Chicken, Bacon and Leek Pie

Ok, so I'm about a week too late with this recipe as Pie Week was last week.  Oh well, if I had it my way every week would be pie week! A dinner that includes some sort of pie is pretty much perfect in my book - flavoursome pie, smooth creamy mash and a few veg on the side - I feel hungry just writing about it.

This particular pie became one of my new favourites when I was sent Innocent's cookbook Hungry? The innocent recipe book for filling your family with good stuff to review last year.  It's so simple but oh so delicious and always a hit whenever I make it.  It also works really well with leftover cooked ham in place of the bacon.  

Chicken, Bacon & Leek Pie
(from Hungry, by the Innocent Smoothie People)

olive oil
2 leeks, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
8 chicken thighs, skinned, boned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
1/2 a small butternut squash, deseeded, peeled and cut into small chunks (I haven't tried it with this yet)
a few springs of thyme
2 tablespoons plain
200ml chicken stock
1 x 500g packet of puff pastry
1 large free-range egg
a splash of milk

1) Preheat your oven to 190c/375f/gas mark 5.

2) Fry the leeks and garlic in a little olive oil over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the pan and set aside, then put the pan back on the heat.

3) Add a little more oil to the pan and add the chicken and bacon and cook until the chicken starts to brown, then add the leeks, squash (if using), thyme and flour and stir for a few more minutes. Then add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, roll out the pastry on a clean work surface dusted with flour until about 5mm thick and big enough to fit over your pie dish.  Beat the egg and milk together and use some of it to brush the edge of the pie dish. Tip the filling into the dish then lay the pastry on top.

5) Use a fork to press the edges of the pastry to the side of the dish, then trim of any excess round the edge.  Brush the top of your pie with the egg and milk and add any decoration that you might want to make with the left over pastry (ensuring that this is brushed with egg and milk too).  Make one or two small holes in the top of the pie to allow any air to escape.

6) Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.  Serve with mash and veg of your choice.

You can also make the pie up to the stage just before you brush with egg, then allow to cool completely before freezing.  It will keep for a few months.

Serves 4

Riverford Organics and a Cookbook Giveaway

I think we're all pretty familiar with concept of fruit and veg boxes with many of us choosing them as an alternative to the supermarket.  The issue of climate change is also regularly in the news and the fact that Climate Week began on the 12th of March is timely reminder that it's important that we all spend a little time thinking about where we source the food we eat.

Riverford are one of the leading companies offering locally grown, organic products delivered right to your door and have been in the industry for almost 15 years.  Initially delivering to just 30 homes, they have expanded over time and have met the challenge of keeping up with demand, while still maintaining their commitment to local growing and employment, by teaming up with four sister farms around the UK.  They now deliver to around 40,000 homes each week.

Riverford has won many awards including Best Online Retailer 2010 and 2011 and Best Ethical Business 2009 in the Observer Ethical Awards and Best Organic Retailer 2009 and the Fruit and Vegetable category in the 2009 Soil Association Awards. It's restaurant, the Riverford Field Kitchen, also won the award for Best Ethical Restaurant 2009 and 2010 in the Observer Food Monthly Awards.

In 2010 Riverford launched a "Riverford Cooks"campaign to inspire people to cook from scratch using a vegbox.  Riverford Cooks work up and down the country in their local communities on activities from cooking lunches in people's homes through to public cookery workshops and demos.  You can find out more about events in your local area and swap recipe ideas by joining the Riverford Cooks website.

Riverford have also asked me to share the videos below with you, which will hopefully provide you with a bit more inspiration and information about what they do and how you can make the most of your veg.

How to Cook Squash

About Ploughing

Alternative to Battery Chicken Farming

Riverford's first book, the Riverford Farm Cook Book: Tales from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen was published in September 2008 and won Best First Book 2009 and Work on British Food 2009 at the Guild of Food Writers Awards.  This was followed by a second book in 2011, Everyday and Sunday Recipes from Riverford Farm.

