Chicken and Sweet Potato Hash

Yum! This one is a winner! It is very similar in taste to my chicken with creamy mushroom wine sauce, which can be found here.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1lb. sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into bite-size wedges (about 2 large ones)
  
• 2 tbsp butter, plus more for toast
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, cut into bite-size slices
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 8 oz. cooked whole chicken, shredded (about 2 cups) **see below
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp sage
• salt and pepper
• 4 to 6 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted (or your choice of bread)-optional
• cranberry sauce-optional

What you do:

1.   Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer until just tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside. 
2. Add the butter, onion and celery to skillet; cook until slightly softened, 9 to 10 minutes. 
3. Add the wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated. 
4. Add the chicken, potatoes, cream and stock, simmer until the sauce is creamy and the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. 
5. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Spoon mix onto buttered toast and drizzle with sauce. (I added cranberry sauce to the toast and skipped placing the hash on the toast.)

** How to cook a whole chicken to perfection: (this is for shredded chicken)

 Cook the whole chicken in a big pot of water with celery, carrot, onion, peppercorn, sea salt, parsley, tarragon, and bay leaf.  Cook until the meat starts falling off the bone.  Strain the chicken and the broth.  You can save the broth, and chop up the veggies for soup or as stock for later.  Shred chicken with a fork.   

Spinach Bisque

Another good one from Tastespotting!  Very filling! I prefer my broccoli and potato soup, but Mark prefers this.

Ingredients: 

Servings: 6 servings

• 5 oz (140 g) fresh spinach, julienned
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 4 cup chicken broth
• 2 cup half and half
• pinch salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 cup cheese, your choice

What you do:

1. In a large stock pot over medium heat melt butter and olive oil.  Add onions and saute until soft, about 5-7 minutes.  
2. Whisk in cornstarch- the mixture should turn into a paste.  
3. Add 3 cups chicken broth and spinach into pot and simmer until spinach is tender.  
4. Add half and half, cheese, and salt/pepper.  
5. Continue to let Bisque simmer, never bringing to boil.  If soup is too thick, add the remaining cup of chicken broth.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes.  
6. Serve with sprinkle of Parmesan. Bisque is better and slightly thicker the second day.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

 

Here is my latest creation!  It's quick and easy, and of course tasty!
Ingredients:

• 2 cubed large chicken breast pieces
• salt & pepper
• ~ 1 tsp crushed garlic
• Oyster sauce (recipe below, if you don't have store-bought) 
• butter
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 eggs 
  
• chopped up veggies: 1 small broccoli head, 2 small zucchinis, 1/2 medium onion, sugar snap peas, 2 carrots
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce  
• 2 cups cooked brown rice

What you do:

1.   Cube 2 uncooked chicken breast into little pieces and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a tablespoon of oyster sauce. Heat up butter with sesame oil, then add minced garlic with the chicken. In a wok or cast-iron skillet, cook the meat until it is no longer pink (about 5-8 minutes).
2. Add scrambled eggs to the meat. Cook for 3-4 minutes
3. Add veggies and some soy sauce and sauté until cooked through
   
4. I mix in 2 cups brown rice.  Add the rest of the oyster sauce and stir fry until light golden brown.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Enjoy! 
   

Homemade "Oyster" Sauce (w/o oysters)
adapted from various sources

2 overflowing Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water
a few shakes of ground ginger

Add all the ingredients together, and stir them well. Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds.

Potato Salad

Mark and his parents have been painting our new house each weekend, and since I can't help (someone's gotta look after baby Henry!), I bring them lunch! Today I brought them potato salad (along with some other things).  It's super yummy and the recipe is from my mom!

Ingredients:

• ~3 lbs potatoes
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1-2 celery stalks finely chopped
• 1/2 brown onion finely chopped
• 2 cups mayo (Hellman's is a MUST! Thank god they have it in Australia!)
  
• salt, pepper
• paprika

What you do:

1. Cube the potatoes and boil the potatoes and eggs (together or separately, it's up to you).  Chop up the eggs.
   
2.   Chop up the celery and onion.
3. Mix everything together, refrigerate, and enjoy whenever it is cold!
   

drunk chicken legs

Wow, I discovered this recipe on tastespotting and it is a real winner!  Very VERY yummy!  Definitely a keeper!

Ingredients

• 1.3 kg chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs)
• 2 big carrots
• 2 big onions
• ~400 g mushrooms (I only used 200g and it was perfect)
  
• 200 ml white wine
  

and spices

• 4 tbsp tomato paste (about 150 g)
• 4 cloves garlic
• half a bundle of fresh parsley leaves
• salt & pepper
• dried oregano
  

Directions:

1. Half the carrots lengthwise, then slice them. Finely chop onions. Dice the mushrooms. Finely chop garlic and parsley. 
2. Sprinkle meat with salt, and fry in a pan to get the meat golden from all sides.
3. In a big pot, add onions and carrots, and saute until vegetables get soften, adding about 250 ml of water gradually. Put the meat and garlic in, pour with 500 ml of water, and cook covered over low heat for about 45 mins.
4. Stir in tomato paste and parsley.  Add other spices to taste. Let it simmer for a bit and then add the mushrooms and wine and simmer for about 20 mins, until meat fall of the bones. Serve with mashed potatoes! 

Cooking tip

Here is a tip from my mom: add a little olive oil to the water when boiling pasta to prevent it from sticking. 

And here's my secret ingredient when making pizza: mix ricotta cheese with the tomato sauce, yummy!

Chicken stew

I found this recipe on tastespotting.  It was good enough to warrant a blog post.  It's kind of like chicken cacciatore, but even tastier.  I think I'll definitely make it again! 

Ingredients:

•  2 large chicken breasts (preferably organic)
  
• 2 medium yellow onions 
• 2 red capsicums aka bell peppers (or 1 red and 1 green)
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 cups small new potatoes, chopped into large chunks
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 bunch fresh Italian parsley
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon)
• sea salt, freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Brush olive oil over 2 chicken breasts, and sprinkle liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in over 15 - 20 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven, and let cool.
2. Dice Chicken.
3. Cut 2 red capsicums in half lengthwise, and remove the stem and seeds. Roast in the oven until tough skins are blackened, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
4. Remove skins from capsicums, and slice into long strips.
5. Chop two medium onions into long strips.  In a dutch oven, saute in EVOO until softened and translucent.
6. Add chicken, sliced capsicums, and 2 cups chicken stock to the pot.
7. Add 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, 1 cup of dry white wine, 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley, and 2 cups roughly chopped new potatoes
8. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer 1-2 hours, until potatoes are soft.