Tandoori chicken pizza

Growing up in a very English household, I didn't experience too much Indian food other than the occasional curry. I've made tandoori chicken in kitchens I've worked in before, but I was never really interested enough to make it at home until a friend of ours made some for us last year.

If you haven't had traditional Indian before, you're missing out! Using yoghurt, tandoori paste and additional spices, he changed my perspective completely. It might have been that he marinated it almost all day before cooking the chicken, or just the fact that adding in the extra spices brought out the flavour ten-fold - but Mr Steph and I still talk about that meal.

From that moment I've had a little bit of a soft spot for tandoori chicken. After Mr Steph loved a tandoori chicken pizza he ordered a few months ago, I decided to recreate it at home one night. It was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, so it's by no means traditional but more my twist according to what I had in the fridge.

During our pizza making, I also perfected how to make crispy pizza base like that of a wood-fire pizza. Tips on how to do this is in the recipe below!

Tandoori chicken pizza.

Makes two thin crust pizzas

For the tandoori chicken

2 chicken breasts, cut into small strips
2 heaped Tbsp mild tandoori paste
1/3 cup sour cream

For the pizza dough

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp yeast
2/3 cup warm water

For the pizza sauce

1/2 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 Tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp minced garlic

For the pizza topping

1 1/2 cups  grated cheese
Small handful of baby spinach (around 25 - 30g)

For the garlic sauce (my twist on the traditional)

1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. Mix the tandoori paste and sour cream together, tossing the chicken pieces through until they are well coated. Pop the chicken in the fridge to marinate. I like to marinate it for at least 40 mins (while my dough is rising), but if you're short on time 15 mins or none at all is fine.

2. Next, onto the dough. Add the flour, salt and yeast to a medium sized bowl, creating a well in the centre for the liquids. Pour in the oil and slowly add your water. I usually add in half the water and start mixing, slowly adding more bit by bit. I find it easier this way as sometimes you don't need all the water. You're looking for the dough to be slightly sticky but not wet.

3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it's smooth (around 3 - 5 mins). Place the dough in a greased bowl (using spray oil or spreading a drizzle of oil around the edges), cover the bowl with cling wrap and tea towel, and place in a warm draft-free place. Allow to rise for 40 mins or until dough has doubled in size.

4. Divide the dough in half, roughly kneading it for 30 or so seconds before thinly rolling out each base - aiming for no more than 3mm. Place each base onto a large sheet of baking paper, large enough for the base with a little bit extra handing over for you to easy hold.

5. Turn your oven on to 180 C / 350 F and place the pizza trays in to heat up with the oven. I've found this is the trick to having that crispy, wood-fire like base.

6. Cook the tandoori chicken on a medium heat until cooked through and the chicken appears dark in places. Try not to cook the chicken any higher than medium as otherwise the tandoori coating will simply burn before the chicken is cooked.

7. Mix up the pizza sauce and spread thinly across both bases. Avoid having it too think as you don't want the pizza to be all sauce!

8. Sprinkle a small amount of your cheese on the bottom, followed by spinach, chicken and then the rest of the cheese. You'll notice that the cheese is quite sparse, but this is the way it should be. The key is to have a small amount of toppings.

9. Take the pizza trays out of the oven one at a time, and, using the sides of the baking paper, carefully place the pizza (still on top of the baking paper) onto the tray. Slip the pizza back into the oven  and cook for 10 mins, then careful slip the pizza off the paper and onto the tray for another 5 - 10 mins until the cheese and edges are nice and crispy.

10. Mix the garlic sauce ingredients together, drizzling it over the top of the pizza just before serving. Again, definitely not traditional, but it goes together so well!

Enjoy!
Steph xo

Banana and choc-chip muffins

If you know me (or this blog), you know that I'm really big on sweets - especially ones you can sneak into your lunch box to make the day go quicker. I'm also a  massive fan of any recipes that use food items you might consider throwing out.

