Sundried Tomato, Mozzarella & Pesto Stuffed Chicken

This is a delicious easy recipe that is super quick to russle up. It can be prepared in under 10 minutes, and while cooking gives you time to relax with a cheeky glass of vino or catch up on any thing you need to. I have served it with roasted vegetables but it will go with most accompaniments, such as cous cous, green salad etc. It can be prepared in advance and refrigerated which makes it ideal when you have friends coming over. The filling is light but full of flavour and the breadcrumbs are made using wholemeal breadcrumbs which need no butter keeping the calorie count down. I add dried herbs to breadcrumbs which add extra flavour and cuts out the need for salt. I sometimes add thin strips of chorizo to the stuffing which does add to the calorie content, but a few thin strips won't make a huge difference and really adds to the flavour!
Ingredients
2 Chicken fillets
4 Sun-dried Tomatoes
2 Tbsp of SkinnyLoves Pesto ( see May recipe )
100g Brown Bread Breadcrumbs
5 Slices of Light Mozzarella
4 Thin strips of Chorizo
1 Egg
50g Flour


Method
1. Slice the chicken fillets through the middle, being careful not to slice through all the way, and open out as flat as possible.
2. Spread the pesto down the middle of each fillet. On top of this add the sliced sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and chorizo.
3. Fold the chicken fillets over . In order to keep the filling in place you will need to secure the sides by using cocktail sticks to keep everything in place.
4. Put the flour into a bowl and add 1 tbsp of dried herbs. Crack 1 egg onto a plate and break up with a fork.
5. Put the breadcrumbs on a plate and add another dash of dried herbs and mix. 
6. Roll the the chicken fillets in the flour and shake off any excess. Then dip the chicken directly in the egg. The chicken should then be rolled in the breadcrumbs and placed in a baking tray.
7. Bake the chicken for 35-40 minutes until cooked through in a moderate oven, at 180C.

    

Chicken Sweet n Sour

Yum, Yum, Yum. This recipe has all the flavour and none of the stodge, artificial colours and calories of this take away classic.

There are two alternatives with this recipes - the extremely virtuous version where poached chicken is used. Or the slightly more delectable - ever so slightly - bolder version where the chicken is quickly fried in a light, crisp tempura style batter.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 chicken fillets / equivalent leftover roast chicken

1/2 green, red and yellow pepper

4 spring onions

4 cloves garlic

1 red chili

1/2 tin pineapples

1/4 butternut squash / 1 carrot

Handful mange tout

2 tsp corn flour

4 dsp tamari/soy sauce

juice from tinned pineapple

2 tsp tomato ketchup / puree

3 dsp cornflour

100ml cold water

1/2 chicken stock cube

1tbsp rapeseed/olive oil

120g tilda wholegrain rice

Method

1. Boil a pot of water and cook the wholegrain rice for 35 - 45mins.
2. Prepare all the vegetables. Peel and chop the butternut squash into small cubes. De seed and dice the peppers into large chunks. De seed and thinly slice the red chili. Peel and dice the garlic. Slice the spring onions.
3. If not using leftover chicken poach and cut the chicken into large chunks. Alternatively heat 1 tbsp olive/rapeseed oil and fry gently until cooked. Remove from the pan.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok. Fry the chili, garlic and spring onion for 30seconds. Add the butternut squash. Pour in a couple of tbsp of water, place a lid on top and allow to steam for 3-4 mins.

1. Heat 500ml of vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Mix together the cornflour and water.
2. Add the peppers to the pan and allow to cook for another 2 mins.
3. Then add in the pineapple chunks. Stir the corn flour into the pineapple juice. Add this along with the tomato puree and tamari (soy sauce).Crumble in the stock cube. Gradually add 100mls cold water. Allow to simmer for 5 mins while the chicken cooks.
4. Dip the chicken chunks in the batter mix and place in the hot oil. Toss in the oil after about 1 minute. Cook for about 3/4 mins in total. Remove, drain really well on kitchen paper and season with a pinch of salt.
5. To serve, spoon some rice on the plate, then the sweet n sour and top with the crispy chicken.

Lemon, Vanilla & Blueberry Pancakes

This is a simple easy and deliciously tasty weekend breakfast treat that won't leave you feeling sluggish for the day. It's crazy easy to whip together and can even be made the night before & refrigerated. So it's ready to fry up in the morning, or afternoon if your having that cheeky lazy lie in we all crave! The pancakes here are made with whole wheat flour which will not leave you with that bloated feeling refined white flour can very often do. The lemon and vanilla add a natural sweetness which makes these pancakes so hard to resist!
Whole wheat flours are more nutritious because they contain most of the vitamins lost when making white flour. They are also higher in fiber which we know to be great for digestion. The germ contains some fat and most of the vitamins, while the bran layer is mostly fiber. Because of the higher fat content, whole wheat flour doesn’t keep as well or long as white flour. 
The recipe below makes 5-6 thin crepe like pancakes

Ingredients

150g Whole Wheat Flour

1 full Egg plus 1 Egg white

200ml Slimline Milk 

2 to 3 tbsp Water if needed

Zest of Half a Lemon

Half Punnet of Fresh Blueberries

Half Tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

Method 

1. Place the eggs, flour, milk, and salt into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Grate the lemon zest in and add the vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon.

3. If the mixture is too thick add in a little water to thin.

4. The batter works best after resting in the fridge, best left overnight but an hour will do or even straight away if you cant wait! 

5. Fry the pancakes over a medium heat as thin or thick as you like.

6. Serve with fresh blueberries, a cheeky drizzle of Maple Syrup and Enjoy!!