Friday 11 June 2010

Souped Up Chicken & Vegetables with Hot Spuds

This is kind of a work in progress recipe. I'm sure I can refine it further, but for now this should work out quite well.

Serves: 4
Cooking time: probably about 20-30 minutes.


Ingredients

4 x boneless skinned chicken breasts
2 tins of tomato and basil soup
400g bag of fresh spinnach
4 x large carrots, peeled & cut into battons
200g fine green beans, ends trimmed off
1nr chilli pepper, deseeded & finely chopped
1 x knob of butter
1nr lime
400g new potatoes, halved / bitesized

Method


  1. Pour the chicken soup into a large base pan & bring it to the boil
  2. Add the chicken, ensuring it is covered by the soup (add water if not)
  3. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
  4. Meanwhile bring two saucepans of water to the boil
  5. Add the potatoes to one & the carrots & beans to the other.
  6. Allow both pans to simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
  7. Drain the potatoes but place the spinnach in with the carrots & beans for two minutes to wilt
  8. Quick fry the chilli with the knob of butter then drizzle over the potatoes.
  9. Pour over the potatoes the grated rind and juice of the lime.
  10. Drain the carrots, beans & spinnach, ensuring all of the water is pressed out of the spinnach.
  11. Serve, saving some of the soup as a sauce over the chicken.
Note: You can do the vegetables (carrots, beans, spinnach) much easier if you have a steamer tray or a set of steamer pans.

Sausage, Carrot, Pea and Potato Casserole

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Onions, sliced
454g pack / 8nr pork sausages
400g can chopped tomatoes
200ml chicken stock
200ml dry white wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
500g baby new potatoes, halved
400g frozen garden peas
2 large carrots, sliced
a pinch of sage
salt / pepper to taste

Method
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the garlic and onions over a low heat for 5 minutes until softened and lightly browned.
  2. Twist each sausage in the middle and cut in half to make 2 small sausages, add to the pan and brown them on all sides.
  3. Add the tomatoes, stock, white wine, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, carrots and seasoning and bring to the boil.
  4. Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
  5. Five minutes before serving, stir the peas into the dish, cover and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.
  6. Check seasoning and serve.

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About Me

Age: 40...something. Nowhere near the back half though! When I'm not doing nothing I'm usually doing something else, probably involved with working as an Estimator for a partitioning manufacturer & installer in the U.K.