Grilled chicken and veggies..lazy lunch for two

I decided not to do anything today, especially after yesterdays get together with a bunch of friends...a whole day spent drinking and eating. To add to that the weather was horrid. Ideally I would have preferred to not cook anything at all, but sadly that's just a distant dream. So here I was on a Sunday morning in front of the comp completing some research work I was doing for an article and my husband decides to vacuum. Damn the hoover makes a hell of a lot of noise. Thanks to Ro, and my rumbling tummy...I had to get off my lazy ass and make lunch. Thawed the chicken thinking I'd make yet another boring chicken curry and then decided..nah I'm just gonna put it into the oven and not waste my time sauteing and stirring.

I also had some asparagus lying around (seriously who has that sorta veggies lying around without any purpose?) and the good ol potato always comes to my rescue. So did a fast stir fry and voila lunch was ready at the exact time Ro was done with his vacuuming and a delicious one at that (if i may add).

I have a standard recipe I depend on when I want to grill or bake chicken and its always turned out awesome for me. I didn't do that elaborate a process this time, just the basic, but turned out good nonetheless. The chicken pieces I had with me were the whole leg part and since I was too lazy to cut it up into smaller portions, I decided to grill them as it is. No regrets there, except I now have one whole piece which I obviously can put to better use; perhaps in a sandwich or in my Caesar salad.

Grilled chicken

Chicken- 600 to 700gms or so approx. (I used 2 whole leg pieces, around 680 gms)

To marinate:

Kashmiri chilli powder- 2 tsps

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 3 tsp

Garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

Any meat masala- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Ginger paste- 1 tbsp

Lime juice- a dash

Salt- to taste

Oil- enough to brush

Clean and skin the chicken and make deep gashes on the flesh.

Make a paste with all the ingredients in the 'to marinate' section, adding water if required (I didn't need to) and generously rub on the chicken pieces on both sides. Keep aside for at least an hour (nope, I didn't do that..grin!)

Preheat the grill to 200C and line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil.

Place the chicken pieces aside each other (leaving enough space) and using a basting brush oil the chicken on the side facing up.

Grill for 18 minutes.

Take it out of the oven, flip the chicken, oil that side and put it back in for another 18 minutes. Check if its done. If its a little too dry, baste it with some more oil.

I cooked it on either sides for a further 10 more minutes and was good to go.

To check if its cooked, use a fork and knife and cut all the way to the bone and if juices run clear its cooked, or check to see its not all red inside.

Serve hot with veggie of your choice or as a starter, if making with boneless pieces.

Veggie platter

Asparagus- 200gms

Baby potatoes- 4 or 5, cleaned and cut into big chunks

Onion- 1 small, roughly chopped

Garlic- 3 pods, crushed

Salt and pepper- to season

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Heat oil in a frying pan and  toss in the onion, garlic, asparagus and potato together.

Season with enough salt and freshly ground black pepper and give it a strong stir.

Close with a lid and cook on medium low till just cooked, not forgetting to stir in between.

Notes: I ended up over cooking the asparagus a bit, so it wasn't still crunchy. 

Use any veggie of you choice here..even spinach would be a good idea.

You can spice it up with anything you want..say, oyster sauce.

Gimme Greens!

I was all geared up to do some hardcore brunching on Saturday and more importantly i was more thrilled to use some of my new Le Creuset cookware I'd picked up a few days back when i went on this immense shopping spree. I have of course decided to return some of the clothes and shoes id picked up (I always always have second thoughts)...clothes because i have no patience to wait in line to get to the trial rooms and so i just buy it, come home, sashay around and then return it if i don't think it looks drop-dead-gorgeous..oh and also high waists may be back in style, but nah i don't think I can every be comfortable in it, after being so used to the super low waists...ah the freedom it gives you!. And shoes...i really liked it, and was proud i was being adventurous and went a lil off the usual style..but Ro passed snide remarks about it and its totally ruined it for me now... I keep telling myself I shouldn't really care about what he thinks about my clothes, and I really ignore it most of the time, but when I'm doubtful about something and if someone says its not the best, then im convinced I made the wrong choice...its only for clothes and shoes and bags btw..all the other things...I am so level headed, I find it very difficult to change self-made decisions, in fact.

Sorry, I'm rambling again....so what i meant to say was...lying in bed at 10, still...I was charting out what to make and how to style it for my pics when i realized that the 'wretched monthly visitor' had made its presence felt and i automatically went into bitch mode. Dragged myself outta bed almost in tears at having spoilt such a pleasant Saturday and walked into the kitchen pouting. My delightful, every happy husband had the telly blaring and James Martin on Saturday Kitchen Live was suddenly annoying. Ro was cooking and i was already pissed he hadn't noticed i was pouting..instead he sang..'good morning sunshine' and thrust a ladle full of something into my face...In between grabbing my coffee, I snapped at him and said:

I don't want to try it...

