Jun 14, 2017

A new recipe...

When we road-tripped over Easter, my sister-in-law cooked up this seriously delicious chicken fettuccine dish that was seriously delicious (I was going to delete one set of those “seriously delicious”-es, but I figured the recipe was so good it bore repeating ;-) ). She didn’t use a recipe, just threw things together, and ever since we got home I’ve been trying to recreate it.

And I think I finally have it right! So I thought I’d share it. :-)



Chicken + Other Things with Fettuccine

* Brown 500g of diced chicken in a large frying pan in some olive oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and put to one side.
* At the same time, put some fettuccine on to boil
* Sauté a small diced green capsicum and a handful of button mushrooms quartered (or halved, depending on their size) in the frying pan along with two or three chopped up cloves of garlic. When the capsicum is soft, add 1/2 cup of white wine (pinot grigio works a treat) and a tablespoon or two of sliced black olives. Return the chicken to the pan and continue to gently cook. Add more wine if needed.
* When fettuccine is cooked, drain and stir in the grated zest and juice of one lemon (use less if you’re not so keen on lemon).
* Add the fettuccine to the chicken mixture, and stir well.
* Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

NOTE: the amounts are all subject to taste and preference. I've made it with far less chicken (but the packs at the supermarket are 500gms which I usually use for convenience...and that makes enough for two meals for me and Mr Douglas). A tablespoon of capers added was lovely. I'm sure some ginger would add a nice flavour to the dish too. So this is a fast and loose recipe, which can be adapted depending on what ingredients you have on hand. :-)

Sorry, I don't have a picture of the finished product...but here's a picture from our road trip!

And a picture of my sister's farm

And some sheep...because life is better with sheep. :-)


I expect part of this recipe's original magic was the garden-fresh veggies…and the fact that when one is road tripping, fast food becomes the order of the day. So when you're served something as fresh and tasty as this fettuccine dish, you appreciate it all the more.

But even using supermarket veggies and eating in our usual (generally) healthy way, we still love this dish.

So…what’s been your favourite new recipe so far this year? Do you have one you'd like to share? And tell me, are you tempted to give this one a whirl? :-)

19 comments:

  1. Hi Michelle

    This sounds like a recipe I need to try,I love throwings things together in one pot my family love my curried sausages (which we are having tonight) although it is not a new one I have made ddone very nice weihgt watchers recipes that are also a hit and one of them is beef chow mein very yummy and easy
    500g lean beef mince
    1 medium brown onion finely chopped
    1 tbs curry powder
    1 large carrot grated
    375g savoy cabbage finely shredded
    150g boiled frozen beans drained
    2 individual celery sticks finely chopped
    40g white rice dry
    80g powdered chicjen noodle soup (2 x 40g packets) reduced salt
    2 tbs soy sauce
    1 x 3 second oil spray

    Method
    Lightly spray a large suacepan with oil heat over high heat. Add mince and onion. Cook, breaking up any limps for 6-8 mins or until mince has browned.
    Add curry powder and cook, stirring for 1 min or until fragrant. Add carrot, cabbage, celery, rice, soup mix, soy sauce and w cups (500 ml) water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 mins or until water has absorbed and rice is tender. Add beans for the last 2 mins of cooking.

    Yum

    Have Fun

    Helen

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    1. Ooh I love curried sausages, Helen. And they're perfect for winter. I bet you're all going to enjoy them tonight. :-)

      And I'm sending you a huge "Thank you!" for the Beef Chow Mein recipe. It sounds delicious (and easy)! I'm going to try it...and then I'll post my review of the recipe on Facebook. ;-) Thanks again!


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  2. Yum, that does sound nice, Michelle. As does the road trip.

    I'm a pretty terrible cook so I won't inflict anything on readers of this blog. My dream is to one day win lotto and have someone cook for me every day. Dreams. Dreams.

