2+ years since I last wrote anything here, so Im letting ChatGPT bring me back

Its been a while. No real reason other that I havent been here other than life, time, lack of things to say.

Today though, I was challanged to let ChatGPT write a new post for me. I figured why not and asked ChatGPT to write a post in my style for a new chicken recipe.

I havent vetted the recipe or checked it for errors and I will be making it as is for dinner tonight. Hold thumbs I dont poisen anyone 😉

Without further ado, a chicken recipe from ChatGPT:

Looking for a delicious and easy chicken recipe to add to your dinner rotation? Look no further than this simple and flavorful spicy, lemon garlic chicken.

Ingredients:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, and pepper.
  3. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish, and pour the marinade over the top, making sure to coat the chicken evenly.
  4. Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
  5. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

This spicy lemon garlic chicken is perfect for those who like a little heat in their meals. The cayenne pepper and paprika add a nice kick to the tangy lemon and garlic flavors, making for a flavorful and delicious dish.

Serve the chicken with your favorite sides, such as roasted vegetables, rice, or a cool cucumber salad to balance out the spice. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, making this recipe perfect for meal prep or busy weeknight dinners.

Give this recipe a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Recipes for my husband

My grandfather is not well and it was time for a short trip back to SA to see him and help my mom.

So I’ve left my husband and kids to fend for themselves until Sunday.

As we were planning the trip, Paul suddenly turned around and asked where I get the recipes I use to make dinners etc. I looked at him and pointed at my head.

So, in the interest of keeping them fed and to stop them from eating sausages and corn schnitzel for a week, I thought I would write down some of the daily recipes I use.

Honey Mustard Chicken Breasts
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 1 kg boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 180C

  2. In a small bowl, mix mustard, honey, salt, pepper and oil

  3. Place breasts in a dish or foil roaster and cover with the honey mustard mix

  4. Cover dish with foil and place in oven to bake for 30 minutes

  5. At 30 minutes, uncover the chicken and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes or more until done.

Recipe Notes

Serve with rice or couscous.

Chicken Schnitzel
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 1 kg chicken schnitzel
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup flour
  • spices
Instructions
  1. Take out two plates and a large flat bowl

  2. On the first plate, our out some flour, on the second plate pour out some breadcrumbs, mix the spices into the breadcrumbs

  3. In the bowl, crack both eggs, add some water and mix well

  4. In a pan, heat some olive oil

  5. Take a piece of chicken and dip it in the flour so that both sides are covered

  6. Dip the floured chicken in the egg mixture so both sides are coated

  7. Now dip the egged chicken in the breadcrumbs so both sides are coated

  8. Place the chicken in the hot oil and coat the next piece of chicken

  9. After about 5 minutes turn the first pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for a further 5 minutes, you should fit 2 or 3 pieces in each pan depending on the size of the pieces

  10. Remove chicken from oil and place in the oven (on 100C) to keep warm

  11. Add a bit more oil to the pan and carry on frying until no chicken is left

  12. Mix any leftover breadcrumbs, flour and egg into a paste and make small patties that you can fry for a few minutes at a time (the kids love these)

Recipe Notes

You can also bake the schnitzel in the oven if you dont want to fry it. 

Heat the oven to 180C.

Place each piece of breaded chicken onto a baking tray (covered with a baking sheet),  1kg of chicken will take up both baking trays.

Spray the chicken with olive oil spray.

Place the chicken in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

How cool is the schnitzel Paul made?!!!
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
Prep Time
10 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 1 kg boneless, skinless, chicken breasts Defrosted!
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Place onion, garlic, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, salt and pepper in the slow cooker and mix well

  2. Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker and toss to coat with the sauce

  3. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set on low

  4. After about 3 hours, turn the chicken pieces over and continue cooking for another 3 hours

  5. After about 6 hours (total), turn off the slow cooker and with 2 forks, shred the chicken and mix with the sauce

Recipe Notes

Serve on rolls or over rice

Homemade Pizza
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
  1. Place yeast, water and sugar in the bowl of the mixer

  2. Once the yeast has started to foam (about 5 minutes), add all the other ingredients and mix on high until the dough forms a ball

  3. The dough should be firm and not sticky, if its too sticky, add some flour, if its too dry, add a bit of water

  4. Once the dough is ready, cover the bowl with plastic and a cloth and let sit for an hour

  5. Roll out balls of dough, cover in tomato sauce, cheese and toppings and bake for 20 minutes at 180C

Hopefully they don’t starve or turn into sausages. And I will be back before they k ow it.

