Creamy mustard chicken

This is similar in some ways to the creamy pepper pork, except that the sauce has a lot more taste of mustard and less of the pepper.

Rub some whole (i.e. including skin and bone) chicken thighs with a small amount of salt and pepper. Pan fry (starting with skin side down) on a high heat to sear and seal the thighs. Transfer them, skin side up, to a baking tray and pop in the oven for about 1/2 hour to finish cooking while you prepare the sauce. 

Drain off the excess fat, leaving a spoonful in the pan, and fry a couple of finely-chopped shallots until soft. Add a splash of white wine and let it evaporate. Stir in a cup or so of chicken stock, then a good tablespoon of whole grain mustard. Let that cook gently for a while, then stir in a tablespoon of mild yellow mustard *. Once that has all blended in, stir in a cup of heavy cream and simmer to thicken.

Serve the chicken and sauce with choice of carbs and healthy stuff.

* Brits take note - this is the stuff that Americans put on hot dogs, not what you would normally call mustard **.

** Unless, of course, you really do want to unclog your nostrils and lose all sense of taste for the next month.

Cha han

A simple but tasty rice dish. This is for chicken and prawn, but you can substitute all sorts of ingredients to your taste.

Preparation:

Finely chop some chicken and marinade for an hour in a few spoonfuls of soy sauce, grated ginger, salt and pepper.

Cook a pan of rice.

Cooking - this is very quick:

Heat oil in a wok. Add the chicken, a handful of quartered shitake and button mushrooms, some shelled prawns, snow peas, sweetcorn, chopped scallions, and the rice. Stir in a whisked egg.

Spinach and ricotta lasagna

A delicious variant on lasagna, using a white sauce rather than tomato sauce. Follows the basic procedure for lasagna, with a few differences:

For the meat sauce, use a white meat like ground turkey or chicken instead of beef. Instead of the tomato pasta sauce add a jar of Alfredo sauce.

Make up the cheese sauce as normal, but use equal parts mozzarella and ricotta cheese instead of regular cheddar.

When layering the lasagna, put a layer of the meat sauce, then pasta, then a thin layer of chopped spinach before adding the cheese sauce.

Pasta with creamy chicken and mushrooms

A really simple but tasty dish.

Fry some chicken pieces and sliced mushrooms in a generous knob of butter until cooked. We actually like to fry the mushrooms first to brown them, then set them aside while we cook the chicken so they don't go soggy. Add a good portion of cream and boil until it thickens. Having butter in the pan helps to thicken the sauce.

Serve over pasta of choice.

Baked and breaded chicken

I think this started as a camping dish, but it comes out once in a while at home for a change. A favorite with the kids.

Lay out chicken pieces on a baking tray. Coat with a few generous dollops of mayonnaise. Sprinkle a mixture of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan over the top. Pop in the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked (about 40 minutes).

Chicken in port

A tasty treat for a cold evening.

Fry chicken breasts or thighs until browned. Add a cup or two of port and simmer on medium to high until the chicken is cooked and the port is well reduced. Let the pan cool for a bit, then stir in some cream. Bring back to the boil until the liquid thickens.

Serve with potatoes or rice, and vegetables or salad.

Cream of chicken soup

One of many variations on a soupy theme ...

Fry a finely chopped onion until soft. Add some chicken cut into small pieces and fry until browned.

Meanwhile, make a Roux sauce, enough quantity for a soup. Start with milk as normal, but while the sauce is still thick add chicken or turkey stock for flavor. Stir in a pinch of salt, and add the cooked chicken and onion.

Thai chicken wraps

This is a quick and simple meal, something we made up, with no pretense at any cultural origins. In fact, it's a bit of a hodge-podge of influences :)

Breadcrumb (either fresh or Panko) some chicken pieces and fry until crisp and cooked through. We usually use boneless thighs rather than breast, because they have more flavor and moisture. If cooking whole, slice thinly once cooked.

Serve on flour tortillas with mayonnaise or sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and a good dash of Thai sweet chili sauce.

Orange chicken

This is another from a group of crockpot Chinese recipes, which we tried with great success.

