Hannah’s Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

Posted on by hr821
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake cooked

This is one of the recipes that Hannah created at uni and has cooked for the whole family since. It is delicous, filling and quick and easy to make. This recipe is great for students as it is inexpensive and goes a long way so is perfect for batch cooking.

Chicken and broccoli work very well together, but why not experiment with different ingredients, too, and let us know the results!

Ingredients (4 generous portions)

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake Ingredients
  • 400g pasta – we used farfalle but fusilli, penne or any other short pasta of your choice will work
  • 40g butter plus a knob to cook the chicken
  • 40g plain flour
  • 400ml milk
  • 200g grated cheddar cheese – you can experiment with different types of cheese (e.g. blue cheese)
  • 1 broccoli stalk
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets (use breast if you prefer)
  • a drop of olive oil
  • a pinch of fine salt
  • a small handful of coarse salt for the pasta water
  • a drop of vegetable oil for the pasta water
  • 75g breadcrumbs
  • 10g grated parmesan
  • optional: a sprinkling of garlic granules

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C
  2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil with the coarse salt and vegetable oil
  3. Cut the chicken into small pieces (roughly 1cm x 1cm)
  4. Cut the broccoli florets into similar sized pieces as the chicken
  5. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes fewer than indicated on the pack
  6. While the pasta is cooking, cook the chicken and make the cheese sauce:
    • In a small pan, melt a knob of butter and add a drop of olive oil to stop the butter burning
    • With the pan on a high heat, add the chicken, and season with a sprinkling of salt and the garlic granules (if using)
    • Stir and turn the heat down, leaving the chicken to cook, remembering to stir from time to time while you make the cheese sauce
    • In another small pan, melt 40g of butter and stir in the flour to make a roux
    • Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps forming, allowing each bit of milk to amalgamate into the roux before adding any more
    • Once all the milk has been added, keep stirring on a low heat as the béchamel sauce thickens
    • Once the béchamel sauce is thick and velvety, remove it from the heat and stir in the grated cheddar
  7. Drain the pasta and pour into an oven-proof dish
  8. Mix in the cooked chicken, cheese sauce and the raw broccoli
  9. Combine the parmesan and breadcrumbs and sprinkle liberally over the top of the dish
  10. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until the crust is deliciously golden
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake before baking
Chicken and broccoli pasta bake ready to go in the oven – before adding breadcrumbs and parmesan (left) and after (right)

Note: You can cook this delicious chicken and broccoli pasta bake a day in advance and re-heat it the following day. Take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before re-heating, then heat in a pre-heated oven (160°C fan) for approximately 45 minutes or until piping hot throughout.

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake cooked
Hannah’s chicken and broccoli pasta bake

Hannah’s Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake | Gloriously Simple, Gloriously Good!

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Chicken Chowder | Chicken Soup | Low-Fat Chicken Chowder | Reflux Recipe

Posted on by gloriouslygoodfood

Chicken Chowder (Updated recipe to make it suitable for Reflux sufferers*)

This is a recipe inspired by the amazing ‘soup van’ soup that we used to get when I used to work in an office, a few years ago.  Theirs was definitely NOT low-cal, but this is my own low-fat version.

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL VIDEO RECIPE (please note adaptations for reflux sufferers in recipe, below)

Ingredients – for 4 hungry people or for 6 people as a starter/first course

  • 6 skinless boneless chicken thigh fillets, all visible fat removed
  • 4 medium-sized potatoes (approx 450g)
  • 1 large tin sweetcorn, drained (285g drained weight)
  • 10g butter
  • 4tbsp plain flour
  • 4 cloves garlic (If you are a reflux sufferer affected by garlic, then either leave the garlic out altogether or replace it with a sprinkling of thyme)
  • 2l chicken stock (you can use home-made, or any good commercial stock…I like to make it up with 2l boiling water and 4 Knorr Chicken Stockpots)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Dried chilli flakes (to taste – do not add these if you are a reflux sufferer and chilli affects you.  I personally find I can easily tolerate a very light sprinkling added during cooking, but definitely not as shown in the photo below!)

