Super Easy Creamy Chicken Riga-Tricky

This is the lucky last recipe of my week of scheduled Gourmet Glow posts (that were so rudely interrupted by my post on our horrid holiday home experience).

See, I was offered the chance to win sponsorship to BlogHer by whipping up some recipes using the new Kellogg's All Bran Fibre Toppers, so I've jumped at the chance. The opportunity to win a trip to New York to attend BlogHer by writing about some recipes I've created using a product that adds fibre plus vitamins and minerals to your diet? I CAN DO THAT! I'm a crunchy mama, this stuff is right up my alley and since I'm loving experimenting with cooking lately, it seems like this competition was made for me. You can check out all the recipes submitted by searching the #AllBran hashtag on twitter.

So back to my recipe - what do you serve for dinner when you want a home cooked meal but are too tired to put in much effort beyond a bit of grabbing things out the pantry and stirring? Chicken Riga-Tricky!

This is one of those great dishes that is so simple because it's based on pantry staples and whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. It's also great to make at the end of the week to get clear out all the veggies that are almost passed their prime in the fridge so that you don't throw it all out and waste it.

Tricky loves this stuff and it's on pretty high rotation at our place! Because it freezes so well, I always make a large batch and divide it up for Map Guy's lunches and last week made up a batch for my friend who has just had a new baby. Plus it only uses one pot and and one pan so it's definitely a winner!

Creamy Chicken Riga-Tricky

Can't really see the Fibre Toppers - they are in there though!

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 500g chicken, diced
• 500g rigatoni 
• 1 onion, chopped
• 150g spinach
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 zucchini, sliced
• 1 jar of pasta sauce
• 1/2 tub of reduced fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup of Kellogg's All Bran Fibre Toppers (which contains 33% of your daily fibre requirement!)
• 1 teaspoon of chilli (optional) 

 

Method

• Prepare pasta according to directions and set aside - don't overcook it or it will be Chicken Riga-Flatty
• Cook onion and chicken in a large fry pan until well browned
• Add mushrooms and zucchini, fry gently for two minutes
• Pour the entire jar of pasta sauce and stir until well coated
• Add handfuls of spinach allowing it to wilt - if you put it all in at once it will go every or *ahem* so I've heard
• Stir in the cream cheese allowing it to melt and turn the sauce from a bright red to a creamy orange
• If you're going to add chilli, do it now! I like mine to have a nice kick  
• Add in your Fibre Toppers now so they retain some of their crunch, if you do it too early they'll dissolve a bit and won't be visible in your photo (d'oh!) but you'll still get the nutritional value from them so don't panic
• Combine the sauce and the rigatoni, stir through and serve as is or with shaved Parmesan on top

**For a lower fat version you can just leave out the cream cheese and throw in a few olives**

Click here to see a nutritional panel I created for this meal - I should get points for the effort of making one of these panels, right??
This is NOT a sponsored post, but it is a competition entry for Kellogg's to win sponsorship to BlogHer

Fabulous Focaccia

I've definitely been bitten by the baking bug... sadly I haven't been bitten by the 'clean up as you go bug' or the 'don't eat everything you cook' bug. But hey, I'm working on it.

I tend to only bake sweet things so figured it was about time I gave something savoury a whirl, and I was so happy with the result that I think this will become a standard brunch around these parts - well, if I ever had people over for brunch that is.

I raided the cupboard and used what I already had on hand and threw it all in to see what would happen - which for a control freak like me is really strange, but seems to be working well so far!

Tomato, Red Onion & Thyme Focaccia

Olive, Fetta & Cumin Focaccia

Focaccia Ingredients (makes 2 focaccia)

• 2 tsp dried yeast
• 1 tsp raw sugar
• 1 3/4 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 3/4 cups bakers flour (or plain flour)
• 1/4 cup gluten flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp dried aniseed (optional)
• 1/2 cup of Kellogg's All Bran Fibre Toppers (1/2 cup contains 25% of your daily iron and folate, and 33% of your daily fibre requirement)

 Toppings

• 1/2 tomato, sliced
• 1/4 red onion, sliced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 tsp if fresh)
• 4 kalamatta olives, sliced
• 25g fetta (I prefer to crumble it, but only had the harder stuff to slice)
• 1/4 tsp dried cumin

Method

• Combine yeast, sugar and 1/2 cup of warm water and allow it to bubble up before adding the oil and remaining water, set aside
• Sift both flours in to a large mixing bowl, add in aniseed and Fibre Toppers and make sure it's well combined

• Add the yeast mix to the flour mix and stir with a wooden spoon until you get a dough - it will be really sticky
• Cover with a damp teatowel and allow to rest for an hour in a warm place (I always use the back seat of my car!)
• Dough should double in size and will still be extremely sticky so use well floured hands (or a bit of melted copha) to halve the mixture and place on to lined baking trays, shaping as you go, but not too much - keep it rustic
• Brush with a little extra virgin olive oil and place sliced tomato, onion and thyme on one, and fetta, olives and cumin on the other
• Allow to sit for a further 15 minutes (which I *ahem* kinda forgot to do but they still worked out, phew!)
• Bake at 220C for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown
• When cooked, allow to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack to prevent the bottom going soggy and voila!

