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Slow cooker chicken noodle soup

March 11, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, recipe, slow cooker, vegetables

Things have been a bit crazy here lately. What with parties, activities, homework, pesky jobs, large mortgages, endless chores and stressed husbands, there’s barely been time for a glass of bubbles (well, ok, maybe there’s been one or two of them, too).

Possibly your lives are just the same as mine, so you may want to note down this slow cooker chicken noodle soup recipe. It’s as easy as they come and delicious, too.

Just what I need to get through a busy week.

Slow cooker chicken noodle soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, roughly diced
250g bacon, rind and fat removed, roughly diced
1.5kg whole chicken (organic if you can afford it), washed, dried
3 mushrooms, thickly sliced
6 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
1.5 litres of chicken stock
1 tsp ground pepper, plus extra to serve
2 bay leaves, ½ bunch parsley (flat or curly), ½ bunch thyme (use kitchen string to tie all the herbs together so you can remove them easily at the end)
2 carrots, sliced
2 sticks celery, sliced
125g can corn, drained (or 1 corn cob)
¾ cup frozen peas
75g packet 2-minute noodles (discard the flavour sachet)
sliced spring onions, to serve

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, toss in the onion and bacon. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 7-8 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the onions are soft. Tip into the slow cooker.

Pop the chicken into the pan, wing-side down. After 5 minutes, turn over and brown the other side. Toss in the mushrooms and garlic for another minute or so. Tip this into the cooker.

Also add in the stock, pepper, herbs, carrots and celery. Cook for 7 hours on low. Remove and shred the chicken (discard skin & bones) and return to the pot with the corn, peas and noodles for 30 minutes more.

Serves 2 adults & 2-3 kids

This recipe is from my Kitchen Collection cookbook!

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A meal that would blow Honey Boo Boo’s mind!

January 11, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, cooking techniques, recipe, vegetables

Luckily I crawled out from under my highbrow rock last night and discovered the pleasures of Honey Boo Boo. Of course I’d HEARD of her, but I’d never SEEN her. What a revelation.

Anyway, the cooking segments from the show particularly caught my attention. Like this one where a regular piece of chicken breast is grilled, smothered in butter-like substance, and shredded into cook-in-the-bag rice, which had about a cup of margarine mixed through it. The final piece-de-resistance was the entire meal being drowned in store bought BBQ sauce. And voila, dinner ready.

And the vegies? Well look, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they’d already had their 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit before dinner preparations began.

The basic concept of their meal doesn’t offend me at all. Chicken & rice is one of life’s great pleasures. We eat it all the time at VSHQ. A regular is this Jerk Chicken which I serve with this Caribbean Rice. Delicious. Or this chicken & brown rice salad. ALSO delicious.

In Vegie Smugglers book 2, there’s a yum ‘red-cooked chicken’ – cooked in Chinese master stock. Served over rice, this will have you swooning. Or also from Book 2 (which will be out of print within months – get in soon if you want a hard copy edition), is this pilaf, which is SO good. And easy enough that Honey Boo Boo’s momma might want to give it a try.

Honey boo boo might leave off the coriander.

Easy Chicken pilaf

2 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed (chicken breasts are too dry in this dish – you can use them but will need to add extra oil)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 zucchini, peeled, grated
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1–2 tsp garam masala
1½ cup long-grain rice (try basmati)
3 cups vegetable stock
¼ cup sultanas
1 cup frozen peas

Chopped red chilli, coriander leaves and peanuts (optional),
to serve

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat the oil in a large stove-to-oven dish over medium heat. Brown the chicken for 3–4 minutes each side. Remove and set aside.

Add the onion to the dish, stirring until starting to go golden, then add the carrot, zucchini, garlic, ginger and garam masala. Continue to stir for 2 minutes until the vegies are soft. Add a touch more oil if the pan is very dry.

Pour in the rice, coat all the grains well before adding the stock. Return the chicken to the dish. Cover and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and stir through the sultanas and peas. Re-cover and set aside for 5 minutes more.

Serve as is for the kids. Top with chili, coriander and peanuts (if using), for the adults.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

Toddler Recipes: What (and how) to feed fussy eaters

My new book is in my shop now! You can download a preview copy here…..

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Ok, confess, how often do you eat McDonalds…

July 23, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Food experiences · Tagged chicken, Fast food, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

The food stylist’s food porn.

