Smoked Paprika Roast Chicken

I think there is a pattern....I only like to do simple easy recipes. Guess most people are like that with the time restraints and the never ending agenda's in our diaries, people are trying to do more in less time. Well here's another easy recipe to add to the list, Smoked Paprika Roast Chicken. I haven't cooked with smoked paprika before so I noticed that there is quite a difference between normal paprika and smoked paprika. In a good way.

The marinade (recipe below)

Coating the chicken in marinade

Nicely coated

It looks burnt, but trust me it didn't taste like it

And of course, eaten with rice and a simple side salad (of lettuce, capsicum, spanish onion and tomatoes)

Yes the chicken looks totally burnt but it wasn't. It had a really lovely full smoky flavour to it that was addictive. I don't remember where I got this recipe from (so sorry for not acknowledging the source), but it's too good not to share.

Smoked Paprika Roast Chicken

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon softened butter

2 teaspoons garlic salt (or 1 teaspoon salt plus 1 teaspoon garlic powder) - I thought I had garlic salt up I didn't so I used 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 whole 1.5kg roasting chicken

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Rinse the chicken off with cold water. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels (otherwise the paste won't stick).
2. Mix together the paprika, honey, lemon juice, butter, garlic salt, and pepper. Spread over the entire surface of the chicken and place on a shallow baking pan.
3. Bake at 325°F for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. You may need to adjust the time depending on how big your chicken is. The chicken is done when the juices run clear (not pink) when a knife tip is inserted into both the chicken breast and thigh, about 165-170°F for the breast and 180-185°F for the thigh.

Duck Fat Potato Stacks

I bought a tub of duck fat a long while back at the Good Food and Wine show and finally got to use it. The potato stack would be fine without it, but it does add that little extra oomph to the side dish.

Slice 2 potatoes and layer them in a muffin tin

Dollop a bit of butter, dollop a bit of duck fat, sprinkle salt & pepper

Bake in oven for around 25-35mins at 180 degrees

Turn oven up to around 220 degrees for another 10mins

Crispy golden goodnes

These are a great little side dish and you could change it around to add some chedder cheese on the top or sprinkle with your favourite herb. I like that they are crispy on the top but still soft in the middle.

What else did we have with these little beauties?

Starters - Haloumi cheese (uncooked)

Haloumi cheese nicely pan fried

Roast beef

I was lazy and bought the pre-marinaded one from the Woolies beef section. Also because it was heaps cheap - down from $17.85 to $7.65 BARGAIN!

And we placed the whole slab in a roasting pot (with lid on) to keep in the juices. I think I'll be roasting beef more often like this.

Grilled pumpkin and eggplant salad

Chicken Parcels

I don't know exactly what the calorie, fat or sugar content is, but in my books this is healthy. It's also one of my favourites because it's so simple too.

First layer - sliced tomatoes

Second layer - sliced zucchinis

Third layer - oregano leaves, salt & pepper and olive oil

Chicken stuffed with mozarella

Blast! I overcooked the asparagus and had to jam them in a pot which was too small...hence why they are all bendy

A very simple, rustic looking dish that is also very enjoyable. And if you are like me (and have everything with rice), the sauce from the parcel goes great drizzled over boiled rice!

Bren's Chicken Parcel

Makes 4

Ingredients

4 squares of tin foil

4 chicken breasts

2 tomatoes - sliced

2 zucchinis - sliced

2 tablespoons of oregano leaves (I prefer to use fresh ones)

Approx 80-100g mozarella - sliced (depends how much you want in each parcel though)

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Method

1. Lay out your 4 sqaures of tin foil

2. Place sliced tomatoes in the middle of each square of foil

3. Place sliced zucchinis on top of the tomatoes

4. Spread oregano leaves on top of the zucchinis, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt & pepper

5. Slice the chicken in 3 places and stuff the mozarella in the slits. Drizzle more olive oil and sprinkle salt & pepper

6. Fold and seal the foil as much as you can to keep the moisture inside the parcel

7. Place in the oven and cook on 180 degrees for 30mins

NB - I served this with steamed asparagus and yes you guessed it....boiled rice!

Asian Style Marinated Chicken

Harris Farm was having a really good deal for chicken tenders - $5.99/kg
So I thought I'd try out this marinade (if it really sucked I wouldn't feel SO bad). Turned out quite nice actually. Nothing spectacular but the chicken had a nice zing to it.

The Marinade

We had this with rice and green vegies

Bren's Asian Style Marinated Chicken

For the marinade:

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

4 tablespoons peanut oil

2-3 chillies

1 tablespoon soy sauce

juice of 1/2 a lime

Roughly 400g chicken (I used chicken tenders, but you could use drumsticks)

Mix everything together.

You could cook it straight away but best to let it marinate for about an hour.

It should only take 3-4mins to cook chicken tenders in a pan (shall vary if you use another cut).

Serve it with boiled rice and some fresh steamed vegetables.

Blood and Guts Pavlova - Happy Halloween

Australians don't really celebrate Halloween. Shame because it looks like so much fun but it's hard to get into the spirit of it when no else on your street does. I did put my little boy in a Halloween outfit....though it wasn't exactly scary. I bought a kung fu outfit for him and only ended up visiting my mum & dad and then my aunt. Did he even get any lollies? No. He got a biscuit and a couple of fridge magnets.....

So we tried to make up for it with a blood and guts pavlova.

You just can't go wrong with a pavlova (recipe here)

We used frozen raspberries (which ended up being a good idea because of that extra sauce in the bag creating the blood affect) and passhionfruit pulp. And don't forget the extra whipped cream too.

Maybe next year I can get more people into the spirit of Halloween.