LEMON & GARLIC CHICKEN, frugal, make ahead, easy-peasy

The depth of flavour and degree of tenderness in this chicken dish is surprisingly easily achieved                                                                  

Tuscan Chicken (with lemon and garlic) with Corn & Plum Slaw in background
'Grand - refreshing and bright.' 'Delicious.' 'Can't believe how tasty & inexpensive this is.' 

  
Lemon and Garlic Chicken - also known as Tuscan chicken - was one of the first dishes 67 served to the Lunch Club members way back in January 2015.  It was such a success, 67 makes no apologies for repeating it. 

It's the perfect recipe for supermarket specials on chicken thighs, when you're not certain how good the meat is.  The marinade turns a basic protein into a gourmet dish.  Cooked and cooled, the thighs are also an easy-to-eat protein for lunch al desko or on picnics.

The thighs needs only three ingredients for the marinade but they do need to sit several hours and preferably overnight for maximum flavour and tenderness.  Make the effort to marinade the bone side of the thighs as well as the meaty side; it's worth it.

The original recipe was from Ina Garten but adapted to reduce fat and salt.    

Serves 4-6 with sides
Cost: £3.

Ingred:

3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (3 lemons approx)
1 tbsp minced or grated garlic (3 cloves)
1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried rosemary, oregano or parsley (opt)
cracked black pepper and a little salt

1 pkg chicken thighs (about 7), skin removed

Method

1.  Combine first 6 ingredients; pour into a dish large enough to fit the thighs.
2.  Place thighs bone side down in the dish; cover with cling film; leave at least 4 hours.  
3.  Turn the thighs.  Re-cover and put in fridge at least 4 hours or overnight.
4.  Bake on a baking rack in a low-sided tray, uncovered in pre-heated oven at 350f/180c/ gas 5; first, bone side up 20 mins; then turn and bake flesh side up 15-20 mins. more  
5.  Lightly salt and pepper and serve OR leave to cool. 
6.  Eat warm with Positively Terrific Potato, Onion & Carrot Melange or cold with potato salad or fresh baked bread, baby tomatoes and cucumber chunks.

Tip:
Don't throw away the skin from the thighs; spread them out over a baking rack in a tray and bake at 350f/180c/ gas mark 5 for half an hour; the fat will be rendered off and you will be left with lovely crispy bits which can be broken up and used to garnish the chicken or the salad

Comments:

'I can't believe how tasty this is and how inexpensive.'  20-something Lunch Club member.

'The chicken was really grand - refreshing and bright.'  Political Agent

'Delicious.' Mature housewife

                          

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.  

EASY-PEASY MASHED POTATO SALAD, Frugal, Low-fat & cholesterol, Prepare Ahead,

Outstanding potato salad that's quick, easy and frugal...

When life's really busy or it's too darned hot this frugal potato salad, ready in minutes, will make life easier and kids will love to help make it. It can sit in the fridge for a day or so deepening its flavours; doubling or tripling the recipe won't be a problem.

To make it a main course salad, add hard boiled egg or cold meats and other salad ingredients such as finely chopped celery, cooked green beans or asparagus (!) and finely sliced radish. 

Cost: £1.25
Feeds: 6 as a side

Ingred:
   1 kilo/2pounds small potatoes, halved
   4-5 trimmed spring onions, white & green bits, thinly sliced 
   at least 1 cup yoghurt-mayonnaise
    pepper & salt

Method:

1. Cook potatoes 10 mins in boiling salted water or until a knife inserted into the centre meets little resistance
2. Drain, run cold water over the potatoes then return to the sieve in the pot with the heat off; cool; peel if preferred
3. Put into a large bowl and, using a potato basher or fork, squash some of the potatoes - it doesn't matter if some of the potatoes stay whole
4. Mix in spring onions
5. Stir in yoghurt-mayo, mixing well 
6. Refrigerate until needed

Comments:
'I love potato salad and this was outstanding - firm and moist with great crunchy bits in it.' Political Agent 
'The salad was incredible!'  Mature housewife

More salads on Nav Bar:Recipes 11/Salads 

Please leave a Comment in the box below                                          

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.  

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, Indulgence, wheat-free option, higher-fibre

The only thing better than chocolate chip cookies are chocolate cookies stuffed with chocolate chips

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies: Cooks' & families' delight
'Divine!' 'Intensely chocolatey.' 'Proves there's never enough chocolate in the world!'

For any baker, this cookie recipe is a friend.  They taste absolutely glorious but are not too complicated to make and the recipe produces a good number of biscuits.  The dough can be cooked right away or frozen and baked later.

67 tested two batches, one with orange and one without.  The orange version had the most enthusiastic response but the pure chocolate version more than held its own.  

Five stars all round, even though the cookies are an INDULGENCE and portion control is wise.

