Baked Chicken And Potatoes With Bechamel Sauce

Enjoy the cheesy, mouth-watering, and flavorful baked chicken and potatoes with bechamel sauce. You can serve this for dinner as a main course or a side dish. The combination of diced chicken breast and baked sliced potatoes topped with bechamel sauce and mozzarella cheese will make your dinner a night to remember! This recipe takes about 60 to 70 minutes and serves 4-5.

Ingredients:

For Chicken:

• 1 lb Chicken breast (cut into small dices)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 3-4 garlic cloves (sliced)
• 1/2 red bell pepper (chopped)
• 1/2 green bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

For Potatoes:

• 3 medium potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100 grams mozzarella cheese (grated)

For Bechamel Sauce:

• 50 grams butter
• 3 cups milk
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp salt
• Pinch of black pepper

Instructions:

For Potatoes:

Preheat oven to 200 C.

In a baking dish, add the sliced potatoes.
Season with thyme, salt, and black pepper.
Add olive oil.
Coat the potatoes very well.
Place the dish inside the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.

For Chicken:

Meanwhile, set a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add vegetable oil and warm it up.
Saute onion until soft.
Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.
Add diced chicken breast.
Stir and cook until color changes.
Add chopped red and green bell peppers.
Add tomato paste.
Season with paprika, salt, and black pepper.
Stir until well combined.
Let the dish simmer.
Once cooked, remove from the heat.
Set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the oven once cooked.
Set aside.

For Bechamel Sauce:

Set a pot over medium-low heat.
Melt butter.
Add flour and whisk until well combined.
Gradually add and whisk milk into the mixture.
Continue to whisk and boil for 5 minutes.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Mix until well combined.
Turn off the heat.
Let it cool.

Assembly

Top the baked potatoes with cooked chicken.
Spread evenly.
Pour bechamel sauce on the next layer and spread evenly.
Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven of 200 C.
Remove from the oven.
Serve and enjoy!

Images – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFqw5V-p5Z4

Oxtail Stew | Oxtail Stew Recipe

This tender and savory oxtail stew is perfect for a Sunday family dinner. Make this ahead of time because it will take about 8 hours to make the oxtails tender. Its flavorful taste is a combination of seasonings, hot sauce, and some honey. You can serve this with your favorite vegetable salad or mixed berries.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb oxtails (chopped)
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp cornstarch slurry
• some canola oil

Instructions:

Prepare a crockpot.
Spray some canola oil into it.
Add the chopped oxtails.
Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add reduced-sodium soy sauce and sesame oil.
Add rice vinegar and hot sauce.
Season with black pepper, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
Add honey.
Whisk until well combined.
Pour the sauce over the oxtails in the crockpot.
Cover the pot.
Cook for 8 hours over low heat.
Once done, remove the oxtails from the pot and transfer to a plate.
Set aside.

Meanwhile, transfer the sauce into a saucepan.
Let it simmer over medium-high heat.
Once it simmers, add cornstarch slurry.
Gradually pour into the sauce while whisking.
Let it simmer until it thickens.
Remove from the heat.
Drizzle over the cooked oxtails.
Serve with rice.
Enjoy!

Images – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RZcU-cIVRo

How to Make Perfect Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is a savory dish that originated from the United Kingdom. It is a steak or a tenderloin wrapped in a pastry sheet and baked according to your preferred doneness. It is usually served with mashed or roast potatoes and mixed veggies. It is a perfect dinner dish especially for parties and other events.

Ingredients:

For The Beef:

• 1 1/2 lbs chateaubriand or center-cut tenderloin (2 1/2 inches thick)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• some dijon mustard

Mushrooms Mixture:

• 1 lb mushrooms (finely chopped)
• 2 shallots (finely chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp whiskey
• 2 thyme sprigs

Crepes:

• 3 1/2 tbsp all-purpose floor
• 1 egg
• 140 ml whole milk
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp butter

Other Ingredients:

• 5-6 prosciutto slices
• 1 puff pastry sheet
• egg wash
• some flaky salt to taste

Instructions:

Set aside 1 1/2 lbs chateaubriand or center-cut tenderloin at room temperature.

Mushrooms Mixture:

Prepare a frying pan.
Add finely chopped shallots and garlic into the pan.
Drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Set the pan over medium heat.
Saute until onions are soft.
Add finely chopped mushrooms.
Season with salt to taste.
Stir and cook for 5-8 minutes.
Add 3 tbsp of whiskey and thyme sprigs.
Stir and cook.
Let it simmer for 2 minutes or until liquid has reduced.
Once done, remove from the heat and transfer to a plate.
Set aside.

Pat dry the center-cut tenderloin set aside earlier.
Season all sides with salt and pepper.
Set a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add 3 tbsp of olive oil and let it heat.
Once heated, add the seasoned tenderloin to the skillet.
Sear the sides for 1-2 minutes.
Once done, remove from the skillet and transfer to a plate.
While it’s still hot, brush all sides with dijon mustard.
Set aside and let it cool at room temperature.

Crepes:

In a mixing bowl, add 3 1/2 tbsp of all-purpose flour.
Pour 140 ml of whole milk and an egg.
Season with a pinch of salt.
Whisk until batter is well combined.

Set a non-stick medium frying pan over medium heat.
Add 1 tbsp of butter and let it melt.
Add a thin layer of the batter into the pan.
Swirl it to spread on the bottom of the pan.
Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Flip and cook the other side for 45 seconds to a minute.
Once done, remove from the pan and transfer to a plate.
Do the same with the rest of the batter.
It should make 2-3 crepes.

Assembly:

Lay two crepes on a work surface, overlapping in the middle part.
Place 5-6 prosciutto slices on the base.
Add the mushrooms mixture and spread over the prosciutto layer.
Add the tenderloin at the base of the mushrooms mixture.
Roll up the crepe until the prosciutto, mushrooms, and tenderloin are wrapped in the crepe.
Wrap it tightly with clingfilm.
Put it inside the fridge and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Flatten a puff pastry sheet until it is 1/8-inch thick.
Brush egg wash on the surface of the puff pastry.
Place the wellington crepe at the base of the pastry.
Slowly roll it up until the wellington is wrapped with the pastry sheet, then cut off excess.
Pinch the edges to seal and cut off excess.
Place it on a parchment-lined baking tray.
Brush with egg wash.
Sprinkle with some salt.
Place it inside the preheated oven.
Bake until crust is golden brown.
Once done, remove from the oven and transfer to a plate.
Let it cool for 10 minutes.
Slice into equal portions.
Serve and enjoy!

Tips and ideas:

This recipe results in a golden-brown crust with a medium-rare beef. But you can bake the beef wellington longer if you wish to have it medium well or well done.

Dip it with your preferred sauce.

Serve beef wellington with mashed or new potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms or mixed veggies.

Images – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9YGQ4eh8Xs