Greek Chicken Thighs with Roasted Jersey Royals

This is an absolute favourite in the summer months as once the chicken is thrown into the marinade, it soaks in so much flavour and then you just bung it into the oven to cook through - so simple yet so tasty.

You could also cook for just twenty minutes in the oven and then finish on the barbecue if you prefer. 

The below is enough for x6 adults as a main meal and the great thing is, once marinated, you can also freeze the chicken and simply defrost and cook next time you want it. 

As I've been following Slimming World, I used skin-less thighs for myself, but skin-on for everyone else and using the below it works out at around 5.5 syns per portion (accounting for x2 chicken thighs per person). 

I serve with a Greek Salad (obviously measured out feta for HEA) and some Tzatziki made with fat free yoghurt which is completely syn free for Slimming World too. 

Greek Chicken Thighs with Roasted Jersey Royals

Here's how:

• x12 chicken thighs
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 250ml white wine
• 3 lemons

For the roast new potatoes:

• 1 pack Jersey Royal Potatoes (or any other new potatoes)
• Fry Light
• 4 garlic cloves
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Rosemary 

Marinate the chicken a few hours before you plan to cook in a large bowl. Place the chicken thighs into a bowl with the olive oil, white wine, oregano, rosemary, paprika, cinnamon and dried chilli flakes. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Now mince or roughly chop the garlic and place into the bowl and cut the lemons in half, squeeze in the lemon and add to the bowl. Use a large spoon to move the chicken thighs around and ensure all get a good coating of the marinade. Cover with clingfilm and place into the fridge for a few hours or until ready to cook.

When ready to cook, firstly pre-heat the oven to 180, fill and boil the kettle and then fill a saucepan with the boiled water, add a pinch of salt and add the Jersey Royals or whichever new potatoes you are using into the water with a lid on and cook on high for fifteen minutes. 

Now drain the Jersey Royals and give them a really good shake in the colander. 

Place into a roasting tin and spray generously with Fry Light, season with sea salt and black pepper and scatter the garlic cloves about along with some fresh rosemary and set aside. 

Now place the chicken into a roasting tin too including all of the marinade ingredients. Move the chicken so each piece is skin side up and then place into the oven to roast for 40 minutes. 

Ten minutes into the cooking time, add the Jersey Royals into the oven to roast for 45 minutes; so the potatoes should stay in the oven for a further fifteen minutes when you remove the chicken, and allow it to rest in the pan until serving. Enjoy!

Leftover Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken

The humble whole roast chicken is, in my opinion one of the most versatile bits of meat and many of us will undoubtedly be throwing together a roast chicken dinner today. 

In our family of four, a whole, large roast chicken, will do us for a roast dinner with the usual trimmings, roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and stuffing; but then I always make sure we get at least another meal out of it for the following day. 

Once I'm done with the chicken, I do try to always make chicken stock too; which can be used as the basis for a soup, stew, a risotto, jambalaya or the likes - and it freezes well too.

As people are having to be a bit more careful with their produce right now - I thought I'd share a round up of my top suggestions to utilize leftover roast chicken. 

Firstly for my generic roast chicken, I usually get a large bird, and I roast in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. To get the crispy skin that my kids fight over, I drizzle with a little olive oil, then season generously with sea salt and black pepper. I also add a scattering of 1 tsp dried thyme and I place a few garlic cloves around the chicken and inside the cavity too. Sometimes I cut a lemon in half and add this to the cavity too which helps to keep the chicken moist. It's important that you always rest your meat when it comes out of the oven too; it will continue cooking, and it will carve and taste so much better once rested and juicy.

For chicken stock, take the carcass of the chicken and place into a large saucepan or stock pot, with any other remaining bones (such as the leg or wing bones). Now roughly chop a large onion or a handful of shallots into quarters (no need to peel), chop a couple of carrots (again skin on), and a few sticks of celery chopped up and add a bouquet garni or a few bay leaves and a handful of peppercorns and top with water. Slowly heat up and bring up to the boil. Once it has reached boiling point, take off the heat and then pass through a sieve into a large bowl or another sauce pan to remove any bits. Once cooled it can be kept 

Ideas for leftover chicken:

Chicken Noodle Soup

A nourishing bowl full of goodness with Asian flavours.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken and Mushroom Potato Pie 

Creamy, delicious and topped with cheesy mash potato, this is a crowd pleasing dish.

