chicken dinner Archives - Gimme The Recipe - You came for the food now stay for the romance!

Easy Dinner & is Instagram no longer where to share?

Posted on July 5, 2021 by sheila kiely

More often than not when it comes to food and especially the main meal of the day I just want to eat something simple but super tasty. After a day of work it is very difficult to turn around and cook something at all and much easier to throw on a pizza or pick up some fast takeaway but you know and need to remind yourself that cooking can be as simple and fast as that too. You do need to have done the shopping at some stage though! An empty fridge will not yield a tempting meal. So do yourself a favour and get a food shop in : lots of veg, your preferred protein and stock up on those things that will bring flavour – garlic, lemon, chillies, spices, honey etc.

Think about the flavours you like and put those things together – I love a combination of bitter & sweet, hence the sugar and vinegar of the pickle served with the sweet chicken strips on leaves is my idea of a simple & tasty meal.

Red Onion Pickle

Slice Red onion, sprinkle with red wine vinegar & sugar
Leave to marinade while you cook the chicken strips
Tastes even better the next day

Is Instagram not for photos anymore?

So what’s that about then? I generally just pick up on mutterings and snippets of things as they filter through the ether and don’t have time to explore on detail however what I’m hearing is that the Insta moguls are leaning in preference more towards video content than still images. What does that actually mean? When you search for something you’re going to be returned with moving pictures rather than still images perhaps. I don’t see that it will really matter. If it’s only pictures you want to see that is the content you will seek out.

So here is one of my recent Insta dinners & Insta recipes. I think the visual along with limited text should be enough for the time pressed. Be inspired then make it your way.

xo Sheila

Baked Chicken & Bulghar Wheat (or is it bulgur or bulgar?!)

Posted on August 28, 2019 by sheila kiely

Really the spelling doesn’t matter now does it? The thing I want to share with you is the fact that you can bake it. Yes you can bake bulgur wheat!!! Baking it in a dish like this alongside chicken, onions and garlic means the flavour enhancement is huge.

This dish is for a day that you don’t really feel like cooking but are in need of something decent and comforting. There is only a tiny bit of prep to this and it then more or less looks after itself over the course of an hour which will give you time to do a few bits – like put the bins out and unload the dishwasher because the last few people who encountered the FULL to overflowing bins and dishwasher chose to ignore them, didn’t they?

I’ll show you a few pictures here first of how the dish came together and you’ll find the written ingredients list and method below them….

A packet of frozen veg, patiently defrosting for the first 30 mins of cooking time……..

Bulgar gets added AFTER chicken has cooked for 30 minutes first

This goes back in the oven for a further 30 minutes

You will need / Ingredients:
Chicken pieces – skin on – I used thighs
A little oil
2 onions
6 garlic cloves
1 tin chickpeas
Hot paprika
Tomato passata – 500g
Bulgar Wheat – 250g
Frozen Veg – 450g
Chicken Stock – 500ml – from cube is fine
1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped parsley
4 tbsp greek yoghurt
Half cucumber
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200C
Open the frozen veg onto a plate and leave to semi-defrost
Peel and chop the two onions into wedges, peel and slice each garlic clove in two
Arrange the chicken pieces in the base of large oven proof casserole dish
Place the onion, garlic and drained chickpeas in between the chicken pieces
Pour a little oil onto the chicken and pour the tomato passata in between the chicken pieces
Sprinkle hot paprika on top
Bake in the hot oven for 30 minutes
Prepare a raita (sauce/dressing) by combining the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 4 tbsp greek yoghurt and half a cucumber cut into small cubes
After the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes remove from the oven and scatter the bulgur on top – in between the chicken pieces, then scatter the semi-defrosted vegetables on top and press down with a fork so everything is touching some tomato
Lastly pour over the hot chicken stock and continue to bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve dressed with some raita.

Enjoy!
xx Sheila

Lemon Parmesan Chicken Spaghetti Platter

Recipes, What's for Dinner Mom?