Cost: £3'ish
Makes: about 50 medium cookies (recipe halves nicely)

Ingred:
     
   250gm/scant 9oz softened butter
   140gm/5oz soft brown sugar
   135gm/5.2 oz white sugar

   2 large or 3 small eggs
   1 tsp orange extract (opt)
   zest two oranges (opt)
OR 1 tsp vanilla extract

   150gm/5.2oz plain flour
     50gm/1.7oz cocoa (not drinking chocolate)
     80gm/2.8oz wholemeal flour (opt; plain flour will do)
       1 tsp salt
       1 tsp baking soda

   200gm dark chocolate chips

Method:

1. Using electric beaters or a wooden spoon and plenty of elbow grease, cream butter and sugars together until well blended; it will take a few mins
2. Add eggs, orange zest if using and extract; beat until blended
3. Blend other dry ingredients; add 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition 
4. Mix in chocolate chips 

If baking immediately:

1. preheat oven to 350f/180c/160fan
2. line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper, use a bit of the cookie dough to stick down the corners to prevent slipping
3. fill a 1 1/2 inch/4 cm ice cream scoop, scraping the excess on side of bowl, leaving bottoms slightly flattened
4. drop balls of dough onto cookie sheet, leaving 2-3 inches between
5. or use two spoons to scoop out generous tablespoons of the dough
6. Refrigerate 20-25 mins (opt but makes for better shapes)
7. bake 10-12 mins; the cookies will look underdone but crisp as they cool
8. leave cookies to cool on the tray

If freezing and baking later: 

1. Scoop out cookie dough, scraping excess on side of bowl
2. drop balls of dough onto a lined cookie sheet, with corners stuck down with dough to prevent slipping; no need to leave lots of space in between as these are going to be frozen
3. place tray of dough balls in freezer for 1-2 hours
4. remove frozen cookies; i) place in an easy-resealable plastic bag and retrieve as many as you like for baking or 2) count out portions and package individually
5. Return to freezer
6. when ready to bake, arrange cookies on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, leaving 2-3 inches in between
7. leave 20 mins while preheating oven to 350f/180c/160fan
8. bake 10-12 mins; the cookes will look slightly underdone but will crisp as they cool
9. leave cookies to cool on the tray

Comments:

Orange Flavour:

'Out of this world; the flavour just bursts through.  Better than you'll find in any coffee bar.' Mature political agent.

'When you bite into it, you don't get cookie; you get chocolate.  And there's never enough chocolate in the world. Like this best - tastes like Terry's chocolate orange.' Mature housewife 

'Divine!' Female retiree

Plain Chocolate:

'Intensely chocolatey.' early 20's Head Office Politico 

'Really good.' Italian 30+ politico

Tips:

• Valencian Orange Extract, a substitute for vanilla, intensely orange-ey: £1.24 for 38ml at Morrisons
• To make your own self-raising flour, for every 150g/60z/1 cup plain flour, add 2 teaspoons baking powder
• for wheat-free option, use spelt flour

More cookie recipes on NavBar: Recipes I/Cookies...

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This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

LOWER-SUGAR OATMEAL DATE BARS WITH BLUEBERRIES, uses spelt flour, family friendly

The Oatmeal Date & Orange Bars posted recently went down like a storm but some found it way too sweet.  Here's a Skinnier but just-as-nice version...

Healthier, Lower-sugar Date & Oatmeal Bars with Blueberries   (photo April 2017)
Maybe even more tasty than the original

The original recipe for these wonderfully energising Oatmeal Date Bars was designed for large groups and provided too many tempting leftovers for families or small gatherings.  

This revised version: 

• replaces some sugar with unsweetened dried coconut
• reduces the amount of dates
• replaces some dates with blueberries to counteract sweetness and add goodness
• cuts the recipe one-third overall to provide fewer leftovers
• uses spelt flour instead of wheat (though wheat can still be used)

There's not much that could be done about the butter levels but we must all make sacrifices!

It was tested on tasters who raved over the first version; they loved each of the 3 subsequent versions including this 'final' product.

Cost: £3.00

Feeds: 16-20 (recipe halves nicely)

Ingred: (67 used English cup measures)

   6oz/170g pitted dates, chopped coarsely
   1/2 cup water, incl juice of orange
   1/2 tsp vanilla 
   
   zest and juice of small orange

   1 cup rolled oats or Uber Granola
   1 cup plain spelt (or common) flour;  a 50-50 white & wholemeal mix is good 
   1 pinch salt
   1/2 tsp baking soda
   2/3 cup light brown sugar less 2-3 tbsp
   2-3 tbsp dried unsweetened coconut 

    3.8oz/110g butter, softened 

     couple of handfuls blueberries

Method:

1. Pour boiling water over dates to remove preservatives; leave for 2-5 mins depending on how 'dry' the original dates are; drain
2. Remove pips if necessary; also the tough stalk
3. Bring dates, water, orange juice & vanilla to the boil; turn down heat; simmer until mix is thick, gloopy and the dates have nearly broken down (maybe 10-15 mins) This step can be done a day in advance. 
4. Preheat oven to 350f/180c/170fan/gas4; line a 8x8 inch (20cmx20cm) tin with greaseproof paper
5. If butter isn't completely soft, zap it in the microwave on high at 20 sec intervals until it is, or pop it into the pre-heating oven for a minute or so 
6. In a large bowl, blend dry ingred, making sure the sugar is lump free; stir in zest, distributing evenly
7. Add butter; rub or stir together as if you were making crumble until butter is the size of peas
8. Spread under two thirds of the crumble mix in the pan, levelling the top with the spoon or the bottom of a measuring cup
9. Add the dates, spreading as you go; level with a spatula
10. Scatter over blueberries
11. Cover with the final third of the oats, taking special care with the edges; cover the dates as evenly as you can
12. Bake 30 mins or until beautifully browned; half-way through you may wish to bring the back of the pan to the front for even browning
13. Place on a cooling rack; wait half an hour then use a sharp knife to cut into fingers or squares

Tip:
The blogger has not tested spelt flakes instead of oatmeal but there is no reason why they would not work.  You may need to add a touch more butter. 
                                                                  
                                                                       For more bars, go to Recipes II on NavBar 

Please leave a Comment in the box below

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.