Mid-Week Dinner: Chicken a la King (ala Mike)

I really felt like cooking last night, don't ask me why! No idea. I had taken out a pack of chicken to defrost and got my cook on... Chicken a la King (a la Mike) served on a bed of rice with pumpkin and broccoli, drenched in a white sauce.
Sound good? Here's how simple it was making the chicken dish:

Ingredients:
1x Pack of Chicken (4x Thighs & 4x Drumsticks)
1x Packet Knorr Chicken ala King
1/2 Cup Wellington's Sweet Chilli (Hot)
2x Cups Milk (500ml)
1x Large Onion, diced
2t Garlic
1x Punnet of Mushrooms (sliced)

Method:
1. In a large saucepan, brown the Chicken, remove and set aside.
2. De-glaze the pan with white wine.
3. Add 2T Olive Oil and apply heat.
4. Add the Onions and fry until translucent, stirring ever so often.
5. Add the Garlic and Chilli Sauce, fry for a further minute or two, stirring
6. Add the Chicken, Mushrooms and Milk, bringing it up to a simmer.
7. Sprinkle the Knorr Chicken ala King spice into the pan, stir it well into the mixture.
8. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes, until the Chicken is cooked.
NOTE: You will need to stir quite often as this mix tends to burn to the bottom of the pan. Add more milk if liquid gets to thick.

Serve the Chicken on a bed of Rice, with a side of Broccoli and Pumpkin. Finger licking good! A quick and really tasty meal, in around 45 minutes.

Mid-Week Dinner: Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Bake

The IT Manager at Coronation is also a Foodie... Can you Adam & Eve it? He shared a recipe with me yesterday and I had to give it a go. My family was overly impressed with this dish, asking me to add it to my repertoire. My dad also popped on and raved about my 'special recipe'. Here's how to do it...

Ingredients:
4x Chicken Breasts
2x heads of Broccoli, separated into small florets
1x cup of Wine
1x cup Water
Salt and Pepper
250ml Cream
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup of Chicken Soup (already made)
3t curry powder
3t lemon juice
1 and 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (for the liquid)
2 cups grated cheddar (for the topping)
3/4 packet of shell noodles (the 500g packet)

Method:
It is good to start with putting your oven on at the beginning. Set it to 180 deg.

1. Grease a oven proof dish and set aside.
2. Place the chicken breasts in a small saucepan, add the wine and the water (add more water if necessary to just cover the chicken).
3. Season with salt and pepper and apply the heat, simmering for about 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked but still tender.
4. In another saucepan, add a little water and add the broccoli. Season with salt, cover and steam for around 8-10 minutes.
5. Fill a large saucepan with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 12-15 minutes, until el dente.
6. Drain the pasta. Drain the broccoli.
7. Remove the chicken from the liquid, retaining 1 cup of the stock.
8. Shred the chicken.
9. Mix the pasta, chicken and broccoli and place in the oven proof dish.

For the sauce:
1. In a large mixing bowl / jug, add the stock, chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry, lemon juice, cheese and cream. Mix well.
2. Pour over the pasta.
3. Cover with a layer of cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve piping hot, with a green salad and some garlic bread. Simply delicious!

Tx Philip!

Featured Product: Basil Pesto (Princess Foods)

So, on my tours to the Neighbourhood Goods Market in Salt River and the Farmer's Market in Stellenbosch, I see these amazing looking Pestos. They have samples and I try and fall in love with these 3 flavours: Basil, Red Pepper and Baby Spinach and Feta (R25 each).

The big thing now comes in where I need to use these in a dish: Big Entrance: Dinner last night!

I decided to base my dish last night on the Basil Pesto. I am overly impressed that my daughter has taken to this - she even tastes the 'raw' pesto!

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 Pack of Chicken Breasts (about 500g), cubed
1 Punnet of Mushrooms (quartered)
1 Small Onion (diced)
1/2 Jar of Basil Pesto
1 Tub of Cream (250ml)
3 cups of Pasta (Noodles)
Seasoning (Salt, Pepper, Paprika)
Dash of Olive Oil

Method:
1. Get your pasta going (lots of water, add salt)
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan (30cm) and add the onion. Cook until translucent, on a medium heat.
3. Add cubed chicken pieces and seasoning. Cook through, stirring regularly.
4. Add a teaspoon of pesto, while cooking the chicken.
5. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3 - 5 minutes (mushrooms will start too soften).
6. Add the remaining basil pesto and the cream. Stir in and and bring up to a simmer.
7. Simmer for 5 - 8 minutes, allowing the cream to thicken slightly.
8. By now, your pasta is cooked. Drain (do not rinse under cold water) and add the warm pasta to the chicken. Stir in, keeping it on a low heat, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

This is a simple, mid-week dinner that does not break the bank. I may have some issues with the Girth Body Corporate for the cream in this recipe though. My motto is definitely not Eat to Live! I live to eat...

Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Serving: I dished the pasta into bowls and that was it! If you have people around, make a garlic bread or two and serve with a bottle of Chardonnay. For the more daring & non-conformists: try a bottle or three of Pinot Noir. No! You don't always have to have red wine with chicken or pork. Buck the system.

Oh yes... that reminds me: Watch this space for my dear friend Sam's Absolutely Fantabulously Amazing Garlic Bread... I must warn though: It is NOT for the fainthearted.