Leftovers recipe - chicken and vegetable lasagne

I must say when it comes to cooking I do like to use fresh ingredients but as mentioned before it's become important to start using everything from leftovers to the last bits left in the fridge so I have been on a mission to see how far I can take foods...from my two curries using leftover Sunday dinner to now using up leftover chicken. This is a really simple recipe which I think most of us like but twisting it to work with what I had leftover. I adore lasagne, it has to be one of my favourite comfort foods. Granted I don't cook it as much, due to the fact that when I do I eat practically the whole lot so I tend to make it every so often. Using leftover chicken and some vegetables that were in need of being used up actually turned up to be a really cheap and extremely satisfying meal, I didn't just add the chicken to the vegetables, I actually made two different layers of flavours which complemented each other perfectly and it got a huge thumbs up from my son. 

If you have any leftover chicken try out my filling, cheap and very tasty lasagne :))

Chicken and Vegetable Lasagne

Vegetable layer

1 onion chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 sprig of rosemary chopped

1 tsp oregano

1 courgette chopped into quarters

1 aubergine cut into small pieces

2 peppers cut into bits

1 1/2 tin plum tomatoes 

Salt and pepper

Chicken layer

Leftover chicken about 300g

40g pancetta cubes

100g mushrooms chopped

Cheese sauce

500ml milk

2 heaped tbsp cornflour

Knob of butter

Grated cheese (to your taste- I prefer not too cheesy)

Lasagne sheets

Mozzarella - I pack buffalo mozzarella sliced 

In a pan add some oil and heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, add the garlic and cook for a further minute and then add the herbs and cook for another minute

Add the vegetables (you may need a little more oil) and cook through for around 5 minutes on a medium heat (you don't want to cook too much as you don't want soggy vegetables)

Pour in the plum tomatoes and stir through. Add a good amount of salt and pepper and stir in. Simmer for around 10 minutes and remove from the heat

In a jug add the milk and stir in the cornflour

In a small saucepan on a high heat, melt the butter and once melted add the jug of milk and stir until the sauce begins to thicken, this will be when it starts to boil. Once thickened add the cheese and stir in to melt and turn the heat down to a slow simmer for a couple more minutes and remove from the heat

In a pan add some oil and on a medium heat add the pancetta, mushrooms and cook through for a couple of minutes and then add the leftover chicken and stir through. Cook this until well cooked and heated through and then add 2 large serving spoons worth of the cheese sauce and stir through and heat for a further minute and remove from the heat

To assemble to lasagne

In a large oven proof dish pour in just over half the vegetable mixture into the bottom of the dish and place half the mozzarella over the vegetables, lay over the lasagne sheets.

Spoon all the chicken mixture over the lasagne sheet and top with more lasagne sheets.

Spoon over the remaining vegetable mixture and top with the rest of the mozzarella, lay over the some lasagne sheets and pour over the remaining cheese sauce

Pop into a pre heated oven at 180/170c fan and cook through for around 30 minutes until golden on top and the lasagne sheets have cooked through ;))

Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine

As you all know, Moroccan food is one of my favourites and I love to play around with new flavours and variations to create something Moroccan. I had some fab butternut squash to use up so I went for a Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine, by adding in my favourite Moroccan spices I created this wonderful hearty and warm dish that is an absolutely wonderful family meal...serve with some nutty Pilaf rice or some flavoured couscous and you also have a great meal to serve lots of hungry guests. (I apologise for the picture, it's was really difficult trying to take a nice picture when I had my hungry boys tucking into dinner hahaha)

Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine

4 chicken thighs

1 onion chopped

250g butternut squash peeled and cut into chunks

2 tsp ras el hanout

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp flour

Large handful of raisins

300ml chicken stock

3/4 tin chopped tomatoes

Pre heat the oven to 150/140 fan

Heat some oil in a casserole pan or tagine

Add the chicken thighs and cook both sides until golden (you don't want to cook them through just give them a bit of colour) remove from the pan and set aside

Add the chopped onion and cook until slightly soft and then add diced butternut squash and cook for a further couple of minutes 

Add 2 tsp ras el hanout, 1 tsp cumin, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 2 tbsp honey and stir well to coat the onion and butternut. Tip in the raisins and cook for a couple of minutes, add extra oil if it seems a little dry

Place the chicken back in the pan and stir through to coat well with all the spices, add the flour and cook for 1 minute 

Add 300ml chicken stock and the tin tomatoes

Bring to the boil and then place in the oven at 150/140 fan to slow cook for around 2 1/2 hours 

Serve with couscous or rice

This is a fairly sweet fragrant tagine so if you like a slight spicy taste then please feel free to add 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper 

Coconut and Cinnamon Crispy Chicken

The other night I was pretty pushed for time as me and my son had busy all day and I had some chicken thighs marinating in some buttermilk but hadn't actually decided what I was going to coat them in until we bought some flavoured popcorn and it gave me a brainwave...I know strange ehh it comes to me in the strangest ways hehe! Anyway this was a caramel, cinnamon and coconut flavour popcorn and while I was eating it I thought that (without the caramel) it would taste pretty darn good on some chicken so off I went home to the kitchen and made a coconut and cinnamon breadcrumb for my chicken and it was fantastic...just enough coconut and cinnamon flavour to make our dinner something different and flavoursome :)) it even got a huge thumbs up from my son...mission accomplished! The secret to moist and tender breaded chicken whether its fried or oven cooked is to marinate it in buttermilk...honestly it's works wonders :)

