Greek Chicken Marinade

 

Infused with garlic and oregano; this is an easy chicken tray bake that's juicy and tender and deliciously fresh and summery as the lemon that went into it. 

Greek Chicken Marinade

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Serves 4

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin in

1 1/2 cups plain Greek yoghurt

the juice and grated rind of 1 lemon

6 -8 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of salt

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together except the chicken.

Add the chicken to the bowl and coat well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. I find marinating overnight is best.  

The next day, preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC/180ºC Fan/Gas Mark 6). Line a baking tray with baking parchment and place the marinaded chicken thighs on the prepared tray. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining marinade. 

Carefully remove from the oven and brush each piece of chicken with the remaining reserved marinade and place back in the oven for a further 15 minutes or until golden crisp. For a more crispier chicken place under the broil, on high, for a few minutes after the 15 minutes is up. 

Allow chicken to rest for a few minutes before serving.   

Slow Cooker Breaded Chicken in Tomato Sauce

This recipe is a delicious one with minimal effort. You can use what ever herbs and seasonings you have on hand. No measuring required just use your flavour and cooking instincts to guide you... surprisingly sometimes these thrown together recipes come together really well. Serve with whatever side, you wish. I was feeling particularly autumnal and roasted some carrots, leeks, potatoes and sweet potatoes. 

Slow Cooker Breaded Chicken in Tomato Sauce

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5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

breadcrumbs, ready made or homemade 

herbs and seasonings, fresh or dried, of your choice

salt and pepper

tomato passata sauce

1 plastic zip bag

In a large plastic zip bag place a generous amount of breadcrumbs, herbs, seasonings and salt and pepper. Add the chicken breast. Seal the bag tightly and shake about or rub the chicken breast to make sure they are well coated. 

Pour some of the tomato passata sauce into the bottom of a large slow cooker insert; making sure that the bottom is well covered. Arrange the seasoned breaded chicken breasts on top of the passata sauce. Drizzle a bit more over the top of each chicken breasts. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 - 4 1/2 hours. 

Notes: the breadcrumbs I used were ready made ones. No measurements were included because I literally just pulled the ingredients together and eyeballed what I needed. I would estimate that the breadcrumbs, herbs and seasonings together measured about... 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup, for 5 chicken breasts, the breadcrumbs taking up most of the measurement but then again it's preference on how seasoned, how breaded and herby you would like the chicken to be. There was a bit of breadcrumb mixture leftover, after the chicken was coated, you could throw it away or do what I did just sprinkle the remaining loosely over top of the well coated chicken breasts before drizzling more passata sauce over top.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Seems as though the cooler temperatures have got the better of me; I have a cold. So trying to muddle through everything in hopes I will be feeling better soon. -JD 

Mustard, Seasonings and Gravy Mix

During the summer break we hopped the pond to England and brought back these culinary goodies we all enjoy. Some of the usual suspects made it home with us. What is great about these souvenirs is that they are edible! The only things missing from the photo are the Marks & Spencer's Lime Pickle and their Earl Grey tea, the one in the purple box. We had a lovely time and will enjoy these in the months to come.

Hope everyone is having a good week. Seems like summer is making a reappearance as the temperatures are swinging back to the warmer side. - JD    

Leftovers #23 ~ Oven Roasted Chickpeas

Having leftover chickpeas is great because they can be roasted and are fantastic to snack on and perfect to add to any salad. They offer protein and fibre and are simply delicious.  

To make these oven roasted chickpeas you will need the following:

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed then gently pat dry or air dry

some oil, something with a high smoking point would be good

seasonings, which ever you prefer or have on hand

1 baking sheet, lined with parchment paper

Pre heat the oven to 400ºF.

In a medium large bowl toss the chickpeas in some oil. Then add which ever herbs or seasoning you have on hand or like. I did a chili and herb spice blend. You may add salt and pepper to taste however I did not. I would rather give way to the spicy herb flavour than taste it is either too salty or peppery. Again, toss to coat the chickpeas. Place the seasoned chickpeas on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Checking them half way through the baking time and using oven mitts and holding the pan on either side carefully shake the baking sheet once to roll the chickpeas around; then place them back in the oven for the remainder of the baking time.  Once browned remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled enjoy them as they are or on a salad. 

This was my lovely salad topped with the chickpeas and some warmed halloumi cheese.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. The snow has arrived and the feeling of Christmas is in the air. - JD 

Last of the 2014 Party Mix

Doing some last minute preparations for tonight and thought I would make this simple seasoned snack. After midnight try saying that 10 times fast. 

Snack Mix

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3 cups Shreddies cereal

1 cup Cheerios cereal 

2 cups popped popcorn

1 cup small pretzels

1/2 cup peanuts - optional

3 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Place the Shreddies, Cheerio's, popcorn, and pretzels in a large bowl.

In a small/medium sauce pan melt the butter on low-medium heat. Once melted add the Worchestershire sauce and seasoning salt. Stir until well blended. 

Drizzle evenly over the cereal mixture and toss to coat. Turn on to the prepared baking tray and bake until cereal is crisp. 

Serve in individual bowls or a large bowl for sharing.

Notes: This recipe can easily be doubled. Try different seasonings. Add parmesan cheese.  

I guess this is the last post of the year... Thanks to all my followers around the world and hope you all have a Happy New Year! - JW      

Maple Bacon Seasoning

This seasoning was one that came as a suggestion from a friend. The smell is smoky with just a distinct touch of sweetness. Inhaling the aroma for the first time my senses tingled reminiscent of a good curry. Fenugreek is used to flavour some maple syrups and is also used in Indian cooking. So my thoughts reminding me of Asian food was not far off.

I went on a bit of a hunt for this seasoning and found it only at two places. Save On More and Walmart here in E-town. I first sprinkled it on popcorn. Very savoury and a bit salty. So I added a bit of white cheddar popcorn seasoning to tame the saltiness. It was quite flavourful popcorn.  

My second attempt with the Maple Bacon seasoning had me adding some to the chicken burgers I made over the weekend. I did not add an exact amount. Shaking enough into the raw meat until I felt I had the right amount of seasoning. As the burgers cooked the smell throughout the house was wonderful. As you can probably guess from the picture, they tasted very delicious!