Sesame chicken for an easy midweek supper

After a wonderful few days with my friend, it is now back to reality.  But not without a smile on my face because we just had the most lovely time.  It's funny, isn't it - when you have really good friends, it's just easy to spend time together and it doesn't matter when you last saw each other...you just pick up where you left off.  Lots of chatting, dog walking, laughing and relaxing...and of course eating - just tasty stuff like fish pie (see the recipe link here) and roast dinners, prepared together.  Perfect :-)

Sesame chicken

But now, I better had caught up on posting a few recipes .  How about this one: sesame chicken. 

Mr Happy Larder and I had this as part of our anniversary dinner the other day and with a few tweaks we turned it into a quick and simple yet tasty meal.  Served on rice and veggies, this is not just for special occasions but can easily be made as a midweek meal for the family when you need to feed everyone quickly.

The trick with this is to dust the meat with cornflour prior to frying - this keeps it incredibly soft.  I do this with all types of meat in stir-fries or casseroles and it always works a treat (added bonus: the cornflour also thickens the sauce).

I hope you'll enjoy this one! xx

Easy midweek meal

Gosh - where has this morning gone?  I meant to write my post first thing as usual but then got side-tracked by dropping off cakes at the community centre, taking the dog for his long walk, household chores... Anyway, here I am :-)  And no deep questions today, promised!  That was a bit morbid for a Monday, wasn't it? :-)  Something altogether more cheerful is today's recipe:

Chorizo chicken...

I stumbled across this Nigella Lawson one the other day and I think you might like this: chorizo chicken.   I have adapted it slightly to be less fatty but I think this is a brilliant tray bake sort of meal that can be put together in no time and tastes delicious.  What can be easier than chucking a lot of raw ingredients into a roasting tin with some seasoning and roasting it all in the oven?

Spring in my step...

The new week has started and having had some sunshine over the weekend, I feel energised and ready to go.  It's amazing just how much nature is starting to change now - in our park, the azaleas are starting to bloom and there are tiny buds on most of the trees now.  I wonder what it is like in your part of the world now?

I am excited about planning what will go in the vegetable patch this year.  Last year was a bit of a disaster but ever the optimist, I am hoping that this year's crops will be better.  So, today will be busy with planning and organising my seed collection.  And there will also be more baking and cooking - that goes without saying.  Which brings me to the latest recipe I have tried - chicken kiev.  I have had the ready-made version of this before but not made it at home, so another first for me. 

The first one I made was a bit fiddly but by the second one, I had got to grips with how to fold the meat.  We really enjoyed this one and I hope you will too.  With hindsight, I probably didn't add enough of the garlic butter filling (see photo) but it was tasty nonetheless. 

I will be back in a little while with a separate post with a couple of announcements...uh, sounds exciting :-)

Don't need much thyme for this...

It feels as if it hasn't really got light here the last few days.  It's making me rather lethargic and slow - I am hoping that my morning coffee will be giving me a bit of a lift.  If I didn't know better, I'd say it is November.  So, maybe this cheery little number will bring a bit of colour into the day...? 

The last couple of posts have included more time-consuming recipes, so I thought a quick & easy one is needed today.  After all, it is the middle of the working week and a straightforward meal is probably what most people are after.  So, how about thyme chicken? 

This dish is one that always comes out slightly differently and depends very much on what I have to hand.  Mr Happy Larder made this for me when we first met - definitely a keeper (both the man & the recipe ;-)).  We usually have this on rice as in the picture but it's also ideal as a filling for a pie.  And you can turn the dish vegetarian by replacing the chicken with mushrooms.  It's tasty, it's filling and it's quick - marvelous!

Mexican wave...

Do you love Mexican food?  I simply adore it...or at least the stuff that is served over here under that name.  Unfortunately, I have never been to Mexico but I imagine that it would be an amazing trip with lots of brilliant foods to try in different regions of the country.  Whenever I watch a cookery programme and it features Mexican food, I am sure I can taste it just watching it, so one day we are going to have to visit!  And until that dream trip becomes reality, I am just going to have to cook my own take on Mexican food.

I promised you another recipe and here it is: a fajita bake...corn tortillas stuffed with vegetables and chicken in a spicy sauce (or not so spicy, depending on how you like it) with a crunchy topping...how does that sound?  Some guacamole (or my version of it) on the side and cooling yoghurt (or sour cream) on top, this makes a great meal for during the week or would also work as an informal dinner for friends. And if you need to turn it vegetarian. it couldn't be easier!

Please click below to find out how to make this - I hope I have whet your appetite...

The Spice of Life

It's still quite early here - I am starting my day with a cup of tea, the dog asleep by my feet.

I actually managed to snap a photo of Keith the dog in the sunshine yesterday. He simply loves running through the heather in the park - just for the fun of it and I swear I can see him smile doing it :-)  He definitely appreciates the small things - a bit of sunshine, flowers in bloom...quite a good philosophy, don't you think?

Chicken curry

One of the things that makes me smile is having a nice meal that is quickly prepared and tasty.  Do you like curry?  I love it but all too often I find that it can be quite greasy.  This version may not be authentic by Indian standards but has all the lovely spices with only a minimum of oil and just a dash of cream to finish off - it is really quite delicious, even if I say so myself :-)  And the nice thing is that you can use leftover roast chicken for this or make it vegetarian by using up all those forgotten vegetables in the fridge.  Maybe a cold beer on the side...

What makes you smile?

Easy supper for friends

When you have friends coming for dinner but not enough time to prepare a complicated meal, how about a simple dish of tarragon chicken with mangetout and rice?  It's tasty, quick and satisfying and with the creamy sauce feels quite luxurious...why not give it a try?  Followed by a simple fruit salad it'll be a meal that can easily be prepared ahead, leaving you to enjoy the evening with your guests rather than slaving over the stove.

Tarragon chicken...