My Ultimate Chicken and Pesto Sandwich

I often cook several chicken breasts in pesto and then cool them and refrigerate for use in salads and sandwiches. Of course pesto is most commonly made with basil, but there are so many varieties available today - from mellow red pepper and walnut to refreshing mint pesto - that the flavour possibilities are endless. Of course you can always make your own with fresh herbs as well. I simply mix my pesto with a bit more olive oil (to make it easier to spread and to mellow the flavours a bit) and then spread it on top of chicken breasts before cooking them for about half an hour or until no pink remains inside.

You can use any roasted vegetables in this sandwich - even the ones you get in jars - however I almost always keep roasted veggies on hand in the fridge. They are unbelievably easy to prepare and keep for three or four days in the fridge. Click here to find out more.

I like to use a mild cheese like Swiss, Monterey Jack or Gruyere in this recipe, partly because it melts well and also because you don’t need anything to compete with the flavour of the pesto and the veggies, but please yourself. Any cheese that you like is absolutely fine.

You can make this sandwich as a panini and cook it in a panini press, or make it in baguettes or crispy rolls, wrap in foil and cook in the oven.

If you have made the chicken and roasted veggies up ahead of time, these sandwiches are really quick and easy to prepare. They are great for game day or game night for that matter and would be a great addition to any Super Bowl Sunday menu.

To make two sandwiches you need:

2 panini rolls, pieces of baguette or other crispy rolls

1 chicken breast cooked in pesto, sliced

about ½ cup of roasted vegetables

2 to 4 slices of cheese

It’s strictly an assembly job from here. Slice the rolls in half and place half the chicken, half the roasted vegetables and half the cheese on each sandwich. I don’t use butter because there is oil in the roasted vegetables.

Put the top on the sandwich and either cook in a panini press until done or wrap in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet and cook at about 350℉ or about 170℃ for 15 to 20 minutes until the sandwich is warm and the cheese is melted.

Mediterranean Chicken Cassserole

This healthy, economical and delicious one pot meal has become a favourite at our house. I used chicken breasts as my family prefers them, but it would be absolutely delicious with boneless chicken thighs. For a milder flavour, just replace the smoked paprika with ordinary paprika, but do consider trying the smoked as it really does give the dish a wonderful depth.

You need a casserole dish with a lid that goes from the stove top to the oven, or failing that, you can use a frying pan for the first part of the recipe, and then move the ingredients to a large casserole that can go in the oven.

To serve four people, you need:

2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)

1 red onion, cut roughly in eighths

1 red or green pepper, seeded and cut in chunks

1 cup quartered white or button mushrooms

1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, and then in fairly thick half moons

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8 boneless thighs, preferably pasture raised, free range or organic, cut in fairly large chunks

about ½ cup cube pancetta or chopped bacon slices, preferably pasture raised, free range or organic

1 can (about 14 ounces) tomatoes, preferably organic

3 tbsp basil pesto, homemade if possible

½ teaspoon oregano

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper

1½ cups of small pasta shapes (I used tubettini)

1½ cups boiling water, cooled a bit

chopped or dried parsley to garnish

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (170℃ or 160℃ for a fan oven). Heat the olive oil in a large stove-top safe casserole oven medium heat. Add the red onion, pepper, mushrooms and zucchini and stir fry for two or three minutes.

Add the chicken and stir through.

Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, just until the chicken starts to lose its pink colour. Stir in the pancetta or bacon and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, smoked paprika, about a quarter teaspoon of salt and an eighth of a teaspoon of pepper. Finely grate in the garlic. Put the lid on the casserole and transfer it to the oven. (If using a frying pan, transfer the ingredients to the casserole now and then put it in the oven.)

Cook for about twenty minutes if using chicken breasts, or thirty minutes if using chicken thighs. Remove from the oven. Take the bay leaf out and add the pasta.

Add the boiling water and stir through carefully. Return to the oven for about ten minutes, then check to see if the pasta is done. If it is not, and all the liquid has been absorbed, you can add a bit more water. You may need to return the casserole to the oven for five minutes or so - you want the pasta to be al dente. Make sure that the chicken is cooked as well, with no pink remaining inside.

When the pasta is cooked, check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Garnish with chopped or dried parsley. You can serve this from the casserole at the table, and it is lovely with some fresh hot rolls served alongside.

Easy Spanish Chicken

This is one of those recipes you will make again and again, not only because it is quick and easy, but because everyone will love it. It’s only got a few ingredients, and chances are you probably have most of them on hand. This recipe is inspired by things I have eaten in tiny old cafés that we have stumbled upon during our European travels. The smell of garlic generally arrives before the dish gets to the table, and dishes like this are almost always served with an ice cold glass of beer.

