All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Kung Pao Chicken with Mushrooms

By 17 Comments

kung pao chicken with mushrooms and rice

I remember the first time I tried Kung Pao chicken and how much I loved the numbing sensation you get on your tongue from the Szechuan pepper. In order to use up more of the vegetables from my veg box I made my version of Kung Pao chicken with mushrooms. This is definitely not a traditional Kung Pao chicken recipe, it doesn’t even have peanuts, but this version in particular is known in our house as: the best stir fry you’ve ever made. High praise indeed.

Ingredients

You will need (for two portions): read more

Chicken and Chorizo Tray Bake

By 10 Comments

finished chicken and chorizo tray bake

It’s late autumn. I want the food on my plate to reflect the leaves on the trees outside and my chicken and chorizo tray bake does exactly that. A sizzling tray of orange, red and purple it smells so good while it’s cooking and also tastes divine. Those orange juices at the bottom of the dish? Don’t waste those. Tear open some crusty bread and get dunking.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
  • 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 75-100g cooking chorizo, sliced or diced
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper
  • Crusty bread to serve

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C.

Put the peppers, tomatoes, onion and chorizo in a baking dish; one big enough to almost hold everything in a single layer. Drizzle over a little olive oil and some salt and pepper then roast in the oven for 10 minutes. read more

Tandoori Chicken Flatbreads

By 8 Comments

There’s no denying that this is a plate full of colour; it’s also absolutely bursting with flavour. These Tandoori Chicken Flatbreads are a recipe of two halves: you can make it all at once, or alternatively, do as I did and batch cook the tandoori chicken and keep it in the freezer to make weeknight meals like this. The flatbreads are topped with a whole load of fresh salad, spiked yoghurt, mango chutney, the warm chicken and fresh chillies. They are really flexible too; you can add or leave out anything that you prefer. read more

Sticky Soy and Chilli Chicken Thighs

By 14 Comments

sticky soy and chilli chicken close up

From time to time I get a recipe stuck in my head and I can think of nothing else until I make it. These sticky soy and chilli chicken thighs are exactly one of those recipes. There were several criteria that these thighs had to fulfil and anything short of my imagined flavour would not suffice. Most importantly they had to be sticky; properly glazed so that they left trails of marinade on the plate. Secondly, they had to have a salty soy base and a little chilli kick. The ginger, garlic, lime, onion and sesame were all added for depth of flavour. They were everything I wanted them to be.

ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used a low salt one)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Juice 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 small piece ginger, around the size of a thumbnail, grated
  • Pinch dried chillies
  • 2-3 spring onions, sliced

method

Mix all the ingredients together except the chicken to make the marinade.

Put the chicken thighs into a roasting dish and pour over the marinade. Really mix the chicken and marinade together making sure you get some inside, over and under the thighs.

Put in the fridge to marinate for around an hour, longer if possible, but a shorter time wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Preheat an oven to 200C. Put the chicken into the oven with all the marinade and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste the chicken and return to the oven for another 20 minutes. Check the chicken is cooked through after 40 minutes total roasting time.

I served these sticky chicken thighs with a noodle salad full of fresh herbs.

Combining honey and soy together means you can’t go far wrong with a salty, sweet and sticky end result. The thing I love about roasting the chicken rather than frying it is that the chicken and marinade cook into each other and you’re left with a thick, unctuous sauce which is just asking to be spooned over the chicken. It would be delicious on the BBQ, you’d need to baste it often, and I think it would work really well with tofu too. This is my kind of comfort food. I can imagine a cold evening where I roast these, simply serve them with a bowl of white rice and let the leftover marinade mingle with the rice.

Greek Chicken Tray Bake

By 13 Comments

Greek chicken tray bake

I love a straightforward dinner. However being straightforward doesn’t mean there’s any skimping on flavour. Grabbing a few ingredients out of the fridge and cupboards, chucking them in a roasting tray and miraculously taking the finished dish out of the oven at the end is the weeknight dream. My Greek chicken tray bake is a two tray affair (I know, slightly more involved than one tray) and really delivers on flavour. The flavours of Greece; oregano, tomatoes, olives make this a wonderful dish for this time of year.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 350g potatoes, scrubbed and diced
  • 3 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

For the chicken:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1-2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • Tomatoes, still on the vine if possible
  • Handful stoned olives
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Start by adding the potatoes to a pan of cold, salted water. Bring the pan up to the boil and boil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes or until just softened when tested with a knife. Drain the potatoes and put to one side.

