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.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb. I don’t know how, but this is an ingredient that slipped under my radar for far too long.  Particularly since my Mum used to have a huge patch of it in the backyard when we lived in Canberra (I think she secretly kept it all for herself).  It’s only in the last few years that I have started to cook and enjoy this wonderful vegetable.

Now, even though rhubarb is technically a vegetable, it’s used most commonly in sweet dishes – like this Rhubarb Crumble. It’s kind of like the opposite of tomatoes that are technically a fruit but used mostly in savoury dishes (hope that logic makes sense).

Rhubarb has a wonderful tartness and very distinct flavour. The colour is also another great feature which really is accentuated once the rhubarb is cooked. While I’ve used the latest batch on this crumble, it is also great simply poached and served with yoghurt, ice cream or even breakfast cereal. It does have a high water content so don’t add too much when poaching, just a sprinkle will do.

The addition of other fruits to rhubarb adds a bit of extra sweetness and volume and I had a ‘little bit of apple’ so used that. Enjoy this Rhubarb Crumble with cream, ice cream, custard or all of them! It’s delicious.

Rhubarb (with a little bit of apple) Crumble

600g rhubarb (about 5 cups when cut up)
2 small green apples
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup plain flour
60g butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup sugar
Cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 180C (360F). Cut rhubarb into short lenghts of 2-3 cm (1 inch) Peel, core and cut the apples into similar sized pieces.

Dissolve the sugar in water and then bring to the boil. Carefully add the fruit to the syrup, stir to combine, cover and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. At the end of cooking the rhubarb should be tender, but not mushy. Tip all the fruit into a greased oven dish (any shape).

To make the crumble, place the flour in a bowl. Rub through the butter with fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the fruit. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until topping is golden.

Some other dessert recipes you might like:

Pear Crumble

Lemon Delicious – there’s a video to help with this one.

If you have any questions or comments on this Rhubarb Crumble recipe, please leave them below.

At this time of year with parties and entertaining at its peak, it is always good to have some quick and easy finger food on hand to share.  These Mini Quiche are perfect.  Not only are they simple to make, they can be made ahead and frozen.

My favourite part with quiche is always the filling, and playing around with different combinations.  Anything really goes here, so don’t be afraid to mix and match whatever you want.  All the usual combinations are great (ham, cheese, corn, onion etc), but have some fun trying some new ones.  Just make sure you come back and tell me about them!

Mini Quiche

Mini Quiche

Makes 12

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
½ cup grated cheese
¾ cup (approximately) of prepared fillings
1 egg
1 cup milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180C (360F).  Allow puff pastry to defrost.  Grease 12 hole mini pan. Cut 12 rounds from pastry and press into greased pan.

Mini Quiche Shells

Sprinkle some cheese into the bottom of each pastry then top with selected fillings.

Mini Quiche with filling

Beat together egg and milk, add salt and pepper to taste, then pour over fillings.

Mini Quiche with egg mixture

Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until browned and cooked through.  They can be served immediately or allow to cool and freeze for later.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• The filling options are endless.  Here are some combinations to get you started:
  Chopped cooked onions, bacon, sundried tomatoes
  Creamed corn, ham or bacon
  Chopped salami, olives and sundried capsicums
  Canned salmon and chives
  Cooked chopped onion, capsicum, corn and ham.
  Cooked onion, feta cheese, capsicum.
• The recipe can easily be scaled up and done in larger batches.  The above ratio of ingredients is for 12 mini quiches so just multiply accordingly.
• Use mini patty pans (as in photo above) or mini muffin pans or both!
• These Mini Quiche can be made up to two weeks ahead and frozen.  Simply defrost and reheat prior to serving.

What other combinations can you suggest?  Please leave them below for all to share.

Last week at the markets there was the first real flush of stone fruit available.  Plums and nectarines were leading the charge so I got a carton of each.  The nectarines, although small were full of fabulous flavor but with only a short shelf life so the plan was to cook them up or preserve them.