Healthy homemade burgers

The last two days I have been home sick with Aaron. He’s ok, just another bout of viral-thing-itus. But, being home meant plenty of time to cook.

Over two days, we made homemade pizza, homemade chicken burgers and we made another batch of pasta sauce.

Here is the recipe for the chicken burgers. They were so good we ate all (8!) of them in one sitting!

Breaded Chicken Burgers
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 
Quick and easy to make breaded chicken burgers
Course: Main Course
Servings: 8
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 500 g chicken mince
  • Half onion minced or grated
  • A few cloves of garlic minced
  • Half cup breadcrumbs/panko
  • Salt, pepper, sweet chili flakes to taste
  • 1 egg
  • More breadcrumbs/panko for covering the patties
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients well.
  2. Take handfuls of the mixture and shape into balls then flatten to desired thickness (my kids did this part and had a blast).
  3. Set the patties aside and heat some oil in medium heat pan.
  4. Dip each side of the pattie into the crumbs before placing in the hot oil.
  5. Fry for 5-10 min each side (depends on thickness of patties).

Gobble gobble gobble

Last night, while scavenging the freezer for something to make for dinner, I found a turkey breast tucked away in the back of a draw.

I forgot I had it and we haven’t had turkey in a while so there was all kinds of excitement.

Except… I always make turkey breast in a tomato and red wine sauce and that sounded boring. So I created a new recipe.

 

Sweet Chili Turkey
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
50 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
50 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1 large turkey breast. Mine was skinless and boneless but it would work with skin too.
  2. 1 medium onion, sliced into rings
  3. 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
  4. 1 tablespoon sweet chili flakes
  5. Olive oil
  6. Lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  2. In a pirex dish or oven proof dish with a lid, place the turkey breast skin side up if you are using one with skin.
  3. layer the onion around and on top of the turkey.
  4. Sprinkle the garlic and sweet chili over the top of the breast.
  5. Drizzle the oil and lemon juice to taste over the breast.
  6. Cover and bake for 50 minutes.
Notes
  1. If you use a breast with skin, remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes so the skin gets crispy.
  2. The turkey came out moist and delicious and the lemon juice and olive oil made a nice sauce to pour over rice or couscous.
A Bit of This A Bit of That https://gnatj.com/

Whisky: The water of life (and dinner)

I often use wine when I cook. I dont only drink it, I use it in the dishes too.

Many of my chicken dishes use wine, especially when baking the chicken.

A while back I purchased a bottle of Golan Heights Distillery Whisky. Its the first Israeli whisky and I think its pretty decent.

whisky

So I got to thinking, if I can cook with wine why not whisky?

A quick google search showed quite a few whisky chicken recipes so I mashed a few recipes together according to the ingredients I had on hand and O. M. G! I wish the internet allowed you to smell images. This was one of the best roast chickens I have ever made!

Whisky Roasted Chicken
A dark roast chicken, perfect with rice and roast sweet potato
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
1 hr 35 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
1 hr 35 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 large whole chicken
  2. 3 tablespoons whisky
  3. 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  4. 2 tablespoons silan (date syrup), you can use honey too.
  5. 1 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  7. 1 teaspoon basil
  8. 1 teaspoon oregano
  9. 1 teaspoon rosemary
  10. 2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed/diced finely
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 180C.
  2. In a bowl mix the whisky, lemon juice, silan, salt, pepper, herbs and garlic.
  3. You can give them a whizz with a hand blender but I just stirred them with a fork.
  4. Place chicken, breast side up, in a roasting dish.
  5. Using your hands, scoop up some of the sauce and rub all over the chicken.
  6. You can rub some of the sauce under the skin too.
  7. Keep rubbing in the sauce until the chicken is covered.
  8. If there is any sauce left, pour it over the chicken, it will mix with the chicken fat as it roasts and makes a delicious gravy.
  9. Roast, uncovered, for at least 1 hour per kg of chicken.
  10. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before carving.
Notes
  1. Serve with rice or couscous to mop up the gravy.
A Bit of This A Bit of That https://gnatj.com/

Left over roast chicken = chicken pie heaven

On Friday I roasted a chicken along with potatoes and sweet potatoes and by the end of the meal we had one breast, a leg and a few potatoes left over. Not enough for leftovers for four people the next day but enough to make a chicken pie which can feed 4-6 people depending on portion size and side dishes.

I put everything in the fridge and last night decided it was time for the pie.