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    1. LOL, Jen. I love your idea of a chef. Good luck with that Lotto win! :-)

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  3. Love a good road trip, Micelle! I cook a similar chicken pasta, Michelle- if you substitue penne past, shove in a casserole dish and top with cheese, its yummy too!

    I recently discovered quiche with a sweet potato crust. So any quiche fillng but instead of pastry line dish with discs of thinly sliced sweet potat - coook basd first for about 20 minutes then add the filling. Nice low carb option!

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    1. And yes, I did type that first comment on the treadmill...forgot to say you need to shove the penne version in oven for about half an hour

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    2. Penne + cheese + oven? Oh, that is good to know, Amy!

      That sweet potato crust sounds like an absolute winner. Will have to give it a whirl -- I love quiche, but I haven't made it in ages. Trying your version will be the perfect excuse to put it on the menu again soon.

      P.S. How's the treadmill going?

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    3. Am loving it! And that's not usually a word I associate with exercise...

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    4. Wow! You've been at it for months and months now. Fantastic news. :-)

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  4. Oh Michelle, sounds yummy!! Personally I don't think you can ever go wrong with chicken and wine...
    I've been cheating this year and having My Food Bag decide what I'm going to eat and deliver the goodies to me-it's so much easier...I hate having to come up with new ideas all the time. This year we've opted for the vegetarian bag in an effort to eat more veggies and it's been awesome. I'll have a think about some of our favourites and then do a recipe blog post or something!

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    1. Do you know, Louisa, I think you're right as far as chicken and wine goes -- they're the perfect complement to each other (but then I think that whenever I eat beef in red wine). :-)

      My Food Bag sounds like a great idea! And I absolutely think you should do a recipe post soon -- love getting new ideas. :-)

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  5. You're right, Michelle, life is definitely better with sheep. I love the pics!

    The recipe sounds fabulous. I'll have to try it. At the moment I'm just getting back into the cooking habit after weeks away travelling with no cooking - or very little. I'm in the process of making soups this week. Tomorrow it will be cauliflower and then pumpkin, but I don't stick to recipes for those two. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Those sheep were so sweet, Annie, with noses as soft as velvet. :-)

      Oh, the joys of travelling and having others do all the cooking and cleaning. Happy sighs. :-) But, it's certainly perfect weather for soup. I hope you enjoy yours!

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  6. That sounds like a really tasty meal!! And yes, life is definitely better with sheep :D

    We tried a new recipe this week - skillet Moroccan chicken which was made with brown rice, chicken, raisins, almonds, and a sweet and spicy pork sausage. really tasty and filling! I served with some greens on the side.

    The original recipe is here, but as usually I always put my own spin on (no sausages were used in the recipe, for instance) http://fitmencook.com/moroccan-chicken-rice/

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  7. Oh, that looks seriously good, Stef, and I have a feeling it'd be a big hit with Mr Douglas! Will definitely have to give it a try.

    P.S. I knew the LoveCats would appreciate the sheep. :-)

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  8. I'm going to have to try some of the shared recipes including yours Michelle. Haven't got a favourite new recipe since that would require actually sticking with actually cooking, I've been slightly slack a little much this year. (and not even with Louisa's fantastic choice of My Food Bag) - you do not want to know how often I've eaten fast food or junk food this week
    Veges - is there a vege market in your area on the weekends? That could be a way of getting veges that are closer to garden-fresh than the supermarket.

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    1. Cooking can be such a chore some days, Lyn. But as a general rule I like to cook and fiddle with new recipes (if I'm not too busy and rushed with other things). We do have a farmers market in the area...think I'll have to make a concerted effort to get there more often.

      Oh, and I tried Helen's recipe for Beef Chow Mein last night and it was delicious. It's not very photogenic, LOL, but I'll share a pic on FB next week. :-)

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  9. That recipe sounds delicious, Michelle. I've made something similar in the past, must try your version!

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    1. Not sure why I love it so much, Kandy. But as soon as I start to eat it all the flavours just seem perfect for each other. :-)

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