Author: Caitríona

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Crispy Oven Chicken



There are a couple of tricks to making the most crispy oven chicken so listen up!

1. You’re going to use your herbs and spices twice. Whatever you choose, use some in the marinade and some in the flour mixture before breading the chicken.
2. Use buttermilk to tenderise your chicken. You will soak your chicken in the buttermilk and herbs/spices mixture for about an hour before cooking.
3. Strain the buttermilk into some beaten eggs when breading the chicken.
4. Use skinless boneless chicken thighs for perfectly moist chicken, rather than chicken breast which can get tough and dry. This is cheaper per kg to buy too!
5. Use Panko breadcrumbs which means you won’t need any oil for this crispy oven chicken.

The herbs & spices I’ve used here are dried coriander, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper, dried sage, salt, black pepper. By adding to each layer of the cooking process you get a more rounded result and you’ll use less salt overall. Which is always a good thing.

Cook in the fan oven at 190 degrees for 25 minutes. Yes, you can also cook this chicken in the air fryer. Cook at 180 degrees for 17 minutes, check with a temperature probe to make sure it’s cooked through and safe. Remember, 75 degrees to stay alive!

I got my Panko breadcrumbs at the Asian Supermarket in Ballymount a few weeks ago. I make the trip about once a month to stock up on ingredients. Always a happy customer, but you can also shop from them online

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Whipped Jelly

A retro jelly treat that my Nana used to make for special occasions.

Ingredients

• 2 sachets sugar free jelly
• 200ml hot water
• 150ml cold water
• 1 tin sweetened condensed milk

Method

Combine the sugar free jelly with hot water until the crystals are dissolved. Add in the cold water and stir. Put the jelly mixture into a cold spot for about 20-30 minutes so that it starts to thicken slightly.

Using an electric whisk, rapidly whisk the condensed milk and jelly mixture together until light and foamy. Decant into fancy glasses or dishes and chill until serving. Alternatively mix some fresh or tinned fruit with the whipped jelly and chill in a large bowl.

Serve with whipped cream on top

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Smokey Fried Rice



Originally this recipe was meant to have chorizo but the kids snaffled it all out of the fridge for their lunchboxes.

Ingredients

• 200-300g of ham, chopped (but I’d rather chorizo!)
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 level teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes
• Lots of chopped garlic (who am I to tell you know much)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 150g broccoli sliced
• 150ml water
• Leftover steamed rice

Method
Saute off the meat in the pan to release the oils, then add onions and allow to soften. While softening add the smoked paprika, chilli flakes and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper.

Add in the red pepper and broccoli, stir so that they are coated in all the ingredients. A glass of water starts the steaming process, then the leftover rice should be stirred around until coated in all the ingredients and completely heated through.

Serve immediately. I know certain people would like mayonnaise or chipotle sauce on top but I’m a bit of vegetable fan so like to keep things simple

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Carrot Soup



Use whatever you have in the fridge to make a yummy wholesome soup for all the family!

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 sticks of celergy chopped (hold onto the leafy bits for a garnish)
• 5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 litre of veg stock (use a stock cube)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

Cook off the onions in a little oil until softened. Add the celery and season well with salt and pepper. Cook again until the celery begins to soften. Add the rest of the vegetables. Pour the vegetable stock over and put a lid on the saucepan.

Bring the soup mixture to a simmer and cook until all the veggies are tender. Blitz using a stick blender or eat as it is.

Garnish with chopped celery stalks

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Blueberry Muffins



Top Tip! Roll your frozen fruit in some flour before adding to the batter to stop the fruit from falling to the bottom of the muffins/cake.

Bear in mind this is a muffin recipe so it’s not overly sweet like cake.

Ingredients
• 30g self raising flour
• 150g frozen blueberries
• 400g self raising flour
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g butter at room temperature (this is important)
• 3 medium eggs
• 75ml whole milk

Method

Preheat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix 150g of blueberries with 30g self raising flour. Set to one side to use later.

Mix together flour and sugar in a large bowl. Using your hands rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until you get a breadcrumb like texture.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Crack in 3 eggs and pour in 75ml of milk. Using a fork draw the batter together. No need for a stand mixer for this recipe!

Once you have a batter, stir in the coated blueberries.

Divide into muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through.

This is a great recipe to batchcook and freeze.

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Legendary St Stephen’s Day Pie


Do you have one recipe that a family member adores and repeatedly requests? That’s the legendary pie that our 23-year-old begs me to make every year. In truth, it’s all about the leftovers from the main event but you could use fresh ingredients if you really wanted to.
You will need a very large baking dish or several medium sized dishes to make this in large quantities but it freezes very well.


