Recently I was singing the praises of pearl couscous – and here that song continues with this super tasty dish of Indian Chicken with Pearl Couscous.  The recipe appeared in our local Sunday paper soon after writing the post so it was not one that I could pass up.  Plus, it was singing the praises of the dish as an “anti-inflammatory boost” – something that never goes astray in the cooler months.  This is a result of all the spices and herbs so don’t leave them out.

Basically the dish incorporates Indian flavours  with chicken, vegetables and pearl couscous and is quick and easy to make.  What I also really like is that it’s all done in one pan (like One Pan Chicken with Spinach) which minimises clean up and pot juggling.

The original recipe called for red capsicum, but I had heaps of green on hand so used those.  You could easily mix and match the vegetables according to what is on hand.  The kids really like the texture of the pearl couscous so give this a go and give the family a health boost in the process.

Indian Chicken with Pearl Couscous

Recipe adapted from Sunday Mail

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp medium curry powder

600g chicken thighs, cut into chunks

1 green (or red) capsicum, diced

1 medium zucchini, diced

250g pearl couscous

2 1/2 cups simmering chicken stock

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, ginger, fennel and cumin seeds.  Stir for 3 minutes before adding the curry powder.  Stir briefly to release the flavours and then add the chicken, capsicum and zucchini.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times.

Add the pearl couscous to the pan and stir gently for 1 minute.  Pour in the simmering stock and stir well.  Bring to a low simmer, season to taste, cover with a lid and allow to cook over low heat for around 10 minutes.  Stir a couple of times and adjust the temperature if it becomes too high.  If the mixture starts to dry out, add a little more water.

The dish is ready when all the liquid has been absorbed by the couscous and it is cooked.  Stir through the lemon juice and serve.  A garnish of coriander leaves can be added.

Serves 4

Hope you enjoy this recipe and if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.  Plus, tell your friends on Facebook (click the icon below) so they can try it too!

It’s been quite some time since I posted a Stir Fry recipe (last one was Kangaroo Chow Mein) – probably because I haven’t made as many lately.  I always enjoy watching the kids pick the ‘green bits’ out of them which is usually the Asian greens that have wilted in the cooking process.  They’ll spend ages fishing around for them, then realise it’s a losing battle and get on with eating it anyway.

Thankfully, stir fries are back on the menu at our house and this most recent variation of Chicken with Ginger and Lemon Grass was a good one.  The added bonus for the kids was there wasn’t actually any ‘green bits’ to pick out.

This was a super quick stir fry that could easily be adapted to whatever vegetables are on hand.  It does require the chicken to marinate for the best flavour so make sure to allow time for this.  It’s often easiest to get this part organised the night before which leaves only minimal preparation on the night of cooking.

Chicken with Ginger and Lemon Grass

Recipe adapted from AWW Sensational Stir Fries

Ingredients:

500g chicken breast fillets, chopped coarsely

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp peanut oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

200g broccoli, chopped coarsely

1 large red capsicum, sliced thinly

5 shallots, sliced thickly

Method:

Combine chicken, oils, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sauce and sugar in a bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken in batches until browned.  Set aside.

Add the broccoli and capsicum to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Return chicken to the wok.  Add shallots and stir-fry until all heated through.

Serve (it’s perfect with rice).

Serves 4

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• The original recipe also included lemon grass, so if you have some on hand chop a couple of teaspoons and add it to the marinating mixture.
• Any vegetables could be used – snow peas, carrots, bean sprouts or beans would all be great.

Hope you enjoy trying this recipe and if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.  Plus, tell your friends on Facebook (click the icon below) so they can try it too!

Recently the humble Roast Chicken has become a star attraction in our family.  I love it because it is so quick and easy to prepare, and the family just love consuming it – lock, stock and barrel.

Not only do we get a yummy dinner, but there is always some leftover for sandwiches and lunch boxes the next day.  The kids particularly enjoy a roast chicken leg (although these are lucky to make it to the next day) for lunch.  And lastly, to extract every bit out of the bird, I’ll use the carcass to make some chicken stock.

Of course, you can also create another meal from any leftovers if they haven’t made their way into lunchboxes.  Try some of my leftover chicken recipes.