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a large stockpot
  2. Add the chicken and garlic (if using – if you are using thyme instead, you can add it at this stage), season with salt & chilli flakes (if using)
  3. Brown the chicken on a high heat for a minute or two
  4. Turn down the heat to minimum & add the flour, stirring it in well
  5. Add a few drops of chicken stock and stir these in well, making a paste around the chicken pieces
  6. Keep adding the stock, a little bit at a time, each time stirring it in well before adding more
  7. Once you’ve added all the stock, add the potatoes and sweetcorn
  8. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat
  9. Simmer for 20-30 mins, until the potatoes are soft but not mushy, stirring occasionally
  10. Serve immediately

Tip: Don’t put too many chilli flakes in at the cooking stage, but put some on the table, allowing individuals to make this soup as fiery as their tastebuds will tolerate!  Even if you cook this without chilli to avoid setting off your reflux, everyone else around the table can still turn this into a fiery soup by adding chilli flakes at the table.

Gloriously Simple, Gloriously Good, Gloriously Reflux-Friendly!

*Please note I am not a doctor, speech therapist or in any way medically qualified.  The recipes are a combination of my interpretation of the rules outlined in the ‘Dropping Acid – The Reflux Diet’ book and ingredients that work for my reflux.  If you believe you suffer from reflux, please seek advice from a medical professional to confirm your diagnosis and work out the best course of treatment/management for you.  I hope that my recipes can help you as part of this management.  The recipes are, by their nature, very low in fat, so are also suitable for anyone wishing to follow a low-fat diet. 

Coq Au Vin | Chicken Recipes | Chicken Dishes | Chicken | Recipes | Food | Cooking

Posted on by gloriouslygoodfood
Coq – Au – Vin

This is my version of this classic dish.  I’ve kept fat content as low as possible while still using indulgently rich extra thick double cream (but not much of it!).  You can choose to retain the chicken skins, of course, but this will make a much more calorific dish.  Cooked as per my recipe, despite the luxuriously rich and creamy taste & texture, one portion (excluding accompaniments such as creamed/mashed potatoes) comes in at just under 500kcals!

Ingredients – for 4 people
  • 8 chicken thighs (skinned, with bone); 2 per person
  • 120g shitake mushrooms, sliced into thick slices
  • 3-4 large carrots (450-500g), sliced on diagonal in big chunks
  • 2-3 stalks celery (approx. 150g), sliced on diagonal in big chunks
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • salt (to taste)
  • garlic powder or dried chopped garlic (1.5tsp if powder, 2tsp if chopped)
  • 6 tbsp plain flour
  • 4tbsp (60ml) extra thick double cream
  • 150ml white wine
  • 1l chicken stock (I like to make this with 1l water and 2 Knorr Chicken Stockpots, but you can use any good commercial or home-made chicken stock, of course)

Method

  1. Prepare the vegetables as described in the ingredients list and skin the chicken, trimming off any excess fat
  2. Set your slow cooker to ‘Auto’ (or heat your oven to a low temperature, approx. 90ºC)
  3. Heat 2tsp olive oil in a non-stick frying pan (high heat)
  4. Press chicken thighs into a bowl containing flour, lightly coating both sides, then carefully place each piece into frying pan
  5. Season with salt & half the garlic, turn over, season with salt & other half of garlic, thus ensuring both sides are seasoned & browned
  6. Place chicken into slow cooker
  7. Return pan to the heat, add remaining 2tsp of olive oil
  8. Whilst keeping the heat high, add onions
  9. Once onions start to brown (after about 30-60secs), add mushrooms
  10. Keep on high heat, stirring continuously for 1-2 mins
  11. Pour on the white wine (this should instantly start bubbling/boiling), stir, then pour onto chicken in the slow cooker
  12. Add carrots & celery to the slow cooker
  13. Pour on chicken stock (
  14. Stir, cover & cook for approx. 5-5.5 hours

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can cook this in the oven in a covered casserole dish, on a low temperature (approx. 80-100ºC) for a similar amount of time, or on the hob in a covered sauté pan or stockpot, on a low heat for approx 45 mins.

Once cooked, remove chicken and vegetables from the stock in the slow cooker and keep warm
Take some of the stock, all of the celery and 2-3 pieces of carrot, place in a blender & ‘blitz’ (remember to take extreme care when blending hot liquids…ensure steam has a means to escape, e.g. by leaving the centre section of the blender lid off, and covering it with a folded teatowel)
Place the blended stock & vegetables into a sauté pan or saucepan, stir in the double cream, then stir in the remainder of the stock and heat on a high heat until starts to simmer (not boil!), stirring continuously
Turn heat down and simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce has thickened and reduced in volume to about 2/3rds of the original amount
Plate up the chicken pieces and vegetables along with a good dollop of rich creamed or mashed potatoes, then pour on a generous amount of sauce and serve immediately.

Gloriously Good!

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