For us, McDonalds goes hand in hand with long car trips. It’s firmly entrenched as a family tradition and is just the enticement the kids need to KEEP IT TOGETHER on those long haul car trips. Like the other day, when we drove from Tenterfield to Newcastle. Turned out that Armidale was just the perfect time for a Maccas lunch.

Are you shocked that I feed my kids McDonalds? Usually it’s a twice a year treat, but so far this year, they’ve already eaten it three times. And I don’t really care. I don’t like the concept of taboo foods. I’d prefer to raise food-savvy kids, educated and able to enjoy everything without guilt. They just need to learn how often they should eat certain things.

Do you know parents who say, “We NEVER feed our kids fast food”? Such smugness bugs me. It’s right up there with those parents who also survive wonderfully without TVs and video games, who never yell at their kids or have a bad parenting moment. I’ve never mastered such parenting perfection. My kids and I live in the real world full of temptations and things that are bad for us. If I keep those lures magically out of reach, I can only imagine the rebellion, when as teens they can take their own money and scoff as many burgers as they want.

Did my kids enjoy their McDonalds cuisine? Not really (they prefer my nuggets which are apparently tastier) and part of me is always happy when we get to the end and the kids haven’t really been into it. Except for the toy. They always love the crappy toy.

Feeling brave, I ordered a sweet chilli chicken wrap. Safe to say that it was disgusting. All oozy and inedible. Have you noticed the current trend for fast-food ooze? The final food shot in all the ads has burgers and wraps oozing sauce. Looks gross to me, but it must be popular, so I’m jumping on the bandwagon, oozing away with my own version of a sweet chilli chicken wrap. Of course mine has pumpkin, spring onion and bamboo shoots in it, which means that it actually tastes good, too.

Thai style chicken chilli wraps

500g chicken mince
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, (I make fresh ones from stale bread)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon grass (or lemon rind)
4 spring onions
225g can bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained
1 cup grated pumpkin
1 egg, lightly whisked
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
0-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (NOTE: To appease everyone in my household, I skip the paste, to keep them blander for Miss F – then I add extra toppings in the wraps for adults. But if your whole family likes spice then add in some paste – it’s yum.)

To serve: Store bought wraps of your choice, spinach leaves, grated carrot, coriander, sweet chilli sauce.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Pop the mince into a large mixing bowl.

Use a mini food processor to whizz up the breadcrumbs, garlic and lemon grass/rind. Tip into the bowl.

Blitz the spring onion, add to the bowl and repeat with the bamboo shoots. Also add in the pumpkin (you can blitz it, but I actually prefer the texture of it grated) and the egg and all the sauces/pastes.

Wear kitchen gloves and use your hands to combine everything really well. Note that the mixture is SLOPPY! It will firm up during cooking. Form small patties, or long ‘chicken tender’ shapes and place on the tray.

Spray with cooking oil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and carefully turn over. Spray with more oil and cook for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through (break one open and check that the mince is no longer pink).

Serve with salad on wraps, with an extra dollop of sweet chilli sauce and lashings of coriander for the adults.

Serves 2 adults and 3 kids.

USE LEFTOVERS THE NEXT DAY… make a lunch salad with bits of chicken patties, spinach, carrot, fennel, avocado, sesame seeds and a sprinkle of brown vinegar – I just ate it and IT WAS DELICIOUS.

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My kiddult’s favourite chicken pasta

June 19, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, parenting, pasta, recipe, vegetables

Pokemon cards still reign at VSHQ.

It’s mid-year toy sale time again and the house has been flooded with catalogues full of crap that the kids had never heard of yesterday but are now DESPERATE to own. Things have been circled and bookmarked. Much discussion is taking place during every spare minute about how the toys will integrate seamlessly into our home.

The thing is though, my kids don’t actually spend much time playing with toys. Lego is still popular, and Pokemon cards have been all the rage but apart from that it’s all drawing and craft. Between netball practice, swimming lessons and homework there isn’t much down time. Fridays they get to play unlimited PS3 and then on weekends they’re having play-dates and family adventures.

At a school dinner last night, there was interesting chat about how childhood and adulthood are crashing together. Kids seem to believe in Santa for longer (thanks to all the technology making him so real), they’re under close supervision for years longer than we were and Government guidelines promote the mollycoddling culture (did you know that they aren’t even supposed to cross a road alone until they’re 10?). But then it’s just a few months before they’re off to buy bras, join Facebook and start getting down with the opposite sex (48.4% of boys and 46.3% of girls aged 15-19 have had oral sex. – US source here.)