Pouring through the cookbooks I came across the following Nectarine Chutney recipe.  The ginger and spices won me over so last night I cooked it all up with the help of my daughter Maggie who did a lot of the chopping.

When all the ingredients went into the pan, the mixture had a real Christmas look – all red and green.  And that is why I had to get this recipe out as it is a great one to make as a Christmas gift (what I’ve done), particularly if you are lucky enough to have nectarines in season (which we do in Australia).

Nectarine Chutney Precooked

If you don’t have nectarines in season now, be sure to make this Nectarine Chutney when you do.  The beauty of chutneys is they are so easy to make – throw everything in the pan, simmer away until nice and thick, then bottle it up.

Chutneys are great served with curries and meats.  My Mum loves them on crackers with cheese.  However you eat chutney, enjoy!

Nectarine Chutney

Recipe from The Book of Preserves (“Australian Women’s Weekly” Home Library)

Nectarine Chutney

Ingredients

2kg nectarines, chopped
1 medium green capsicum, chopped
2 ½ cups white vinegar
4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup chopped dates
¼ cup chopped glace ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Method

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Stir over heat to dissolve the sugar without boiling.  Bring to the boil, simmer uncovered stirring occasionally until mixture is thick (it took about 3 hours for me).

Nectarine Chutney Cooked

Pour chutney into hot sterilized jars (see note) and seal.

Makes about 6 cups.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

To sterilize the jars select a suitable number of jars (makes about 6 cups).  Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water then rinse well in hot water and drain.  Put the jars into a low oven (100C-120C/210F-250F) for 30 minutes.  Remove the jars a few minutes before use so that they are still warm when bottling the jam.

How do you like to serve your chutney? Please let me know below.

This Zucchini Slice recipe is one of the oldest in my repertoire. The initial attraction was the simplicity of the recipe. When you’re first learning to cook, recipes like this are a great confidence booster.

Nowadays it’s still a favourite because not only is it simple to make, it is something that can be prepared ahead and then either reheated or served cold along with some fresh salad. Leftovers are great for lunch the next day too.

My kids call this Zucchini Slice ‘quiche’, probably because it’s like a quiche without the crust. I’m happy for them to call it what they like because the great thing is they will eat zucchini when it’s in this slice, but if I try to serve it on its own – forget it.

Zucchini Slice

Zucchini Slice

Ingredients

375g zucchini, grated
1 large onion, chopped
3 rashers bacon, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup self-raising flour
½ cup oil
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 180C (360F). Grease a lamington tin (approximately 16cm x 26cm).

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and combine well. Season to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until browned.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

Other ingredients can be substituted – carrots and ham are a great addition. Use whatever is at hand, just ensure they are all grated or chopped to a similar size.

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

Muffins, muffins, muffins – we just can’t seem to get enough of them in our house (see Strawberry Muffins, Cheese Muffins).  These Banana Spice Muffins are the latest favourites which I’m sure will change once another flavor is introduced.

Muffins are a great way to use up overripe fruit and the flavor is ‘spiced’ up a bit in this banana muffin recipe.  If you have an excess of bananas, peel and freeze them for later use in this recipe or others (Chocolate Banana Bread).  Alternatively you can add them to smoothies.

Banana Spice Muffins

Banana Spice Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup mashed banana

Method

Preheat oven to 200C.  Line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases or grease.  Combine flour, sugar and spice in a bowl.  Make a well in the centre and add egg, milk and butter.  Mix together lightly until just combined (the mixture should stay lumpy) then stir through the banana.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin, dividing evenly among the holes.  Each hole should be about ¾ full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Test the muffins are cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre of a muffin.  When cooked, it will come out clean.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Mixed spice combines cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.  If it’s not available any one of these would suffice.
• The muffins can be frozen.  For an easy lunchbox addition, seal in individual bags and grab from the freezer as required.

What’s your favourite muffin flavour? Please post it below in the comments area.

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.