 

  The Fibre Toppers and aniseed can be seen scattered throughout the dough

I served thin slices of both of these before a pasta dish (come back tomorrow for that one) in place of garlic bread as a healthier option. You could serve it with dip for a brunch, but there is enough flavour packed in to these that you really don't need anything else with them!

So I guess I should have a brunch now, yes? Who's coming?

Click here to see a nutritional panel I created for the base focaccia minus toppings - see that? I can make nutritional panels now!!!

This is NOT a sponsored post, but it is a competition entry for Kellogg's to win
sponsorship to BlogHer - I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

Cranberry and Macadamia Balls

My tastebuds have staged a revolution.

Food that I previously avoided are fast becoming staples in my pantry; olives, soft cheeses, chilli and more. Before you ask, no, I'm not pregnant, it's just that my palate is 'maturing' (just my palate, not my sense of humour).

Since my introduction to cheese not long ago, I've loved to have a little Camembert cheese as a snack, but find having it with just crackers a little bit boring. So I decided I'd try my hand at some gourmet treats to accompany the soft, gooey goodness.

Cranberry and Macadamia Balls

Ingredients (makes 30/serves 10)

• 200g dried cranberries
• 85g of unsalted macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup of Kellogg's All Bran Fibre Toppers (which is 10g of dietary fibre, right there!)
• 3/4 cup of 99% fat free condensed milk
• extra coconut for rolling

Method

• In a food processor (or with a knife and a lot of elbow grease) blitz the cranberries until they are finely diced, remove and put in a large mixing bowl with half of the Fibre Toppers
• Then blitz the macadamia nuts and the remaining half of the Fibre Toppers in the food processor, and add to the mix - don't do it too much or you'll end up with macadamia butter!
• Add in the shredded coconut and combine until you have a gorgeous, multi coloured mix
• Pour in the condensed milk and stir until evenly distributed

Condensed milk - try not to dip your finger in!

• Using a teaspoon, scoop out the mixture and roll in to small balls, dredge in coconut and place in the refrigerator to firm for 10 minutes

 

These can also be made with any dried fruit you like - I've made them with apricot and they were a massive hit! Because they're quite sweet, you only need serve two or three to each person along with cheese, crackers and nice glass of wine for a perfect snack adult snack.

Who's joining me? It's BYOW. 

Click here to see the nutritional panel I created for these - they're not as bad as you think

This is NOT a sponsored post, but it is a competition entry for Kellogg's to win sponsorship to BlogHer

Pistachio Dukkah Chicken Schnitzel

You will not find me on any of the reality cooking shows going around at the moment - I cannot cook like that yet. The meals I cook, while delicious (if I do say so myself) are never extravagant towering masterpieces that have been "plated up".

Rather, they're simple home cooked meals placed on a plate and put in front of a hungry family after a long day of toddler wrangling and working from home, right on arsenic hour. It has to be easy, healthy(ish), something the three of us will all enjoy and preferably not use 18 different pans that I then have to wash up.

I like being a 'Crunchy Mama' and cooking from scratch because I know exactly what is going in to our bodies, but now... well after this recipe I come with added crunch!

Pistachio Dukkah Chicken Schnitzel 

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 1 piece of bread (I used a country grain mix but it doesn't matter)
• 1/2 cup of Kellogg's All Bran Fibre Toppers (which contains 33% of your daily fibre needs plus 25% of your daily iron, folate and vitamins B1 and B2!)
  
• 25g of pistachio dukkah
• 1 egg, beaten

 Method

• In a food processor (or chop by hand if you don't have one) blitz the bread and Fibre Toppers until they combine in to look like big, crunchy bread crumbs - don't over do it, you want most of the Fibre Toppers to remain whole otherwise you'll loose the crunch!
• Stir the dukkah evenly through the mix and place it all on a large plate (place a bowl of fruit in the background for the extra health benefits)

Added crunch

• Dip your chicken breasts in to the egg and then in to the mix, pressing the crumbs on firmly to coat the entire surface
• Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat in a little extra virgin olive oil, turning once, or until golden brown and crunchy (alternatively you can bake them for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, in a 200C oven).
• Serve with a side salad of mixed lettuce, red onion and beetroot strips, and sprinkle a few extra Fibre Toppers over it for some extra crunch
• Freeze any leftover crumb mixture and use within 3 months

Putting one piece of chicken on an angle is plating up, yes?

So, who's coming to dinner at my place?

Click here to see a nutritional panel I created for this

This is NOT a sponsored post, but it is a competition entry for Kellogg's to win sponsorship to BlogHer!