These banana muffins tick both boxes. They are perfect for lunches, and the blacker the skin of the bananas you use the better the muffins taste! Plus, they can be bruised and squished and it doesn't matter. Throw in some choc-chips and everyone's happy.

Banana and choc-chip muffins

Makes approx 16 muffins

125g dairy-free spread (or margarine)

3/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

2 bananas, peeled and mashed

2 cups SR flour

2/3 cup rice milk (or milk)

1/2 cup choc-chips

pinch of salt

1. Firstly, set your oven to 180 C / 350 F.

2. Cream butter and sugar with an electronic beater until fluffy. My Mum has always told me this is the secret to fluffy cakes. It has always worked for me!

3. Add vanilla, eggs and mashed banana and mix until well combined.

4. Next, alternate adding the flour and rice milk. Add 1/2 a cup of flour, followed by 1/3 cup of rice milk - beating the mixture each time until well combined.

I know you are supposed to sift flour in cakes, but honestly I never do. I'm a little lazy on this front.

5. Finally, fold through the choc-chips.

6. Place muffin cases in a standard muffin tray, and using two spoons (as shown in my pumpkin and white chocolate cupcake recipe) fill the cases around half way. If they are slightly over, that's OK too. You just want to make sure you don't fill more than two-thirds of the case.

If you want to make large, Texas sized muffins, simply use large or Texas sized cases and muffin tray. The mixture will make approx 16 standard sized muffins or 10 large muffins.

7. Place your muffins in the oven for 15-20 mins.

Enjoy,

Steph xo

Crispy chicken, sweet chilli wraps

Every now and then I'm just too exhausted at the end of the day to even think about dinner. When I'm feeling like this it's the worst time to get groceries because I always (without fail) end up staring at the boxes of easy "simply add" meals for something so that dinner will be something easy I don't have to think about.

Recently I ended up in the Mexican section looking at the wrap kits, hoping something would jump out at me. I picked up this box of  "Crispy chicken wraps" from a brand that escapes my memory right now and thought 'That will do', continuing my shopping almost like a zombie.

I was actually really happy with my choice. The wraps come with a packet of sweet chilli sauce, the wraps, and a crumb seasoning for the chicken. It was simple, and fresh with all the salad I added to it. The next time I went to the shops I decided instead of spending all that extra money buying something pre-packed for me I'd just look at the ingredients and work it out. Looking over the back of the box I was surprised that there wasn't really much to it, and that I had actually paid a lot for something so easy.

I've now developed my own version of the crispy chicken wraps and haven't bought the boxed product again. To be honest, I think I like my versions of the wraps more, but I could be a little bias. The crispy part of the chicken is an easy herb and spice mix with breadcrumbs that you simply toss the chicken into, and the rest is really just the fresh ingredients you add to it. You'll honestly be really surprised with just how easy it is!

Crispy chicken, sweet chilli wraps

Makes 6 wraps

2 chicken breasts (skin off)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
1/4 tsp dried oregano or parsley
2/3 cup of breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp oil (I use rice oil, but just use what you normally would for frying)

1 large diced tomato
1 medium red onion / 1/2 large red onion
100g shredded lettuce
80g grated cheese
OR whatever salad your family likes

Lite sour cream
Sweet chilli sauce (or for the kids whatever sauce they like)

6 tortilla wraps - store bought or you can try and make your own using my tortilla wrap recipe


Firstly cut up your chicken into strips. I usually cut my chicken breast in half long ways, and then slice each into strips about 0.5 cm wide. In a small bowl combine your cayenne pepper (or paprika) and oregano (or parsley) with your breadcrumbs, mixing them slightly so that the herbs are blended through the breadcrumbs. Add all the chicken pieces to the bowl and toss them through the breadcrumbs using tongs or your hands. I actually use my hands because I find it easier and it coats the chicken better. Continue tossing until the chicken is coated on all sides.

