Spanish Chicken Casserole

1.8 kg of chicken pieces ( or a whole chicken)
2 tbs olive oil
2 (about 180g) chorizo sausages, thinkly sliced
1 large red capsicum, halved, seeded, cut into 2cm  peices (I cut it more finely)
1 red onion, charsely chopped
80ml dry sherry (I used chicken stock)
800 g can diced tomatoes
185ml chicken stock
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
Saffron rice to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180c. If using a whole chicken Rinse the chicken inside and out  under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towwel. Place, breast side down, on a clean work surface. Use poultry sheers or sharp kitchen scissors to cut along either side of the backbone. Discard teh backbone. Cut the breast in half along breasbone. Use a sharp knife ut around the legs between the thigh and the breast. Cut the drumsticks from the thighs. Cut the wings from the breasts and sut the breast in half diabonally. Remove any excess skin. Otherwise, just use chicken peices like thigh fillets.

2. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Cook half the chicken for 4 minutes each side or until golden. Transfer to a large plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken, reheating the dish between batches. Or cook in frying pan and transfer to the casserole dish or slow cooker.

3. Add the chorizo, capsicum and onion to the dish. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until chorizo is golden. Add the sherry and cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until reduced by half.

4. Add the chicken, tomato, stock and dried oregano. Cover and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until tender. This could be done in the slow cooker too.


5 Divide the rice among servicng dishes, and top with the chicken mixture.

Serves 4

Prep 25 minutes

Cooking time 1 hour 20 minutes (for the oven)

Bucket Bread

Step 1

5 cups warm water, 1/4 cup dried yeast, 1 cup honey
Combine water and honey, sprinkle on yeast and laeave until bubbly (5 min)

Step 2

3 cups P/flour, 1 cup gluten flour (bread improver)
Add flour to yeast mix. Leave for 20 min to form a sponge.

Step 3

7 to 8 cups Plain flour, 1 tbsp salt 1/2 cup oil
Add to spnoge knead to earlobe consistency

Let rise until doubled (45 min) Knock down and knead

Let rise in tins (45 minutes)

Bake in a hot oven 230c for 10 min then 180c for 20 min
Turn out of tins, tap bottoms if they sound hollow they are ready.

This mix makes 4 double high tops or 3 loaves and 1 doz rolls

It can be made in a bucket and let to prove over night.

My notes:

Go with 7 cups plain flour in Step 3, mine was a little dry. I also used bakers flour and forgot about the gluten flour (bread improver)
My mix made a huge loaf, I have a giant tin which took 2 packs of regular bread mix today. It also made a dozen bread rolls and 2 pizza bases.

After making another batch a week or so later, I used the 7 cups of flour in Step 3 and it was a bit sticky, so practice will make perfect. I made a huge loaf of bread again (which I sprinkled with a little water to make a crusty loaf), 9 hot cranky buns (minus the x's) and a dozen pizza scrolls that never had a chance to cool down.

Home made bread

I have just had home made bread for lunch. MMMMMMM. Tricked the rest of the family and they got chips from the shop, so a couple of hours later when the fresh bread came out of the oven they couldn't have any. Sneaky hey?

I had a couple of boxes of bread mix and a bag of bread flour in the cupboard for ages, and last week made a recipe called bucket bread out of the bag of flour. It made a huge loaf of bread, a dozen rolls and 2 pizzas. Pretty easy to make, but the kneading was a tad difficult.

Today I used up 2 bags of bread mix that came out of a box in the cupboard and used the bucket bread steps. It has come out of the oven light and fluffy with a crisp crust. Fabulous, I had 2 big slices, shhh dont tell anyone. I can see now that I'm going to have to source some good bread flour, as the shop stuff isn't as good. I knead this stuff better than my bread maker does. The bread maker isn't nearly as good, I tell you. I have a feeling I'll be making more tomorrow.

I'm back

I've been missing in action for a while now, but I'm menu planning again in an attempt to save some money.

Friday 12th March: homemade lasagne

Saturday 13th March: homemade KFC (This recipe can be found in the forums at www.simplesavings.com.au)

Sunday 14th March: chicken and vege soup

Monday 15th March: steak and veges

Tuesday 16th March: homemade burgers

Wednesday 17th March: homemade pizza


I made homemade bread this week that went down a treat. I made a huge loaf, 12 rolls, and 2 pizzas out of the dough I had made. Pretty good as it cost almost nothing. It was a little yeasty, so I'll reduce the amount a bit next time.

Thats all I've got so far, stay tuned.