You could just as easily use chicken thighs as chicken breasts for this recipe, and in fact I encourage you to do so as they will be more tender. However my family really prefer chicken breasts so I use those instead. I use the red onions, red skinned potatoes and red pepper because they look so pretty contrasting with the chicken, but if you don’t have any of those on hand, or you would rather use a green or yellow pepper instead, there is no reason why you can’t.

I do like to use un-peeled garlic cloves in this recipe because I love how they roast up into garlicky sweetness. You can then squeeze them out of their skins as you eat the dish. However my son absolutely hates garlic cooked that way, so I usually finely grate a clove of garlic in for him, and scatter some whole cloves through the dish for my husband and I. Also, garlic is a very personal (and sometimes acquired) taste, so use as much as you like - or none at all! If you prefer a milder garlic flavour just toss in a couple whole cloves or perhaps grate one or two into the dish. If you like a lot, you can add as many cloves of garlic as you like. When I have had dishes similar to this in Spain and Italy, they have been loaded with at least a whole garlic bulb’s worth of sweetly roasted garlic cloves. I use less at home!

Madeira or sherry gives this dish a wonderful depth of flavour, and as you are only using a quarter cup of it and the majority of the alcohol will cook off, it really should not be an issue with children. However if you are concerned about it, or are teetotal, or just don’t have any on hand, then please feel free to use chicken stock instead.

To serve four people you need:-

3 tablespoons olive oil (or other vegetable oil) plus a little for drizzling

4 large (or several small) red skinned potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut up

(I generally cut the larger ones in quarters or eighths, but little red potatoes can simply be cut in half.)

2 red onions, peeled and cut in eighths

1 red pepper, seeded and cut in chunks

garlic cloves, either peeled to grate in or left un-peeled and whole

1 teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon salt

generous pinch of pepper

¼ cup Madeira, sherry or chicken stock

4 chicken breasts or 8 boneless chicken thighs

dried or freshly chopped parsley to garnish

Preheat the oven to 375℉ or about 170℃.

Heat the olive oil in a large casserole (that is safe to use both on the stove top and in the oven) on the stovetop over medium heat. Toss in the onions and stir fry them for a bit but don’t let them go brown. Now add the potatoes, being sure to coat them thoroughly in the oil.  Fry them for a couple minutes, stirring constantly. Add the garlic cloves (or grate in the garlic you are using), the peppers and the seasonings.

Pour the Madeira, sherry or chicken stock over the whole lot and gently stir through. Nestle the chicken on top of the dish, drizzle with a bit of oil and put the the casserole into the oven.

If you are using chicken breasts, this should be cooked within about 25 minutes to half an hour. Be sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked with no pink remaining inside. Chicken thighs will take a little bit longer. Again, do be sure they are cooked through. 

Serve one chicken breast or two thighs on top of a little mound of the potato and onion mixture. Garnish with some parsley and enjoy!

An Easy and Impressive Roast Dinner

Roast chicken is one of the easiest dinners to cook and it is something almost everyone enjoys. It needs very little accompaniment, aside from some fluffy mashed potatoes, gravy and fresh vegetables or a crisp salad. For an easy meal to impress just about anyone when you are just getting started in the kitchen, roast chicken is definitely your best bet.


It is such an easy meal. You could literally just put the chicken in the oven and you would still get something lovely to eat, but with a tiny bit of what you can hardly even call effort you can end up with something really special. All you need is a lemon and some fresh herbs, either from your garden, farmer’s market or even the grocery store. As you can see from the photograph above, I like to use thyme, parsley and rosemary. I cut the very top off the lemon to expose the flesh of the fruit.


The most important thing to do is to choose a good chicken - and by that I mean one that has been ethically and humanely raised - either pasture raised, free range or organic. Please don’t buy intensively farmed chicken - you are better off not eating meat, rather than eating meat that has been intensively farmed.

You need to pre-heat your oven to about 375℉ (180℃ - or 170℃ for a fan oven). Most chickens come without giblets these days, and they no longer recommend washing chickens because of the risk of salmonella contamination of sinks and worktops, so really all you need to do is take the chicken out of any packaging and place it on a roasting dish. Then push the herbs up inside the chicken and then the lemon. Rub a little piece of butter over the skin of the bird or drizzle a little oil over top and then liberally season it with salt and pepper. Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands after doing this.

