Tag: honey

Honey & Rosemary Butterfly Chicken with Feta & Sundried Tomatoes

Honey & Rosemary Butterfly Chicken with Feta & Sundried Tomatoes

‘Butterflied’ chickens became quite a popular addition to the supermarket line-up a couple of years ago – and with a  price-tag that was a little outrageous.

Buy a frozen chicken as they are much cheaper usually. Defrost it and then cut down the backbone with your kitchen scissors – (breast side down) –  remove and discard the back bone. Turn the chicken over so the breast side is up, open the chicken out onto the chopping board, and flatten it using the palm of your hand.

Once you have done this a couple of times, you will find it very easy to do, and wonder why you paid $20 for one ready-to-go from the supermarket!

This recipe has been a go-to recipe as it is quick and easy to prepare, and tasty with the addition of the topping.

Being able to cook the potatoes under the chicken, not only makes them even more flavoursome, but reduces the dishes 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 Chicken,rubbed down with honey & sprinkled with chopped fresh rosemary
  • 5 large Agria potatoes, peeled, and sliced 1 cm thickButterflied Chicken (1)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • Ground black pepper and sea salt

Topping

  • small handful of basil, chopped
  • 2 tbsp thinly sliced sundered tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 100 g feta, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 180°c

Topping – combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and season. Set aside.

Toss the potatoes with the olive oil and garlic and then arrange, slightly overlapping in a large baking dish. Pour over the stock and season with salt & pepper.

Season the chicken and place skin side down on top of the potatoes and roast for 30 minutes.

Turn the chicken over and roast for another 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and spread the topping over the top of the chicken and roast for a further 10 minutes until the toppings lightly golden and the chicken is fully cooked through -and the potatoes are tender.

Lift the chicken off the potatoes onto a large plate and carve as you wish.  Divide the potatoes onto warmed dinner plates, top with the chicken. Serve with roasted vine tomatoes and a shaved fennel & rocket salad.

Serves 4

Happy eating xx

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Glazed Bacon Hock – Slow Cooker style!

If you love the taste of a Christmas Ham – but the cost puts you off, then try this recipe for a mid-year Christmas Ham at the fraction of the cost. But with that same delicious flavour.
I discovered this recipe a few years ago and have made it several times now. Each time I cook it the aromatic smell of cloves & ham nearly cooked brings the hubby into the kitchen to see when dinner will be ready to eat!
I remember my mum making soup with a bacon hock as the base – loads of vegetables, lentils and a can of tomatoes served with toast.  Pea and Ham is also a really popular soup with bacon hock. We enjoy a bowl of soup too – but it wasn’t a favourite meal for a teenage boy!
A bacon hock will cost around $8-$10 and will feed four with this recipe – and the children will love it!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Bacon Hock
  • 430-450g can pineapple piecesGlazed Bacon Hock
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • fresh herbs

Remove the rind from the bacon hock.

Place pineapple pieces and juice in a slow cooker. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and then spoon into the slow cooker.

Add the bacon hock to the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high for 4 – 4 1/2 hours.

Cut the bacon off the bone and serve with mashed potatoes. Spoon over the glaze and pineapple pieces. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Serves 4

The slow cooker is your friend as a working mum whether you are at home with the children, or at the office – this is one of those recipes that you will use on the weekend too.

I prepared this recipe and put the timer on in the late afternoon yesterday and gave myself the rest of the day off ! Isn’t that what the weekend is for?

Happy cooking xx

 

 

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Honey-Baked Persimmons

I discovered a new fruit for our family over the past couple of weeks –  ‘Persimmons’. We got a fruit box delivered to the house which contained several of these interesting looking fruit and I really didn’t know what to do with them.

A little google research and I learnt that you can eat them just like an apple – in fact one of my work colleagues was crunching on one at her desk this week! They kind of taste like a melon this way.

I roasted ours – it just sounded like a nice dessert, and as we like hot fruit puddings I figured it was worth a shot.

Ingredients

  • Persimmons
    Soft, sticky & caramelised when baked

    1 ripe persimmon per person

  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 slices of raw ginger
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp liquid honey
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • Zest of 1 lemon zest
  • 2-3 limes juiced

Serve with a natural yoghurt, creme fraiche, or coconut yoghurt, and lemon or lime wedges

Preheat oven to 200 degC/390 Fahrenheit.