No wonder teens are so stressed out – we’ve got them wrapped in cotton wool for so long and then we unleash them (mostly unsupervised) into such a complicated digital world. As I read on facebook the other day, “the best thing about being over 40 is that we did all our dumb stuff before Facebook”.

With worlds colliding and them growing up so fast, let’s take the time to enjoy them now. While I generally aim for meals that please the whole family, this recipe is much more popular with my kids than myself. But sometimes that’s ok – especially when I’m greeted with the simple joy of an empty bowl at the end of dinnertime.

I add parsley, rocket and olives to mine.

My kids’ favourite chicken pasta

250g pasta (I use the large spirals for this)
1 1/2 cups small cauliflower florets
500g chicken thigh fillets, sliced (you can use breast meat – but it will end up drier)
175g bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
3 clove garlic, crushed
1 zucchini, grated
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley and/or chives
1 tbsp plain flour
2 cups good quality chicken stock, with 1 tbsp Dijon mustard mixed in
1 cup peas
Pepper
Parmesan (or cheddar) cheese

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and set aside.

Place the cauliflower in a microwave-proof bowl, add in a splash of water, cover and microwave on high for a minute until mostly cooked. Set aside.

Heat a large saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the oil and when hot, toss in the chicken and saute it, stirring often until just cooked through (this takes about 5-7 minutes for thigh meat, less for breast meat). Remove and set aside.

Reheat the pan and add in the bacon and onion. Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes until the onion is soft and the bacon cooked. Add in the garlic for 30 seconds before tossing in all the vegies (except the peas) and the herbs. Stir really well for 2-3 minutes.

Scatter over the flour, and quickly combine it in (you don’t want any lumps, obviously). Cook that off for a minute, then gradually add in the hot, combined stock/mustard, stirring constantly.

Return the chicken to the pan, bring it to a good strong simmer and keep it simmering until it’s a nice glossy thick mix (about 4-5 minutes). Taste and add salt & pepper (I think this dish needs a lot of both).

Stir in the peas and pasta. Heat them through then serve topped with grated cheese and even more pepper and parsley for the adults.

Serves 2 adults and 4 kids.

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The current slow cooker favourite

May 1, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, parenting girls, recipe, slow cooker, vegetables

Did you see ‘The Croods’? Delightful flick, following a cavemen clan as they explored the world and discovered new horizons. Great animation, likeable characters, interesting themes and pacey enough to keep me as interested as the kids.

Best yet, the female lead character had chunky arms, frizzy hair and unkempt eyebrows. Considering how I long for more diverse female ‘types’ in the media, it was a bit confronting to realise that I was watching, distracted by how ‘not pretty’ she was. Don’t get me wrong – I loved it, but I’m so programmed for all the animated women to be so effortlessly large-eyed, curvaceous and feminine that I kept waiting for her ‘big reveal’. Surely, I thought, the movie will end with her inadvertently falling into some magic dew that transforms her into a more conventional (ie, gorgeous) heroine.

But it never happened. She stayed grubby, squat and determined. And I was glad for my daughter to see that strength is more important than pretty and that ‘sexy’ doesn’t have to be part of a kid’s movie at all.

Snuggling into winter, today’s recipe does have a ‘big reveal’. You chuck all the ingredients into the slow cooker, go pick up the kids, take them to sport, piano, dancing etc etc then come home three hours later and find the most astonishingly welcome transformation has occurred.

Ta da!

Slow cooker chicken satay

This is based on a recipe from Sally Wise’s ‘Slow Cooker’ cookbook, but I’ve altered it quite a bit.

2 carrots, peeled, cut into thick batons
1 small red capsicum, cut into thick slices
3-4 button mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 sticks celery, thickly sliced
1 small onion, finely diced
700g chicken thigh fillets, fat removed, cut into slices
Handful of snow peas
Coriander
Lime wedges

270ml coconut milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp peanut butter (smooth if you have it)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp corn flour (optional)

Spray the bowl of your slow cooker with oil (not essential, but helpful when cleaning afterwards). Place the vegies in layers in your slow cooker. Pop the chicken on top.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients, pour over, cover and leave on ‘high’ for 3 hours.