So one little bird can go a long way.   And not only is it a fast and easy meal to prepare, it is also quite cheap with good sized chickens readily available for under $10.

Anyway, here’s a little video I’ve done singing the virtues of roast chicken and showing you how to prepare one.

Easy Roast Chicken Recipe

Take one whole chicken, around 1.7kg and pat dry with paper towel. Place on a rack in baking dish. Drizzle with a little oil and rub all over the skin. Sprinkle on seasonings of choice. Bake in 200C (390F) for around 1 1/4 hours. Test if cooked by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the flesh. If the juices run clear, the chicken is ready.

If you like this recipe, tell your friends on Facebook (click the icon below) and if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Using up leftovers is always a great way to create a meal and it is really close to criminal to waste any chicken leftovers.  So today I’ve dug up two great Leftover Chicken Recipes you’ll love.

You can use chicken leftovers of any kind – roast, breasts, thighs, BBQ.  Plus, it is important to remember that with any kind of poultry, it should always be used up within a day or two of being cooked.  Don’t try and use something that’s been sitting around in the fridge for a while, you could regret it.

If it happens to be a roast chicken, once you’ve used up the meat and there’s nothing but the carcass, don’t forget to save it for a delicious batch of chicken stock.  Either make it right away or freeze the carcass and cook it up later.

Leftover Chicken Recipes

Recipe #1 – Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake

Chicken leftovers, diced
Jar of pesto sauce – basil or sundried tomato is great
375g pasta – cooked and drained
1 ½ – 2 cups Mornay or cheese sauce

Method

Stir 3-4 tablespoons of pesto through the pasta.  Add more or less according to taste.  Pour pasta into baking dish and top with diced chicken.  Pour over mornay sauce, sprinkle with cheese and bake in moderate oven (180C/350F) for 20 minutes, or until heated through and golden.  Serve.

Recipe #2 – Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chicken leftovers, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
440g tin diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
85 g packet chicken flavoured 2 minute noodles

Method

Heat some oil in a pan and sauté onion until soft.  Add curry powder and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.  Add tomatoes with juice, peas and chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until heated through.  Break noodles up slightly and add to pan with flavor sachet.  If there is not enough liquid to cover the noodles, add some hot water.  Cook for 2 minutes until noodles are done.   Serve.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

Of course, you don’t have to wait for chicken leftovers to make these recipes.  You can either cook up some chicken to use or use a store-bought one for a really quick meal.

What are your favourite leftover chicken recipes?  Leave them below.

As the temperature continues to rise heading into Summer, salads are appearing more regularly on the menu.  This Chicken Schnitzel Salad is a variation of one recently featured in Super Food Ideas.  I’ve already made it twice – the first time being after the ‘freezer incident’ (see Bacon & Egg Fettuccini).  Both times it has been met with much excitement by the family combining several favourite ingredients – chicken schnitzel, bacon and egg.

The beauty of a salad like this is that it is a substantial meal that can be served alone while being quick and easy to prepare.  Taking the effort to make your own chicken schnitzel is worth it if you can but store bought ones will certainly do the job.

Chicken Schnitzel Salad

Chicken Schnitzel Salad

Ingredients

Adapted from Super Food Ideas

Vegetable oil
500g chicken schnitzel
6 rashers shortcut bacon, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, quartered
Lettuce leaves (as much as you like)
½ cup salad dressing

Method

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.

Arrange lettuce, egg and  bacon on plates or in serving bowls.

Pour sufficient oil over the bottom of the frying pan to cover it and heat over medium-high heat.  Cook the schnitzels until golden brown and cooked through – 4-5 minutes each side.  Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain.  Thinly slice the schnitzel and add to salad.  Pour over dressing.  Serve.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Use different salad dressings to make different variations of the salad.  Our favourite is to make it a Caesar salad – use Caesar dressing and sprinkle with shaved parmesan.
• Add other salad ingredients for variety also – tomatoes, grated carrot and cucumber all work well.

If you have any comments or questions about this recipe, please leave them below.

