Easy Chicken with Mushrooms

So I got crazy cooking yesterday, spent most of my day in the kitchen which only means you guys are in for a treat in the upcoming posts! I realised that my last few entries took quite a bit of time to make and that wasn’t really in line with my initial promise, but you’ll have to forgive me since I do get caught up in meals that take longer to cook when I have the time for it.

For example, yesterday I decided to make two quite long cooking dishes, but I will not be posting them today as I need to tell you about the simplest recipes too! This is one literally nobody can get terribly wrong. This summer, my sister and I were coming back from watching the tennis at Wimbledon (after having spent the whole day in the heat and waking up at 5am to queue). So, after we were done with seeing all the matches we wanted to see, even though that is exactly when the outside temperature was perfect for anything outdoors, we decided we would visit a friend that lives 5 minutes away from the courts. She made something similar to this dish that evening and it felt really good. It’s one of those things that will be done in 15 minutes and remind you how amazing simple food is!

Another one of the amazing features of this dish is that it features spinach. I know quite a few people that do not like creamy spinach (one of my favourites). However, spinach is incredibly rich in minerals and

nutrients of all sorts and should thus be eaten quite a bit. If it was good for Popeye, who are the rest of us to complain about it?  So get those non-creamy spinach eaters around this easy meal.

As for the mushrooms, I used white, but pick your favourite.

Easy Chicken with Mushrooms

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

1 small onion

400g chicken breast

400g mushrooms

2 handfuls fresh spinach

Sweat the finely diced onion in a little oil and add chicken breast strips. Let it sizzle until the chicken gets some colour on all sides (make sure all the pink is gone) and then add the mushrooms (chopped according to you preference, I did them in quarters). Leave on stove until both the meat and the mushrooms start showing signs of brown. This practically means that they are done. Next, add the spinach and stir it in, leaving it on the heat for another minute or two. 

Slow-Cooked Veal Shank

Serving suggestion: On a bed of carrots and onions

It’s just becoming chilly around here and it all seems like we may have a very short autumn and that winter will come soon. However, for the past few days we have really had schoolbook autumn weather. Now, when the leaves start falling and your garden gets a little messy, you have two options: get out and clean it all up or procrastinate. This weekend, there is still a slight chance I may clean up the leaves (though I did hear that small animals use autumn leaves as shelter, so why mess with the natural order of things too much?), but I decided to make a slow-cooked dish first.

Now, I do not own a slow cooker, but I really believe that you do not need one for this veal shank recipe. It does take some time, but it is definitely worth it once you try the mouth-watering veal. If you cannot find a veal shank a beef shank will do (and will need a little more cooking time). So, here’s the recipe!

Slow-Cooked Veal Shank

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 2h

Ingredients

600g veal shank (mine was boneless and served 3)

Olive oil

Rosemary

Thyme

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

600ml chicken stock (1 cube will do)

2 teaspoons Bourguignon sauce (store-bought)

600ml milk

Cut the veal into 3 equal pieces and season with rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Sauté the meat in olive oil until slightly brown on all sides (takes about 3 minutes). Add two teaspoons of the Bourguignon sauce and stir quickly and add the milk. Cover the pot and let it simmer on low heat for ten minutes (most of the milk should evaporate, but not all of it). After the ten minutes have passed, add the chicken stock and cook (with a lid on again) for 20-25 minutes on low heat. Preheat your oven to 180°C (c. 350°F). Once the 20-25 minutes have passed, remove your pot from the stove and place it in the oven for about an hour (if dealing with beef, it may need up to 1h 15 minutes).