The best part about this recipe is that as long as you have the chicken, you can pretty much add any veggies you like and it will taste delicious. I used up the leftover potatoes by chopping them into cubes and I also threw in half a can of corn. You could also add carrots, peas or any other tinned or frozen veggies you have in the cupboard or freezer or just use whatever leftover veggies you have in the fridge.

pie

Whenever I use the heart cutter to decorate food Faith tells me that the food was ‘made in love’.

Chicken Pie
Great way to use left over roast chicken.
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 cups chicken shredded (I used a breast and a leg of a roast chicken)
  2. 1 cup veggies (I used a few roast potatoes, roast sweet potatoes and half a cup of tinned corn)
  3. 1 cup water
  4. Garlic powder
  5. Herbs and spices to taste
  6. Salt and pepper to taste
  7. 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
  8. 2 tablespoons flour
  9. 1 sheet puff or shortcrust frozen pastry, thawed to roll
  10. Egg for brushing
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 180C.
  2. Place shredded chicken and veggies in a bowl and mix (I dumped them directly into the Pirex pie dish).
  3. In a pan add the garlic, salt, pepper and any spices or herbs you want to the water and bring to the boil.
  4. Melt the margarine and add the flour.
  5. Mix until it forms a gloopy ball.
  6. Once the water is boiling add the flour mixture and stir well to dissolve.
  7. Continue stirring until your sauce has thickened.
  8. Add your sauce to your chicken and veggies and mix to coat everything well.
  9. Roll out your pastry on a floured surface.
  10. Cut out the pastry to fit your pie dish and place gently on top of the chicken.
  11. Brush with beaten egg.
  12. You can add decorative pastry at this point and brush again with the egg.
  13. Poke a few holes or slits into the pastry to allow steam to escape.
  14. Place uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry has browned.
Notes
  1. You can substitute half the water for white wine.
  2. For a thinner sauce just add more liquid.
  3. Serve with rice or couscous.
A Bit of This A Bit of That https://gnatj.com/
 

Traditional

After an awesome day spent with my husband for his #Big40, and eating almost non stop, Paul picked up a pack of chicken schnitzel for supper last night. Which fits in perfectly with the ‘Fry All The Things’ chanukah meal plan.

I love a fresh, home made, schnitzel and its one of the things I never would have made myself before coming to Israel, here it is pretty much one of the most traditional things you can eat. My kids love it too and its one of our favourite meals, even if it takes a bit of time to prepare.

Chicken Schnitzel
Crispy, golden, crumbed chicken breasts
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. 4 double chicken schnitzel breasts (you can get them ready prepared from the butcher or buy chicken breasts and flatten them into schnitzel yourself)
  2. Flour
  3. 2 eggs, beaten
  4. Bread crumbs (or matza meal)
  5. Seasoning to taste
  6. Oil for frying
Set up a work station on your counter near your stove with the following
  1. One plate with half a cup of flour (this plate should be furthest from our stove).
  2. A flat dish/bowl with the beaten egg.
  3. Another plate with bread crumbs, seasoned to taste (this plate should be closest to your stove).
Next
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
  2. Coat a chicken piece in flour on both sides.
  3. Dip the chicken in the beaten egg, making sure all the flour is covered by egg on both sides.
  4. Now coat the egg covered chicken on both sides in the bread crumbs.
  5. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil and fry for about 5-7 minutes (the thinner the schnitzel the shorter the frying time).
  6. Turn the chicken over and fry the other side until golden.
  7. Place fried chicken on paper towel to absorb excess oil and then keep warm in the oven.
  8. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken, topping up your flour/eggs/bread crumbs as needed.
Notes
  1. Serve with salad or rice.
A Bit of This A Bit of That https://gnatj.com/
 

Roast Turkey Breast

I picked up a 1.2kg turkey breast the other day. After asking the internets for their favourite recipes I decided to make a roast.

