Chicken – Page 2 – The Food Wife

Chicken & Tomato Rice Traybake

26th March 202426th March 2024
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

This one pan meal is so simple and very tasty. Use a seasoning of your choice on the chicken (just salt and pepper or I like to use a Cajun seasoning for an extra kick). Serves two hungry people (or it will stretch to more depending on appetites).

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thighs (skin-on, bone-in)

150g brown basmati rice

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Salt & pepper/seasoning

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c (fan). Place the four chicken thighs, skin side up in a deep roasting tin. Season the chicken with either salt and pepper or you could use a spice mix of your choice (I like a Cajun spice mix). Spread the rice around the chicken, ensuring it doesnâ€™t go on top of the chicken.

Step 2: Empty the tinned tomatoes into a 1L jug and then fill the empty tin with recently boiled water or hot vegetable/chicken stick and stir together. Carefully pour over the rice.

Step 3: Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Step 4: Check that the rice and chicken are cooked before serving, with a green salad.

Vietnamese-style Sticky Meatballs

11th February 202411th February 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 12

These are so tasty. Sticky from their honey, sesame and soy glaze and juicy inside. You can of course serve these with noodles or rice but for a low carb option try them in gem lettuce leaf â€˜boatsâ€™. I made these with turkey mince but by all means use a mince of your choice.

Ingredients:

400g (turkey) mince

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 lemongrass, finely chopped

3 lime leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

For the sticky glaze:

2 tbsp honey

4 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

1 tsp sesame seeds

Step 1: Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl (use your hands for best results).

Step 2: Wet your hands to help them not stick and make 12 balls from the mixture.

Step 3: Add a little vegetable oil to a (non-stick) frying pan and over a medium heat, fry the meatballs until they are golden all over and cooked through. This will take 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile mix up the glaze ingredients.

Step 4: When youâ€™re happy the meatballs are cooked, add the glaze mixture to the pan and raise the heat a little so that the mixture reduces to a sticky glaze, which should take a couple of minutes, and toss the meatballs so they are coated.

Serve.

Spiced Chicken and Sweet Potato Traybake

9th November 20239th December 2023
by thefoodwife

Serves 2-3

For those evenings that you want a comforting meal but with very little input. This one pan, let the oven do all the work, satisfying dish ticks all the boxes. Five or so minutes prep at the start and you then have nearly an hour to relax/put the kids to bed/enjoy a glass of wine and at the end you have a beautiful meal to enjoy. Result.

Ingredients:

600g sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped

2 onions, peeled and cut into 8ths

600g bone in/skin on chicken thighs

1 lemon, cut lengthways into 8ths

Olive oil

1-2 tbsp Cajun seasoning (depending on your taste preference)

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 200c (fan). Get a large baking dish and place the sweet potatoes, peppers, onions, lemon and chicken on it. Drizzle everything with olive oil and sprinkle over the Cajun seasoning. Toss everything together with your hands and then spread the potatoes, onions, peppers and lemons on to the base of the baking tray as an even layer and then nestle the chicken thighs on top, skin side up.

Step 2: Bake in the oven for 50 minutes. You shouldnâ€™t need to interfere with it at all during this time.

Step 3: Remove from the oven and serve, with the wonderful juices and a green salad or green vegetables.

Turkey Koftas

28th May 202328th May 2023
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 25 (serves 5+)

These little morsels are great as part of a mezze or as the protein with a salad for lunch or dinner.

Frying the onion before adding to the mince helps give a sweeter flavour to the koftas and the turmeric gives them a golden hue.

Iâ€™d suggest using a non stick pan. I also like to use two frying pans as Iâ€™m cooking them. Once I have filled both pans itâ€™s ready to start flipping them over and the whole process is done quickly.

I used turkey mince but you could use beef, lamb or pork if you prefer.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

750g Turkey (thigh) mince

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground turmeric

3 tsp ground cumin

Oil

Step 1: Over a medium heat, fry the onion in a little oil, until golden but not browned. (I used a garlic oil for extra flavour).

Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the spices, salt and pepper, eggs, mince and slightly cooled onion together, with your hands. Make sure you really squish it so itâ€™s thoroughly combined.

Step 3: Heat some vegetable oil in a non stick frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Use a dessert spoon to scoop a heaped amount of the mixture and use another spoon to round the top. Transfer into the hot oil and cook for a few minutes on each side, not turning until each side is browned. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

Step 4: Remove the koftas from the pan, once cooked, and keep warm until all are ready and then serve.

Chicken and Chorizo Skewers

9th May 20239th May 2023
by thefoodwife

Makes approximately 14 mini skewers

These little skewers are great cold for a picnic or hot straight from the barbecue, or serve warm with salad for a lunch.

The chicken is marinated in spices that echo the flavours of the chorizo.

I served these with my giant couscous salad with roasted peppers and feta.

Ingredients:

1kg chicken breast cut into large chunks (aim for 42 so 3 pieces per skewer)

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp olive oil

14 slices of chorizo cut about 5mm thick

14 small wooden skewers, soaked in water for an hour before skewering

Step 1: Begin by marinating the chicken pieces in the paprika, garlic and chilli along with the oil. Leave for at least an hour or up to 24 hours in the fridge.

Step 2: Skewer the chicken pieces and chorizo slices on to the skewers. I did two pieces of chicken, followed by one slice of chorizo and then finishing with one piece of chicken per mini skewer.

Step 3: You can cook these on a barbecue or under the grill, turning every couple of minutes until cooked through. You can also do them in the air fryer – I found that 15 minutes at 188c was just right to cook them through but keep them nice and juicy!