chicken and chorizo pasta bake

Okay, this is dead-simple and dead-delish. Ready?

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast per person, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 chorizo, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 cup of dried pasta per person
1 jar of tomato pasta sauce (I used Five Brothers with caramelised onion - delish)
Grated cheese and bread crumbs to top.
See? Simple.

Method:
Cook pasta in boiling, salted water. I used farfalle pasta, but whatever tickles your fancy.

Sauté chorizo in a frypan till golden on the outside and set aside. Now, in the same pan, sauté the chicken breast pieces till golden on the outside and cooked through.

When pasta is cooked, drain it, and then pop back in the pan. Add the jar of tomato pasta sauce and stir. Now,  add the chicken and chorizo and stir. If there's any nice, crispy yummy-stuff at the bottom of the pan add a little water or wine, and stir till it comes off. Tip that into the pasta mix and stir. You want the sauce a little-more liquidy than you'd normally do for pasta in a bowl.

Add this to a greased baking dish. Top with a mixture of bread crumbs and grated cheese. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes - or until it looks all golden and awesome on top.

Serve with bread and a crispy salad.

Now, there's no reason why you couldn't add roasted capsicum and other yummy things to this dish - and you could make your own sauce if you fancy. I wanted something easy-peasy that was yum, and this served its purpose. Enjoy x

chicken cacciatore recipe

I am loving the recipes I'm rediscovering in my retro Leggo's Italian Cookbook - and they're a total hit with the family. Plus, they're so simple my 12-year-old can cook them (and often does!) I'm trying this recipe this week:

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1.5kg chicken pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
140g tomato paste
425g tinned tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups of chicken stock

Method:
Heat oil in pan. Pop in the chicken and brown for around 5 mins. Remove from pan. Brown the onion and garlic. Return chicken to pan and add the tomato paste. Stir. Add tinned tomatoes Add salt, pepper, oregano, white wine and chicken stock. Stir, then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Don't let it boil.

Serve with buttered noodles, salad and a glass of white wine (Leggo's Italian Cookbook - I like the way you think!)