Lemon Thyme Grilled Chicken, Cous Cous and Roasted Vegetables

It's been raining all day today..and most of the days this week. Doesn't feel like summer at all this year! Oh, how I miss the sunshines..we're lacking of Vitamin D this summer!!

Anyway, what did I cook for lunch on this rainy day? As the heading of this post, I have decided to grill chicken legs (finished them in the oven), with some roasted vegetables and cous cous. Cous cous is a kind of grain, can be a substitute to rice or pasta. It's very easy to prepare, literally, took only 5mins to cook! So, if you're in hurry or don't have enough time in your hands, cous cous could be very handy!


So here is the recipe:
Source: myself ;))

Lemon and Thyme Grilled Chicken

• 3 chicken legs (with skin, cleaned and dried)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 10-15 stalks of fresh thyme (just the leaves) -you could use dried thyme but fresh thyme make so much flavour
• 1 lemon (sliced)
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

Method:

1. Mix everything (except the lemon slices) and marinade the chicken legs for at least 30mins.
2. Insert the lemon slices underneath the skin of chicken legs. (I also put some of the thymes leaves underneath the skin).
3. Preheat your oven at 200'C.
   
4. Then, preheat your pan-grill on the stove. When flaming hot, grill your chicken leg for 5-7minutes on each side.
5. Transfer your chicken legs onto roasting tray and finish the cooking process in the oven for 10-15 mins.

Roasted Vegetables

• 2 small auberigines (cut into chucky cubes)
• 2 potatoes (chunky cubes)
• 2 carrots (chunky cubes)
• 1 sweet potatoes (chunky cubes)
  
• 2 onions (chunky cubes)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (smashed)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat your oven at 200'C
   
2. Mix everything together and transfer them onto your roasting tray.
3. Roast the vegetables for 30minutes or until cooked.

Cous Cous

• 200g cous cous
• 250ml of chicken stock (boiling) -I used 250ml of boiling water and 1cube of chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Spring onion/parsley (chopped)
• Some chopped spring onion/parsley for deorations

Method:

1. Put the cous cous into a big bowl and pour the boiling chicken stock into the bowl. Add in the chopped spring onion/parsley.
2. Immediately, cover the bowl with cling film (make sure it's fully covered) and let the cous cous cooked in the chicken stock for 5-7mins.
3. After 5-7minutes, take a fork and fluff the cous cous using the fork.
4. Spread the chopeed spring onion/parsley on the cous cous. It's ready to be served.

I hope you'll try this easy peasy recipe. And it's so comforting in the rainy day just like today ;))

The busy week

Another week went by!! How time flies..I've been busy with BabyZara and packing up things for moving out to a new house..So much stuffs still waiting to be packed! And time is running out..we'll be moving to our new house in Letterkenny in 2weeks time.

As the night-sleeping-on-her-own-cot training, BabyZara is doing brilliantly! She is now sleeping in her own cot for 3nights consecutively. I only need to wake up once or twice at night to put her back to sleep without the need to nurse her! I'm so glad that she is a fast learner! Such a brilliant baby she is! She needed 6days of training all together from crying all night that I had to nurse her to sleep to sleeping in her own cot and back to sleep without the need to nurse her when she woke up in the middle of the night. Alhamdulillah..for she is so easy to learn and adapt..the patience and perseverance is the main key.

Anyway, there is one recipe that I want to share, Pasta Bake with Meatballs. It's easy peasy and it's delish! I made this sometimes last week. It's my own recipe (basic idea of meatballs from Ina Garten), you could always alter the recipe to your own liking.


Pasta Bake with Meatballs

Meatballs recipe

• 500g mince beef
• 100g breadcrumb
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 75g grated parmesan
• 50g grated cheddar
  
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper

Method:

1. Mix everything together until well combined.
   
2. Make round balls until everything finish.
3. Set aside

Pasta Bake recipe

• 250g of fusilli pasta (cook as per instruction)
• 1 jar of bolognese sauce
  
• 1 medium onion (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 leek (thinly sliced)
• 5-6 button mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 tbsp of cooking oil
  
• 8-10 cheddar slices or 200g grated cheddar for the topping

Method:

1. Heat up the cooking oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion, leek and garlic. Stir for 3-4minutes. Then, add in the sliced mushrooms and cook further for 4-5minutes.
   
2. Add in the bolognese sauce and bring to boil. Turn off the heat immediately.
3. Add in the cooked pasta, stir in and make sure it's well mixed.
4. Trasfer the pasta and sauce into an oven-proof dish or lasagna dish. Smooth out the surface.
5. Spread the meatballs onto the pasta. Then spread the grated cheese or the cheese slices.
6. Bake in the preheated oven at 200'C for 20-25mins or until golden brown.
7. Take it out and ready to be served.