Chicken and Filo Pie (s)

Serves 4 
You decide - make 1 large pie or 4 individual ones


Ingredients:
olive or canola oil spray
500 g skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 leek, sliced
250 g mushrooms, quartered or sliced 
1 red pepper, chopped
1 packet Maggi Chicken and Mushroom soup mix
375 ml can light and creamy evaporated milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 filo sheets
olive or canola oil spray, extra
1 t sesame seeds


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil and heat. Add chicken and cook until browned.
3. Add leek, mushrooms and red pepper. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring.
4. Add combined soup mix and evaporated milk. Bring to the boil, stirring. 
5. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 
6. Stir in parsley.
7. Spoon into 1 large or 4 individual dishes. 
8. Lightly spray filo sheets with oil and scrunch over tops of dish.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden.
10. Serve with a greed salad or your favourite seasonal vegetables.

Simple Soy Glazed Chicken - Slow Cooker

INGREDIENTS:
2 T sweet chilli sauce
1 T sesame oil
1/4 c soy sauce
1 small or 1/2 large lemon, juice
3 T brown sugar
4 chicken quarters (or similar)
2 T cornflour
2 - 3 T sherry or cold water

METHOD:
1.  Measure sweet chilli sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar straight into slow cooker. Mix.
2.  Place chicken pieces into slow cooker making sure to coat well in the glaze.
3.  Cook on high for 4 hours. After about 2 hours, stir mixture to ensure chicken is well coated in glaze.
4.  At the end of cooking time, mix 2T cornflour with sherry or cold water to form a smooth paste. Add to slow cooker, stir and allow to thicken.

This is a quick, easy and tasty slow cooked chicken recipe. No browning required and very few dishes! We served with Balsalmic Roasted Vegetable Salad and Broccoli. A delicious dinner on the night the AB's brought home the cup!

Recently I have experimented with this recipe. Try adding 4 - 6 peeled and halved potatoes. Half an hour before serving, remove potatoes and place in roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil. Place potatoes in oven at 200°C for approximately 30 minutes.

Chicken & Bacon Casserole - Slow cooker

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 chicken portions
2 rashers smoked bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, diced
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2-3 teaspoons dried mixed herbs

Method

1. Heat oil in large frying pan, brown chicken portions (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts). Once browned place chicken in slow cooker.
2. Add bacon, onion, garlic, carrot and celery to fry pan. Fry for about 4 minutes.
3. Sift flour into frying pan. Add tomato puree and dried mixed herbs. Gradually add chicken stock, stirring after each addition. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
4. Once the mixture is boiling add to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Try serving with potatoes and your favourite green vegetable.
Try adding other vegetables of your choice to the casserole mixture. I used about 1 cup of diced pumpkin.

Serves 4

Chicken Laksa

Serves: 4 - 6 people
Preparation time: 15 minutes or less

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons chicken laksa paste
500 ml chicken stock
2 x 400 ml cans coconut milk
2 chicken breasts, sliced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 x 50 g cans baby corn
100 g snow peas
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2 T coriander leaves, finely chopped
steamed rice or noodles

Method:

1. Combine laksa paste, chicken stock and coconut milk in a pan. Bring to the boil.
2. Add the chicken, capsicum, corn and snow peas. Stir to combine.
3. Simmer for 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Add lime juice and coriander, stir to combine.
5. Divide rice or noodles into bowls. 
6. Add laksa including juices into bowls. 

Note:
To make the dish hotter, add 1 extra tablespoon of laksa paste. To make the dish milder reduce the laksa paste by one tablespoon.
We made this recipe using green thai curry paste instead of laksa paste.
Half the quantities of ingredients for a meal for two.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Serves 4

4-6 boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil

Stir fry chicken, onion and garlic in frying pan on medium heat until the chicken has some color and the onion is translucent. Then pour entire contents of pan into crock pot. Then add:

15 green cardamom pods (can be strung together with needle and thread - I always do it this way, and then a friend informed me putting it in some cheesecloth would be easier...good thinkin')
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp curry paste (like Patak’s mild curry paste**)
1 tsp cayenne powder (optional) It’s really hot if you add this
2 tsp tandoori masala*
1 tsp garam masala*
1 can coconut milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 5.5 fl oz can of tomato paste
Salt to taste

Mix gently and cook on high heat 4-6 hours or low heat 6-8 hours.

*If you live in Canada you can find these two spices (as well as the cardamom pods) at Superstore in the International Foods aisle.

**I have also used Patak's Hot Curry Paste and it makes this dish have a good kick to it. When serving company (or kids) I stick with Mild.

Serve with basmati rice and warm naan bread.

Thai Chicken Curry

This is a great recipe for a cook ahead dinner. The fragrant sauce can be prepared well ahead of time, ready to simmer chicken.

Ingredients:
2 T green curry paste
1 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 c chicken stock or water
400 ml can of coconut cream
2 T fish sauce
finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
salt and ground black pepper
1 kg boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
sliced spring onions
1/2 c toasted cashew nuts
Optional: 6 - 8 dried curry leaves or fresh lime leaves

Method:

1. In a large heavy saucepan heat oil and fry curry paste for about a minute.
2. Add coconut cream, stock or water, fish sauce, lemon rind and optional curry leaves and simmer for 10 minutes. Sauce can be prepared ahead to this point and stored in the fridge.
3. When ready to serve, add the sliced chicken.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly and leave to cook on lowest possible heat for 5 - 6 minutes without uncovering until the chicken is cooked and has turned opaque.
5. Do not over cook.
6. Season to taste and garnish with spring onion and cashew nuts.

Serves 6 - 8 as a main course.

Note: you can experiment by adding vegetables to this recipe. I like to add in a little sliced capsicum.