Chicken and Mushroom Potato Pie

Chicken, Bacon and Vegetable Pie

Who doesn't love a creamy chicken pie in flaky, puff pastry?

Chicken, Bacon and Vegetable Pie

Chicken Salad

You can throw your favourite salad items together, or just what you have available, drizzle with your favourite dressing, a drizzle of olive oil or a simple squeeze of lemon.

We love rocket, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, radish, sweetcorn and croutons topped with Caesar dressing and with a few fresh herbs added in but use what you and your family love. 

Chicken Salad

Claire's Crispy Aromatic Chicken & Pancakes

OK so this is a Chinese take away classic except it's with duck, but my sister-in-law Claire introduced us to this fab way of using up leftover roast chicken (it also works with pork) a few years ago and it is a favourite now. Literally add a little sesame oil to a pan and place on a low to medium heat, shred the chicken and coat in 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice and quickly fry to re-heat and coat the chicken in the Five Spice flavours. In the meantime, slice up cucumber, and spring onions, slice a red chilli, and knock out the jewels from a pomegranate too for a lovely texture, serve with warmed tortilla wraps, and some hoi sin (plum) sauce and scatter with sesame seeds if you have some handy.

Crispy Aromatic Chicken and Pancakes

Quick & Easy Chicken Quesadilla

Shred the chicken and add to a small bowl with 1/2 jar of tomato salsa, a tin of red kidney beans or black beans, some sweetcorn and a sliced, roasted red pepper - if you have some, add a few coriander leaves and mix . Grate some hard cheese such as Cheddar into another bowl. Place a tortilla wrap into a hot frying pan, cover 1 half with the chicken mixture, then some grated cheese and cover the filled half with the empty side of the tortilla and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with some chunky guacamole (avocado, tomato, red chilli, coriander, lime juice, sea salt, crushed garlic). 

Quick Thai Green Chicken Curry

Fry off an onion, garlic and some fresh ginger if you have it in a little oil and then add 2 tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste and fry off for a minute or so. Add a tin of coconut milk, the chicken, and your choice of vegetables - mushrooms, courgette, aubergine, peppers and even green beans or peas work well. Elevate with a drop of fish sauce, a squeeze of lime and a few coriander leaves to serve. 

Vicky's Chicken Stew

My Mum's chicken stew was a family staple growing up and has had many variations over the years depending on who is cooking it - but the basis is the cooked chicken (and any bones in the broth for extra flavour), a couple of chopped carrots, a diced onion, a couple of sliced celery sticks, chopped potato and topped with chicken stock, and a bouquet garni or a few bay leaves, seasoned and left to cook away on the hob. I also like peas, pearl barley or lentils which thicken it up a bit and we sometimes have suet dumplings too. Mum used to put small pasta in our stew too and it was and still is, always served with buttered bread.  

Vicky's Chicken Stew

Chicken and Tomato Pasta

A simple tomato sauce of onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes and whichever herbs you might have to hand makes a great basis for a chicken pasta dish, add the cooked chicken once the sauce is done to warm through and add the cooked pasta (any shape is fine) to the pan with the sauce to cook a little, and spoon over 2tbsp of the pasta cooking water. 

Chicken and Tomato Pasta

Chicken Fried Rice

Fried rice requires cooked rice, and I find those pouches of Microwave rice to be the best option here. Add sesame oil to a wok or frying pan and heat, then fry off onion, garlic and if you have it, ginger, add a drop of soy then add any chopped vegetables you might want, such as peppers, mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn - most things work here. Fry off the veg then add the cooked rice and stir well. If you have them, add a teaspoon of Sriracha for some heat and cook through for five minutes. If it seems particularly dry, add a little chicken stock.

Chinese Style Roast Chicken

If you have a hankering for some Chinese food without heading to the local takeaway, this Chinese Style Roast Chicken is an all-round winner and makes a great change to a Sunday roast dinner.

You can serve with noodles, rice or some stir fried or steamed vegetables but I implore you to drizzle over the 'gravy' or chicken cooking juices left in the pan as they are simply packed full of flavour and utterly delicious.

Like most marinades, the flavour will intensify if you leave for a few hours, or overnight - however this works well too, if you impulsively decide to make the chicken and just throw it all together and on the bird before throwing into the oven; great for spur of the moment cooks like me.

