Chicken Paprikash

Made this to go with some wild rice and mixed vegetables - lovely creamy sauce.
I used some left over double cream with a tsp of lemon juice. Was enough for 3 people

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large Chicken Breasts cut up in pieces

1 Medium Onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp Tomato Sauce

300ml chicken stock

6 medium mushrooms, sliced

170ml Soured Cream OR Half Fat Creme Fraiche

chopped parsley to garnish

Heat the oil in a non-stick sauté pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper. Add the onion, garlic and paprika to the pan and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato sauce and stock, then return the chicken pieces to the pan and season.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Add the mushrooms to the pan and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the soured cream and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Recipe adapted from Waitrose.com

Asparagus & Pea Soup

Made this soup with the ends of some asparagus I had frozen after using the tips in the summer. Need to get some vitamin C into Ricky as he has a bad cough. Serves 2-3 people

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 6oz asparagus, finely chopped
• 250ml hot chicken or veg stock (I used a veggie OXO)
• handful of frozen peas
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of thyme
• 4 tbsp double cream or enough milk to give a creamy taste
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1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, fry for four minutes, until softened.
2. Add the asparagus and cook for another two minutes.
3. Add the stock and peas, bring to the boil. Season, to taste, with thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper and reduce the heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the asparagus is cooked through.
4. Add the cream or milk and blend until smooth.

Recipe adapted from Ready Steady Cook

Chicken Soup

There's nothing like a comfort soup when your suffering from a cold - these quantities made enough for a good sized bowl of soup for 2 of us. I used fresh herbs to get more goodness.

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 small yellow onion chopped

2 small carrots peeled and diced

1 pint chicken broth – I used an OXO

1 medium diced potato

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 tsp dried parsley

pinch dried thyme

pinch dried crushed rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 oz butter

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1. Boil the carrots, onion, potato, garlic and herbs in the chicken broth for 30 minutes or till the carrot is tender - add more liquid if some evaporates
2. Add the frozen peas and chicken and cook for 10 minutes
3. Make a thick white sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and then the milk
4. Stir the white sauce into the vegetables and heat for 5 minutes

Baked Ranch Chicken

Make up the Ranch Dressing as per previous recipe but leave fairly thick.

Use half the mix and stir in grated cheese to top some chicken breasts which have been flattened. Pat breadcrumbs on top and cook at Gas Fan 160 for 45 minutes till done.

The other half of the dressing can be thinned with milk to make a dressing for the salad.

Chicken and Guinness Bake

This was a nice combination of ingredients like a Coq Au Vin but with Guinness the recipe serves 4; I thickened the sauce before serving with bisto granules. The second time I made this I used par boiled carrots instead of the tomatoes and mushrooms.

3 Chicken Fillets 

Salt and Black Pepper

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

4 ripe tomatoes, quartered - I used 6 of my frozen ones

1 packet of bacon, cut into squares

1 onion, finely chopped

4 mushrooms halved

1 can Guinness beer

1 tablespoon Thyme 

Preheat oven to fan 160°C

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and cut each into 3-4 slices.

Heat the frying pan and cook the bacon till brown then set aside.

Heat the oil and fry the chicken and garlic quickly – this should take 1-2 minutes max with the heat on medium to medium-high. We are not trying to cook the chicken through here, just brown the sides. 

Add the bacon and onion back to the pan with the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and Guinness stirring till mixed.

Place all ingredients into an oven proof dish and scatter with thyme.

Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until done.

Serve with mashed potato.

Ranch Dressing

Recipe on internet for home made Ranch Dressing which keeps for months, you make the dry seasoning then add mayonnaise later to get the dressing.

In a pestle and mortar mix the following:-

2 tbsp dry parsley
1 tsp dill
2 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne

To make the dressing use 1 tbsp of the above with

4 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp milk or as much as you need to make it runny

I used the yogurt and lemon juice as I could not get buttermilk

Also seen a recipe that has 2 tsp dried thyme in the Ranch Dressing and you just mix dry ingredients with greek yogurt

Chestnut Stuffing

One of the best things to eat at Christmas - I made double for 10 people
Will freeze this and cook on Christmas Day

12oz Chestnuts
1/4 pint beef stock (I used an Oxo)
2oz butter
Tsp chopped parsley
1 chopped onion
4oz breadcrumbs

Slit the skins of the chestnuts and boil for 10 minutes; remove skins while still warm
Place chestnuts in a pan with stock and cook for 15 minutes until mushy
Mash chestnuts with the butter
Stir in onions and parsley
Add enough breadcrumbs until the mixture is a firm consistency
Cook for 20-25 minutes Gas 5

Toad in the Hole

Served with mash and baked beans and lots of Daddies Sauce - yum
I did 2/3 of this for 2 of us and it was too much

1 cup plain flour

Salt & Pepper

3 large free-range eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

Pinch of thyme

8 good quality pork, beef or vegetarian sausages

Dijon mustard

2 tbsp beef dripping or lard

1. To make the batter, sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and pepper.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack in the eggs. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat the eggs into the flour then slowly beat in the milk until the batter is the consistency of double cream.
3. Stir in the thyme. Cover and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes, or ideally 1-2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 8.
5. Heat a large non-stick pan and cook the sausages over a medium heat until golden-brown all over. (If you do not have a non-stick pan add a little oil.) Turn off the heat and brush the sausages with the mustard. Set aside.
6. Place the dripping or white vegetable fat into an ovenproof dish and heat in the oven for five minutes or until the dripping is hot and hazy.
7. Add the sausages to the hot dish and pour in the batter. Immediately return the dish to the oven and cook for 20 minutes; then reduce to Gas 6 for 10 minutes or until well-risen and golden-brown.

Recipe from BBC TV - Antony Worrall-Thompson

KETO Version

2 Tbsp Plain Flour

2 Tbsp Almond Flour

3/4 cup Milk

3 Eggs

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