Ingredients
• 400ml warm cooking stock (I use the ham water from the day before)
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped
• 80g flour
• Ham, cooked and chopped
• Turkey, cooked and chopped
• 200g frozen peas
• 200g frozen sweetcorn
• 2 packets defrosted pastry
• 1 egg for egg wash over the top
Method
Heat 3 tablespoons of pan juices in a saucepan on a medium heat. Add in the onions, celery and garlic. Cook gentley until tender.
Sprinkle the flour on top and with the vegetables. You are essentially making a type of roux sauce. Ladle in spoons of the hot cooking stock or hot water to the saucepan and stir constantly until you get a runny sauce-like texture. Stir in 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard (or more if you like mustard). There is no need to season this sauce because the seasoning comes from the salty stock made when the ham was boiled the day before.

Stir the meat and frozen vegetables into the sauce. Lay any leftover cooked vegetables into the bottom of the baking dish.

Spoon the sauce on top of the cooked vegetables. Cover the dish with a layer of pastry. Use a fork to poke holes on top and wash with a beaten egg for a glossy coating.

Cook in a fan oven heated to 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve with plenty of buttered mash.

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Leftover Roasties Recipe

Roast potato with red onion, white onion and cayenne pepper

Save this for your Christmas leftovers!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 red onion, peeled & sliced
1 white onion, peeled & sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon each of white pepper, cayenne pepper, curry powder, ground cumin, and turmeric (or go straight for a large tablespoon of spice bag mix!)
Generous pinch of salt
500g leftover roast potatoes (this also works with chips sshhhhh)
Fresh coriander to serve

Method
Get a large frying pan smoking hot before adding some oil.
Lash the onions into the frying pan and cook until softened and blackened on the edges (this adds to the flavour). Add a little salt here to speed up the process.
Add the garlic and then the spices, stir well so that the spices are activated by the heat.
Tumble in the leftover spuds. Toss well in the onion/spice mixture. Turn the heat on the pan down a little and stir the potatoes around.
Serve with plenty of fresh coriander once all the ingredients are piping hot. I like mine with chutney on the side.

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Last Minute Limoncello Recipe

lemon vodka and sugar

You only need 4 days to make this incredible zingy limoncello which makes the perfect handmade Christmas gift. Makes just over 1 litre of limoncello in total. I decant it into 100ml bottles for gifts.

Ingredients
6 organic lemons (washed)
70cl bottle of vodka
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Method
Peel the lemons, taking care to cut as little of the white pith as possible. Place the lemon peel into a large jar. Pour the vodka on top. Put the jar into a cool dry place for 4 days.

After 4 days, combine 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer until all the sugar has dissolved and allow to cool.

Decant the cooled sugar syrup into a large jug, strain the lemon vodka into the jug. Mix until well combined. Fill up bottles of your choice.

Serve neat over ice or diluted with soda water. Always drink responsibly.

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Soy Garlic Chicken Recipe

Soy chicken, which is served in a bowl with veggies and rice


Mouth watering chicken which is perfect served in a bowl with veggies and rice (serves 4 hungry adults).

Ingredients
10 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 scallions (spring onion) chopped
1 tablespoon each of ground white pepper, coriander, and cumin
A pinch to a teaspoon of chipotle chilli flakes (season with your heart folks)
4-5 tablespoons of soy sauce
8 chicken thigh fillets (boneless and skinless)

Method
Add the garlic, white section of the scallions, spices, and soy sauce to a large tray. Stir. Add the chicken thigh fillets to the marinade and coat well.

Cover the tray and allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for 1-3 hours.

I’m cooking for a gang so it’s quicker to sear the chicken off on the griddle, then return to the tray and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.

Serve on a bed of sticky rice with fresh vegetables. Pour over the marinade from the tray for additional sauce and sprinkle with the green sliced scallions

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Gin & Grapefruit Cranberry Sauce Recipe

grapefruit juice and cranberries and gin mashed together

Ingredients

Juice of 1 & half grapefruits
600g fresh cranberries
Good glug of decent gin
150g sugar

Method
Take the juice of 1 & a half grapefruits and place into a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the cranberries, cover the saucepan and wait until the contents begin to bubble lightly. You will hear the cranberries begin to pop in the pan. Add a glug of decent gin and the sugar. Stir so that all the ingredients are combined.

Simmer for 10 minutes before mashing. Mash until all the cranberries have popped. Simmer again for a further 6 minutes. Decant the sauce into a warm, sterilised jar, allow to cool completely before placing the lid on top. This sauce will keep for up to 10 days in the fridge