KFC

This quick chicken recipe is Mia's favourite. I often use chicken nibbles with the girls and Mia usually eats 5 or 6 given the opportunity! It is something my Mum made when we were kids, and she calls it "KFC" (Kate's fried chicken), although it is baked and not fried.

Kate's fried chicken

6 drumsticks (or 12 nibbles)
1 T melted butter
1 T oil
2 T flour
1 t garlic salt
1 t paprika (I use smoked paprika because I love it!)
1/2 t curry powder
1 t sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180 C fanbake. Line an oven dish with foil and grease.
2. Mix the oil and butter together.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together.
4. Baste the chicken with the oil/butter then roll in the coating that you have placed in a flat plate. Make sure you coat the whole piece.
5. Bake for 20 mins on each side (15 on each side for nibbles).

If you want to cook more pieces, just double the coating recipe.

(This photo doesn't really do it justice!)



Chicken and Potato Bake

After I had my second daughter my dear friend Amy turned up with this for our dinner (despite having a 2 year old and 3 month old twin girls herself!). It is delicious and real comfort food, I had to have the recipe. The cream makes the healthiness of it somewhat questionable. I have made it with evaporated milk before, it tasted fine, although the sauce was much runnier than with cream. You can also substitute some of the potato for kumara, which my girls love.

Chicken and potato Bake

8 large potatoes, peeled and sliced thickly
2 chicken breasts, chopped into 1cm squares
1 onion, chopped
200ml cream
1 T dijon mustard
Cheese and chopped parsley to top

1. Preheat oven to 200 C
2. Cover the potatoes with water, bring to the boil and boil for 5 mins to parboil. Drain and put aside.
3. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan and fry the onion until softening over gentle heat.
4. Turn up the heat to medium and add the chicken to cook through.
5. Take off the heat and add the mustard and cream, mix to combine.
6. Take a flatish baking dish (I use a ceramic one that I make lasagne in). Layer 1/2 the potato, 1/2 the chicken mix and repeat, ending with chicken mix.
7. Top with grated cheese and chopped parsely and bake for 20 mins.
8. Serve with salad or veges, we had corn on the cob with ours - yum!!!

Thai Chicken Salad

In the post Xmas/New Year days I always feel like light, tasty, healthy food that is going to hopefully cancel out some of the gluttony of the holiday period. We have just got back from a weeks holiday with my family in the Wairarapa in which I lounged around all day reading books and ate and drank far too much! I wanted something light and healthy that I could wip up in a few minutes, and this is what I came up with. It was really tasty and just what I needed:

Thai Chicken Salad

300g cold shredded chicken
125g packet or rice vermicelli noodles
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1/2 c roasted peanuts, chopped
2 carrots, grated

Dressing:
3 T coriander in a tube (see picture)
2 T fish sauce
2 T lemon or lime juice
1 t sugar
1/4 c sweet thai chilli sauce

1. Soak the noodles in warm water for about 20 mins until soft. Drain.

2. Mix all the dressing ingredients together.

3. Toss everything together and serve topped with extra chopped peanuts and some chopped mint or coriander.

Note: I served the same ingredients up to my pre-school daughters - I just served the chicken, noodles and veges separated on a plate with no dressing.