Chicken – Lemon & Parmesan Chicken

Posted on January 24, 2018January 25, 2018 by sheila kiely

Lemon & Parmesan Chicken

Here’s a really easy way to get some vegetables into you and perhaps coax them into a cranky child. I’ve taken to blitzing greens lately, in particular kale and broccoli and I just blanch them with hot water for speedy cooking.
You might notice that I’m using a glass baking dish in the pictures here and that’s a change that I’ve made lately too. I was fed up of going at my rusting baking trays with ‘steel wool’ in efforts to scrape the burned on bits off and they just never felt really clean after the first use, whereas the glass ones clean beautifully in the dishwasher.
I’ve also pulled out my spaghetti measure in an effort to not end up with a mountain of left-over pasta.
There’s a video that accompanies this recipe over on my instagram and facebook pages if you’d like to see as well as read.

Lemon & Parmesan Chicken
You will need:
4 chicken breasts
3 fat garlic cloves
Rapeseed oil
250g cherry tomatoes
300ml chicken stock
tub creme fraiche – 200ml or 250g approx
1 lemon (using zest & juice)
150g washed and roughly chopped/shredded kale
Small handful pinenuts
Small handful grated parmesan
Spaghetti
(Note: Boil the kettle and have the food processor out for blitzing kale. You also need a colander set over a large saucepan)
Method:
Heat the fan oven to 200
Peel and slice the fat garlic cloves in half
Slice the chicken breasts in half
Place the cut garlic, chicken and the whole cherry tomatoes into a baking dish / tray and drizzle with some oil, mix well to coat everything and place in oven to partially cook for 10 mins.
Meanwhile get on with some of the prep. : blitz the kale using a food processor and add in the zest of a lemon and set aside.
Juice the lemon and set aside.
Grate the parmesan and set aside.
Once the chicken has had 10 minutes of cooking time add in the chicken stock and return to cook in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Finish off the rest of the prep while the chicken finishes cooking :
Dry fry the pine-nuts until golden brown and set aside.
Cook the spaghetti.
Place the blitzed kale and zested lemon in a colander placed over a large saucepan and pour over a kettle full of boiling water pressing the water through the colander with a spatula so that the kale is blanched but not soggy.
Remove the chicken from the oven, take out the chicken pieces and set aside. Add the creme fraiche and lemon zest into the chicken stock and mix with a whisk to form a sauce. Add in the cooked spaghetti and the blanched kale and mix well.
Place the chicken back on top. Grate parmesan all over and top with toasted pine-nuts.
Enjoy!
‘Til next time, Sheila

Recipes, What's for Dinner Mom?

Chicken Tagliatelle

Posted on July 8, 2017October 9, 2017 by sheila kiely

Chicken Tagliatelle.
Even in the summertime there are days that call for filling comfort food and this is one of those dishes. It has fast become a family favourite in my house and pleasing 8 people at the same time is no easy feat, so this one’s a winner. All of my kids are going through particularly sporty phases of their teenage and young adult lives and have taken more of an interest in what they are eating and that it is balanced and good for them. With a dish like this you know there are no hidden ingredients and they are all ingredients that everyone recognises and are easily sourced. Any left-overs will heat up well in the microwave so perfect if you can’t get everyone to the table at the same time!