And here's the really good bit.  Riverford are giving one lucky reader the chance to win a copy of their first book.  All you have to do is leave a comment below, or on my Facebook page, telling me which of Riverford's fab fruit, veg and meat boxes appeal to you the most.  Or you can post the following message on Twitter

I've entered the @HalfaPotofCream competition to win a copy of the @Riverford Farm Cookbook - http://tinyurl.com/7z4gr28

The competition ends at midnight on Sunday 25th March and I'll announce the winner couple of days later.  Only UK entries allowed I'm afraid. Good luck!

Chicken and Tomato Supper

Here we are in March already.  I know I say it every year but I really don't know where the time is going and I can't believe it's almost a month since my last post!

Today's dish is a simple recipe ideal for family dinners and comes from my trusty Dairy Book of Home Cookery: New Edition for the Nineties. I've had it for years and it's the book I always turn to it if I want a basic recipe for something like Shepherds pie or pancakes.

This is a great dish that's delicious and really easy to make. The toasted bread and cheese on top add interest to an otherwise simple dish and it's just perfect with a few greens on the side.  

Chicken & Tomato Supper
(adapted from The Dairy Book of Home Cookery)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
1 courgette, cut into half moons
400g passata
1 tsp italian herb seasoning
350g/12 oz chicken breast fillets, cubed
1 tsp cornflour
100g/4 oz wholemeal bread, toasted and cubed
100g/4 oz cheddar cheese, cubed

1) Warm the oil in a large saucepan or frying pan and cook the onion and pepper for three minutes. Add the courgette, tomato, chicken and herbs. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

2) Blend the cornflour in a little water and stir into the chicken. Cook until thickened.

3) Spoon into a flameproof dish and scatter over the bread and cheese. Place under a preheated grill until the cheese begins to melt (keep an eye on it to make sure the bread doesn't burn).

Serves 4

Golden Apricot and Marzipan Loaf Cake

I can't believe we're almost half way through February and this only my second bake of the year (apart from a of tray muffins I made with the children).  Maybe I've just been saving up for the big cake fest I'm gearing up for next week in honour of my birthday (my favourite Snickers and Peanut Butter Muffins will be one of the starring attractions - can't wait!).

This cake comes from one of my Christmas presents, the lovely Great British Bake Off: How to Bake  which has lots of delicious sounding recipes that I can't wait to try.  This one caught my eye first because of the marzipan as I had some left over from the Christmas Cake that needed using up.

This is quite a plain cake really but still lovely all the same.  The marzipan adds a lovely sweet richness and the apricot glaze adds a nice bit of zing.  Perfect for a spot of afternoon tea.

By the way, don't be deceived by the size of the cake in the picture below.  It started out as a full sized loaf cake but this was all that was left by the time I came home this afternoon!

Golden Apricot and Marzipan Loaf Cake
(adapted from The Great British Bake Off - How to Bake)

for the cake mixture
300g/10 1/2oz self raising flour
good pinch of salt
150g/5 1/2oz unsalted butter, cool and firm but not rock hard
100g/3 1/2oz golden caster sugar
100g/3 1/2oz soft-dried apricots
150g/5 1/2oz sultanas
2 large free-range eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
150ml full-fat or semi-skimmed milk
150g/5 1/2oz marzipan

to finish
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 tablespoons flaked almonds

1) Grease and line a 900g loaf tin, about 26 x 12.5 x 7.5cm (or a 20cm round, deep cake tin).  Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas 4.

2) Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl.  Cut the butter into small pieces then rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips.  Alternatively you can blitz it in a food processor for a few seconds.  Stir in the sugar.

3) Roughly chop the apricots or cut into small chunks with scissors.  Add to the bowl with the sultanas and mix well.  Beat the eggs with the vanilla and milk until thoroughly combined.  Add to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon to make a stiff mixture.

4) Spoon one third of the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly.  Cut the marzipan into 1.5cm cubes and arrange half on top of the cake mix.  Cover with half the remaining mixture, spreading it evenly.  Arrange the rest of the marzipan cubes on top of this layer then spread the rest of the mixture over the top.

5) Gently bang the tin on the worktop to get rid of any air pockets then bake in the over for 1 - 1 1/4 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (test in several different places because it's hard to avoid the marzipan).  Transfer the tin to a wire rack.  Run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the cake then leave to cool for 15 minutes before carefully turning it out and leaving it to cool on a wire rack.