The full recipe is here, but is very simple.

Blend 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 of tomato ketchup, 6 oz of frozen orange juice concentrate, a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt in the crockpot. Flour and fry chicken pieces and mix them into the sauce. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Serve with rice.

Chicken satay

A rich and tasty dish. Rich enough to be suited to small quantities, as a starter or side. Very easy though.

Fry a chopped onion, then chicken pieces until browned. Add a jar of satay sauce and simmer to let the flavors mingle. If you want extra richness, stir in a spoonful of peanut butter. If the sauce is smooth and you want a bit of crunch, crush a handful of roasted peanuts and add them in. Near the end, add some chopped red pepper.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Not for people with nut allergies!

Tikka / tikka masala

Chicken tikka masala is reputed to be Britain's most popular dish, ousting such favorites as roast beef & Yorkshire pudding. I can't vouch for the authenticity of this particular recipe but the result is a rich and creamy dish well worth the effort.

The tikka part of the recipe is simple (and authentic). Blend together the following: a generous spoonful each of pulped ginger and pulped garlic, 1 or 2 teaspoons each of ground coriander, cumin, and chili powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt, 2 of lemon juice, and 1 of tomato puree. Add the meat - diced chicken or lamb - and leave to marinate for a few hours at least.

Place the mixture on a bed of sliced onion, drizzle with oil, and grill until cooked and browned.

This alone is great as a starter or side dish.

To "masala" the tikka, make up a separate sauce of fried onions, spices (a good spoon each of ground cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric, and a dash of curry paste). Cook the spices then stir in a cup of cream. Leave to stand (or on a very low heat) to let the flavors mingle.

When the meat and the sauce is ready, drain any excess liquid from the meat and decant into the sauce. Stir and heat through.

Chicken jalfrezi

This is a recipe from the "food" website. Never tried it before, but it's definitely one to do again. It uses many of the same ingredients that I use in my regular curry, but in a different order. Most of the spices went in near the end which, I think, brought out a fresher flavor than usual. My only departure from the published recipe was to add some ground almonds at the end to thicken up the sauce.

Fry a chopped onion and garlic until soft. Add the chicken, a pinch of turmeric, and a teaspoon each of salt and chili powder. Fry until browned. Add a good quantity of chopped tomatoes - almost as much by weight as the chicken, and cook covered until the chicken is cooked through. Uncover and continue cooking to reduce the sauce. 5 to 10 minutes before serving, add a teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander, and 2 tablespoons each of grated ginger and chopped fresh coriander.

Balti

This recipe follows the general guidelines in my general curry recipe, which you can find here.

In this case, I use onion, garlic, and a generous spoonful of chopped ginger, then my usual range of spices (a small amount of curry paste, dried coriander, curry powder, turmeric, and a generous amount of cumin. Add the meat, either chicken or lamb, then a couple of chopped tomatoes.

The special ingredient is a portion of Balti paste. You can get Balti sauce in jars, but I find it worth looking for the more concentrated paste, which gives a much better flavor. Follow the directions on the jar for quantity.

Stir in the paste, then add a drained can of chick peas, and simmer for about an hour.

Towards the end of cooking, stir in a dash of cream.

Serve with rice and Naan.

General Tso's Chicken

This recipe came from a collection of crock pot recipes, and I was impressed with how it turned out.

Mix the following into your crock pot: 1/2 cup each of sugar, soy sauce, and pineapple juice, 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar, a few cloves of minced garlic, and a pinch of cayenne pepper and dried ginger.

Season a generous spoonful of cornstarch with salt and pepper, and coat chopped up pieces of chicken. Fry the chicken over a medium/high heat until browned and add to the crock pot.

Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. When done, the sauce should be thick. If not, thicken with a bit of cornstarch mixed with water.

When I cooked this, I had no dried ginger so I substituted a spoonful of pickled ginger finely chopped. I was also fairly generous with the cayenne. The result had quite a zing to it, OK for me but you may want to take it easy if you're not used to spicy food.

