Chicken, broccoli & stilton pasta bake

A great pasta dish to make in advance for a quick, family meal, or to re-heat for lunches in the week!

This pasta bake is really moist and full of flavour - it would also be great with bacon in too.

I have posted a similar recipe before, here.

Serves 4

- 450g pasta (I used penne and farfalle)

- olive oil

- 4 chicken thighs (or breasts), chopped

- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed

- 2 onions, chopped

- 1 large broccoli, chopped small

- 50g butter

- 50g plain flour

- 500ml milk

- few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

- salt & pepper

- pack of stilton, crumbled

- parmesan, grated

1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water according to packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, fry the chicken thighs in olive oil until browned, then add the garlic and onion. Once cooked, leave to one side.

3. When the pasta is about 5 minutes from the end of its cooking time, add the broccoli florets. When the pasta is cooked, drain with the broccoli and set aside.

4. To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan then stir in the flour. Using a whisk, over a low heat, gradually whisk in the milk until fairly thick - not too runny but enough to generously coat all of the pasta and ingredients.

5. Add the Worcestershire sauce and season to taste then take off the heat.

6. Return the pasta and broccoli to the large pan they were cooked in, then stir in the chicken and onions, and coat in the white sauce, stirring until well mixed. 

7. Stir in about 3/4 of the crumbled stilton, then pour the pasta into a large baking dish. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

8. Top the basta bake with the remaining stilton and sprinkle with a generous amount of grated parmesan.

9. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top! (May need longer if prepared way in advance - make sure it is piping hot in the middle)

Enjoy :)

Cider & wholegrain mustard chicken

Tender chicken thighs in a creamy, cider sauce with a wholegrain mustard & parsley tang.

Best served with rice and tenderstem broccoli

Serves 2

- olive oil

- 250g chicken thighs

- 1 onion, chopped

- 1 garlic clove, crushed

- 200ml cider

- 100g crème fraiche

- 2 generous tsp wholegrain mustard

- handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1. Fry the chicken thighs in the olive oil in a deep pan until cooked, then remove and set aside.

2. Fry the onion and garlic in the same pan then add the cider and bring to the boil.

3. Return the chicken to the pan and cover and simmer for ten minutes, or until reduced.

4. Stir in the crème fraiche, mustard and parsley - bubble for 5 minutes then serve on a bed of rice.

Enjoy :)

Soy, honey and garlic salmon

This marinade was a bit of an experiment, and it worked out really well. The sweetness of the honey with the salty soy sauce went perfectly well along with the garlic which I didn't expect! The salmon was incredibly moist and tender - I wished I had someone to share this with! I was just cooking for myself, since my mum doesn't eat fish. So please try this and let me know what you think. I wasn't very hungry at the time so I just served it with broccoli that I stir fried with sesame seeds, but this would be lovely with wholegrain rice.

(Sorry for the lack of posts - can't believe I only did 7 in June! I have been on holiday recently as well so quite a lot of these recipes are from a few weeks ago that I just haven't had the time to post. Hope you enjoy and sorry again for being so silent recently)

Serves 1

- 1 salmon fillet 

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp honey

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 clove of garlic, crushed

1. In a small dish, mix all the above ingredients half an hour before cooking to allow time to marinate.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees / gas mark 4. Wrap the salmon in foil and place on a baking tray in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through and flaky

Enjoy :)

Cheesy broccoli pasta bake

I made this the other night - it's nothing too special, I just really fancied some comfort food and a pasta bake is the ultimate comfort food for me. I made a simple cheese sauce and although I'm not a huge broccoli fan, I do love it in pasta bakes (what doesn't taste good when it's coated in cheese sauce anyway?) We also had some bacon in the fridge, and of course I always like to use onions and garlic with pasta so voila, this dish was born! And it is scrummy...

Serves 2-3

- 200g whole wheat penne

- olive oil

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 small onion

- 3-4 rashers bacon, cut into chunks

- 150g broccoli florets

- 20g butter

- 20g plain flour

- 200ml milk

- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

- 75g cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for sprinkling

- pepper, to season

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 / 200 degrees. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, and add the broccoli florets around 5 minutes to the end of the pasta cooking time. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, soften the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add the bacon until beginning to brown and crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Using the same pan, to make the cheese sauce melt the butter and stir in the flour over a low heat until it forms a paste. Gradually add in the milk, stirring constantly until the sauce begins to thicken. (Be patient, it may take a while!) Once the sauce is coming together, add the mustard and the cheese; at this stage the sauce should be thick and smooth from the cheese. You can always add a little more milk if it is too thick 0 keep stirring!

4. Return the pasta and broccoli to the pan, add the bacon and onion and stir through the cheese sauce. Pour into an oven proof dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar. I added some brie too because we had a bit leftover. Parmesan would work too and add breadcrumbs if you want a crunchy texture.

5.  Season with pepper and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbling and golden brown and crisp on top.

Enjoy :)

Chicken with katsu sauce

First of all I have to apologise for the photo - I didn't get one which really shows the sauce and it all looks a bit unclear and messy - I think I was just far too excited about eating it to worry about the photo! I got this from Lisa Faulkner's book again, and just like the macaroni and cheese dish from her book (here), it was very yummy! The sauce was mild which was perfect for me considering I don't like spicy food, although it did leave my mouth feeling hot. The sauce was also nice and sweet from the apple, it tasted so delicious mixed in with the wholegrain rice. And last but not least, the chicken! Who doesn't love crispy chicken!? It really is so simple to breadcrumb your own chicken and actually quite fun dipping it in the egg etc. It was perfectly moist chicken with crunchy crumbs, which complimented the smooth sauce and soft rice brilliantly. I was very weary about cooking this because I have never made any type of curry sauce in my life and had no clue of the consistency it was meant to be or anything - I still don't know if I did it right, but my boyfriend really loved it and suggested that next time there should be more sauce. So either he's just greedy with sauce, or I made it too thick haha...

Serves 4 (I halved it)
- 4 chicken breasts
- seasoned flour, for dusting
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 75-100g dried breadcrumbs
- oil, for frying
- wholegrain rice, to serve

For the sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 200ml chicken stock
- 200ml water
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 small apples, peeled and grated
- 1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
- salt & pepper

1. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened and slightly brown. Add the turmeric, curry powder and ketchup and stir. Add the stock, water, soy sauce and grated apple, season with salt & pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Add the cornflour paste and cook for a further 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

3. Blend with a hand blender or food processor until smooth and set aside until needed.

4. Meanwhile, wrap the chicken in cling film and flatten with a rolling pin.

5. Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow dishes. Dust each chicken breast with flour, dip in egg, and coat in breadcrumbs.

6. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken over a medium heat for about 7 minutes each side until cooked through. Don't forget to boil or microwave some rice!

7. Reheat the katsu sauce gently and serve with the chicken and rice. I served with broccoli as well.

Enjoy :)