Pop the chicken in the oven and cook for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the size of the chicken. I often cook two chickens side by side on a baking sheet at the same time as you can make such lovely things from the leftovers. Keep an eye on it and start to check it when the skin begins to turn golden brown. I use a thermometer to tell when the chicken is done. When you stick it in the thigh meat it should read at least 180℃ (a little over 350℉) and the juices running from the thigh meat should be clear. If the skin seems to be getting rather too golden, and the meat isn’t cooking fast enough, turn the temperature down a bit and/or cover the chicken with aluminum foil  (shiny side out).

When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and cover with fresh aluminum foil. Allow to rest for ten to twenty minutes. This lets the juices settle inside the meat, so that when you cut into it they don’t all run away. Now all you have to do is find someone nice to carve it for you, or try it yourself - it really isn’t as hard as you might think. Just be careful and use a very sharp knife. (There are lots of instructional videos on carving on the internet.)

And that is it, an easy, impressive roast dinner in less than two hours in the kitchen! While the chicken is cooking you have plenty of time to peel, cook and mash some potatoes with butter, milk and salt and pepper and either lightly cook some vegetables or throw together a crisp salad. Oh, and make some gravy. And then you are done!


If you are feeling nervous about plating everything up, just serve it all country style on the table so everyone can help themselves, although it is good to use an electric hot plate to keep everything warm if you are going to do this. Anyone can make a delicious hot roast dinner! Don’t let anyone tell you it is difficult or intimidating, because as you can see from this post, it truly isn’t!

Easy Chicken with Couscous

This is a bit of a fusion dish and is a great way to get a really delicious meal quickly and easily. Instant couscous is a wonderful time saver and it tastes great. My cooking method is slightly unconventional as it does involve stir frying the soaked couscous, but it works really well.

You can season the chicken breasts however you like. The night I made the dish to photograph it, I was in a hurry, so I just used a splash of olive oil and some McCormick’s Montreal Chicken seasoning. However, a healthier marinade made with two tablespoons of oil and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with some salt, pepper and herbs of your choice tastes equally delicious. 

If you want to include more fiber in your meal, you can always use wholewheat couscous. I have to confess I prefer the texture of the ordinary couscous, but I do serve wholewheat from time to time.

Of course, you can vary the vegetables in this according to what you have on hand in the fridge or freezer or what is in the garden.

To serve four adults, you need:

4 chicken breasts (free range or organic if possible)

about 2 tablespoons of olive (or other mild vegetable) oil

salt, pepper and seasonings

1 large onion, finely chopped

(red onion looks nice in this dish, if you happen to have one on hand)

2 peppers (any colour), de-seeded and chopped in small chunks

1 handful of green beans, topped tailed and sliced in half

(1 cup of frozen peas works well as a substitute here)

½ to ¾ cup flaked almonds

1¼ cup couscous

1½ cups boiling water or vegetable or chicken stock

1 vegetable or chicken stock cube (optional - only if using boiling water)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Brush the chicken breasts with oil and season them as desired. Bake at 350℉ or 170℃ for about thirty to forty minutes (depending on the size), turning once.

Meanwhile, heat about a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and gently sauté the onion until it begins to soften. Add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften but still have a slight crispness.

At this point, you will need to soak your couscous. Put the couscous in a large, heatproof bowl and if you are using a stock cube, crumble it over top. Pour the boiling water over the couscous, stir through (you will need to stir a bit more if you have used the stock cube) and then cover with some saran wrap or cling film or an upside down plate. Set aside for five minutes.

Stir the green beans or peas into the vegetables in the frying pan and cook, stirring occasionally.

When the five minutes is up, gently stir through the couscous with a fork, and taste it. It should be moist and flavourful, but not grainy or soggy. If it does taste a bit grainy, add few tablespoons more boiling water, stir through, cover and set aside for a couple minutes. 

Now stir the couscous, almonds (hold a few back for garnish) and soy sauce into the vegetable mixture and cook for a few minutes, stirring, just to blend everything together.

Slice the chicken breasts and serve them over the couscous and vegetables. Sprinkle with the reserved flaked almonds.

A Delicious Combination

I’ve been really into chicken and almonds lately – inspired I think by a wonderful chicken and almond salad sandwich I had at The Cheesecake Factory when we were on holiday a few weeks ago in Boston. I can’t get this delicious combination out of my mind and it has led to some great recipe inventions, two of which I will share with you here.

I make it a habit to keep cooked chicken breast in the fridge or freezer as it is useful in so many recipes. Just brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at about 375℉ or around 190℃ for about 30 to 40 minutes until no pink remains inside. Cool quickly and refrigerate promptly and they will keep for two to three days in the fridge. If you want to keep them for longer than that, you should freeze them as soon as they are cool.

