Quick Dinner : Creamy Mushroom Chicken

So cooking for one in a kitchen that’s not my own has been quite a challenge recently. You can’t make too much since you can only eat leftovers for so long. And as this is a temporary situation I don’t really want to stock the cupboards as it will just go to waste.. So my challenge has been:

* Be economical
* Be healthy
* Be simple
* Be quick

And it’s really not that easy. Breakfast items are one solution. Eggs are healthy in moderation. Salads and store-bought soups are good too. But they’re not all really cooking. So last weekend I was craving hot white rice and not the microwaveable kind. So I had to come up with something to have with it that didn’t require a lot of different seasonings or several ingredients. Did I mention the fridge is really tiny too?

So my solution is a sort of spin on fast stroganoff – creamy chicken with mushrooms.

Recipe for two (or leftovers for lunch)

1 packet boneless chicken thighs (~5 thighs)
1/2 packet mushrooms
1/2 yellow onion
2-3 garlic cloves
2 beef stock cubes
Salt & pepper
Couple heaping tbsp of either cream, creme fraiche or sour cream
Optional – white wine
Hot white rice (~1.5 cups)

Rinse the rice in a medium saucepan. Strain and repeat again. Add about water about 1.5 times volume of rice. Or add enough water so that when you gently shake the pot to level the rice out, the water comes to the first line on your index finger when you stick it in the middle of the pot to touch the rice. Sounds odd but it works! Bring to the boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Check after about 10-15 minutes. When the water looks like its evaporated, turn off the heat but leave the lid on. Fluff the rice after another 5 minutes. Or you could just buy some ready made rice 🙂

Meanwhile chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and cook on medium heat for a minute or so. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Might need to add a bit more oil. Once it’s softened after a couple minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Add more oil to the pan and add all the chicken. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cook on one side until the edges are beginning to cook and flip all the pieces over. Cook for another couple minutes. Strain some of the fat off if you’d like.
Add the mushrooms back in. Sprinkle the stock cubes over and pour about 1/2 cup of water (preferably hot water). Gently stir to dissolve the stock cubes. Let this summer for a minute. Taste and season accordingly. If you’d like a lot of sauce then add more water but let it reduce again to thicken. After another minute add the cream. Taste and season again. Let it heat through another minute or so and serve on top of hot steaming rice!

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Quick Dinner : Cheesy Quesadillas

With my husband traveling a lot for work recently, I’ve been on my own for dinner. Since I’ve been busy myself, I often resort to picking up take away or ready made meals. Sadly it’s not easy to cook for just one. And you can only eat leftovers for so long.

So one solution is the quick and cheap quesadilla. Really all you need is two tortillas and cheese. If you want to jazz it up, you can add any of these options:

* Butter to add a nice golden crisp
* Thin slices of any meat such as ham, chorizo or even chunks of chicken
* Mix up the types of cheeses you use (pepper jack, cheddar, red Leicester, goats cheese, etc)
* Thinly sliced vegetables can go in raw like peppers, mushrooms or onions. Or you could quickly cook them to soften.
* Serve a salsa or creamy dip on the side if you’d like too

All you need is a large frying pan. The key is to be on a low to medium heat. You don’t want a burnt tortilla with hard cheese inside. Let some butter melt. Place your first tortilla. Add cheese and other filling. And top with your second tortilla. Wait a minute or so and check if your bottom layer is browning. Then flip over with another bit of butter.

If you’re not in the mood to wash a pan, just turn your oven on and turn your quesadilla into a pizza! Just as yummy!

Happy eating.

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