Put your chicken a side and get started on your salad. This way as soon as you get to cooking the chicken everything else is ready to go. An important thing to remember is to use a different board to what you cut your chicken on as well as using a different or clean knife. You should do this any time you are cutting up meat, but especially with chicken so that you don't contaminate your food. I like to add each salad to a small bowl so that people can make their own wraps at the table, mixing the tomato and onion together into one bowl.

An easy way to shred your lettuce is to lay out all the leaves on top of each other, and then roll them up into a long cylinder before you slice it.

Now, back to the chicken. Add the oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. You want the oil to be a thin layer over the base of the pan, so add more if you need to. When you can hold your hand over the top of the pan and it is hot you can add your chicken. The hand thing is something I do every time I use a frying pan; it's just something my Mum taught me when testing if it's hot enough yet. Add the chicken in a piece at a time, making sure they are not on top of each other. Don't worry if you are thinking 'I can't get all this chicken in the one pan without them being on top of each other!' - don't worry, depending on the size of your pan you might just need to cook the chicken in batches. Add in as much as you can, putting the rest aside until the chicken in the pan cooks and is removed.

A good rule of thumb when cooking chicken is to wait until there is a white ring of cooked chicken around the entire edge of the chicken. Once you see this you know you can turn it over and cook the other side. When cooked and crispy on both sides remove your chicken to a plate with paper-towel, and get started on your next batch of chicken. Continue the same way as the first batch, making sure that you start with that thin layer of oil on the bottom. Without that oil your chicken will stick and won't get as crispy.


With all your chicken cooked you can now put it in it's own bowl and add it to the collection of salads on the table. It's a lot of fun that way - especially for kids who feel like they are "making their dinner". Of course you don't have to use the salad I have. Picked salads that you know your family will like, even switching the sweet chilli for a BBQ or tomato sauce for the kids and skipping the sour cream.

This recipe is also really great for lunches, as you can easily make the wrap a head of time and have it cold. My suggestion though is if you are making it up before hand avoid onion, as the smell just takes over if not fresh.

Enjoy!

Steph xo

Home made pizza bases

Who says you need to only have gourmet pizza out? Try prosciutto,
blue cheese and rocket pizza on your home made pizza base!

 

Home made pizza is always better.

I have no idea where I picked this pizza dough recipe from, but it's been written in my recipe book for around five or so years. So yes - this dough has been tested and I can personally recommend it!

 

Home made pizza is a regular in our house. We have all sorts of toppings - from the good old ham, cheese and pineapple to blue cheese, prosciutto and rocket. You might think that it isn't something you can do when you need something quick but you'd be wrong! What I usually do is as soon as I walk in the door I do the dough - and in five minutes I have it sitting to rise. I then go and have my shower, do the washing or whatever chores I have to do. Once I come back it's all ready to roll - I throw on topping and it's in the oven!

 

I know the recipe says to let it double (around 30-40mins) but if you only have 15 or 20 mins that's ok too! It just won't be as soft a dough. Otherwise, my mother-in-law taught me a little trick. If you want your dough to double ASAP, sit your bowl in warm water in the sink and cover it with glad wrap and a towel. Let it sit for 5-10 mins (depending on the quantity) and it'll double. Trust me, she does this every weekend to make Polish donuts and bread for church - it works! This is what she used to do in Poland where there is no "warm" place to let your dough rise.

 

Chicken and bacon pizza.

 

Basic pizza

Also used for calzone

 

Makes 4 thin or 2 thick bases

 

450g (3 cups) of flour, plus flour for dusting

1 tsp instant dried yeast (also known as bread machine yeast) ***

1 tsp salt

310 ml (1 1/4 cups) of warm water

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra oil to grease bowl

 

With a wooden spoon combine all your dry ingredients in a large bowl, creating a well in the centre. Add your oil into the well followed by your water. Mix everything together until a dough is formed, using your hands towards the end to knead together slightly.

