Category Archives for Lunch/Dinner

Honey-Soy Chicken Drumettes

One of my family's favourite Chinese meals is honey-soy Chicken. But from a take-away shop it's filled with processed sugar and high salt content from the soy sauce. But this version below is just as tasty, and so much healthier! It's win-win!

Ingredients:

20 chicken drumettes
½ cup tamari
½ cup raw honey
1 garlic clove, minced

Method:

Combine the tamari, honey and garlic ensuring that it is all mixed well.

Place the drumettes in an oven proof dish and pour over the marinade. Marinade chicken for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Heat oven to 180 degrees. Bake drumettes for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves 5

Herb Crusted Roast Chicken

This will become your 'go to' meal when you are short for time and needing to prepare dinner quickly. It has all the veg and protein you need in the one dish.  The vegetables I have chosen were based around what was in season at this time of the year and therefore most flavoursome, this is obviously an easy thing to adapt to suit what your family enjoys or what you have left in the fridge. 

Ingredients:

1.8kg Roaster chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1-2 tablespoons mixed fresh herbs (I like to use rosemary and thyme), finely chopped
pinch salt
1 lemon, halved
1 brown onion, halved

Vegetables:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 leeks, white part only sliced
2 fennel bulbs, sliced
3 red onions, sliced
2 bunches Dutch baby carrots, trimmed and scrubbed
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Slice and prepare all your vegetables and place them at the bottom of a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, add the garlic and season them to taste.

Prepare your chicken by combining the herbs, garlic and olive oil and set aside. Place the lemon and brown onion in the cavity of the chicken and then rub the herb mixture all over the chicken, massaging it in well. Sprinkle a little salt on top.

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and then bake in the oven for 90 minutes (60 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered) until the chicken is cooked through and has a nice brown colour.

Serves 6

Poached Chicken Breast

Having staples in your fridge is a sure fire way to keep you eating cleaning and on track for being healthy. Poached chicken is one of those staples as it can be used in so many different ways. Add it to salads, to wraps, to soups, to stir-fries.... the options are endless. This is a really basic, simple flavour combination so feel free to add any other ingredients you may have at home

Ingredients:

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 shallots, sliced
3 garlic cloves, bruised
1 knob ginger, sliced
1 teaspoon peppercorns
2 chicken breasts, skin removed

Method:

Place your stock, bay leaves, shallots, garlic, ginger and peppercorns in a pot on the stove and bring it to the boil. Once boiling, add your chicken breasts. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow it to cook for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from the pot and allow chicken to rest for a couple of minutes. Use a fork to shred the chicken or otherwise slice it finely.

Serves 2

Tamari Marinated Salmon

Over the past year I have found it increasingly difficult to eat Asian inspired foods out in a restaurant as all the sauces and marinades are packed with refined sugar and if you ask for adjustments to be made, the usual response is that they can’t accommodate as the food will be very bland and they prefer for me not to have that experience. However Asian food does not have to be bland at all without the inclusion of refined sugar. Try out this recipe and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

4 x 180g Salmon fillets
½ cup tamari
1 garlic glove minced
1-2 tablespoons raw honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method:

Prepare marinade by combining tamari, garlic, honey, salt and sesame seeds.
Marinade salmon for up to 30 minutes prior to cooking.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Prepare salmon by placing skin side down on tray lined with baking paper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how you like to eat your salmon.

Serves 4

Chicken Bruschetta Style

Italian meets Greek in this one pot wonder. The flavour combination of the oregano seasoned chicken cooked in a classic tomato and basil sauce will make you want to go back for seconds. This dish can be prepared one day ahead to allow the flavour to be absorbed, and is also a dish that freezes well (if there are any leftovers!).

Ingredients

8 chicken steaks
2 tablespoons dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
8-10 Roma tomatoes, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ cup fresh basil, chopped

Method

Prepare chicken steaks by cutting them in half and seasoning with oregano, salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan that can be also transferred to the oven.
Brown the chicken steaks on each side for 3-4 minutes. Whilst the chicken is cooking, prepare your tomatoes, garlic and basil, mixing them together in a bowl and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Remove the chicken steaks and keep aside.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
In the same saucepan, place your tomato mixture and simmer on low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly.
Return chicken to saucepan, cover and place in the oven to cook for 35-40 minutes until chicken is tender. Check regularly to ensure that chicken is covered in sauce.

