Rubber Chicken

As today's outfit is a repeat (the floral/nautical tunic) I though I'd do a cooking post.

Frugal ways with Leftovers: Part 1 - The Rubber Chicken

Saturday - Lemon Roast Chicken

I was aiming to achieve a Mediterranean style chicken with the lemon doing most of the talking!

I rubbed a little olive oil onto the chicken to keep it moist and to help with the flavours in the bottom of the pan during cooking. I sprinkled some turmeric over the breast to give a yellow colour.

The slices of lemon on top are partially for aesthetics but also I hoped the acidity in the lemon might tenderise the meat. In the bottom of the dish I added a roughly chopped onion, some celery tops, a few cloves of garlic (whole in the skins) and some sprigs of rosemary.

I squeezed the two halves of lemon over the top and the stuffed them inside the cavity to add flavour and moisture from the inside.

I popped it all in the oven and roasted as usual. When it was cooked I added the vegetable water from cooking to the dish, squeezed the garlic cloves to release the soft roasted pulp and mixed it all up into a delicious gravy.

The flavours all worked well together and it was a lighter fresher alternative to a Sunday Roast. The lemons in particular gave a really aromatic sweet and sour quality to the dish.

I served this with new potatoes and mangetout.

Sunday - Chicken, Bacon and Tomato Pasta

This was an easy quick fix, by the time the pasta was cooked, dinner was ready.

I chopped up the remaining breast keeping it chunky. In a small pan I fried up some roughly chopped bacon and garlic. I then added some fresh chopped tomatoes, rosemary and the chicken. I also added a little of the cooking water from the pasta to give a richer sauce. A little salt and a lot of pasta and it was done.

Monday and beyond - Oriental Chicken Soup

This was going to also feature noodles but I didn't have time to soak them for 1/2 hour before adding to the soup.

I heated a little olive oil in a huge pan, then added roughly chopped onion, celery, carrots and whole cloves of garlic. I let these colour a little and then popped in the chicken carcass and any remaining meat. I added a good glug of lemon juice (I would have ideally liked to throw in a stick of lemongrass but didn't have any) and also a fair bit of soy sauce and some ground ginger (fresh would have been better I think). Then I topped the pan up with water. Once it was up to the boil I put it on a very low simmer and left for for 2 hours.

I sieved the soup and also picked out any decent bits of chicken which I added back into the soup.

I added some salt to my portion and some chili flakes. Dylan ate his without.

This made enough for about 6 servings so I'll reduce the rest down and freeze in ice cubes trays which can then be tipped into a bag. When I defrost I'll add back some water.

It was really tasty and warming on this cold miserable day.

Does Rubber Chicken already feature in your repertoire? I'd love to know how you s-t-r-e-t-c-h yours!

Little Miss Nautical

Ahoy there shipmates!

I'm so in love with anything nautical at the moment, and today I was in the mood for this stripey batwing jumper from Tesco. I also wore a short red mac when I went out this morning which really set the outfit off.

I have been resisting temptation to indulge in any more Asda jewellery, I'm wearing the swallow earrings *again* and the bow necklace from Valentine's Day, but I think I may have to pay the haberdashery stall in town a visit to pick up some buttons and ribbon for a spot of customising.

Taking inspiration from rope knots I added this fun braid to my hair. It's a simple three strand plait, but I held one strand and slid the other two up to bunch it up a little, then secured it under the rest of my hair with a couple of grips.

I couldn't let pancake day go by without posting a few shots of Dylan in the kitchen, so here he is demostrating how to make Chocolate, Blueberry and Yoghurt pancakes. Yummy!

What did you have on yours?

A Slight Whiff of Cheese

(Balloon still going from last Saturday's Babylove event!)

xxx Happy Valentines Day xxx

I hope you are all having a day full of love and kisses. I know it's generally considered a bit naff, but sometimes you just need that date in the diary where you drop everything, stop what you were doing and take some time to celebrate your loved ones. My darling hubby isn't the most romantic of souls so it's good to have one day where it's OK to be slushy!

My outfit today mirrored my romantic mood and features pretty pinks and a flirty floral print. I put a navy slip underneath to make this tunic dress hang better. I'm wearing this gorgeous bow necklace and charm bracelet (full of wonderful memories) that my lovely Mr. gave me.

We had this beautiful heart shaped pasta for lunch and to go with it, I rustled up a creamy cheese and spinach sauce flavoured with lots of nutmeg and pepper.

Dylan got creative this afternoon but as his prefered style of pointillism didn't really resemble much. I cut out some splodges and assembled them to resemble the petals of a rose. A few green ones and I had enough flowers to make a pretty card for his little sweetheart a few doors down the road. I could have cried with pride when he walked up to her, gave her the card and wished her a Happy Valentine's Day.

Dinner this evening is a joint effort. I'm in charge of the starter and dessert and hubby is taking care of the main course.

I've wrapped the asparagus in parma ham, drizzled with some rosemary flavoured olive oil and grilled and accompanied with some olives and crusty bread. I've put some Hollandaise sauce in the centre to dip into.

Simply divine!

I admit to cheating and bought the dessert which is Hot Chocolate Soufflé. Oooh I can't wait...

So my cooperative son is in bed, my Valentine is in the kitchen, I'm about to wrap this up and crack open a bottle of chilled bubbly.

How did you spend your Valentine's Day?

Mwah!

xxx

Oooooh, oooh, ooh Babylove!

Last night was "Babylove", a fundraising event to raise money for St Johns Hospital Neo Natal Intensive Care unit. My friend who organised it had her little girl very early and knows all too well what important work they do there. The hospital rely heavily on donations to provide care over and above the very basic that the NHS can fund.

The evening was a huge sucess, eveyone who attended enjoyed it thoroughly and most importantly they raised £1,800 which is enough money to buy the hospital three special care incubation units!

The dress code was "smart party" which is always a tricky one. After much deliberation I bought this Yumi dress from USC, it was £13 in the sale down from £45! I love the carousel print and the frilly layer that peeks out underneath. The Carvela shoes were from TK Maxx and were a bargainous £16. I had intended to wear normal black tights but found the shoes kept slipping off but the footless tights solved the problem perfectly and gave a party feel to my look.

At the last minute I realised that the hot pink nail varnish I was planning on using wouldn't work with the open toes (too much pink) I knew navy would look fab so I mixed electric blue with a dark plum to get the perfect shade to match my dress. I would have been even more smug had I not smudged a fingernail while doing my hair!

I decided to go for a really full on eye make up, I kept the rest of my face neutral and understated but went to town on the eyeliner and applied lashings and lashings of black mascara for a dramatic effect.

When are you next dressing up?