stuffed chicken Archives ⋆ Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby

Roast Chicken with Garlic Sausage, Potato and Carrot Stuffing

Chris-budgetpantry — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:43:04 +0000

When I need ideas on what to cook, I do three things: 1) open my freezer and see what existing protein I have, 2) check my vegetable chiller to see what kind of vegetables are available and 3) combine protein and vegetable to make a meal. Do you do the same? Oh, and if I do 1) and see I have no protein, it’s PASTA NIGHT! *dances*

I remember when I just started cooking years ago, I would decide on a dish to make and then go right out and buy ALL the ingredients for that recipe. Not only did I spend alot of money, I also wasted alot of ingredients due to lack of planning. I could buy a bag of potatoes for ONE dish and forget about it the entire week. And when it was time for another potato dish, I would realise that the potatoes have all sprouted.

The other night I was in luck. I 1) opened my freezer and saw a griller chicken; and 2) checked my vegetable chiller and saw carrots and celery. I also had potatoes from making my light and fluffy Japanese Potato Salad a day ago. And I always have onions in my pantry. That was it.. I was going to make roast chicken!

Roasting is one of my favourite ways to cook chicken. It is supremely easy and quite idiot proof. This time, instead of making a regular roast chicken with vegetables scattered around the sides, I was going to stuff it with the vegetables and garlic sausages.

This is the stuffing of potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and sausages with bay leaves and a sprinkle of rosemary and paprika:

There’s been some debate on whether a chicken should be roasted breast side up or down, or covered with foil or not. I don’t proclaim to know the “best” way to roast chicken and “best” is subjective anyway, but this is what I do: Roast it breast side DOWN covered with foil for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil, turn it breast side UP, and continue to roast for 20 minutes til skin is brown and crisp. This way, the toughest part of the chicken- the breast- gets all the juices from being roasted its side down before being given the crispy skin treatment. The timing is good for a 1.2kg griller and gives me moist, pull-off-the-bone meat every time. Try this, I hope you like it!

Roast Chicken with Garlic Sausage, Carrot and Potato Stuffing
Makes 4 servings. Total cost per serving: $2.46

What I used:
For marinating chicken:
1 griller chicken, about 1.2kg
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic and onion seasoning

For the stuffing:
300g pork/ chicken sausages
3 potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 red onion, peeled and diced
5 sticks celery, washed and diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf (optional)
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
A sprinkle of black pepper
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup water

Steps:
1. Marinate the chicken: Clean chicken, pat dry and rub all over with olive oil, Old Bay and onion and garlic seasoning, making sure you get the seasonings under the skin. Marinate overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 190C.
3. Prepare the stuffing: In a large pan, saute the onion and garlic with olive oil. Fry the sausages til browned, about 3 minutes. Add celery, carrots, potatoes, bayleaf and cook on high heat for 4 minutes. Add the wine and water gradually, along with the bayleaf.
4. Cook for 2 minutes and sprinkle the rosemary, paprika, salt and black pepper. Turn down the heat and continue cooking til vegetables are soft.
5. Stuff the chicken with the prepared stuffing, making sure to fill the cavity completely. Secure with toothpick or trussing string. Scatter remaining stuffing all around your baking dish. Place some stuffing mix as a “lining” on your baking dish, then place the chicken breast side down on the stuffing mix and cover with foil.
6. Roast for 45 minutes. When time is up, remove foil, turn chicken over, brush on a layer of olive oil and continue roasting for 20 minutes til skin is brown and crispy. Let it rest for 10 minutes before eating or carving. Enjoy!

How much I spent:
$3.50 for griller chicken
$4.95 for sausages
$0.30 for carrot
$0.20 for onion
$0.90 for potatoes
Everything else from my pantry

The post Roast Chicken with Garlic Sausage, Potato and Carrot Stuffing appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Baked Stuffed Mozzarella Chicken

Chris-budgetpantry — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:12:35 +0000

I recreated this recipe from pinchofyum.com because the colours absolutely intrigued me. Look at the colour party right here! Golden crumbed chicken stuffed with spinach, mushrooms and shredded mozzarella, topped with a beautiful red marinara sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese.

I used spinach, just for the colour, in place of sweet basil as I didn’t have any. But I could see (and taste!) how even more delicious this dish would be with the basil. Preparing, cooking, and plating this dish made me imagine I was in a lovely cottage house in the summer, in England, wearing my checkered, rustic apron fixing a home-cooked meal for my family. Ahh..

And I snap back to reality in my 4-room HDB flat in lion-city Singapore. LOLOLOL.

I rolled up a piece of chicken breast stuffed with sauteed mushrooms in a little bit of garlic, spinach wilted with just a bit of olive oil, and some shredded white cheddar cheese. Coat it with a parsley and breadcrumb mixture, brush on a little oil and off into the oven it goes for 25 minutes til golden and crispy.

I then topped it with a marinara sauce (bottled, I cheated!) and fresh sliced mozzarella before putting it back in the oven to bake for another few minutes til the cheese has slightly melted.

I would do something differently the next time: 1) Cook the marinara sauce til they are less liquidy before spooning on top of the chicken. This dish should be drier than what my picture shows so that the crumb can stay crusty. These were a bit too soggy for me but my aunts loved them. 2) Top them with real sweet basil instead of spinach. Haha! and 3) Melt some butter and combined with the breadcrumb mixture before coating the chicken.

I served these with airfried potatoes. I hope you enjoy these baked stuffed chicken as much as my family did!

Tip: you could do a smaller portion, about 2 pieces, in your airfryer!

Baked Stuffed Mozzarella Chicken
Serves: 6
Total cost per serving: $2.90

What I used:
6 pieces chicken breast, cleaned and pat dry
1 package fresh round spinach
Half a packet shitake mushrooms (about 100g), cleaned and chopped
6 tablespoons shredded white cheddar cheese (you can use Parmesan or red cheddar)
A few sprigs of parsley
4 slices wholemeal or white bread, toasted
3 cloves garlic
1 cup marinara sauce (250ml)
Old bay seasoning
Garlic and onion seasoning
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 eggwhites

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees/ airfryer to 200 degrees
2. Combine the toasted bread, parsley and 3 cloves garlic in a food processor til they become a breadcrumb mixture. Set aside.
3. Heat up the olive oil. Sauteed the garlic, mushrooms and spinach til just cooked, about 2 minutes. Don’t overdo it. Set aside. Also remove a few strands of spinach and set aside for garnish later.
4. Pound the cleaned chicken breast to expand its surface area. Sprinkle with old bay and garlic & onion seasoning. Spoon the spinach and mushroom in the center and top with a tablespoon of shredded cheese. Roll up the chicken.
5. Dip the chicken in the egg white, followed by the breadcrumb mixture in 1., making sure it is evenly coated. Place in your baking dish. Repeat til all the chicken breasts are used up. Brush the surface with a little olive oil.
6. Bake for 25 minutes until the crust is golden and chicken is cooked through. If using airfryer, cook at 180C for 10 minutes, then 200C for abother 10 minutes. Test with a small knife.
7. Take the baking dish out from your oven and top with marinara sauce and sliced fresh mozzarella. Bake for another 3 minutes til cheese melts. Garnish with spinach or sweet basil if using.

How much I spent:
$8.85 for chicken breasts
$1 for mushrooms
$0.75 for spinach
$2.10 for marinara sauce
$4.75 for fresh mozzarella cheese
Everything else from my pantry

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