's a lekker recipe for a healthy, warm, gorgeous chicken dish that'll put you in a good mood! It's one that would also work beautifully with pork fillet if that's more your thing...

Atchar and Pineapple, Chicken Burger

The Peppadew company of South Africa have upped their game of late, introducing a whole range of new and exciting Peppadew products, including an array of fabulous Atchars. An 'Atchar' is a South African pickle, most often served with curry. 

They contacted me and asked if I wanted to be part of their #AwesomeAtchar campaign, to think out of the box and come up with an interesting South African recipe incorporating one of their atchar products. I had a little think and decided on a seriously decadent, chicken and atchar burger paired with sweet grilled pineapple and cooling mint raita to counter the spicy kick. It’s a great combination and perfect for any braai. You can vote for your favourite recipe from the campaign here.

Easy Chicken and Mushroom Bake

This is the last recipe in my series of #Blendability recipes in conjunction with #MushroomSA and I have to say it's also my favourite. It's such an easy dish to create, and whilst it's comforting and moreish, it's also light and very low in carbs.

#Blendability means blending chopped mushrooms together with meat to up the nutrition and taste and decrease the calories. It's a cool concept that works to lessen cost, calorie intake and your carbon footprint whilst upping the vitamin and mineral content of your food.

And, aside from all of the technical jargon, it simply tastes delicious!

'Afrochic' Chicken and Pap

I got asked by Mediterranean delicacies to come up with a cool ‘Afrochic’ recipe for their #Afrochic campaign; basically they want to celebrate all that's South African and local.  Here’s my take on #Afrochic: I used pap as the base, but treated more like polenta by adding onion and spices to it before frying it on a griddle to crisp the outside. I paired that with delicious and simple, free-range chicken breasts and let the Mediterranean pesto and tsatziki do the rest – happy days!

Lemon and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

'Simple and delicious': my favourite description for food. Chicken breasts tend to be on the dry side so stuffing them with cheese, especially ricotta or feta, will keep them succulent and tender. Lemon and chicken are also best friends so you're always going to win when you pair the two of them together.

Chicken and Pawpaw Skewers with Chimichurri dressing

A simple, but delicious way to sex-up your chicken breasts; sweet pawpaw, slightly charred with succulent chicken all doused in a spicy chimichurri dressing. I make these skewers on the stove in a large frying pan as I feel that doing them on the braai can sometimes dry them out a little, but it's up to you!

Thai Chicken Burgers

An easy and different kind of burger patty that's really delicious without the bread - slightly spicy and full of flavour - this is one of my new favourites. You could also make frikkadels out of them and use the wasabi mayo as a dipping sauce, either which way - they're succulent and scrumptious.

Chicken and Broccoli Bake

This is good old home-style cooking at its best: simple, easy and comforting without being horrendously burdened with calories. Traditionally, with a bake like this you would mix a handful of breadcrumbs in with the cheese before sprinkling over the top, but I like it as is. (If you prefer it with breadcrumbs - do add them.)

Caesar salad wraps

Anchovies, Marmite, Adam Sandler...all things you either really love or really hate, I personally loath Marmite and weird-voice man, but adore Anchovies. I forgot about them for a little while, but as I was fighting my way through the aisles of my local supermarket, stuck between a granny with dementia and a mother screaming at her screaming child, I noticed a lovely jar of anchovies staring straight at me...and just like that the craving hit. Caesar salad for lunch it had to be...I wasn't in the mood to make croutons so I opted for a wrap version instead. It's scrumptious and made the awful screaming-mum-and-child-granny-with-zimmer-frame-shopping-experience worthwhile.

Caesar salad wraps

Ingredients: (makes 2)
For the dressing:
4 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 anchovy fillets
pinch sugar
good grinding of pepper

2 cooked chicken breasts (I like to season mine with some salt and cayenne pepper, not traditional, but it adds a good kick)
baby cos lettuce leaves
parmesan
tortilla wraps

Method:
Place the dressing ingredients into a bowl and combine using a hand held mixer to blend the anchovy fillets into the dressing.
Warm the wraps in a frying pan.
Slice the chicken fillets into strips, and wash and dry the lettuce if needed.
Using a spoon, smear a little dressing over each wrap and top with lettuce and strips of chicken.
Finish with shavings of parmesan and a good drizzle of dressing.
Personally, I have mine with one or two more anchovy fillets and a little more black pepper but it's up to you...

Chicken casserole

I have been eating a lot of chicken lately - I am not exactly sure why...but I'm on chicken dish number 3 for the week and I'm not actually bored. I am pushing myself to find the versatility in this little bird and so far I'm succeeding (thankfully), BUT it's not exactly difficult...Chicken is the epitome of...well...versatility. It's a blank canvas, you can't really go wrong, just pick a style (Italian, Asian, French etc) or flavour combinations that you know work well and just roll with it...

Lemon, thyme and green olive chicken casserole

Ingrdients: (serves 4)

• 8 chicken pieces (skin on, bone in)
• olive oil for frying
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (you can dissolve 1/2 a stock cube in hot water if you like)
• 2 lemons
• 1 packet green olives (drained, about 20)
• a few sprigs thyme (about 5)
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbs sour cream/creme fraiche 
• couscous/polenta to serve

Method:

Preheat oven to 180*C
Pour a little olive oil into a non-stick frying pan and place it on med-high heat. Season the chicken with a little salt before browning in the pan on all sides (about 8 min).
Remove from the pan and place into a medium-sized casserole dish, pour over stock, scatter over the olives, squeeze over juice from 2 lemons and drop the lemons into the dish, sprinkle over thyme and add a dash of pepper.
Cover with foil/lid and bake for 45 min, remove foil/lid and bake for a further 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and stir through the creme fraiche/sour cream.
Serve with couscous/polenta.

Chicken and leek pie

A simple pie to please all tastes. Chicken and leek pie is comfort food at it's best and with leeks in season it's completely affordable. It won't take you long to make and will put smiles on dials in a second. Plus...making your own pastry has never been this easy.

Chicken and leek pie

Ingredients:

• Big bunch of leeks (about 5 leeks)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp Sasko cake flour
• 4 cups milk
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 roast chicken

For the pastry:

• 250g margarine/butter (at room temp)
• 1 packet Sasko Quick treats scone mix
• 100ml cold water

Method:

• To make the pastry simply mix together the scone mixture with the butter/margerine either in a food processor or using your finger tips.
• Once you have a bread-crumb like consistency and no clumps of butter/marg you can add the cold water and mix together to form a dough.
• Cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180*C.
• Take all the meat off the chicken carcass, put it into a mixing bowl and tear into similar sized shreds.
• Wash and slice the leeks.
• Put 2 tsp butter in a pan on medium heat, add the leeks and saute them for about 10 minutes until soft, then add the remaining butter and the flour and stir for a further minute.
• Now add the milk, salt, pepper and thyme and simmer until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4-5 minutes. Once thickened, pour the mixture over the chicken and mix well.
• Spoon the filling into a pie dish.
• Roll the pastry out to a thickness of about 7mm and to a size that is 2cm larger than the perimeter of the dish you are using.
• Use leftover pastry to line the edge of the dish.

• Carefully place the sheet of pastry on top and decorate with pastry leaves/writing/flowers, whatever you fancy really. Brush with some egg wash and put in the oven to bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

•  Serve with a simple salad or mixed veggies