This first recipe is my homage to the Cheesecake Factory’s chicken salad sandwich, although I do serve it as a salad most of the time. Of course, you can also definitely make this vegetarian by leaving out the chicken entirely and adding extra apple and almonds – great if you have both vegetarians and non-vegetarian guests at the same meal!

Chicken and Almond Salad

To serve four people as a main course (six as a starter) you need:-

about four cups of shredded iceberg or Romaine lettuce

2 chicken breasts, finely chopped

2 cups seedless (or de-seeded) red and green grapes, cut in half

2 green skinned apples (preferably Granny Smith)

2 red skinned apples (any crisp and crunchy type will do nicely)

1 cup almonds

2 tablespoons apple juice

about ¼ cup mayonnaise (I use Hellmann’s Extra Light)

salt and pepper to taste

Core and dice the red skinned apples. Core the green ones too, but only dice one of them. Toss in the apple juice to keep from going brown. Reserve the other one to cut in slices for the garnish.

In a large bowl, combine the chopped chicken breasts, grapes, drained diced apples, almonds and mayonnaise. Mix until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the lettuce between four plates (or six if serving this as a starter) and top with some of the chicken salad. Garnish with sliced apple as shown in the photograph.

I also got to thinking about how I could work the chicken/almond combination hot and it brought to mind a dish my Mom used to make years ago using chicken livers and toasted slivered almonds. From there I got to thinking about using chicken breasts (because I really don't like chicken livers - or any liver for that matter!) and my recipe kind of evolved from there.

Chicken and Almond Stir Fry

This dish is really quick and easy to make, and you probably already have most of the ingredients on hand. You can buy almonds already toasted, but if you can’t find them in your local store, simply heat some flaked almonds over medium heat in a non-stick pan and keep them moving using a heat safe spatula until they are all lightly toasted. (Don’t look away for even for a second or they will burn!) Remove from the pan as soon as they are toasted.

Using brown rice makes this recipe even healthier, as does choosing a low sodium soy sauce. One piece of advice, be sure you make lots of this - everyone I serve it to wants seconds! (The recipe below serves about four adults, but it is easily doubled.)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 tablespoon sesame oil

(You can use any light vegetable oil, but sesame oil does give a lovely flavour.)

2 cups green beans or asparagus (or a combination of the two), prepared and cut in pieces about two to three inches long

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I like to use chicken breast for this, but you can use dark meat if you prefer)

1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cups rice

½ cup toasted flaked almonds plus more for garnish

Cook the rice according to package directions. Drain and set aside, keeping warm.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and add the onion. Stir fry for two to three minutes until it begins to soften.  Add the red peppers and green beans or asparagus, continuing to stir fry until they become tender-crisp (about 2 to 3 minutes). Stir in the rice, cooked chicken and soy sauce and stir fry just until heated through.

Add the almonds and stir through.  Serve in warmed bowls or on warmed plates, with a few extra almonds sprinkled on top if you like. 

Watch this space for more recipes with a chicken and almond theme - I can't seem to get this delicious combination out of my mind! 

The 21st Century Housewife's Delicious Chicken Marinade - A Cook Once, Eat Twice Recipe

This marinade has been a favourite in our house for a very long time. One of the things I love about it is it is great for ‘cook once, eat twice’ recipe combinations. It’s spicy, but not too much so, and kids love it. The first night you can barbecue or bake the chicken in the oven and the second you just need the oven or barbecue for about twenty minutes.

The original recipe was from a wonderful cookbook my late Aunt Trish gave me when I was in my teens called the Anne of Green Gables Cookbook, a collection of recipes by Kate Macdonald, inspired by the writings of Lucy Maud Montgomery. I’ve change the recipe over the years, modifying the proportions of many of the ingredients and adding balsamic vinegar into the mix, something that really wasn’t widely popular back in 1985 when the book was published.

Although you can use chicken legs, wings and thighs, I prefer to use it for chicken breasts, not only because my family like them best, but also because they work better for these recipes. To serve four people for two meals you need:-

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon Very Lazy Garlic (or 1 clove of garlic)

2 tablespoons olive oil or other vegetable oil

1 cup ketchup

½ cup balsamic vinegar

juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar

a generous pinch of salt

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and gently sauté the onion until it begins to appear translucent. Add the Very Lazy Garlic and stir it in. (If using a garlic clove, grate it into the mixture now and stir in.) Let the mixture cook for about a minute. Now add all the remaining ingredients and stir together. 

