Chicken Kiev with Spiced Potato Wedges

Well this will be a bumper recipe post today. A complete meal in fact. This is a classically simple mid-week meal that can be prepared in advance and cooked very quickly. It's also really cheap (which is always a good thing).

We've probably all had those store-bought Chicken Kievs; the processed mounds of chicken meat with a reservoir of garlic butter in the centre. Pretty tasteless. Here is how you make them for yourself from scratch. I'll start with how to make the garlic butter, which can be used for garlic breads or steaks or to flavour any other dish you're cooking. Then I'll show you how to make the chicken kievs themselves. I'll leave the quantities out because the amount of ingredients vary so widely. I served them with spicy potato wedges which can be used as a sidedish to any meal and are a cheap and healthy alternative to the frozen wedges you buy in the shops.

Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

250g Salted Butter

6 Cloves Garlic (or more if you want a stronger taste)

2 Tsp Mixed Herbs (Parsley, Oregano, Basil etc)

Chicken Kiev

Chicken Breast Fillets

Egg

Flour

Breadcrumbs

Salt & Pepper

Spiced Potato Wedges

1kg Potatoes

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Chilli Powder

Paprika

Oregano

Salt & Pepper

Method:

• To make the Garlic Butter. Simply soften/melt the butter and add the garlic cloves and herbs. Blitz in a food processor and pour into a container to set. 
• For the Chicken Kiev, cut a pocket into the side of the chicken breast. Be careful not to cut through to the other side 
• Have three bowls ready; one with flour, one with beaten egg & the final one with breadcrumbs. Season the flour with salt & pepper.
• Place a spoonful of the garlic butter in the pocket made in the chicken. Dip the breast in flour, then the egg & finally the breadcrumbs, making sure it is completely coated at each stage. 
• You can either deep fry the chicken breast until dark brown, or, for a healthier alternative, you can brown on both sides in a frying pan before placing in an oven to bake.
• For the wedges, chop the potatoes into wedge shapes & place in a bowl. Add the olive oil and herbs to taste (I like spicy food so I added a lot of paprika & chilli). Mix thouroughly and spread out on a baking tray. Cook in oven until crispy. 
• Enjoy.

Raspberry Spiked Chocolate Brownies

Unfortunately I can't take the credit for this yummy dessert, that lies with my lovely housemate Jessica who made it all for us. I can however, post the recipe so that everyone can enjoy the delightfulness. It's really easy to make and goes great with ice cream.

Ingredients:

200g Dark Chocolate
250g Butter
350g Brown Sugar
4 eggs
170g Plain Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
45g Cocoa Powder (sifted)
200g Raspberries

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter & chocolate over a low heat until smooth.
• Place the butter & chocolate in a bowl with the eggs & sugar.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder & Cocoa Powder & mix well.
• Pour into a 23cm baking tin lined with baking paper. Top with raspberries.
• Bake in the oven for 45mins or until set. The brownies should be fudgy in the middle.
• Enjoy

Cheap and Cheerful Dinners No. 2 : Chicken Quesadillas with Jalapeno Mayonnaise

Time for another cheap and cheerful recipe. It must be the weather that has me craving food from hot countries. Between the Spanish Patatas Bravas and the Argentinian Empanadas I should just start learning Spanish. And here we have another dish, this time from Mexico.

Quesadillas are flour or corn tortillas filled with grated cheese and other ingredients and fried on a pan so that they are crispy. This is a really quick and easy recipe. And because you can put whatever you want in it, it's really cheap and cost effective. I used chicken in this recipe but you can make a vegetarian option or use pork or beef; the combinations are only limited by your own imagination.

Quesadillas go great with sour cream and salsa or simply mayonnaise. I made a nice, spicy Jalapeno Mayonnaise to add a nice kick.

Quesadilla

Ingredients:

Flour/ Corn Tortillas

Grated Cheese (whichever variety you prefer)

Olive Oil

2 Chicken Breasts (Cooked and Diced)

1 Red Pepper (Diced)

1 Onion (Diced)

Jalapeno Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp Mayonnaise

1 Jalapeno Pepper (seeds removed and finely chopped)

1 tsp Garlic (minced)

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Oregano

Method:

• Heat a frying pan to a medium heat & add the olive oil. Place a tortilla on the pan. Flip it over a few times until air pockets begin to form.
• Sprinkle the grated cheese onto the tortilla & then add the peppers, onions, chicken (& whatever other ingredients you have) on top. You don't want to layer the ingredients too thick because you will be folding the tortilla over. 
• Reduce the heat. Once the cheese has melted, fold the tortilla in half, pressing the two sides together. Continue cooking. Once the underside is brown, flip the quesadilla over to brown the other side. 
• Remove from the pan and cut into wedges. 
• For the mayonnaise, simply add all the ingredients in food processor and mix together. 
• Serve the quesadillas with a side salad and drizzle the mayonnaise over. 
• Enjoy.