In a roasting dish add 2 tbsp olive oil, the garlic cloves and rosemary ad mix everything together to ensure the garlic and rosemary are well coated in oil. Tip the potatoes into this dish with some salt and pepper and give everything another good mix.

Bake the potatoes in a preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes.

Once the potatoes are in the oven, start on the chicken.

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of cling film or baking paper and flatten slightly with a rolling pin, you want each one to be around 1cm thick.

Sprinkle the oregano and paprika over each piece of chicken with a little salt and pepper.

Put a large frying pan on a medium/high heat with a little olive oil. Fry the chicken until golden on both sides then turn off the heat and put to one side.

In another roasting tray put the lemon wedges, tomatoes and olives. Arrange the chicken on top of the tomatoes then add a little more salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Add this to the oven with the potatoes for around 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with salad if you like.

I think a small red onion, cut into wedges and nestled in amongst the potatoes would be a fantastic addition to this tray bake. It would also be worth adding a little sprinkle of feta over the chicken for a deliciously salty kick. When the chicken has finished baking, don’t discard all the tomato and lemon juices that have gathered in the roasting tray. They are absolutely delicious and need to be savoured and poured over the chicken. My Greek chicken tray bake even manages to make its own sauce; what more could you need?

Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad

By 8 Comments

caesar salad with green beans

There’s something about an iceberg lettuce and I feel it is sometimes a little overlooked. When it’s properly crunchy it’s so refreshing and I think rather delicious. My Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad is a recipe which is perfect for the hot weather we are having at the moment. I didn’t make the dressing myself but a homemade dressing would be fantastic. Personally I didn’t fancy all that whisking, I much preferred the idea of sipping a well iced beverage outside. As green beans are in season at the moment it would have been rude not to add a handful.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 1 smoked chicken breast (or pack of smoked chicken)
  • Handful green beans
  • ¼ iceberg lettuce, washed and shredded
  • Large handful mixed salad leaves
  • Good quality Caesar dressing
  • Parmesan
  • Crusty bread

Method

If you can get your hands on some smoked chicken from your butcher I find it always has a great flavour and a delicious texture. I have seen it in supermarkets too which would be good to use. Dice or slice up the smoked chicken and put to one side.

Tip the green beans into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for two minutes then drain. You want them to retain some bite.

Layer all the ingredients up in a bowl, drizzle over the Caesar dressing (I am pretty liberal with mine!) and then add some shaved Parmesan over the top.

Serve with a nice crusty bread.

I made an extra serving of this and had it for leftovers for lunch the next day. A few of the salad leaves looked a little sad but as the flavours had had time to mingle together it had a great flavour.

Where’s the bacon? Well, because I used smoked chicken in this recipe I don’t feel that bacon is really necessary but you could add some if you so wish. I also didn’t add any croutons as I prefer to share some warmed bread which you can rip in to and mop up those last bits of dressing in the bowl. Crisp leaves, flavourful chicken, savoury Parmesan and sweet green beans; all rounded off with rich Caesar dressing, this is simple food at its best. Using some hot smoked salmon would be delicious in this recipe, especially with a little sliced cucumber.

Sesame Chicken with Miso Dressing and Roasted Vegetables

By 15 Comments

sesame chicken with miso dressing

Meals which are healthy, filling, full of colour and flavour and balanced are what I try to aim for with my cooking…most of the time. I always seem to come back to the same combination of chicken with some sort of grain; it’s always a winner and none more so with my latest recipe. This sesame sesame chicken with miso dressing is wholesome, flavourful and just the ticket for some quick weeknight cooking.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 2 small chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper
  • Oil for cooking
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 150g brown rice
  • 1 small red onion, sliced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small chunks
  • 2 tbsp white miso paste
  • Juice 1 lime
  • 125ml plain yoghurt

Method

Start by adding the onion and carrots to a roasting tray, drizzle over a little oil along with some salt and pepper and mix everything together well. Pop into the oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until soft and starting to brown at the edges.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and then add the rice and cook according to packet instructions.

