Tag: simple to prepare

• 

  Honey Brined Roast Chicken

  Brining a chicken before you roast it enhances and locks in flavours and keeps the meat tender and moist. We have some general brining tips here (Ben’s brining tips) and today I am going to be adding honey and cinnamon.

  

  Steps

  1. Making the brine
  2. Brining the chicken
  3. Cooking the chicken
  4. Serving

  Equipment

  • 1 chefs knife
  • 1 large mixing bowl (big enough to submerge the chicken)
  • 1 oven roasting tray
  • 1 roasting rack (preferable)

  Ingredients

  • 1 chicken
  • 1 cup of table salt
  • 4 Tbsp honey
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Several pieces of fresh thyme
  • Boiling water, to make a salt slurry
  • Cold water, to submerse the chicken

  Making the brine

  1. Add the 1 cup of salt and 4 Tbsp of honey to a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add boiling water to make a slurry, mix until the salt is dissolved.
  3. Add the cinnamon stick, rosemary and thyme.

  

   

  

  Brining the chicken

  1. Add cold water (so we don’t start cooking the chicken in a hot brine) to the bowl and then submerse the chicken.
  2. Pop the bowl in the fridge over night or for at least 4 hours.

  

  Cooking the chicken

  Pre-heat your oven to 180C. Cook the chicken for ~1 hour.

  Note: You can make it hotter for a shorter cook but the meat should be at 75C in the breast.

  

  You can even chuck some spuds in. Go hotter earlier and then reduce to 180C towards the end, checking the temperature of the meat as you finish.

  

  I am gob-smacked every time with the result. 🙂

  

  Serving:

  Let the roast rest for about 15 minutes while you make your gravy and serve the sides.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more chicken recipes and roasting posts : 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 3, 2022

• 

  PK’s Slow Cooker Corned Beef

  Corned beef is the salted brisket (a cut from below the neck) or silverside (a cut from the hindquarter) of beef gently boiled in water, spices and herbs. In Australia, it is almost always the silverside that is sold as corned beef.

  You’ll get a great result if you gently boil the meat for 3 – 4 hours in a sauce pan but I like to go for 8-10 hours in my slow-cooker. I’ll show you below how I save time and money by using home-made vegetable stock instead of adding fresh vegetables to the pot.

  Here I am serving tender slices of corned beef with an Egyptian style cold salad:

  

  Ingredients

  • ~1.5kg Corned Beef (also called silverside in Australia)
  • 1L vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 6 cloves
  • A splash of white wine vinegar
  • Water, enough to bring the liquid level up to cover the meat

  Simply

  Trim off any excess fat and silver-skin from the silverside:

  

  Chuck all the ingredients above into your slow-cooker and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours:

   

  Serving

  Corned beef pairs well with almost everything. I love eating it with salads or with steamed veggies or even drowned in a cheesy sauce along side potatoes.

  

  You can’t go past a corned beef and cheese sandwich:

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more slow-cooker dishes and more easy to make meals: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 14, 2021

• 

  PK’s Slow Charcoal Weber Lamb Leg Roast

  There are few meals more mouth-watering than the Aussie Sunday lamb roast. 

  My favourite is the mini lamb leg roast because it is so cheap yet it always turns out tender across a range of cooking methods. Here I have cooked the roast in my charcoal Weber for ~2.5 hrs using a lowish (130°C) indirect coal method. The spuds needed a finish off in a hot oven to get them crispy but that was the only time I had to do anything.

  Bone in it came to 1.1kg and $12.50 for 4 people. Talk about thrifty easy cooking! 

  

  Simply

  Put the lamb in a zip lock bag with garlic-infused olive oil, a handful of rosemary and oregano, salt and pepper at least 2 hours prior to cooking and refrigerate. Massage the bag every now and again to spread the oil around evenly.

  

  Take the bag out of the fridge so it can approach room temperature just as it goes onto the Weber. Use your preferred coal technique (I described mine above and the coals are off to the side in a holder) so that your meat has an internal temperature of 70 C for medium-well. 

  Pop the potatoes alongside the lamb at the start, carrots and pumpkin etc in about an hour later. Transfer them to a piping hot oven about 30 minutes prior to serving to get them crispy. 

  When you get the meat to the temperature you want, transfer it to a chopping board and cover it with aluminium foil to let it rest for at least 10 – 15 minutes. 

  Serving

  Serve hot with Dave’s Mint and Balsamic Sauce and lots of gravy. 🙂

  

   

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more lamb dishes and previous roast posts: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 4, 2021

• 

  Sticky Soy Chicken Nibbles

  Oh boy these moist, sticky morsels of chicken are addictive. Just as well they are easy to make. 🙂 

  

  Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 – 2kg chicken nibbles (wings and drumettes)

  Simply

  Mix all the ingredients excluding the chicken to make the marinade. Then pop everything into a zip-lock bag to marinate over night or for at least a few hours.

  

  Preheat your fan-forced oven to 200C and then add the chicken, marinade and all, into your baking dish.

  

  Cook for about an hour. More if you want a crispier skin.

  

  •  

  Serving

  If you are watching the game on TV with your mates, just pile them up on a platter and let your guests go to town. More often than not I am wolfing them down with the family along with rice and steamed or pickled vegetables. Fish sauce and Sriracha Hot Sauce at hand. 

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more chicken dishes and more easy to make meals: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 7, 2021

• 

  Easy Masala Eggs Fry Up

  I often reach for this simple Indian dish if I forget to get something ready before work or I need comfort food, especially on a meat free day.