Bring the mixture just to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about ten minutes. 

You can either cool the marinade down to fridge temperature and then marinate cold chicken breasts in it for several hours in the fridge before you cook them, or just put it warm on the chicken as you are about to cook it.

Cook the chicken on the barbecue (or in the oven at about 375℉ - that’s 170 to 180℃) turning once until no pink remains inside. In the oven this will take about 30 to 40 minutes. Remember never serve leftover marinade that has been used to marinate raw meat.

On the first night, serve the chicken with baked potatoes and vegetables (we love corn on the cob and green beans with this). Reserve four of the chicken breasts for the second night, cooling them quickly and refrigerating as soon as possible. On the second you can make a delicious dinner sandwich.  I’m relying on you already having some roast vegetables in the fridge, but if you don’t you can always just use some roasted red peppers from a jar instead. 

Healthy Chicken Supper Sandwiches

To serve four people you need:-

One long baguette (I like to use wholemeal as it is better for you but any will do)

3 to 4 cooked marinated chicken breasts, sliced

about 1 cup of roasted vegetables

4 slices of Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, cut in half diagonally

Cut the baguette in four pieces and then slice each slice in half. Stuff each sandwich with some sliced chicken and some of the roast veggies and top with a slice of cheese. Wrap each sandwich tightly in foil and bake in the oven or barbecue for 20 to 25 minutes until piping hot. Serve with salad and a few good potato chips.

Emergency Chicken Noodle Soup

It’s that time of year again - the time when colds and flu strike and make folks feel really awful, just when they want to be enjoying themselves. The other day my son came home from college full of cold and feeling really terrible. All he wanted was a nice hot bowl of soup. The only problem was my favourite soup recipe takes rather a long time to make. I got to thinking that there had to be an easier and quicker way to a hot and comforting bowl of soup - and luckily, I was right. I just started with some chicken stock and went from there. Slicing the scallions thinly and grating the carrot means it all cooks up in no time.

Sadly that time I had no cooked chicken in the fridge, but the soup still tasted really good without it. I thought how it would be even better if you did happen to have some though and so the other day I had another go at making this easy recipe. It only takes about fifteen minutes, and can make you look like a domestic goddess any day! Actually, this would be a great way to use up some of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey. You could freeze small portions of turkey ready to defrost in the microwave - ready for any emergency that might be helped by a lovely, hot bowl of soup.

By the way, emergency soup for vegetarians is just as easy; simply replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock and leave out the chicken. It's still a lovely warm and comforting treat.

To make Emergency Soup for one person you need:

8 to 12 ounces of chicken stock (made from cubes or packaged is fine)
1 “nest” of Chinese egg noodles
3 or 4 scallions (spring onions), very thinly sliced
half of a carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cooked chicken breast, shredded or finely chopped

Heat the stock on the stove over low to medium heat. Add the scallions and grated carrot. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions. When they are ready, drain them and add to the vegetables and stock. Add the chicken (or turkey). Heat through and serve.

Instant comfort - whether you have a cold or not!!

The 21st Century Housewife's© Balsamic Chicken and Bacon Pasta

Chicken and bacon are a classic combination, but the addition of a balsamic vinegar spiked sauce makes this pasta dish really special. This is one of those recipes that tastes so good, no one can believe how easy it is to make. It really does not take a long time either, but it is important to take your time sautéing the onion as this really helps the flavour to develop. Onions are one of those things that get better the longer you cook them, provided you keep them over a very low heat so they do not burn or catch.

The quantities below serve 2 very generously - in fact I am pretty sure they would stretch to 3 if you use the 7 ounces of pasta. It’s easily doubled though if there are more of you.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
½ cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 ounces chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
2 generous tablespoons half fat crème fraîche or low fat sour cream
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon pepper
about ¼ cup chopped pancetta or bacon
6 to 7 ounces whole wheat pasta (depending on how hungry you are)
1 large cooked chicken breast, thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over low heat. Sauté the onion gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and continue to fry over low heat for five to ten more minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon or pancetta in a small pan over medium heat and start to cook the pasta according to package directions.

Now, add the stock and balsamic vinegar to the onions and mushrooms and turn the heat up to high. Let it bubble away madly, reducing the stock, for a couple of minutes.



Turn down the heat and add the crème fraiche or low fat sour cream and the pepper. Drain the pancetta or bacon, add to the sauce mixture and stir through. Add the chicken and fold in very gently. Turn the heat down to low and heat through.



Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Fold the sauce in gently. Serve in warmed bowls accompanied by lots of hot, crusty bread.