Place the chicken in between two sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin to make them a little thinner. Sprinkle the paprika, garlic powder, cumin and salt and pepper over both sides of the chicken.

Get a frying pan onto a medium/high heat and add a little oil. Add the chicken and fry, turning from time to time until the chicken has cooked through and the spices are lightly blackened. Add the sesame seeds to the chicken for the last few minutes of cooking to allow them to toast.

Whisk the miso, lime and yoghurt together to make the dressing.

Drain the rice when cooked and return to the pan, mix the roasted vegetables into the rice and serve up with the chicken and dressing.

This recipe lends itself particularly well to using up Sunday roast leftovers. You could mix any leftover veg into the rice, top with leftover roast chicken and just mix up the quick dressing. The combination of spices with the earthy miso gives the whole dish a delicious undertone; the sharp lime and sweet roasted vegetables add flavour over the top. Red rice or wild rice would be great if you don’t have any brown, the nuttiness of the rice is great in this dish. All in all this is my new current favourite chicken and grain combination!

Spicy Sticky Chicken Skewers with Very Lazy

By 22 Comments

sticky chicken skewers

As you might already know I am a big fan of simple, straightforward cooking. I suffer from hangryness you see and when I get home on a busy weekday evening I want something full of flavour that can be rustled up in no time at all. So welcome my Sticky Chicken Skewers into your kitchen. They take just minutes to prepare and the whole meal (including potatoes and tomato salad) is on the table in well under 30 minutes. Just because it’s quick cooking doesn’t mean anything should be skimped on, it should still be full of quality ingredients and downright delicious. Word of warning though, you might walk round work all day with a very smug look on your face knowing you’ve got a great dinner to go home to when you get these on to marinate, do try and hide it.

Ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 2 chicken breasts, diced (you could use scored drumsticks, thighs or wings but they’ll take longer to cook)
  • Juice 1 lime
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 25ml bourbon (don’t worry if you don’t have any, just leave it out)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tsp Very Lazy Red Chillies
  • 2 tsp Very Lazy Smoked Chopped Garlic
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Mix together all the ingredients apart from the chicken to make the marinade. The joy of this marinade is that there is no chopping involved, just a spoon of this and a splash of that and it takes no time at all to prepare.

Add the chicken to the marinade and stir it all together to ensure the chicken is fully coated. Cover and put in the fridge for at least two hours, ideally overnight. I prepared mine the morning before I went to work.

Put the diced chicken onto skewers reserving any leftover marinade. Top tip – soak the skewers in water for a few hours before using them to prevent them burning when cooked.

Heat a pan on medium-high and add a little oil. Pop the chicken skewers in and fry, rotating the skewers until the chicken is cooked basting with the leftover marinade. Keep cooking until the marinade has all been added and has reduced down leaving everything lovely and sticky.

Serve with simple boiled new potatoes and a dressed tomato salad; both of which you can get ready before you fry the chicken.

I have to admit that I loved this sticky marinade so much that I have also tried it with aubergine slices (I mixed up the marinade and brushed it on when the aubergine was almost cooked) and tofu (ideally an overnight marination) both fried and barbecued and both were excellent. The marinade itself is actually vegan so you could use it on anything you liked.

It’s the sticky texture of the marinade that really makes it, the flavours get so intensified with all the marinating and reducing. I took time to make this taste just how I wanted it to and I think it has a bit of everything; the soy and maple combination bring savoury and sweet, the lime brings freshness and the bourbon a faint oakiness. The amount of Very Lazy Red Chillies I used gives the finished skewers a mild to medium heat so you can add more or less depending on how hot you like it; the smoked garlic gives a wonderful subtle smokiness to the whole marinade. Now, when can I put them onto the meal plan again?

This is a sponsored post and I was reimbursed by Very Lazy for my time and ingredients. All opinions and words are (as always) my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support me.

