Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

My brother became a dad for the second time this morning. I love my gorgeous little niece, especially now that she can speak which means she upgraded from large foetus to little human. But I'm so happy we have a boy. Girls aren't easy. They're little petri dishes for anxiety. I have to worry about molestation and rape and weight, not to mention whether I should get a Smith & Wesson or an AK47 for any bastard that breaks her heart. But a boy? A little dude? Easy peasy!

I'm not the world's best aunty. I don't babysit. I don't play. Hell, it's taken me 3 years to understand what my niece says and frankly the conversation topics are a little infantile for my taste. So I do what I can. I knit (badly but persistently) and I cook. Unlike pretending to drink tea out of an empty cup the size of my thumbnail, cooking is a doddle.

I'm assuming that the first week is going to be a tad difficult with my little nephew screaming blue bloody murder either because he needs something to go in or he needs something to come out. Not to mention my little niece screaming blue bloody murder because for 3 years she's been the bees' knees and now she's going to have her first taste of jealousy and rejection. So I'm making my brother and his wife meals to carry them through the first few nights. I'm sure it won't completely ward off the insanity that their lives are about to become, but hopefully it will ease them into it.

As for my little dude, I look forward to just enjoying him without having to stress. Except about bullying and fights and height, not to mention whether I should get a Smith & Wesson or an AK47 for any bitch that breaks his heart.

Oh...crap.

xx

J

Note: I wanted to make 8 meals with 5 pieces of chicken in each. So I bought 5 chickens and cut them up into 10 drumsticks and 10 thighs. I split the breasts on the bone in half giving me another 20 pieces. I've been wanting to make chicken stock for a while so I used the wings, backs and gizzards for that. So all that was left was making the rice for each meal and they'd be sorted.

 

CHICKEN LEMON AND OLIVE CASSEROLE

20 Pieces of chicken

8 Cloves garlic crushed

1t Paprika

1t Turmeric

1t Cumin

1t Cinnamon

2t Salt

1/2c Olive oil

8 Onions roughly chopped

1 Green pepper roughly chopped

1 Yellow pepper roughly chopped

4 Lemons - cut off pithy sides then slice the rest thinly

2c Green pitted olives

1t Saffron

Mix together the garlic, spices and olive oil. Rub over the chicken and marinade overnight. Fry the onions and peppers until soft. Add the chicken and fry until lightly browned. Cover with the lemon slices, sprinkle over the saffron and cover with water. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes until done. Remove the chicken and thicken the sauce with some maizena. Return the chicken, add the olives and mix through. 

CHICKEN CHORIZO AND CHICKPEA CASSEROLE

20 Pieces of chicken

1kg Chorizo sliced

3 Tins chickpeas

4 Onions sliced

4 Cloves garlic sliced

8 Carrots peeled and chopped

4 Sticks celery chopped

3 Chillis chopped

1t Paprika

1c Red wine

400ml Sherry

4 Tins tomatoes

800ml Chicken stock

Fry the chicken until lightly browned. Remove. Fry the onions, garlic, carrots, celery, chilli and paprika for about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and cook for another 5 minutes. In a separate pan fry the chorizo until crispy. Add the sherry to the chorizo and cook for a few more minutes. Add the tomatoes to the vegetables and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the stock and bring back up to the boil. Add the chorizo, chickpeas and sherry and cook for about 25 minutes until done. Remove the chicken and thicken the sauce with some maizena. Return the chicken and mix through. 

CHICKEN STOCK

3kg Chicken carcass and gizzards

5 Pieces of celery roughly chopped (don't use the leaves they'll make it bitter)

5 Carrots peeled and roughly chopped

4 Onions peeled and quartered

4 Cloves garlic peeled then bruised

6 Bay leaves

1T Black peppercorns

1/2c Thyme

1/2c Parsley

Put everything in a large pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Turn down to a low heat and simmer for about 3 hours. Strain then pour the liquid back into the pot. Bring to the boil then reduce to about a quarter to concentrate. Season to taste. Freeze in an ice cube tray and once hard put the blocks in a ziploc bag. When you need chicken stock dissolve a block in about 200ml boiling water. Btw I wouldn't use home made stock where the purpose is simply to provide flavoured water. It's strictly for dishes in which the stock is important enough to become part of the taste.