Coconut and Cinnamon Crispy Chicken

4 chicken thighs

250ml buttermilk or 250ml milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice

2 -3 slices of bread

5 tbsp desiccated coconut 

3/4 tsp cinnamon (ground)

Salt and pepper

Plain flour

1 egg (beaten)

Pour the buttermilk into a deep bowl (or add the milk and lemon juice and allow to stand for 10 minutes) 

Add the chicken thighs and cover with cling film for at least 3 hours, overnight is good too

Pre heat the oven to 190/180c fan

Place the bread in a food processor and blitz to form breadcrumbs. Add the desiccated coconut and the ground cinnamon and salt and pepper and blitz again until fully incorporated. Pour this on to a plate.

Pour a little flour onto a plate and the beaten egg on another

Lift the chicken out of the buttermilk and place in the flour bowl. Coat with flour and add the chicken to the egg bowl and cover with the egg. Then finally add the chicken to the coconut/cinnamon breadcrumbs and coat fully.

Place on a lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining chicken thighs

Spray a little olive oil finely over the chicken

Pop into the oven for around. 30-40 minutes until golden in colour and the chicken is cooked

I served mine with garlic and cinnamon roasted veg and chips

Baharat Chicken with Chickpea Fritters and roasted vegetables

I'm a huge fan of middle eastern food, the flavours are so exciting and I love playing around with new combinations and ideas. I needed something that I could throw together and still have an enjoyable meal and so i came up with this and it really did fit the bill! Baharat Chicken with chickpea fritters...My whole family enjoyed this including my son who managed to devour three of the chickpea fritters hahaha :)) this is such a simple recipe to prepare and the flavours are wonderful, and makes such a great social family meal...my favourite :))

Baharat Chicken with Chickpea Fritters and roasted vegetables

Chicken

4 chicken thighs

2 tsp baharat spice mix

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp garlic oil

Fritters

1 tin of chickpeas

2/3 self raising flour

1/2 milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp tahini

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika (sweet)

Salt and pepper to taste

Roasted veg

Aubergine cut into slices

Courgette cut into slices 

Peppers cut into quarters

2 tsp sweet paprika 

1/2 tsp zatar spice mix

Salt and pepper 

Mix the baharat spice mix with the olive oil and drizzle over the chicken thighs as well as under the skin. Leave to marinade for a few hours (I left mine all day)

Pre heat the oven to 190/180c fan

Prepare you veg and sprinkle over the spices

Place the chicken into the oven and roast until cooked through and the skin is nice and crispy, around 40 minutes

Place the vegetables into the oven, depending on how thin or thick they've been cut, cook for around 30 minutes

Fritters

Drain the chickpeas and place half of them into a food processor along with the flour, milk, tahini, cumin, paprika, egg and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.

Pour into a bowl and mix in the rest of the whole chickpeas

Heat some oil in a frying pan (medium/high heat) 

Once heated, spoon the batter into the frying pan and cook until golden underneath and then turn over and cook the other side. Remove to a warm plate and continue with the rest of the batter.

Once the chicken is cooked, pull the meat and skin away from the bone, remove the bones and mix the meat around in the sauce. 

Pour the meat and the juices into a bowl and serve with the chickpea fritters and vegetables.

Place a fritter on the plate and stack with chicken, vegetables, some of the juices and a little yoghurt :)

Baharat is a little spicy so if serving for children, mix some yoghurt with chopped mint leaves :)

Middle Eastern Chicken with Caramilised Onion and Cardamom Rice

Over the weekend we had friends over and as I had just bought a new middle eastern cook book I was dieing to try out some of the recipes! I'm a huge lover of all types of food and I must say middle eastern food would probably be one of my favourites, the use of flavours, ingredients is out of this world and the first recipe I am posting about is no exeption...but don't worry they are so simple to prepare and great family meals

Middle Eastern Chicken with Caramilised Onion and Cardamom Rice

2 1/2 tablespoons Currants
olive oil
2 onions thinly sliced
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp heaped Ras El Hanout
Salt and pepper

6 chicken thighs
10 green cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon of whole cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
300g basmati rice
510ml boiling water
salt and pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the onion, honey and ras el hanout, with some salt and pepper. cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is golden and caramelized. Transfer onion to a small bowl.
Combine the chicken with salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Mix everything together with your hands.
Heat a large lidded pan over medium-high with some olive oil. Add the chicken, along with the spices, to the pot and cook for 5 minutes on each side. You want it to get golden, and for the skin to crisp up a bit. Use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
Add the rice, caramelized onion, salt, and pepper to the Pan. (Make sure there is olive oil in the pan, otherwise add more) Stir until the rice is coated in the oil/leftover chicken fat. Add the currants to the pan. Stir and then add the chicken to the pot, tucking it into the rice.
Add the boiling water, cover, and reduce down the heat to very low. Continue cooking for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, take off the lid and place a tea towel over the pot. Replace the lid and let sit for 10 minutes.
Then enjoy :))

I used whole grain rice and this requires a little more liquid and longer cooking time

Adapted from a recipe by yotam ottolenghi