Connie's Recipes

I have a handful of 'go-to' dishes when I am stuck for ideas or if I have little time to prep for a meal and this 'All-in-one Mediterranean Chicken' meal is one of them. Super quick and easy to prepare and taste absolutely delicious too. You simply wash, chop and bung all the ingredients onto a tray and bake. I never get bored of this meal. The succulent juices from the chicken mixed up with the vegetables at the bottom - just delicious! 

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs and drumsticks

1kg baby new potatoes

1 large onion, diced

4 garlic cloves

2 courgettes, washed, chopped and diced into large chunks

3 carrots, washed, chopped and diced into large chunks

2 fresh tomatoes, washed, chopped and diced into large chunks

2tsp mixed herbs

lemon

olive oil

Turn oven onto 180 degrees.

Mix all the chopped vegetables, potatoes, garlic and 1 tsp of the mixed herbs with olive oil (season with salt and pepper if you wish).

Place onto an oven dish and cook for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken along with the remainder of the mixed herbs and squeeze some lemon juice over the chicken (season with salt and pepper if you wish).

Place the chicken thighs and/or drumsticks on top of the vegetables that are roasting in the oven and roast for another 30 minutes until chicken and vegetables are cooked

Spaghetti bolognese is definitely a firm favourite in our house and the great thing about this dish is that it's super easy to make, tastes great and you can add heaps of vegetables to it. This is a perfect if you have children who are not so keen on veggies, it's a great way to add them into your meal as it's such a tasty dish. You can either grate them thinly or cut them up into small cubes. 

This dish literally involves browning the meat and chucking all the veggies in and slow cook or simmer in a pan on a low heat. 

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 7 hours slow cooker or 2 hours on hob

Ingredients

Minced beef (lamb or pork is also a good alternative)

1 large onion, cubed

4 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped 

160g mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 celery sticks, small cubes

1 courgette, grated or small cubes

1 carrot, grated or small cubes

2 tsp mixed herbs

dash of worcester sauce

2 tins chopped tomatoes or fresh tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 glass red wine (optional)

Heat a couple of tbsp of olive oil in a medium heated pan, add the onions, garlic and fry for a couple of mins then add the mince and brown.  You can also add the red wine at this point to reduce.

Once mince has browned, pour into the slow cooker and add the remainder of the ingredients. Give the ingredients a quick mix and put onto slow cooker for 7 hours on a low heat. Add seasoning if you wish.

If you are cooking the bolognese on a hob, once the mince has browned, add the vegetables (except tomatoes) and gently cook for a few minutes.

Add the herbs, worcester sauce, tomato puree and tomatoes. Bring to boil then turn down onto low heat to cook for one hour, then take lid off and simmer on low heat for another 1-1.5 hours until sauce has thickened.

Serve the bolognese with rice, spaghetti, pasta or add some mashed potatoes on top (with cheese and bake) for some cottage pie.

I don't know many kids who do not like pasta and with a house full of boys, means meat and carbs are a good combo to fill them up. I had steak in the fridge and the boys wanted pasta so beef stroganoff was the first thing that came to my head and a meal to prep and cook in the time in takes pasta to cook is always a bonus with a house full of constantly hungry boys! 

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

Beef, thinly sliced

2 onions, sliced

160g Spinach

4 garlic cloves, chopped

100g mushrooms, sliced

4 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream

50ml Milk and a couple of spoons of cream if you like!

Pasta

Method

Firstly, boil a saucepan of water and start boiling the pasta. Whilst the pasta is cooking, you can cook the beef stroganoff.

Heat 2tbsp of oil in a frying pan on a relatively high heat. Add the beef and fry for 2 minutes (rare) or 4 minutes (well done). Season if you wish. When cooked, set aside.

Using the same pan, on a medium heat add and heat another 2 tbsp of oil, gently fry the onions and garlic until soft and add the mushrooms to cook. Season with salt and pepper if you wish.

Turn heat down low and add the creme fraiche and stir. Add the milk (and cream) which should create a creamy sauce. Pour the spinach in and let it wilt on a low heat to keep warm until the pasta is cooked.

Drain pasta once cooked. Add the beef to the creamy sauce, along with the pasta. Stir and serve in our Onco bamboo bowl and spoon set

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