6) To finish, gently warm the apricot jam with the water, stirring to make a sticky glaze.  Brush this over the top of the cake. Scatter the flaked almonds over the cake then leave to set.  Store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days.

Meal Planning Monday - 6th February

I haven't posted a meal plan for a while but I have a few reasonably interesting things lined up for this week so I thought I'd share.  Most of the things I've listed have been tried before but there are a couple of new things on the list too.

So this is how it looks at the moment...

Monday - Spanish Omelette with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta

Tuesday - M&S Vegetarian Kievs (love these!) with rice and veg

Wednesday - Mediterranean Vegetable Couscous

Thursday - Red Lentil Stew with Dates and Cumin

Friday - Someone else will be doing the cooking!

Saturday - Meatballs and pasta

Sunday - Possibly Toad in the Hole

I'll also be making this Bulghar Wheat Salad to use up the rest of the feta and pomegranate seeds from the Spanish Omelette and the Lentil Stew.

If you fancy sharing your meal plan feel free to leave a comment or add a link to Mrs M's blog - At Home with Mrs M.

Hotel Chocolat - The Sleekster Love Collection

Here we are in February already and that's only a good thing as far as I'm concerned.  I'm not very fond of January with it's short days and cold weather so I'm happy to take one step closer to Spring.  Plus this month brings with it two reasons to celebrate.  Firstly, it's my birthday and secondly, of course, it's Valentine's Day.  Unfortunately, the first is yet to be recognised nationally but the second undoubtedly is and you can't escape the appearance of cards and other gifts in the shops encouraging us to celebrate this day of love.

As my birthday is so near we don't tend to make a big deal of Valentine's Day, however if I was able to choose, my preferred gift would be chocolate over flowers every time. So when Hotel Chocolat sent me their Sleekster Love Collection to sample I was naturally delighted.

This is one of their more colourful boxes that I've seen, with lots of pretty pinks, reds and oranges to brighten up the chocolate browns and creams - definitely a box to appeal to the girls. As always there was plenty to tempt me - from the alcoholic Vodka, Champagne and Buck's Fizz truffles through to the more mellow Raspberry Rapture, Praline Oyster and Caramel Hearts, with lots more in between. All were of course delicious with rich, top quality chocolate surrounding full-flavoured centres (although the Chilli Caramel had quite a kick to it!).

Hotel Chocolat have plenty of other things to choose from in their Valentine's Day Gifts range, from a simple but elegant Chocolate Heart... 

...to their impressive, it-must-be-serious, Valentine's Hamper.

If you're looking to treat someone special on the 14th then you're spoilt for choice.

Many thanks again to Hotel Chocolat for providing me with this sample to review.

Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars

This month the We Should Cocoa challenge is being hosted by Chele from the Chocolate Teapot blog and the theme is "Health Conscious".

Chocolate and healthly don't often feature in the same sentence, at least not when I'm talking about them, so this was a bit of challenge as the usual things I would usually associate with chocolate - cookies, brownies, cheesecakes - were out of the running straight away.  In the end I decided to combine chocolate with lots of good stuff like oats, seeds and dried fruit to make a pretty healthy, and tasty, muesli bar.  Ok, the ratio of chocolate to everything else is not particularly high but it's definitely there so I think it just about qualifies for the challenge!

Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars
(adapted from Everyday by Bill Granger)

350g/12oz porridge oats
30g/1oz dessicated coconut
50g/1 3/4oz flaked almonds
30g/1oz sesame seeds
35g/1 1/4oz sunflower seeds
55g/2oz chopped dried apricots
185ml/6 fl oz honey
55g/2oz soft brown sugar
125ml/4 fl oz vegetable or sunflower oil
100g/3 1/2oz chocolate chips (milk or dark)

1) Preheat the oven to 130c/250f/ gas mark 1.  Line a 35 x 25cm tin with greaseproof paper. Put the oats, coconut, almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and apricots into a bowl.

2) Put the honey, sugar and oil into small pan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Pour this over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix together until everything is well combined.

3) Mix in the chocolate then press into the tin. Bake for 50 minutes or so until golden brown.  Cut into bars while still warm.

Makes 16