Roast Chicken with Caramelised Onions a.k.a Shallots

Normally, I tend to take advantage of the opportunity to make more involved meals that wouldn't be suitable for a weeknight, but for the past couple of weeks, I have only had 'one day off' each week - Sunday. Which means when Sunday finally rolled around, I would be too busy taking care of things around the house just generally so exhauted that high maintenance meals were not in the cards. It turns out though, this meal is a perfect compromise.

It requires literally less than 10 minutes prep time but the end result is a delicious roast chicken topped with crisp caramelised onions. Paired with some homemade mashed potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables, this is total comfort food with minimal effort.

...chicken pieces, all prep...

... 'throw' them into the oven...

The simplicity of this recipe is great, and I think it would lend itself to variations. I did think it was a tad on the vinegar-y side of me, so next time I may subs part of the vinegar with lemon juice, or just use less vinegar. But there most definately will be a next time because when a recipe is this quick and this tasty, it's too good to pass up.

...look at that onions... starting to caramelise...

The Ingredients:

6 pcs bone-in, skin-on chicken (thighs and drumsticks are good..)

3 tbsp Olive Oil

3 tbsp Vinegar

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

4 large onions - peeled and sliced

Salt and Freshly ground Pepper

Parsley (ran out of fresh ones, so I used dried ones)

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degs.

In baking dish large enough to hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, combined the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce and onions.

Toss the chicken in the mixture, coating with onions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken pieces in the baking dish so they are skin-side up.

Bake for 20 mins, until the chicken pieces begins to brown on top.

Turn the pieces of chicken over and spoon some of the juices and onions over the top.

Bake for an additional 20 mins or until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are caramelised.

Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with parsley.

Done...!

Dinner is served.

I Think.. therefore... I Bake...

Chicken and Mushroom go together perfectly.

Whether you pan fry the chicken and smoother it in a mushroom gravy, or go for baked chicken with mushroom sauce, or go lighter with a chicken with stir-fry mushroom, these recipes are sure to make your family smile and ask for seconds...!

Ingredients (A)

6 pcs Chicken Drumsticks (my daughter's favourite cut)

2 tbspn Qurma spice

White Pepper - ground

Salt

Ingredients (B):

Brussels Sprouts

Russet Potato - cut into wedges

1/2 tbspn Butter

2 tbspn Vegetable Oil for frying the chicken

For the Mushroom Sauce
4 tbspn canned Mushroom soup (Campbell Soup)

1/2 cup water

Method:

Marinate (A) and place in the fridge for 30 mins.

Then pan-fry the chicken 2 mins each side.

Then place in a roasting tray and bake for 30 mins (250 deg oven).

Add water into the mushroom soup and simmer until thicken - for sauce.

Boil the brussel sprouts for 2-3 mins and drain and mix with butter.

Fry the potato wedges until golden brown.

Done...! Thats it...!

Plate it up... and simple dinner is served.

Enjoy...

Claypot Chicken Rice (...without Claypot..!)

I am lazy by nature.... very lazy...

If I were to choose something to describe my laziness, its probably sloath. Yeah, I am kind of like a sloath - dont like to move around too much (especially after I gave birth 15 yrs ago), unless I really have to... except when I have to eat or when nature calls. My perfect way of spending time, if I am not at work or no baking to do..., is just to sit around and do nothing. In my opinion, being idle is one of life's greatest luxury. Sitting around, lying about, curling up in a ball on the couch, in the bed, just do nothing. Well, throw in some day dreaming here and day... you get the drift....you feel me..???

I feel lazier than usual for the past two weeks-lucky not many baking to do..! I think I must have been bitten by a giant lazy bug - I am lethargic, unmotivated, sluggish and blah.. blah.. blah... My laziness has affected my daily rituals... I havent mopped my floor for two weeks (yikes...!), have'nt vacummed since last month (yeah... my house will soon become a natural habitat for Spiderman as cobwebs are popping up everywhere..!).

Perhaps its just the hot hot weather. The heat drains my enegy and vitality. So..., I spend less time in the kitchen and more time outside having fun (... which where I should be...!)

Well....I still cook - thats good.., such as this claypot chicken rice without claypot. I love claypot chicken rice but I am too lazy to cook it from scratch. So, for convenience purposes, I use rice cooker. Hmmm... why not?? Who has time to stand in front of the stove and wait for eternity for the chicken rice to cook in the claypot while there is a "do-it-all-by-itself" rice cooker? Hellooo..... I have better things to do outside of the kitchen.

But.....Be rest assured, eventhough I am lazy, I will never sacrifice the taste or authenticity when it comes to my cooking.

OK... here we go...I got lazy again... will post the recipe in my next entry...

Mushroom Quiche

Now I see why people use frozen pie-crust to make quiche.

Its a lot of work to make the crust from scratch, especially when you "blind bake" (pre-bake) the crust. But there is nothing better than a real butter crust, and for that reason alone I do the extra work. I have had an inkling for mushroom quiche for quite some time, and this one turn out wonderfully.

MUSHROOM QUICHE

1 recipe pie dough

(or you can get ready-made from the Bakery shop)

2 tbspn Olive Oil

2 medium shallots - thinly sliced

Assorted mushroom - Portabello, Button, Oyster

(or any kind of mushrooms of your choice)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup milk

1/c cup heavy cream

3 large eggs

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese - grated

Methods:

Make pie dough and roll into 12 inc circle that fit into a 10x 1 1/2 inc round tart pan, pressing dough into corners. Transfer to freezer to chill for 30 mins.

Pre-heat oven to 350deg. Line pastry with parchment paper or alluminium foil, pressing into the corners and edges. Fill at least tw0-thirds with dried beans, or rice. Bake for 15 mis, remove from oven and let cool for few minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper and weights. Poke the bottom of the pie pan with a fork and return to oven and bake for another 5-10 mins or until lightly golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool while making filling.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent but not brown. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until mushrooms first release their liquid and then liquid evaporates and mushrooms are dark golden brown.

Place tart pan on a baking sheet to catch any run-off there might be (especially if you are using a pan with a removal bottom) Sprinkle half the cheese evenly over the bottom of the crust. Spread the mushrooms over the cheese and top with remaining cheese. In separate bowl, whisk together milk, cream and eggs. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour over cheese. Transfer to oven and bake until just set in the centre - 30 mins. Cool on wire rack before slicing

Enjoy..