The below is enough for a family of four for dinner and a couple of packed lunches the next day.

Chinese Style Roast Chicken

Here’s how:

• 1 large chicken
• Juice and zest of 2 limes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4cm piece of ginger
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese Five Spice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Firstly turn the oven on to 200 degrees.

To prepare the marinade, peel and mince the garlic and add to a small bowl. Now peel the ginger, and either grate into the bowl or very finely slice and dice into tiny shards and add to the bowl.

Zest the limes into the bowl, then half them and squeeze in the juice, keeping the halved limes to one side.

Add the honey, soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil and Chinese five spice and give the marinade a stir.

Now take the chicken and using a sharp knife remove the legs and the wings and place ninto a roasting tin with the entire breast or crown of the chicken.

Pour the marinade over the whole chicken ensuring all of the skin gets a good coating. Now take the discarded lime halves and push them inside the chicken breast cavity.

Place the entire tin into the oven and roast at 200 degrees for 20 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees and continue to roast for a further 40 minutes.

Every 10-15 minutes, remove the dish from the pan, and carefull baste with the juices in the pan. I use an oven glove to carefully tilt the dish and use a serving spoon to lift out the tin juices and pour over. This will help to keep the chicken moist and juicy.

After 60 minutes in the oven, remove and place on the hob and check to see if the chicken is cooked through. Use a fork or a skewer to pierce the chicken in both the thickest part of the breast and the thickest part of the leg; and as long as the juices run clear this is cooked.

The important thing now is to baste one last time with the juices in the pan, then carefully take out the chicken and place onto a plate and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Also do not waste the chicken juices left at the bottom of the pan - whatever you are serving alongside the chicken, should be drizzled in this as it is packed full of flavour.

The gravy that must be used from Chinese Style Roast Chicken

Once fully rested, take each piece of chicken onto a board with a fork and a carving knife, carve into small slithers of delicious, juicy chicken. Try to ensure that each piece has a little of the skin for extra flavour. Once you have carved all you can, now grab another fork and use the two to pull off any remaining bits of chicken from the breast or leg bones and gently shred.

Serve with your choice of rice, noodles or vegetables. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken, Pepper and Mushroom Skillet Dinner

Chickens, peppers, mushrooms, garlic and a creamy sauce - this dish needs very little introduction. It ticks the comfort food box for me and served with a heap of fresh vegetables it is almost virtuous. Almost.

I have reduced the calories significantly by using creme fraiche rather than the usual double cream and it is still delicious and creamy. I also refrained from serving over a bed of buttery mash potato - but I advise you do so if you’re not watching your calorie intake or diet.

I prepare the entire dish in one skillet too which means less washing up - win, win.

The below serves a family of four.

Creamy Chicken, Pepper and Mushroom Skillet Dinner

Here’s how;

• 3 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 150g mixed mushrooms
• 6-7 chicken thighs, skin on
• Xx Creme Fraiche
• 1/2 glass white wine. I used Vina Sol as it was knocking about in the fridge - any white wine is fine
• Handful Parsley
• Salt & black pepper
• Olive oil

Firstly coat the skillet in a little olive oil and place onto a medium heat on the hob. Also preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Now season the skin of the chicken thighs generously and place each thigh, skin down into the skillet.

Allow them to really brown and crisp up well, for about 8-10 minutes, moving around gently to stop them sticking to the pan.

In the meantime prepare the vegetables: peel and dice the shallot, mince the garlic, chop the peppers and slice the mushrooms and set aside.

Turn over each chicken thigh when satisfied they are brown and crisp enough and simply sear on the other side for a few minutes.

Now remove each thigh, and place on a plate for the moment.

Add the shallots and garlic to the pan now and allow to gently cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the peppers for another couple of minutes to carefully soften.

At this point add the white wine and make sure the heat is between medium and high - you want the alcohol to cook out, but to flavour the dish lightly.

Once the wine is sizzling away and has reduced slightly, return the chicken to the skillet and add the mushrooms. Pour over the creme fraiche and stir well to combine - it will quickly thin down to a runny sauce.

At this point generously season the dish and place it onto the middle shelf in the oven and allow it to cook for ten minutes, or until the chicken thighs are cooked right through.

Remove from the oven.

Roughly chop the parsley and scatter over the skillet before serving. Enjoy!