Chicken Tagliatelle
Serves 6
You will need:
6 chicken pieces – on the bone, skin on
Rapeseed oil
2 medium onions
250g closed cup mushrooms
2 tsp dried sage
2 cloves garlic
Green veg e..g. green beans, tender stem broccoli
1 tbsp plain flour
500ml chicken stock – from cube is fine
250g carton of creme fraiche
Tagliatelle – dry or fresh
Method:
In a hot oven roast the chicken pieces drizzled with oil and seasoned with salt and pepper on high heat for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile roughly chop the onions and slice the mushrooms then fry them with the dried sage on a medium heat in some oil for 20 minutes in a large pan. Then add 2 crushed cloves of garlic to the pan and mix and cook for a minute or two.
Next add the tablespoon of flour and mix through, raising the heat to high and gradually mixing in the chicken stock until it is all added and begins to bubble then turn the heat to low.
Once the chicken has been roasting for 30 minutes put on a large saucepan of water and bring to a boil and then cook the pasta according to pack.
Also cook the green vegetables in boiling water for about 5 minutes max. to keep them nice and bitey and then drain them.
While the pasta and vegetables cook add the creme fraiche to the onion and mushrooms bringing the heat back up to medium to heat through.
Add the drained tagliatelle into the creamy onion and mushroom sauce and mix well.
Serve with the drained greens and roasted chicken pieces on top.
Enjoy!
‘Til next time, Sheila.

Recipes, What's for Dinner Mom?

No Chop Chicken Dinner

Posted on May 14, 2017October 9, 2017 by sheila kiely

Standing in your kitchen with one eye on the clock as you frantically try to chop, peel and prep. vegetables and meat for dinner, fills no-one with joy. Fine if you have all the time in the world and are not going to be put under pressure by a towering 6ft teenager who practically has steam coming out his ears because yet again he is STARVING. Not only are the children all verging on collapse because they’ve had ‘nothing’ to eat all day but you only have 30 minutes before you’ve got to don your ‘taxi’ cap and get on the road again for a sports fixture.
This is my life at the moment and it’s set to continue thus for a few more years until they decide I’m redundant. Meanwhile I’m continuously trying to come up with quick, easy yet balanced and filling meals and the tribe have declared this one a triumph.

Zero prep. Really? Yes, nothing! Unless you count cutting a lemon in half before you squeeze it and making up a jug of chicken stock, that’s all there is to it. No peeling, no chopping just straight-forward no-fuss cooking. Mini chicken fillets are a key ingredient here as they cook so much more quickly than full chicken breasts. If your brood are of the particularly ravenous variety be sure to accompany this with some fresh crusty bread to fill any gaps.

I simply don’t have time for weighing of ingredients here and judge most things by eye so you may want to check the pack of bulgur wheat for quantities of wheat vs stock and likewise you decide how much chicken and veg. you need to satisfy your audience. Err on the side of making too much as leftovers will be perfect eaten either hot or cold.
No Chop Chicken Dinner:
You will need:
Mini chicken fillets
Rapeseed or your preferred cooking oil
Chilli flakes (or chilli paste)
Chicken stock cube
Bulgur wheat
1 lemon
Packet of frozen sweetcorn halves
Fresh sugar snap peas and green beans
Balsamic vinegar
Honey
Block of feta cheese
Sunflower seeds
Method:
Pre-heat your fan oven to 200C and boil the kettle
Place the mini chicken fillets on a cooking tray and drizzle with oil and scatter over chilli flakes or stir through some chilli paste. Place in the heated oven and leave to cook for 10 minutes.
Make up the quantity of chicken stock needed for the amount of bulgur wheat you are cooking (I use a large glass measuring jug for this) add the bulgur wheat and cover the jug with cling-film or tinfoil to keep the heat in.
Leave to stand for 5 minutes or until all the stock is absorbed.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon. Take the lid off the bulgur wheat, fluff it up with a fork and stir through the lemon juice, cover again to keep it warm.
After the mini chicken fillets have been cooking for 10 minutes remove tray from the oven, drizzle chicken generously with honey and balsamic vinegar and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the sweetcorn halves in a saucepan of boiling water, they should cook in under 10 minutes.
Cook the sugar snap peas and green beans in a saucepan of boiling water and drain.
When everything is ready place the bulgur wheat in the base of a large serving platter. Top with the cooked green vegetables and then the mini chicken fillets along with all the juices.
Arrange the sweetcorn around the edges, crumble over the block of feta and scatter sunflower seeds over everything and serve.
Enjoy!
‘Til next time, Sheila.