Recently we have been getting the Tesco meat 3 for £10 deals, or 4 for £12. That gets us sausages and bacon for brunch fry-up on Sat and Sun plus a chicken for Sunday lunch with enough sausages for either lunchtime butties or a sausage supper. But the shelves were more or less bare yesterday evening. They had no other chickens and I could not be bothered to detour to Waitrose on the way home.
The CFC did have two corn fed chicken breasts for £4, which is not really a bargain to my mind but I bought them anyhow.
The question is, what dish to cook this evening. I was thinking of simple fried chicken (frying pan) but I'm sure there are tastier options.
Does anybody have any favourites?
Never knowingly underfed
Do you have any bacon left? Stuff the breasts with cream cheese (pref. garlic flavoured, as TA says), or simply smear it on the top, or lay a slice of your favourite cheese (mine would be blue brie) on the top. Season with black pepper, then wrap with bacon, secure with a cocktail stick if necessary. I do them in the oven, but you could fry or grill them, I guess, although that might dry the bacon out before the chicken is cooked through. I cover it over with foil too, to prevent the bacon cooking too quickly.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
I'm a dear old fashioned thing so I would plump for slicing the breasts thinly, batting out & then egg & bread-crumbing them (adding lots of herbs/spices etc.to the crumbs) & frying very quickly. A good squeeze of lemon or lime added as you eat, sometimes I make a mayonnaise & gherkin, caper sauce to dip them in. Good with saute potatoes, spinach or a good German potato salad (dressing put on while potatoes are still hot) or a good mixed salad that contained plenty of beetroot. It is a great way of stretching a small amount of meat into something huge. It also looks lovely, as one's own hens produce deep yellow yolks which look & taste smashing. It works well with pork too. I can't afford veal unfortunately.
Aaaaah, memories of Wiener Schnitzel, eaten in a wine-garden just outside Vienna, in the days of my youth........!!
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
Thanks to the three of you for responding.
This time I will run with Sue's suggestion or some variation on it. We do have streaky bacon and I sort of fancy an oven baked dish this evening. We didn't have our usual Sunday roast lunch yesterday because F had a rotten tummy upset and could only face toast at supper time.
Next time I will try your method, Nadine.
TA, we adore Kievs but I fear that my attempt might be a far cry from the store bought versions. Often, the cheapest ones are the tastiest, don't you think?
Never knowingly underfed
Sorry Danny, never saw this over the weekend, I did a chicken breast recipe the other week where I stuffed them with garlic & chive philly, wrapped them in bacon/pancetta and baked them. I think I did a mushroomy sauce with them that might have been a delia type cheat (tin of creamed mushrooms or something similar) but I can'r remember.
My favourite with chicken breasts is to make a curry.
No worries, Janet, and thanks for your ideas. Do you chop up the chicken breasts to make your curry?
Anyway, here is my report on my attempt to emulate Sue's recommendation. sorry - no pics - too hungry!
It was flippin' delicious, even if it did not turn out quite as I expected.
We could have easily got by on one breast for two and made an extra meal of it but that only became apparent as we stuffed our faces.
It was my first time baking these, so I did not realise that they swell up in the cooking. What appeared to be pre-flattened cuts were really not. In the raw, I thought that they would not bear slitting and stuffing. Instead I made a "sandwich".
For the filling I crushed some old but good Stilton along with Philly cream cheese from the tub. Both were lying about in the fridge. Then I sliced a mushroom thinly and laid the slices over the cheese. I placed the second breast on top and laid over four rashers of streaky bacon, with the ends tucked underneath the "sandwich".
Pressed it down onto a circular Pyrex dish that was just slightly bigger (a recent find from a bit of pre-spring cleaning) after first pouring in a tbsp of olive oil and a tbsp of Balsamic.
I wrapped the dish in foil and gave it 40 minutes in Andrew at 225 on the top shelf with the collar on - equivalent to 195 in a fan oven.
Then a final 10 mins with foil removed to crisp the bacon.
The surprise was the volume of "jus" - I guess natural juices plus melted cheese. The filling had totally melted out but that made for a fabulous sauce that we poured over the accompanying creamed potato. Served with carrots and broc.
I have to stress that these were Tesco Finest Corn Fed chicken breasts with skin on. I devoured the skin too! They were thick and meaty and full of flavour.
Must try this again with standard chicken breasts. It cannot fail, surely!
Many thanks Sue. It was ab fab, utterly delicious.
Never knowingly underfed
You're most welcome Danny, it sounds fab.....oh, and I've never tried putting sliced mushrooms in it too, thanks for your idea! Yes, I should have mentioned about the 'jus' (ooh, get you!! ), some of it comes from the bacon fat I guess, as well as the melted cheese, and of course the mushroom liquor. All wonderfully tasty anyway.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
Chicken, Camembert & Plum Parcels
I have resurrected this topic as it's made with chicken breasts. It is a recipe from a New Zealand Cheese making site (they sell equipment). It's good & quick & tastes delicious. I used my own plum sauce but next time I might try my pineapple & chilie relish. I used shop bought Camembert but I think other cheeses would work well too.
I also think small versions of this would make good canapes or starters.
http://www.madmillie.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/0.....arcels.pdf
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
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