If you’d like to thicken the sauce, place the corn flour into a mug or small bowl. Spoon a couple of scoops of the cooking liquid onto the flour and mix to a runny (lumpfree) paste. Stir back into the pot. Pop the snow peas on top, re-cover and leave for 10 minutes or so until the peas are a bright green.

Serve over rice, topped with coriander and lime wedges.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS.

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Pasta. Cheese. Chicken. Baked.

March 24, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, pasta, recipe, vegetables

Gotta love a straight to the point post.

So here’s a yummy dinner. Hope you like it.

Easy to make. Easy to eat.

Smoked chicken pasta bake

1 cup broccoli florets
3 cups cooked macaroni (or other small pasta) – this recipe is great for using up leftover pasta
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
1 cup peas
2 cups diced smoked chicken, skin removed (or you can use regular poached chicken, but I HIGHLY recommend the smoked stuff)
1 tbsp chives or basil or parsley (optional, but nice)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
250g ricotta cheese (use full fat)
125g can creamed corn
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Steam or microwave your broccoli until just tender. (I just throw mine in the microwave for a minute or so). Drain off any liquid, chop into quite small pieces and throw into a large mixing bowl.

Add all the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and mix until really well combined. Season with pepper.

Scoop the lot into a medium baking dish. Press it down firmly and scatter extra cheese over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden and the rest is bubbling.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids.

__________________________

Like this style dish?

Try Lulu’s favourite pasta bake
Or this Baked tuna & tomato rice

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Five chicken dinners

February 26, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, mealtime, recipe

Well, need I say more? Here are five dinners made with chicken, which apparently Australians eat more of than any other meat. This year each of us will consume an average of 44kg of the stuff. Fact.

These recipes should give you a couple of kilo’s worth of inspiration (unless you’re a vegetarian, in which case you might prefer to click here.)

Click the pictures to link through to the recipes.

Chicken & brown rice salad.

From the Lunchboxes planner e-book…

Chicken nuggets.

From Vegie Smugglers 2…

Sang choy bao.

A classic from Vegie Smugglers 1…

Chicken sausage rolls.

From Vegie Smugglers 2…

chicken and tarragon one pot winter warmer by vegie smuggers

Chicken & tarragon one-pot.

Do any of these take your fancy? How else do you like to cook chicken for your family?

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Jerk Chicken

February 5, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, recipe

Funny how you phase through ingredients. Often it comes with wider food fashions. A few years back there was the balsamic/basil/bocconcini thing. And then the Moroccan thing, with lots of cumin/coriander combos. And of course sumac – I still pour that all over so many things.

My latest thing is Allspice. I managed without it nicely for years, but it’s made an appearance lately. Possibly since it adds some tang without heat, which is perfect for kids. If you pick up a jar soon, you can make this delicious jerk chicken, which is the ideal protein to go with last week’s Caribbean rice. I’ll do my best to post some other recipes using it soon, too, so that the jar doesn’t sit unloved in the back of your cupboard.

‘Jerk’ chicken. Which seems harsh, especially when it’s so delicious.

Jerk Chicken

1 small onion, peeled, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp chilli powder (I use a mild Mexican one)
1/4 tsp Allspice
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 bunch thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
600-700g chicken wing nibbles (they’re wings, but with the pointy ends chopped off – my kids find them easier to negotiate) OR chicken drumsticks

Blitz all the ingredients, except the chicken, together in a mini-food processor or blender. Pop the chicken into a deep ceramic or glass bowl and pour over the sauce. Mix well and leave to marinade (in the fridge) anywhere from 1-12 hours. Obviously, the longer you leave it, the better the flavour.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with foil and spray with oil. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer on the tray, pouring over the excess marinade.

Bake until cooked through and the skin is starting to blacken. Nibbles take about 30-35 minutes, drumsticks need about 45 minutes.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids

________________________

YOUR FAMILY LIKES CHICKEN? Try these…

Oven-baked chicken nuggets
Chicken & cashew stirfry
Chicken meatballs
Chicken & tarragon one-pot

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Pass me the berocca

October 30, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, recipe, salad, vegetables

Gee I like holidays. Even with my kids I like them. And without my kids I liked them even more. Here’s how it went…

Wake up (at a time of my choosing). Swim. Coffee. Eat. Chat. Sun. Read. Swim. Chat. Eat. Rest. Drinkie. Chat. Snacks. Chat. Swim. Sunset. Chat. Eat. Perhaps a wee cocktail or three.