This Vietnamese Noodles dish is a wonderful fresh salad and is perfect in the warmer months. It combines soft rice vermicelli noodles with lemongrass chicken and crunchy salad vegetables all doused in a traditional Vietnamese dressing. With all these ingredients, it is a meal in itself and makes a great light lunch or dinner alternative.

At first glance, the Vietnamese Noodles recipe looks a little complicated, but in fact it’s really easy. While there are a lot of ingredients, there is very little cooking involved. Most of the work is simply in chopping the vegetables and herbs.

My kids really liked this dish too (it was included in Menu Plan #8). I served the salad dressing on the side and minimised the herbs on their plate as the flavours for these can be a bit overpowering for little people. They happily tucked in and gave it the thumbs up.

Vietnamese Noodles

Adapted From Australian Good Food

Vietnamese Noodles

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/3 cup fish sauce
¼ cup white sugar
1 ½ tablespoons peanut oil
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
500g chicken thigh fillet
375g rice vermicelli noodles
2 cups (160g) beansprouts
½ iceberg lettuce, coarsely shredded
1 carrot, coarsely grated (using a vegetable peeler)
1 cucumber, cut into thick matchsticks
1 cup mixed herbs eg mint, thai basil, Vietnamese mint, coriander
2 tablespoons lime juice

Method

Make the marinade by combining half the garlic, ¼ cup fish sauce, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon peanut oil and lemongrass in a bowl. Add chicken and ensure it is well coated. Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

To prepare the rice vermicelli, place the noodles in a heatproof dish. Pour over enough boiling water to cover the noodles. Allow the noodles to stand until tender, about 5 minutes, and use a fork to gently separate the noodles as much as possible. Once ready, drain off the water and rinse them well under cold water. Drain again.

Make the base of the salad by dividing the noodles between the serving bowls. Top with the vegetables and herbs.

To make the salad dressing, combine the remaining garlic, fish sauce, sugar and peanut oil with the lime juice and ½ cup water. Set aside.

Now it’s time to cook the chicken. Preheat a grill or barbecue to medium heat. Place the chicken on the heat and cook until well browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Once cooked, remove from heat and slice into strips.

To finish off the salad, add the chicken strips and any extra garnish. Serve with the dressing alongside.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Ensure rice vermicelli is used not bean-thread vermicelli.
• It is important to choose nice fresh herbs and lettuce so there is plenty of crunch in the salad. Use whatever Asian herbs are readily available.
• A finely chopped birdseye chilli can be added to the salad dressing for a little heat.
• Chopped peanuts can be used as a garnish to add extra crunch.

If you have any questions or comments about this recipe, please leave them in the comments section below.

This Chicken, Chickpea and Tomato Bake recipe has appeared regularly on our menu for the last few years.  The latest adaptation is done in the slow cooker, my favourite kitchen appliance.  Although my “favourite” appliance can change at the drop of a hat, depending on what cooking mood I’m in.  And with summer coming up, the ice cream maker is likely to find its way back onto the scene very soon.

Although this recipe is done in the slow cooker, it is still called a ‘bake’ because it can just as easily be done in the oven.  But I guess it could also be called a chicken casserole recipe.  The combination of chicken, chickpeas and tomatoes is very delicious.  It’s also a lot of fun, albeit a little messy, tackling the sauce covered chicken legs.

Cooking this recipe last week (Menu Plan #5) something major happened.  I had a huge lightbulb moment as I watched my family devour the meal.  I realised that I will need to start increasing the quantities for a lot of my recipes now.  My kids seem to have doubled their intake lately, particularly when it’s a meal they enjoy (like this one).  A recipe that used to be a good sized meal for everyone, with a little leftover, is now being totally devoured!  There goes the grocery bill!

Chicken, Chickpea and Tomato Bake

Chicken, Chickpea & Tomato Bake

Adpated from Super Food Ideas

Ingredients

8 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons olive oil
300g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
½ cup chicken stock
75g feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Method

Heat 1 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Cook the drumsticks for 5 to 6 minutes, until golden.  Place them in the bottom of the slow cooker and pour over the chickpeas.

Heat remaining oil in the frying pan and cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, stock and season to taste.  Bring mixture to the boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until thickened slightly.

Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker and ensure drumsticks are coated.  Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.  If using, sprinkle feta over for the last half hour of cooking.

Serve with couscous.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• This recipe can be done in the oven too.   Simple add the chicken, chickpeas and tomato mixture (as cooked above) to a suitable capacity baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 180C.  If adding feta, remove foil and sprinkle over then bake uncovered during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
• Other chicken cuts can also be used – wings, thigh cutlets, thighs – adjust cooking times accordingly.

If you have any comments or questions about this recipe, please leave them below.

Here is a quick and easy slow cooker recipe that was on Menu Plan #3.  This Chicken & Corn Chowder is really a super chunky soup.  It is a great way to use up leftover chicken and is really easy using the slow cooker.

The recipe comes from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbookwith just a few tweaks.  I used fresh corn which gave the dish slightly more crunch, but frozen corn works well too.

Chunky Chicken and Corn Chowder

Chicken & Corn Chowder

Recipe adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 5 cm dice
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Pinch of paprika
2 cups milk
3 cups corn, fresh or frozen
1 -2 cups cooked chicken, diced

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and celery for a few minutes.  Place the potato onto the bottom of the slow cooker scrape over the onion and celery mixture.

Add the stock, bay leaf, paprika and season to taste.  Stir the top layer of ingredients ensuring the potatoes stay submerged.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours – the potatoes should be tender.

Add the milk, corn and chicken.  Stir well, cover and cook on HIGH for around 1 hour to heat the chowder through.  Remove bay leaf and season to taste.

Please feel free to leave your comments on this recipe below.

Some other Slow Cooker recipes you might like:

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks with Red Wine & Honey

Pea and Ham Soup

Slow Cooker Beef Curry

Welcome to the first post on The Klutzy Cook blog.  For me, I couldn’t think of a better recipe to launch with than a risotto, a family (and personal) favourite.

I adore risotto, in fact, it is very hard for me to go past it whenever it is offered on a menu.  Over time, I’ve also managed to master cooking it at home.  In early attempts, I would often undercook the rice and have also tried some oven cooked risottos which were never the same as cooking them on the stove top.

Nowadays, I always have extra stock on hand (usually another cup) and know that the risotto is done when the rice is ‘aldente’ (firm to the bite) – exactly the same test as for pasta.  Once you have mastered the basics of how to make risotto it is one of those dishes that is extremely versatile and  can be adapted to whatever ingredients are on hand.  Some of the best risottos are in fact the simplest and rely on just a few seasonal ingredients.

This Chicken Tomato Risotto is the latest in my repertoire.  Initially I was skeptical of the flavour without browning the chicken however, the final flavor was fantastic.  To achieve the best flavour, it is important to use chicken thighs.

Chicken Tomato Risotto

Adapted from Super Food Ideas

Ingredients

Risotto Ingredients

4 cups salt reduced chicken stock
400-500g jar tomato pasta sauce
1 tablespoon oil
100g (approx. 6 slices) pancetta, chopped
1 medium brown onion , finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup dry white wine
4 (500g) chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cubed

Combine stock and pasta sauce in a saucepan and to a simmer.  Heat oil in pan and add pancetta, onion and garlic.  Cook, stirring, until onion has softened (about 5 minutes).

Stock & Tomato Sauce

Onion & Pancetta Saute

Now add the rice and rosemary and stir well to ensure rice is coated with oil and translucent.  Cook while stirring for 1 minute and then add wine.  Allow the wine to boil and add chicken stirring well to combine.

From here add 1/3 cup tomato stock mixture and cook stirring regularly.  Once absorbed, add another 1/3 cup and continue to do this until the rice is tender and creamy (‘aldente’).  This should take about 20-25 minutes.  When finished, season to taste and serve topped with grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Chicken Tomato Risotto

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Bacon can be substituted for pancetta.
• Use a wine you would be happy to drink.  If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t spoil your food with it.
• It is important to stir the risotto often – the grains rubbing together results in the creamy texture.

Cooking risotto is something that takes a little time and the dish requires constant attention, but with some patience (and a glass of wine) the rewards are definitely worth it.

What is your favourite risotto?