Serves 8

Chicken San Choi Bao

These make delicious little appetisers or tapas for when you are entertaining, or can be a quick and easy meal to prepare for dinner. I used chicken this time, but there is no reason why you can't change the protein or even have it purely vegetarian. The best thing about this recipe is that you can add any vegetables that you have in your fridge at the time.

Ingredients:

1 cos or iceburg lettuce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
600g chicken mince
1 zucchini
5 shitake mushrooms
100g snow peas
2 small bunches bok choy

Marinade:

½ cup tamari
¼ cup raw honey
1 garlic clove, minced

Method:

Prepare marinade and set aside.
Finely dice all vegetables.
Heat coconut oil in hot wok.
Add chicken mince and as it is cooking break it up into small pieces. Once chicken is mostly cooked, add diced vegetables and marinade. Mix well and cover with lid.
Whilst mixture is cooking, gently peel leaves of lettuce so that they remain whole. Wash well, dry and set aside.
Cook mixture for about 10-15 minutes until all vegetables are soft and have absorbed flavour of marinade.
Place 2-3 heaped tablespoons of the mixture in the lettuce cups and enjoy.

Serves 4-6 people

Satay Beef Skewers

I absolutely love to entertain. Entertaining does not have to be difficult, complex or very time consuming. Having some quick and easy dishes up your sleeve always makes this process easier. These Beef Satay Skewers are a great option as the sauce can be prepared a day in advance and the longer you leave the meat to marinade, the tastier they will be. My recipe is quite mild so that my children can enjoy them too, but there is no reason why you can’t give the sauce a little more oomph by adding some fresh chilli or a little more curry powder.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
1 can full cream coconut milk
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons, smooth peanut butter
½ teaspoon salt
8 bamboo skewers
600g diced beef

Method:
Soak bamboo skewers in water for approximately 30 minutes so that they won’t burn.
Place the diced beef on the bamboo skewers, 4-5 pieces on each one. Otherwise you can buy pre-skewered beef from your local butcher.
Heat oil in pan on medium heat on stove then add garlic and ginger, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer for approximately 5 minutes until all the peanut butter has dissolved. You may need to stir occasionally to ensure that everything mixes well and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat to allow sauce to cool.
Brush marinade onto beef skewers and place on tray. You may reserve some marinade as a dipping sauce.
Skewers can be cooked either in the oven, grill or on the bbq.

Makes 8 skewers.

Chicken and Cauliflower Bake

How good is it to only need one dish to prepare a whole meal? Just throwing all the ingredients into a tray and just leaving it to bake in the oven is not only satisfying, but leaves you wondering what to do with all the time you have saved! Cauliflower is known for its cancer fighting abilities and is also jam packed with so many other nutritional benefits. It is an excellent source of dietary fibre, Vitamin C and folates which are essential in the metabolism of fat, protein and carbohydrates. I found this recipe on the website Elana’s Pantry and my family and I enjoy it thoroughly every time.

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Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs, bone and skin removed
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 bunch of thyme
1 cup black olives, pitted

Marinade:
1 lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ red onion chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Prepare marinade and set aside
Place thyme scattered at the bottom of your tray and lay chicken pieces on top.
Scatter cauliflower florets and olives around chicken.
Pour marinade over chicken and bake for 40-50 minutes.

Serves 8

Healthy Fish ‘n’ Chips

No need to freak out when your kids ask for Fish ‘n’ chips for dinner! Forget what it used to be known for: greasy, battered, salty fast food, and make this instead. This meal is just as delicious, without the extra coronary heart attack! It is so quick and easy to prepare, and tastes so delicious that even my ten year old son thanked me for preparing him the “best meal ever”.

Ingredients:
2 x 180g white fish fillets
1 lemon
handful parsley
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper

Method (for the chips):
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees
Peel and cut sweet potato into thick chips
Spread potatoes over a baking tray and pour oil over chips and season with salt and pepper
Cook for approximately 30 minutes turning chips over once
Reduce oven to 180 degrees and continue cooking for approximately another 15-20 minutes whilst fish is cooking at the same time

Method (for the fish):
Whilst the chips are cooking, place fish fillets on two separate pieces of non-stick baking paper
Season with salt and pepper and top with a few sprigs of parsley and a couple of slices on lemon
Form a parcel out of the baking paper by twisting the ends
Place fish into oven at 180 degrees and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes or until cooked through

Serves 2

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