Give, And It Will Be Given To You

Have you tried any recipes from Jamie Oliver's new cookbook, Save With Jamie? Well, this is my first recipe from the book. It was no surprise I chose this tray bake as the first recipe because I have always love Jamie Oliver's tray bakes. They are so effortless to prepare, and when cook with everyday common ingredients you can get superb flavours too. Besides that, tray bakes are great to feed a large crowd.

What I like about this book is that it is categorised into vegetarian, chicken,beef, lamb, pork and seafood, making it easier for one to find a recipe with a single main ingredient.  It also contains lots of money saving tips. The meat section has each a "Mothership" recipe of a large roast from an affordable cut of meat meant to cook to give you leftovers, and there are recipes using these leftovers. The recipes range are also wide. There are stir fries, curries, pastas, pizzas and burgers.

This tray bake may be Italian influenced but you don't have to eat it with bread, polenta or potatoes. It goes very well with rice too.  When you have balsamic vinegar with garlic,peppers and red onions combined, you get this incredibly sweet roasted flavour which I love very much. The recipe calls for skinless and boneless thighs but I find it a tad dry after roasting for an hour without skin. Next time, I shall roast it whole. I also used balsamic glaze which I prefer,  for a sharper and  more intense flavour. I have done an estimated cost of this meal and it was slightly above my daily budget family meal..


Hit 'N' Run Chicken
Save With Jamie, Page 100
serves 4(5)
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

4 large ripe tomatoes
2 red onions
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chop into 2s
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 a bunch of fresh thyme, 15g
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
I fresh red chilli sliced

Method

• P{reheat the oven to 180C. Quarter the tomatoes and place them in a large baking dish or roasting tray. Peel the onions and cut into large wedges, then deseed and chop the peppers. Add all these to the tray along with the chicken thighs.
• Squashed the unpeeled garlic cloves with the back of your knife and add to the tray, then pick over the thyme leaves and sprinkle over the paprika. Add the oil,balsamic and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Toss everything together really well to coat, then spread across the tray, making sure the chicken isn't covered by the vegetables. Roast for around 1 hour, or until chicken is golden and cooked through, turning and basting it a couple of times during cooking with the juices from the tray.
• Serve the tray bakes with a lovely green salad on the side. You could also buddy it up with a little rice, polenta or a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Estimated cost: 6 thighs $10, red pepper $2.10, yellow pepper $1.70, Thyme $1.90, onions and garlic 50cents, tomatoes $1.
Total Cost: $17.20(Singapore dollars). 

Linking this post to Cook-Your-Books hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

I have just started volunteering to bring the home residents out on outings and I really enjoyed doing it. It gives me a good feeling and changes my perspective on what is important in life.
Last Wednesday, the residents visited the Singapore Flyer. Many of these residents are wheelchair bound and have been staying in the home for many years. The elderly and disabled love to go out and savour the sights and sounds beyond the four walls of their nursing home. Outings give them the chance to experience a change of scenery and to exercise. The outing has to be fairly short too and always ends with a local lunch which they always look forward to. Most of them miss the food from outside and they get to choose to eat their favourite food. This  is something which we always take for granted.
Although I am not the one who organised this outing, I know many special considerations and detailed planning are needed.  The elderly and disabled persons have specific needs and requirements, and one needs to make sure there are facilities catered to them, like wheelchair ramps and sheltered walkways.

"There is no better exercise for your heart, than reaching down and helping to lift someone up." Bernard Miltzer.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38