Now whilst I don’t condone excessive drinking, I must admit that I did toss back quite a few, which I blame entirely on the delirium we experienced being a bunch of women away from small children for the first time. Somehow the years slipped away and it felt more like schoolies week all over again. Except we’re pretty wrinkly now. And way beyond the acceptable age range for such shenanigans. We’re not schoolies. Not even toolies. Quite possibly we’re moulies – the mother version, who drink with gay abandon, delirious in their solo-ness and removal from menial tasks such as preparing vegetable purees.

Time though, for something far more healthful.

Easy to make and will get me back on track on no time.

Chicken & brown rice salad

5-6 cups cooked brown rice
600g poached chicken breast (see below for how to poach), sliced
1 carrot, peeled, grated
4 spring onions, finely sliced
Handful green beans, sliced
410g can corn kernels, drained
¾ cup raw cashews, roughly chopped
½ bunch parsley, roughly chopped
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp maple syrup

Add all the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard and maple syrup. Drizzle over and stir through.

Serves 2 adults & 3 kids. NOTE kids might like to have theirs served before you mix in the parsley.

HOW TO POACH CHICKEN
I like to halve my chicken breasts horizontally, so they’re nice and thin. Fill a medium saucepan with water (add some vegie or chicken stock powder), 10 black pepper corns, a fresh bay leaf or two and any other herbs you have handy. Cover and bring to a vigorous boil. Remove from the heat, slip in the chicken, swish them about, cover quickly and leave for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.

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‘A mum turns 29, looks 55’

September 3, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, cooking techniques, recipe, vegetables

Do you get those spammy ads in your Facebook sidebar? The ones with a pic of a supermodel labeled as a ’55–year old mom’? Apparently that’s possible with a facemask. I can’t decide if I like them more or less than the emails I get from ‘Arnold A Hornymaker’ offering me Viagra so that my husband can make me moan all night. Excuse me Mr Hornymaker, but I need some SLEEP.

In fabulous advertising fashion, all of these ads are designed to make me feel bad about myself and offer me a trip to the promised land of eternal youth, beauty and wild all-night sex. Because apparently life was so much better back then, when I was 29. Or was it?

Caught up in the nostalgia for parties, clubs, beaches and restaurants I forget how fraught that time was. Monday comedowns. Horrible bosses. Existential angst about if I’d find the right man, nauseating first dates, Sunday morning walks of shame. All more fun in hindsight I reckon.

So here’s the thing, spammers. I’ve already been youthful and agree that it’s wasted on the young. I’ve been more beautiful than I am now but was so insecure I didn’t know how to handle it. And I’ve had all-night sex. And it got me pregnant. So BAM, you can take your facemasks and horny-making pills and shove them.

I like my life more now. I like my kids, my husband, my friends and my home. They’re a comfortable little niche that I’ve carved out of this crazy world. Cuddling my children takes me closer to the Divine than anything else I’ve experienced. The wrinkles seem like a fair trade for a piece of contentment. Besides, I don’t think my equilibrium could cope with a sudden burst of youth or beauty or passion.

To celebrate the simple, here’s an easy stir-fry recipe. It’s not fancy, but neither am I. And that’s just fine.

Simple. But good.

Chicken & cashew stir fry

1 tbsp peanut oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, finely sliced (you can buy pre chopped breast fillets, but I find they dry out and aren’t as yummy)
6 spring onions, sliced
1 carrot, peeled, finely sliced (or batons are good too)
1 celery stalk, sliced on the diagonal (just so you look authentic)
½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
½ red capsicum, cut into strips
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 bunch bok choy, washed and sliced across- ways (so that you’ve got crunchy bits and separate leafy bits)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce
Fresh coriander (optional)
Serve with hokkein noodles or jasmine rice

Prepare all of your ingredients first so that everything is ready to go.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat.

Cook the chicken in batches for 5-6 minutes until turning golden and just cooked through. Remove and set aside. Continue until all the chicken is cooked. (Please take the time to do this, you’ll get a much better result).

Return all the cooked chicken to the wok and add the carrot, celery and cashews. Keep everything moving constantly for a minute or so, then add in the capsicum, thick stalk bits of bok choy and spring onions. After another minute, add in the corn, bok choy leaves and the sauces.

Stir until well combined and the bok choy has turned a beautiful deep green (just another minute or so). Serve over noodles or rice.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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