 

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it for a couple of minutes until smooth. Take another clean bowl and coat it with oil (or use spray oil to coat the surface), rolling the dough in the oil slightly before sitting it in the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, placing a tea towel on top of it, and place your dough in a warm, draught free place until it doubles in size (around 30-40 mins).

 

Once doubled, knead the dough in the bowl until it returns to it's original size (for about 1 min). Now you can roll it out and add your favourite toppings!

 

Here's one that I love: Chicken and bacon pizza

 

Enjoy!

Steph xo

 

 

*** Instant dry yeast (also known as instant active dry yeast or bread machine yeast) is used in this recipe as it is added straight to your dry ingredients. I always use "Lowan Whole Foods" instant dried yeast, but this is an Australian brand and may not be available where you are. If you're not sure which you have in the cupboard check out this helpful article: What's the Difference? Instant, active dry and rapid yeast

 

Lunch box muffins

I can't be the only one that has fruit brought home all bruised from lunch boxes, can I? It seems to be a common thing in my house - and I don't even have kids yet ... just one big kid! If it's bananas that came home it's banana muffins for work the next day. If apples - apple and cinnamon muffins. But there are only so many banana or apple muffins you can make in a week!

So with a few apples, a bag of poor almost mashed strawberries, and a few bananas in the fridge after a few days at work I thought I better come up with a better solution than having to make a few different types of muffin. Then I thought - why not just make a muffin with everything ... and then the lunch box muffin was born, and it was delicious!!

Lunch box muffins - with bananas, strawberries and apples

Makes 12 medium or 8 large muffins

110 g (1/2 cup) margarine or butter
2/3 cups of sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups SR flour
3/4 cup milk
2 bananas, mashed
8 strawberries, slightly mashed
2 small or 1 large apple, cored and cut into cubes

Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

Firstly, preheat the oven to a moderate (180C) heat. I'm writing this at the top because if you are like me you get to the end and it says "add to a preheated oven" ... and then you have to wait ... which is annoying!

In an electric mixer or with electric beaters cream the margarine and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla. Beat the mixture until it is fluffy, until it looks a little bit like cake mixture. Mix through your bananas and strawberries. By slightly mashing the strawberries they give the mixture a slight pink colour from their juice, and by only mashing them a little it adds strawberry bits so that they don't get lost in the mixture.

Alternate adding in the flour and milk to the mixture, beating it each time until smooth.

Finally, fold in add the apple pieces.

In a muffin tray spoon your mixture into muffin cases - making sure you keep in mind that they will grow, so you only want to fill the cases no more than 3/4 full.

Before popping them in the oven I sprinkled mine with cinnamon sugar, but it's up to you. Bake in the oven for around 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

Enjoy!
Steph xo

Chicken and bacon pizza



Pizza at home is always the best! Last night I thought I would throw together something a little bit different: a chicken and bacon pizza on a yummy tomato and oregano base. And it was amazing! So although this recipe post will be a little short, I wanted to share because ... well, YOU SHOULD HAVE IT FOR DINNER! ... subtle enough?

No, really ... if you can try it, I would recommend because it was such a good way to just sit and relax after being so busy.

 

What you will need

1 large pizza base - I much prefer making my own base, so if you would like to try your own check out my pizza base recipe. Otherwise, I pre-made one is fine as well.

For the topping:
4 chicken thigh fillets, cut into pieces
4 pieces of short cut bacon, cut into slices
1 small onion, diced
1 - 1 1/2 cups of cheese, depending how much you cheese you like

Optional: Pineapple pieces (around 200-250g), and black olives

For the base sauce:
1/4 cup of tomato sauce
2  tablespoons of tomato paste
1 Tbsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of garlic


Fry off the chicken, bacon and onion in a frying pan with a little bit of oil until the chicken is cooked, then put it aside to cool slightly while you do the sauce. In a small bowl add all the sauce ingredients and mix together. Spread the sauce on your base, followed by your chicken, bacon and onion from the pan, and the pineapple and olives. Finally top with cheese.