Chicken Teryaki pittas

Chop some chicken into small pieces and marinate in a Teryaki sauce. Fry until cooked through. Serve in pitta pockets with mayonnaise and filling of choice such as rice, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomatoes.

Quesadillas

Another entry from our Mexican stable. In whatever form, wraps make a good alternative to the "meat & two veg" routine.

Chop some chicken into bite-sized pieces and fry until cooked.

Place a flour tortilla in a heated frying pan (non stick) and sprinkle on a few spoonfuls of chicken. Load it up with whatever veggies you want to include: finely-diced tomatoes, olives, green onions, diced pepper ... finish off with a generous handful of grated cheese and top with a second tortilla.

Cook on a moderate heat for a few minutes, until the bottom is nicely toasted, then flip the whole lot over. This is where you find out if you gave the cheese enough time to melt and glue everything together :)

When both sides are browned, slide out onto a plate, cut into wedges, and serve with sour cream.

It doesn't look much, but it's surprisingly filling!

Chicken chasseur

This is our simple take on a famous dish.

Fry a chopped onion until soft, then brown some chicken pieces - breasts or thighs either on or off the bone, whatever takes your fancy. Fry some mushrooms - either whole if they're small, or cut into quarters. Place everything into a casserole dish along with some diced carrots and a drained can of Romano or white kidney beans. Pour in some stock - or we use a sachet of mushroom gravy for added flavor. Cover and put in the oven for an hour or so. This is a dish you can prepare and leave to cook long and slow.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Chicken noodle soup

A very easy yet satisfying recipe.

Fry a finely-chopped onion until soft, then finely-diced chicken until browned. Add some finely-diced carrots and 2 or 3 sticks of chopped celery. Add chicken stock and salt and top up with water so the ingredients are well covered. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1/2 hour, so the veggies are cooked.

About 5 minutes before serving, throw in a couple of handfuls of Chinese style steam fried noodles (the ones that look like short pieces of curly spaghetti) and if necessary add more liquid so that everything is covered. The noodles will soak up some liquid so you need plenty.

This is also a great way to use up leftover turkey after Thanksgiving or Christmas. It's become one of our regular post-turkey traditions a few days later, also using the last batch of rich stock from the carcass (we always make stock and freeze it for use over the coming months).

Cajun chicken salad

A tasty spicy treat, especially for summer (which this isn't) or to serve as a starter.

Sprinkle some chicken pieces with Cajun spice mix and fry in olive oil & butter until cooked.

Make up your salad of choice. It's good to include some sweet ingredients such as dried cranberries or diced apple to offset the spice, and some slices of red onion also go well. A cool creamy dressing such as Ranch or Caesar is a good choice.

As a main course, serve with either potatoes - e.g. baked or fries - or rice or couscous.

Roast

Nothing quite beats a traditional Sunday roast. You need time for cooking, but it is a very easy meal to prepare.

Meat of choice - beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or on special occasions - turkey. The basic approach is the same. Place the meat in a roasting dish in about 1/2 inch of water. We use water rather than fat because it's healthier, preserves the flavor of the meat, and keeps it moist. Cover and cook in the oven for roughly 2 hours.

Timing depends on size. If cooking a turkey we use the "1/4 hour per pound plus 1/4 hour" rule of thumb as a rough guide, but nothing beats experience and occasional checks on the roast.

Potatoes: Boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. The outsides should be going soft but nowhere near ready to mash. Drain and place in a baking dish and drizzle a small amount of oil over the top. They should need no more than a spoonful per piece. Cook in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until the outsides are crisp and golden.

When the meat is ready to carve, lift from the roasting dish. Keep the liquid for gravy. If your dish can go on the hob you can make gravy right there, otherwise decant into a saucepan. Mix a spoonful each of cornstarch and gravy browning (we use Bisto) with cold water to make a thin paste. Pour slowly into the stock whisking to ensure it doesn't go lumpy. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you need more liquid, drain some off from whatever veggies you're cooking alongside.

Vegetables: Whatever you want. For simple meals we boil carrots, beans, peas, corn. They should only cook for a few minutes - nothing ruins a roast more easily than soggy veg!