  1. Cut persimmons in half horizontally leaving the skin on.
  2.  Place cut-side-up in a baking dish. Combine cinnamon, ginger, star anise (if using), vanilla, honey, lemon zest and juice and boiling water in a bowl, then pour over persimmons.
  3. Cover with tinfoil and bake for about 45 minutes, or until persimmons are soft. Check on the persimmons halfway through cooking time and if they are looking dry you can top up with a little more liquid if needed.
  4. Switch oven to grill. Remove tinfoil and spoon honey syrup over the top of the persimmons, then return to the oven to grill for 5-10 minutes or until the tops are caramelised and browned.
  5. Divide persimmons between serving plates and serve with a dollop of yoghurt, crème fraiche or scoop of ice-cream on the side. Drizzle over syrup from the baking dish, and serve with a wedge of lemon or lime to squeeze over just before eating

I have to say persimmons baked liked this tasted like  something I wasn’t expecting – sticky & caramelised, they truly were good.

Persimmons are quite cheap to buy at the supermarket right now – they are approximately  $3.50-$4.00 per kilo, and they really are quite a versatile fruit. You can eat them raw, bake them for a dessert or even with a savoury dish (I have it on good authority they are great with a roast pork dish!)

Happy baking xx

 

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Honey Roast Veggies with Garlic Aoili

Honey Roast Veggies go well with the Tasty Honey Mustard Chicken or Sticky Honey Mustard Drumsticks for a quick, easy and satisfying week night dinner.

We first tried this yummy veggie dish recipe a few weeks ago with our ‘My Food Bag’ – it was so good I wanted to share it with you all. I was able to have this dish prepared and on the table within 30 minutes – I have made it several times again as it was not only delicious, but quick and easy to prepare during the working week.

And one lesson Mum’s need to learn when feeding children, is that the more interesting and colourful a dish, the higher chance you will have of it getting eaten!

Try it with fish too – in fact you could have any protein on the side and this vegetable dish would compliment it 🙂

Honey Roast Veggies

  • 2 carrots, peeled & cut into thick sticks
  • 2 parsnips, peeled & cut like the carrots
  • 350 g potatoes, diced
  • 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 courgette
  • 1 capsicum
  • 1/2 bag baby spinach, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 220°c, and line a tray with baking paper.

Toss the carrot, parsnips, potato and garlic in olive oil and honey. Season with salt & pepper and bake for 15 minutes.

Dice the courgette and capsicum and add to the the tray tossing together. Bake for a further 10 minutes, until tender.

To finish toss the roughly chopped spinach through the cooked vegetables and you are done!

Garlic Aioli

  • 2 cloves garlic, skin on
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • Remove the garlic from the tray of  veggies and squeeze the garlic flesh into a small bowl  discarding the skin. Mash with the back of a spoon. Add lemon juice and mayonnaise and stir to combine. Season with salt.

Happy eating xx

Honey roast veggies
Making veggies look interesting is half the battle won getting kids to eat them – try this veggie dish & taste success with the kids!

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Sticky Honey Mustard Drumsticks

Looking for something quick to cook for dinner during the week? Prepare these chicken drumsticks the night before and park them in the refrigerator overnight. While they are baking in the oven you can make a quick coucous vegetable salad or a tray of roasted veggie’s. 30 minutes later you are sitting down for a quick and tasty meal!

For those of you who like to use your  microwave, pop the chicken drumsticks  in a covered dish for 8 minutes then brush with reduced marinade.

In the summertime, get the barbecue going and grill for 6-8 minutes until golden and cooked through – less dishes with this method 🙂 Spoon over the remaining reduced marinade to serve.

Ingredients

  • 12 chicken drumsticks
  • ¼ cup light honey
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped thyme or rosemary leaves
  • salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  1. Place chicken in a bowl or clean plastic bag. Combine honey, vinegar, garlic, mustard, oil and herbs, add to chicken and toss to coat. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
  2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 200°C and line a large baking dish with baking paper for easy clean-up. Arrange chicken drumsticks in a single layer on prepared oven tray and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Transfer marinade to a small pot and simmer until slightly thickened (about 3 minutes). Bake chicken, turning frequently, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a skewer in the thickest part (25-30 minutes). Brush with reduced marinade during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Spoon over the remaining reduced marinade to serve.

Happy cooking xx

Sticky Honey Mustard Drumsticks
Finger licking sticky goodness the kids will love!

 

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