Bake in a 200°C oven for 20 mins or until the cheese is melted with a little bit of colour.

Enjoy
Steph xo

P.S. it is always great with a BBQ sauce base.

Home made tortilla wraps

I have no idea where I found this tortilla recipe. I have a feeling it's one of those recipes that is past on from someone you know,  and then you made it for so long it feels like your own. If anyone knows me I seem to be allergic to too many things, so I like making my own things so that I know exactly what goes it in - so that is why I wanted a tortilla recipe in the first place!

I love making these for tortillas or burritos with chilli mince, but they are also great wraps for lunches - with grilled chicken for a Caesar wrap, or beef strips for a Thai inspired wrap with chilli and lime dressing.

They really are easy to make, and sometimes if I don't have time I don't let them rest. Resting the dough does make them a little fluffier though, but when you are in a rush to get lunches done resting doesn't seem like a necessity. It is always better to follow the recipe step by step though!

 

Tortilla Wraps

Makes approx 6 medium tortilla wraps.

 

What you will need:

2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups of warm water

That's it ... I'm not joking!

Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, mixing together slightly. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the oil, following by the water bit by bit. I always leave a little bit of the water out until I start to mix the mixture and can tell it's not going to be too wet. Start to mix things together with a wooden spoon, using your hands towards the end to knead things together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until the mixture feels smooth.

 

Rest for 10-15 mins before rolling out into a long sausage and cutting into 6 pieces, then roll each piece into a ball. From here simply roll out into thin-ish wraps - a couple of millimetres*. After you have rolled out your wrap sprinkle with a little bit of flour to stop them from sticky to each other as you continue to roll. This flour is also needed when we cook these off.

 

Set an non-stick electric frying pan or frying pan on the stove to a low heat. Add the wraps one at a time cooking on each side until it bubbles and turns a light golden colour in places - note it won't happen everywhere like a pikelets, so don't wait for that or it'll just turn into a crisp! You don't want to cook them too much as you want them to be flexible enough to fold. If you are finding they are sticking or cooking too much in the pan just sprinkle a little more flour over the tortilla when cooking.

Enjoy!
Steph xo
 

* If you are not sure how thin try just rolling out one as a tester, then before you go onto the rest cook it to make sure it's not too thin.

Turkey Cranberry Melts

These are great for lunches -
just throw them in the sandwich press and you're done!

The last time I did a survey on facebook there was a tie between mid-week meals with mince (which I popped up my beef pastie recipe for) and lunch ideas. So this week I thought I'd bring you Turkey Cranberry Melts - which is an easy lunch idea that will taste just as good as if you grabbed it at your local cafe.

This is also great for sneaking in an extra vegetable into your families diet ;)

 

Turkey cranberry melts

Makes 4

On your next shopping list grab:

50g of baby spinach

150g of shaved turkey breast

4 slices of your choice of cheese - swiss is amazing with this just as an hint!

1 turkish bread

Mayo

Cranberry sauce

Simply cut the turkish bread in half and spread as much mayo as you would like on the bottom. Arrange the baby spinach on top of the mayo, followed by your turkey breast and cheese. Next spread some cranberry sauce on the top half of the turkish bread. Add your two halves together and cut your turkish bread into three or four depending on the length of the bread (and how big you would like your lunch!)

You can also mix this up with a little bit of ham or bacon, and other salad items - pretty much make it what YOU want to eat! You can also mix it up with chicken and avo (just take out the cranberry of course).

Once lunch time comes around simply zap the melt in the mircrowave for around 40 secs before finishing it off in the sandwich press. You don't have to use the microwave but I just find that this way the spinach cooks a little better, and you don't have to have it in the press as long as well - leaving you with more a soft melt than a really, really toasty one.

Enjoy!
Steph xo

P.S. Just had this for lunch today - awesome.