He wouldn't let go, eat it, eat it...it doesn't taste like liver at all...

LIVER???????????? WTF? You know i don't like liver, kidney, brain, eye, balls etc...and why do you ask me to try it every damn time.

Ro was confused...'are you mad cos the birds woke you up AGAIN?

NO! you dodo....you wouldn't know, I'm in pain... I hope you'd be a girl in your next life.

Laughter....non stop...'would I have massive boobs if I'm a girl in my next life?

Ladies and gentlemen, that's my husband for you....how he manages to make me smile in between all this, is beyond words.

So i plopped on my sofa and declared I wasn't going to move a finger and Ro said he would take over cooking for the day. After a heavy breakfast (not me), he started lunch preps at 1.30pm and made this rather yummy stir fry with rice and curd and his liver fry (yuck!), while i watched a corny chick flick..with a cold cider and a smirk on my face...maybe its not bad I'm a girl, after all;)

Stir fried beans with shallots and garlic

Sliced runner beans- about 2 cups

Shallots- 2, roughly chopped

Garlic- 3 pods, roughly chopped

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Salt & pepper- to taste

Olive oil- 1 tbsp

In a frying pan, heat the oil and sauté shallots and garlic till light brown.

Add the runner beans, salt, pepper and cumin powder and give it a good stir.

Close with a lid and cook on high for about 5 to 6 minutes or till the beans are cooked just enough..not too mushy. You might want to stir in between, and if you feel its sticking to the pan, add a tsp of water.

Serve hot with rice.

Here is another easy peacy green bean recipe, a great accompaniment to any main.

I am sending these entries to the Vegetable Marathon Event hosted by Anita's Kitchen where the theme is Beans.

Wonders with leftovers

I have been pushing the last couple of days with ready meals and junk food like burgers, hot dogs and pizzas and Ro hasn't complained till now. Its just plain laziness and also to prove to Ro that he needs me to survive...food-wise at least! I have also run out of almost everything and haven't made an effort to go grocery shopping either. The rains and cold winds have added to this misery and i just don't want to step out of the house. Yes, i go into these nonchalant moods once in a while and no matter what happens, until i feel like doing something, i just wont budge. Awesome right?

It was also the aftermath of a kitchen disaster where i tried to make a caramel something and it all just smoked up. Thank god my smoke alarm didn't go off, and after scrubbing and scratching the hardened caramel off the vessel, i was in no mood to be proactive. So after searching all the cupboards and freezer for an easy dinner option, I came across some pasta, sausages, bacon and asparagus and decided to make something eatable, which ultimately turned out quite tasty.

Wheat pasta (Fusilli)- 200 gms (was all that was left)

Spring Onion- 1 large

Baby tomatoes- 8 to 10 sliced in half

Green chillies- 3, sliced thin

Asparagus heads- 5 to 6, sliced

Pork frankfurters- 3 sliced into coin size pieces

Bacon- 2 rashers

Grated cheddar cheese (mature)- 2 hands full

Maggi seasoning sauce- a few dashes

Tabasco sauce- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Cook the pasta as per instructions with a pinch of salt. Drain and keep aside.

In a frying pan, fry the bacon rashers. Once cooked, remove and drain on a paper towel and slice into small pieces. In the same frying pan, fry the sausages in the oil oozed out from the bacon (If there is too much oil, pour out some and use the remaining). Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

Now throw in the sliced spring onion, baby tomatoes, green chilli and asparagus and sautee till the asparagus becomes more or less cooked. Add the pasta, bacon and sausage slices, a few dashes of Maggi seasoning, Tabasco and salt and mix well. Do a taste check and if its not spicy enough, you can either put some more Tabasco sauce, chilli pwd or pepper. Towards the end, sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese and give a final stir. The heat from the pasta will make the cheese melt. So it doesn't have to be on fire. Enjoy!

Notes: You can use spinach, green peas, carrots and any other left over veggies for this meal. Ro hates asparagus, but he didn't even realize they were in it:)

If you want to make it a bit more rich, you can add some white sauce. I was lazy, so i didn't.

Instead of spring onions you can use normal onion and for baby tomatoes, the normal ones can be used. I didn't have either of those.

Also, i used both sausages and bacon, but you can choose any one or none at all if you have enough veggies to compliment

Make sure the left over oil from cooking the bacon is used to do the rest of the cooking because it gives that extra flavour to the dish.