  Nothing fancy here just eggs, vegetables and garam masala. You are bound to have everything you need in your cupboard and lurking at the back of the fridge.

  Note: Serves 1 adult as a light main or several as a side. Makes a great leftover meal the next day but does not freeze well.

  

  Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, hard boiled
  • 1 small potato, peeled and boiled
  • 1 handful of each of:
    • chopped spring onions
    • peas
    • cherry tomatoes
  • 0.5 tsp each of:
    • garlic, finely diced
    • ginger, finely diced
    • garam masala
    • turmeric powder
  • Kashmiri Chilli Powder ,to taste
  • A good slug of olive oil or peanut oil

  Simply

  Prepare, peel and chop several hard boiled eggs. Chop the vegetables and sprinkle all with the garam masala, ginger and garlic.

  Give the whole lot a slug of olive or peanut oil and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

  

  Heat your frypan and then add the vegetables. Cook, turning the mix over until everything is warmed through. Add the eggs and gently mix until they are coated with the seasoning too.

  

  Serving

  Serve warm as is or with rice and sides like pickled vegetables and naan bread:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more Indian dishes and easy to make meals: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 3, 2021

• 

  Chicken And Cheese Fritters

  These chicken, cheese and vegetable patties make for a nice  change to burger night. Made from chicken mince and the old veggies you have lurking at the back of the fridge, they could not be easier to make. 

  You can even make them in huge batches as they freeze well and we use them as the perfect lunchbox stuffer.

  Note: Takes about 1.5 hours including 30 minutes in the fridge after forming the patties.

  

  Ingredients

  • 500g chicken mince
  • 2 cups mixed vegetables, finely diced (I used onion, celery and carrot)
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 -2 cups grated cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 – 1.5 cups panko bread crumbs (more or less depending on how you like it)
  • Olive oil spray 
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  Simply

  Mix all the ingredients, except the olive oil, by hand in a mixing bowl.

  

  Split the mixture into even size balls and then flatten and round each with you hands. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes.

  

  Preheat your fan-forced oven to 180c. Spray the tops of the patties with a light sheen of olive oil and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the patties, spray again and cook for a further 10 minutes.

  They are ready to eat now but I like to give the 5 to 10 minutes under a hot grill to get that golden colour.

  

  Serving

  I often serve them hot with a salad or I make sliders topped with all sorts of fillings.

  Anything left gets frozen for future dinners or lunches.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more chicken dishes and more easy to make meals: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  January 9, 2021

• 

  Welchy’s Low Carb Taco Alternative

  When trying to keep to a low carb diet you’ll probably find yourself eliminating some of your favourite dishes.

  Like tacos but not the carbs? Me too and by following this recipe you’ll be able to have your cake (or in this case taco haha) and eat it too.

  Using cheese instead of processed taco shells keeps the carbs low while maintaining an incredible richness of flavour.

  Simply

  1. Place a square of cheese (I just used cheddar slices) or a sprinkling of grated cheese into a square shape on a lined baking tray.

  

  2. Bake at 180° for 8-10 minutes but make sure to watch them as they can turn quickly and cooking times may vary.

  3. Once they have browned slightly and bubbled remove from the oven. You must use extra care during the next stage as the cheese will be very hot. While they are still warm and pliable, remove from the baking paper and lay over either a pasta rack or makeshift rack using mugs and cooking utensils.

  4. Allow them to cool on the rack to form a taco shape.

  

  

  Serving

  Serve with your favourite taco toppings. My favourite is lettuce first as this helps trap some of the juices (the cheese taco is holey so will make some mess) and then taco mince, cheese, avocado and sour cream.

  

  

  Love,

  Welchy

  Here are some more of Welchy’s recipes and simple to prepare fare:

  Written by

  lilwelchy

  ·

  April 27, 2020

• 

  How To Make Boiled Eggs With A Steamer

  I recently stumbled across this method of making boiled eggs when searching online for egg recipes.

  It is pretty handy if you have to make soft boiled and hard boiled eggs for the same meal. If everyone wants the same amount of ‘doneness’ I would recommend using KT’s Dippy Eggs and Soldiers or PK’s Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs instead.

  Simply add water to your strainer and bring to a medium boil. You will have to experiment with your steamer, the amount of water and heat to work out the exact times to get different yolk hardness.

  

  

  

  Last time, I used a medium boil for 6 minutes to get the one egg perfect for dipping soldiers into:

  

  I left one egg in for an additional 5 minutes to get a hard boiled egg.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more eggs recipies and tasting plate ideas: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 23, 2020

• 

  Care Free Paprika Baked Chicken Legs

  These mouth watering baked chicken legs are fool-proof and so easy to make.  They will soon become a family favourite and watch them disappear on game day. 🙂

  Notes:

  • You can use wings but breast meat will become overly dry. 
  • They make great leftovers.

  Simply

  Make a mix of:

  • 1-2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp celery salt
  • 2 tsp paprika sweet, ground
  • A good slug of olive oil

  Coat all of thighs in the mix and cook on 240 C for about 45 minutes. I turn them once in the middle.

  

  

  

  As I said above,  wings work a treat:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more easy to prep and chicken recipes: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 8, 2020

• 

  Tasting Plate Ideas: Egg Ribbons With Salami

  Here is something a bit different for your tasting platters and starters.

  You simply whisk and egg, make a thin omelette and slice it lenthways into ribbons.

  Take each ribbon and roll it around your index finger. Lay the rolled ribbons out on a plate and add some garnish. 

  Here I have used diced salami, diced carrot tops and shaved parmesan. 

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more eggs recipies and tasting plate ideas: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 6, 2020