Recipe Meme

Nicole has tagged me on a recipe meme. Oh, the pressure...

Here are the rules:
- Choose one ingredient from her recipe and post a recipe using this ingredient on my blog, linking back to the previous blogs that have posted a recipe.
- Then tag four new people, and we will see how it grows.
- To keep it exciting please post within a week of receiving the tag.

I have selected the chicken from Nicole's recipe, and share with you my chicken casserole recipe, cooked in a slow cooker. I love this meal because it feeds us twice: on the first night as a normal casserole with rice; and on the second night as a pie. I have included both recipes below. (It could be done on the stovetop or in the oven too)

Chicken Casserole
~1.5kgs chicken thighs, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 packet (250g) short cut bacon, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup wine (I use rose; white or red is fine, could just use more stock too if preferred)
1 tsp minced garlic
Italian herbs
salt and pepper
4-6 carrots, sliced
~8 mushrooms, sliced
frozen peas
30-40g butter
2 tbsp flour

• fry onion and bacon in olive oil, put in slow cooker
• fry chicken to brown, add to slow cooker
• add stock, wine, herbs, garlic, carrots and mushrooms
• cook on high for 4 hours
• 1 hour before finished, add peas
• 1/2 to 1 hour before finished, mix butter with flour and hot juices, make a paste, then add to casserole (this thickens up the sauce and adds a bit of creaminess)
• serve with rice

Chicken Casserole Pie
1½ sheets frozen short crust pastry, defrosted
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
chicken casserole

• blind bake shortcrust pastry in greased pie tin (10-15 mins on 200°C with pastry weights)
• microwave casserole to heat through
• place in pastry shell
• put over 1 sheet of pastry, spray with canola and repeat with other sheet. Fold over pastry at the edges, spray all with canola
• Bake at 200-220°C fan forced for ~40 mins - enough for pastry to brown


I am struggling to figure out who to tag, seeing a number of people I would ask have private blogs...

I will tag Jenny, Sally, Gillian & Tamie. But I will not be offended if you don't continue the meme! Will be a test too, to see if you actually read my blog!

And could anyone enlighten me as to where 'meme' came from???


Photo from stock.xchg

Cooking & allergies

This recipe book is a 'must-have' for all cooks out there. We count ourselves very lucky in our family to have no food allergies at all. However, amongst our friends there are allergies to nuts, gluten, eggs, soy & dairy. Up until now I have felt completely unable to cater for these friends. Now my problems are solved!

This easy to use recipe guide allows you to cook allowing for all 8 main allergens - nuts, eggs, milk, soy, sesame seeds, what, fish & shellfish. She also gives details on what standard products contain each of these allergens (eg. soy is in some canola sprays) and also has lists of products & ingredients available in supermarkets (in Australia) that do not contain these allergens (eg. the brands of gluten free baking powder). It is a great resource. She also shows you how to have variations - so in some recipes you can choose whether to use milk, soy milk or rice milk, depending on the allergies. You can have eggs or egg replacer. Gluten free flour or normal flour.

I used it to cook a nice, edible egg, dairy, soy & nut free birthday cake for my children this year, so that all their friends could eat it - and they all liked it. I have cooked yummy gluten free pear muffins.

So, come one, come all to my place for a meal - I can now cater for you!