Tag Archives: easydinner

Baked Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Fennel

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Wanting to keep dinner pretty simple tonight and made a one dish wonder! Only had to brown a few things in a hot pan and the oven did the rest. Baked risotto rice with creamy chicken breast, mushroom, fennel, spinach and tarragon turned about to be a winner! You could serve alongside some steamed vegetables if you wanted but we kept it simple and just had the risotto bake! Could make it vegetarian and use big chunks of pumpkin for a meatless dinner.

One Dish Baked Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Fennel

Ingredients:
250gm. button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp. crushed garlic
1/2 brown onion, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, core removed and sliced
1 tbsp. dried tarragon
3 tbsp. oil
1/4 leek, sliced
2 cups. baby spinach
1 cup. Arborio or short grain rice
2 cup. chicken stock, warm
3/4 cup. cream
1/4 cup. white wine (optional)
Salt and Pepper
700 gm chicken breast or thigh

Method:

  1. Pre-heat oven 180 degrees fan-bake.
  2. In large oven proof dish slice mushrooms and scatter over the base followed by rice and half the spinach.
  3. Heat fry pan over high heat add half the oil, onion, garlic, tarragon and fennel with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Sautee until browned add leek and cook for 2 minutes then pour in wine to deglaze the pan. I also chopped about 1 tbsp. of top of the fennel and added to the fry pan.
  4. Add to baking dish followed by remaining spinach.
  5. Add remaining oil to fry pan and season your chicken I used breast, add to hot pan and brown both sides around 2-3 minutes per side,
  6. Add to baking dish with hot stock and cream.
  7. Cover and bake for 30 minutes then remove cover and bake for a further 15 minutes until rice is tender.
  8. Serve as is or with a side of steamed vegetables.

Serves: 4-5

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker

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Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker

As winter looms closer and the weather out side isn’t the nicest, its great too come home to a dish already cooked and the house smelling amazing. On a cold and busy day last week I pulled out the slow cooker and created this tender slow cooked meal. Rich beef alongside naturally sweet kumara and carrots with a flavorful gravy. This is an affordable recipe and I hope you try it out, its one that’s worth having in your recipe collection.

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

1 cup carrot, rinse leave skin on and 2cm dice
2 cup kumara, rinse leave skin on and 3cm dice
2 small red onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 orange zest and juice
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary
850gm beef blade steak, remove fat and cut 3cm dice
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. Worchester sauce
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 1/2 tbsp. cornflour

 

Method:

  1. Turn on slow cooker to either low or high, check the bottom of the recipe for cooking times and temp.
  2. Heat a heavy based fry pan over a medium heat at 1 tbsp. of oil followed by onions, garlic, thyme and rosemary. plus a good pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Once the onion mix has started to brown add zest and juice of the orange and tip into the base of your slow cooker.
  4. Add stock to the hot fry pan, this will deglaze it and remove all the tasty flavour stuck to it. Add this to the slow cooker.
  5. Remove fat from beef and cut into 3cm chunks.
  6. In a snap lock bag combine the flour, salt and pepper mix well. Add diced beef and coat with the flour mix. (give it a good shake)
  7. Dust of excess flour this will burn when browning.
  8. Heat fry pan to a medium heat add 1/2 tbsp. oil and 1/2 tbsp. butter, add beef and brown both sides add to the slow cooker. ( I did this in 2 batches so the beef didn’t stew.)
  9. Add Worchester sauce and balsamic vinegar to the slow cooker give it a light stir, place the lid on and cook.
  10. Combine corn flour with 2 tbsp. cold water stir and make a slurry, add this to your slow cooker in the last 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce into a glistening gravy.
  11. Turn slow cooker onto warm while you cook either some rice, mashed potatoes or serve with dumplings and your fave green veges.

Ive served mine with a side of brown rice, red quinoa and homemade walnut parsley pesto.

Serves: 4-5

Cooking times and Temps.

Low – Cook for 8 hours

High – Cook for 4 hours

Leaving skin on your vegetables helps retain nutrients and vitamins.

Leaving skin on your vegetables helps retain nutrients and vitamins.

 

Brown onions, garlic, rosemary and thyme.

Brown onions, garlic, rosemary and thyme.

 

Add orange zest.

Add orange zest.

 

Add stock and deglaze the pan, add to the slow cooker.

Add stock and deglaze the pan, add to the slow cooker. 

 

Remove fat from beef and cut into 3cm dice.

Remove fat from beef and cut into 3cm dice.

 

Lightly coat diced beef in seasoned flour mix.

Lightly coat diced beef in seasoned flour mix.

Add browned meat to slow cooker.

Add browned meat to slow cooker.

Stir and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Stir and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker served mine with a side of brown rice and red quinoa and walnut parsley pesto.

Kumara and Beef Slow Cooker served mine with a side of brown rice and red quinoa and walnut parsley pesto.

 

I hope you all enjoy this recipe!

 

Beef Sausage, Bean and Fennel Casserolette

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Beef Sausage, Bean and Fennel Casserolette

Perfect to a cold night this tasty meal with have them at the table in no time at all. Moist beef sausages cooked in flavorful sauce, with beans and fennel straight from the garden couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday than catching up with my friends over a comforting warming dish. I served mine with a side of creamy mashed potato, blanched beach spinach and buttery carrots. Lets just say there’s no leftover for tomorrow it was that good!

 

Ingredients:

8-9 beef sausages
2 tbsp. oil
1 can four bean mix, rinse off brine
1 onion, medium dice
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 medium size fennel bulb, core removed and sliced*
2 tsp malt vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1.5 tbsp. worchester sauce
2 tsp. sugar
salt & pepper

Method:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
  2. Find a medium size casserole dish with a lid, if you don’t have a lid a deep oven proof dish with tin foil to cover will do the trick.
  3. Rinse four bean mix in a sieve with cold water to remove the bring they were in, place half the beans in the bottom of the casserole dish and reserve the other half for the top.
  4. Brown sausages over a medium heat with half the oil, once golden add to the casserole dish.
  5. In the pan which you cooked the sausages, heat 1 tbsp. oil add onion, garlic and fennel cook for around 3-4 minutes until starting to brown.
  6. add stock, mustard, sugar, Worcester sauce, salt and pepper, cook for 2 minutes and add to the top of your casserole dish.
  7. Place the lid or tin foil over the casserole dish and bake for 50 minutes.
  8. Serve alongside some creamy mashed potatoes and your favourite greens.
Cut fennel bulb in half and remove the hard center.

Cut fennel bulb in half and remove the hard center.

 

Use half beans to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.

Use half beans to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.

Beef Sausage, Bean and Fennel Casserolette

 

Serves: 3-5

I got my beautiful fresh fennel bulb from the Tokoroa Community Garden, open Monday through Sunday 8.3am until 12 noon.

Whats for dinner in your house tomorrow night, this would be perfect!!