your best ever recipe.

CLARABEL

HI Folks

Not sure if this has been done before, but I thought if we al shared our one cheap, easy and impressive diner recipe we migh get some lovely inspiration.

Here's Mine...


Garlic Chicken


Take a large oven dish and cover the base with raw, new potatoes sliced into halves. cover these with chicken thighs, lay them over and spread them out a bit ( i go for about 2-3 thighs per person depending on size ) Rake a bulb of garlic, and split it into the cloves with skins on. tuck these in around the chicken pieces ( again, aim for 3 cloves per person...we have more but we looove the garlic!). Cut open a lemon into quarters, squeeze over the chicken and put the skins in the dish around the chicken too. pour over a glass of white wine or stock and then a bit of olive oil over the chicken, season and place in oven at 180c for about 1 and a half hours, then add more wine ( half a glass) and cook for another 20mins. chop some basil and sprinkle over. serve with bread and salad.

this literally takes 5 mins prep, is really impressive and I've never met anyone who doesn't love it! keep an eye on it towards the end as ovens vary, but your chicken will be crispy skinned, the garlic like little squishy sweet pearls and the potatoes cooked to perfection!:rolleyes:


OOOOOOOOOHHH I've made myself hungry just writing it..might have to have this tonight now!!!

Let's hear everyone elses fave recipes then....:T

CLARABEL

ohhhhhhh come on guys...no other recipes??

tra_2

I would love to contribute but quite honestly, i'm a terrible cook!

lindadykes

The garlic chicken recipe sounds great and I will def try that in the near future. My fave recipe is for Pesto Chicken and Pasta which I serve with herb bread - a bit of a twist on garlic bread and IMHO even easier to make. By the way I have tried a number of jars of pesto and some are good, some are bad and I have found one I always use if I can get it which is incidently the cheapest - 79p. Not sure what the make is but it is the one sold in Home Bargains, I always try and stock up when I'm in there.

Pesto and Chicken Pasta (Serves 6)

500g Bag Pasta Shapes
2 Large onions chopped into quite chunky dice
Chicken - I usually use 2 chicken breasts thinly sliced for 6 people, but you can use whatever you have, (I sometimes use bacon instead of chicken)
1 Jar green pesto

Cook Pasta, while it is cooking open the jar of pesto and pour off some of the oil floating on the top of the jar into a frying pan. Add the onions and chicken and stir fry together for about 5 mins till the chicken is cooked through. Tip the pesto sauce into a large serving bowl. Add the cooked chicken and onion. When the pasta is cooked, toss with the ingredients in the bowl and serve. - I have never yet had a guest that hasn't loved this dish.

To go with the pasta I make Herb bread

1 french stick - cut in half so it fits the oven
Butter
Dried mixed herbs

Either split the french stick in half lengthways (easiest and quickest) or cut vertically at 1" intervals without cutting through all the way. Spread the cut sides with butter and sprinkle with dried herbs then reassemble the loaf and heat through just like garlic bread until the butter has melted. Cut into pieces and serve.

sc6_2

This isnt exactly cooking -but it tastes great and is so easy to do- have been making it for nearly 30 years now!- I always make it to take into work fuddles etc and it always gets lots of compliments - esp from people who dont like jelly in trifles.

Cut up a chocolate swiss roll (or 3 if you get the really cheap small ones - just as good!) and line bottom of trifle bowl. Open a large tin of pears. Soak the sponge in the pear juice. Chop up the pears roughly and put on top of sponge. Make a chocolate blancmange and melt two chocolate flakes into it.(The flakes are optional -they just add to the yummy chocolate taste)
Spread over pears. When set cover with whipped cream and crumble another flake on the top.

So simple, so quick to do and to set and nothing to go wrong!!:o

sc6_2

sorry didnt see that post until i had pressed the button!! Will have a look at how to do that linking.

dlb

Leeks in cheesy breadcrumb sauce!!!

2 full leeks, boil until soft
In another pan, cook milk, grated cheese, butter, wholegrain mustard and a little flour ( sorry dont know weights just do it from memory) until sauce thickens.
Wrap a good piece of ham around each leek, then put into oven tray, cover with sauce, and top with more grated cheese and breadcrumbs.

Cook until sauce bubbles, yummmy!!!!!!!!!!

bargain_babe

Hello, new to the OS board - I have an easy peasy, cheaper than cheap recipe for biscuits, they are so easy to make that I leave the kids to get on with it. Please try and let me know what you think and thanks for this thread I'm looking forward to trying loads of these recipes - might make my hubby think I'm the perfect housewife yet!!!! lol


BISCUITS
2 cups flour (plain or S/r)
1 cup sugar
6 oz marg/butter (or about 1/3 of 250g tub)

Mix ingredients together in a bowl, no need to add anything else, the dough will come together (might need to mix with hands!).

Place little balls of dough onto greased baking tray and flatten down with a fork (to make little circles) They will spread so leave room between each.

bake for about 10-15 mins in oven about 200 degrees.

If they rise you can flatten again with fork, halfway through cooking.

Leave to cool on wire rack and enjoy!

Feel free to add favourites, such as raisins, choc chips and so on at the dough stage.

will keep in airtight container for good few days.

Happy baking!!!


Sorry, didn't manage to link this up but I did post it in the recipe thread as well??!!

MIRRY_2

This dish is a favourite in our house and feeds 4 of us for about a £1,
it can be prepared and left in the fridge until needed.
You can serve with with veg .


1 tin of tuna...... 33p
half a bag of potatos 50p
1 oz butter
1 oz plain flour
1/2 pint of milk 15p
pepper
2 tomatos (home grown)
sprinkle of cheese 10p

---

lay tuna over the bottom of a oven dish.
heat the butter in a pan and when melted stir in flour.
slowly add milk a little at a time and use a whisk to make it smooth.
heat until its creamy and smooth and add pepper.
pour sauce over the tuna.
Boil and mash the potatos and arrange over the tuna and sauce.
slice the tomatos and arrange over the mash,
then grate the cheese over the top and bake in the oven for approx 20mins.

lynzpower

Chicken & Veg pie

Leftover chicken
flour
butter
milk
frozen puff pastry ( farmfoods 60p one is good)
Pepper
Mushrooms ( loads of !)
Onion
large handful frozen sweetcorn
courgette

Make a roux based white sauce, season with pepper & dried herbs if you have.
Add in cooked chicken and chopped veg.
Cook on hob for about 15 mins

roll out puff pastry into rectangle place on oven tray, score smaller rectangle in the middle , bake until risen as per packet instruictions.

then carefully lift the smaller oblong out ( thats the lid), and fill the shell with filling.

Bake for a further 20mins

At the same time you can knock up some mash, chips, sauteed potatoes or roasted baby news ( my fave) for with it.

This serves at least 4, with leftovers for the cooks breakfast

cathybird

this is going to sound a bit plain maybe, but it's really delicious as long the potatoes are absolutely fresh, which they will be if you grow them. Dig up some potatoes, take them home, wash them, peel them, cut them up into pieces so they're about the size of half a big plum, boil them for 10 minutes or so till you can stick a fork into them easily, then shallow fry them in a small amount of olive oil till they're golden brown, shake on a little salt, and then eat them. They are so yummy and satisfying. I've made many a lunch out of my own potatoes this way. I don't know what it costs but the seed potatoes only cost me £2 for a big bag and each seed potato produces about four or five quite large other potatoes. A couple of pence?... And healthy as long as you don't overdo the salt & oil and eat other fruit/veggies as well!! Goes unbelievably well with roast chicken or fish too.