Chicken, Olive and Artichoke Stew with Risotto

By 11 Comments

Chicken, Olive and Artichoke Stew

I do like a tin of food. There’s something very humble about tinned fruit and vegetables particularly; and I am not one to overlook anything that comes in a can. My favourite canned good of all is the artichoke. That’s how this recipe for Chicken, Olive and Artichoke Stew with Risotto came about. Artichokes are very expensive, covered in oil (normally sunflower rather than nice olive oil) and quite small if you buy them chilled or in a jar; but in a can they can be half the price, bigger and once drained you get more for your money. So I wanted to make something comforting, filling and delicious and make the most of the wonderful artichoke.

Ingredients

You will need (for four, or two, see below*):

  • 6 small chicken thighs, diced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 heaped tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 700ml passata
  • 1 tin artichokes, drained and halved
  • Large handful stoned black olives (if you can get some that come with sundried tomatoes then all the better as you can add those too)
  • Oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper
  • Pinch sugar

Method

Heat a little oil in a saucepan on a medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry quickly until it’s turning brown. Remove the chicken and put to one side.

Add a little more oil to the pan, if needed, then add the onion. Fry for around 10 minutes then add the garlic, rosemary and bay and fry for another few minutes.

Tip the chicken back into the pan then pour in the passata, add the artichokes and olives then simmer everything for around 20 minutes. You want the sauce to reduce and for the chicken to cook through.

Taste the tomato sauce and add salt, pepper and sugar as needed. It depends how salty your olives are and whether the tomatoes are a bit on the acidic side.

* Serve. This is where I love this dish even more.

This recipe makes four generous portions so on the day I cooked it up I enjoyed two servings over a simple risotto bianco; with loads of Parmesan of course. Then I refrigerated the other half to use the following day: stirred through some cooked pasta, into a baking dish and covered with mozzarella for a pasta bake.

Stirring the tomato sauce through the creamy, cheesey risotto makes it just divine. As there’s lots of ingredients in here it means every mouthful is different; a salty olive, a chunk of artichoke, some tender chicken, even just a little of the herby tomato sauce. Brilliant piled on top of the risotto and seriously tasty the next day as a pasta bake I can see plenty of variations of this being made throughout the year. You could add in a diced courgette or two, a tin of butterbeans or a little paprika, cumin and oregano for something a little spicier.

Smoked Chicken Fried Rice

By 12 Comments

Smoked Chicken Fried Rice

I bought some smoked chicken from a local farm shop. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with it but it sounded too tasty not to try it. I planned to serve it with some cheese and chutneys but somehow I never got round to it. I certainly wasn’t going to waste it and I thought, rather than serving it alongside something else, why not make it the star of the dish? Smoked chicken fried rice sounded like just the thing for a simple, no hassle budget meal in a flash. Turns out it’s even better than it sounds.

ingredients

You will need (for two):

  • 1 smoked chicken breast, sliced thinly £2.30
  • 150g basmati rice £0.22
  • Oil for frying £0.05
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds £0.12
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed £0.10
  • Few sprigs coriander, roughly chopped £0.12
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce £0.10

Total: £3.01

Method

Cook the rice according to packet instructions, drain, then put to one side.

Warm a wok on a medium-high heat and add a little oil. Add the sesame seeds and garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the smoked chicken and fry for 30 seconds more, to warm through.

Pour in the soy sauce, rice and coriander and give everything a really good mix before serving.

Optional – you could use scrambled egg instead (or as well as) the chicken. I have done in the past and it’s such a quick and easy dinner. Just whisk up one egg per person then add to the oil and quickly scramble before adding the sesame and garlic.

The smoked chicken in this gives it such a brilliant flavour; the smoking means it has a great texture too. If you can’t find smoked chicken you could try smoking your own, or use egg instead as I mentioned above. Any leftover barbecued chicken would be a great alternative. This whole meal takes 20 minutes from start to finish. There’s a lot of room to add in vegetables; I would have added peas or sweetcorn if I had any. This really is more than the sum of its parts and a versatile, quick and easy recipe I know I’ll be coming back to again and again.


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