Roast Turkey Breast
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 5 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 5 min
Ingredients
  1. Skinless, boneless turkey breast
  2. Oil
  3. Red wine (I used a merlot that had been given to us as a gift)
  4. Spices, whatever you have in the rack (I used a shishkebab seasoning, since its all I had that was pesadich)
  5. Tomato paste
  6. Hot water
Instructions
  1. In a roasting dish place your turkey breast and sprinkle with the spice(s). Use as much or as little as you like, this is to your taste.
  2. Drizzle a little bit of oil over the top of the breast.
  3. Splash a little of the wine over the breast.
  4. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes at 180°C.
  5. While the turkey is in the oven, mix the tomato paste, a bit more wine and some hot water in a bowl to make a sauce. The more sauce you make the more sauce you will have when its done cooking.
  6. After 20 minutes remove the roasting dish from the oven and uncover the turkey.
  7. Pour the sauce over the turkey and return the roasting dish to the oven, uncovered.
  8. Baste the turkey with the sauce every 10 minutes or so for another 40 minutes.
  9. The hour of cooking time above is perfect for a 1kg breast. Add 5 – 10 minutes cooking time per 100g over 1kg.
  10. Remove from the oven and cover loosely with tin foil. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
  11. Remove the turkey from the roasting dish and carve like you would a meat roast. Return the slices to the sauce and keep warm until you are ready to serve.
  12. Serve with rice or quinoa. I used black quinoa and it was delicious
Notes
  1. This amount of turkey served with grains and a salad was enough to feed 8 people.
  2. We had leftovers and ate them warmed up the next day for lunch, it was even better than the night before!
A Bit of This A Bit of That https://gnatj.com/

#CookAlong with @Foodiction and @LifeologySA

Last night Wendi and I headed out to Foodiction in Bryanston to attend their very first #CookAlong.

We were kindly invited by Lifeology SA along with a bunch of other celebs, bloggers and foodies.

The evening entailed preparing a 3 course meal and from prep to cooking to eating it was a blast.

Chef Barry was fantastic, leading us through making the mouthwatering meal.

Chef

Im going to be making all the dishes we made over the next week or so and will blog them here.  I only hope they come out as well as they did last night.  Note: I made the fondant for dessert tonight but totally forgot to take pictures so I guess I will just have to make it again so I can blog it.  Its a yummy hard job but someone has to do it 😉

We made Salmon in Citrus Broth for starters, Chicken and Mushroom Risotto for the main course and a to die for Chocolate Fondant for dessert.  Needless to say I rolled home and slept on my back last night 😉

Foodiction is an awesome venue, catering (haha) to private functions tailor made to suit you as well as to group lessons and even kids cooking classes!  (I cannot wait to take Aaron for some lessons).

We had an amazing time and I certainly learnt a lot.  Also I managed not to chop off any fingers or stab anyone around me.  Bonus 😉

So, without further ado, here are some of the amazing photos taken by Pat Sloane (you can see the full FB gallery here).

Segmenting citrus for the citrus broth 

 

Olwagens

Jess

The gang!

Thank you to Jodene and Greg from Lifeology SA for inviting us to a fantastic evening of fun, food and laughter!

Contact Foodiction here.

Contact Lifeology SA here.

Hicken Pie

No, the title is not a mistake, just a nod to my awful spelling on Twitter when I asked Tanya to give us the recipe for this amazing chicken pie!

Below is Tanyas recipe.

Ingredients I Used:

  • 4 x chicken breasts – chopped/diced as you like them
  • 1 x onion, chopped
  • about 200g butternut – cubed into small blocks (about 1cm) – I have also added sliced baby marrows before
  • 1 punnet mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 chicken stock cube in about 350ml water
  • Spray & Cook
  • spices, herbs to taste
  • 1 roll puff pastry
  • a little milk for brushing
  • some flour

Method:

  • Heat oven to 180
  • Microwave the butternut cubes for about 4-5 minutes until they are soft
  • In a pan, fry up the chicken breats, with whatever spices you usually use for chicken (i used regular “Chicken Spice”)
  • In another big pot, brown the onions, then chuck in the mushrooms.
  • Once the chicken is cooked, add it to the onion & mushroom mix
  • Add the chicken stock and the microwaved butternut cubes.
  • Add in other spices (i used fresh thyme, and some dried mixed herbs. and salt and pepper)
  • reduce heat and simmer to thicken. I was a bit impatient and added about 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the mixture.
  • while that is simmering and thickening, you can prepare the pastry.
  • I used a whole roll, and dived it into just over half for the base, and the other portion for the top
  • Roll out on a floured surface until pastry is about half the thickness it was.
  • Spray your pie dish with Spray & Cook.
  • Line the pie dish with the pastry, and slice off any extra bits – a pizza cutter works fabulously!
  • Once your filling mixture is thick enough, pour it into your prepared (uncooked) pastry base.
  • Roll out the other bit of pastry for the top of your pie, and pop it ontop, squeezing it tight around the edge of your dish.
  • I cut out stars and popped them on top.
  • Brush with milk.
  • pierce the top a few times with a sharp knife to let hot air escape when  baking
  • Pop into the oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown on top.
  • Eat and enjoy!

special note I like to keep aside a little extra mixture and freeze it… just enough to make two little pot pies in ramekins! Yum!