Tarragon Chicken & Leek Pies

Based on the Chicken & Vegetable Pies at taste.com.au, only adapted for a slow cooker.

Tarragon Chicken & Leek Pies
1kg chicken thighs, cut into 2cm chunks
2 leeks, white part only, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup white wine or water
2/3 cup chicken stock
2 large carrots, diced
400g baby potatoes, diced
200g mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup frozen corn, cooked
300ml thick cream
100g baby spinach
8 sheets puff pastry, thawed

Toss the diced potatoes and carrots into your slow cooker. Top with the chicken, leeks, garlic and mushrooms. Pour the wine and stock over the top, and add the tarragon. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

Add the corn, cream, and spinach, and stir through until the corn has thawed. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Lay out each sheet of pastry on a oven tray lined with baking paper, with the corner pointing up. Drain some of the chicken mixture, and place in the centre of the pastry. Fold each corner over the chicken into the middle, to close the pie. Repeat with other pastry sheets and chicken mix.

Cook for 25 minutes or until golden. Extra pies can be frozen once cooked.

Country Chicken with Tarragon (slow cooker)

Country Chicken with Tarragon
8 chicken thighs
500g baby potatoes, halved
1 onion, halved, then segmented
150ml apple juice
2 large sprigs tarragon, leaves only
4 Tbsp cream cheese
1 cup frozen corn kernels
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the chicken in a fry pan with a little oil, over a high heat.
Put the potatoes in the slow cooker and top with the chicken.

Return the pan to the heat, add the onion, and fry until golden. Deglaze with the apple juice, and allow to reduce by half. Add the tarragon leaves, then pour over the chicken. Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 3 hours.

Remove the potatoes with tongs, draining well, and keep warm. Remove the chicken to a chopping board, and shred finely. Drain sauce into a frying pan, add the cream cheese and corn, and bring to a boil, until sauce has thickened. Season to taste, and add the chicken, and warming through. Serve with the potatoes.

So Yummy Risotto

Due to both my local supermarkets not having any sage in stock, and an abundance of other substitutions, I'm going to post this recipe as I made it, and not the original from the cookbook.

Pumpkin, Tarragon & Baby Spinach Risotto
Based on the Squash, sage and walnut risotto from Slow Cooking by Katie Bishop
1 kg butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, cut into 2-3cm cubes
4 sprigs Tarragon
1 red onion, peeled, halved, thinly sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil (I used garlic infused)
350g risotto rice
1.3L chicken stock
100g baby spincah leaves
Freshly grated Parmesan to serve

Place the pumpkin, tarragon, onion and garlic in the dish of your slow cooker. Drizzle with the oil. Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through. Pumpkin should be just tender. Add the rice and stock, stirring through, but be careful not to smoosh the pumpkin. Reduce heat to LOW and cook for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Turn the heat off, and stir through the spinach leaves. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and serve topped with plenty of shaved Parmesan. Serves 6.

The name comes from Miss Four, who proclaimed it as such, and who thought the original, more descriptive title was too much of a mouthful.

This was an entry for
The Cookbook Challenge: Week 19 - Rice.

Garlic Tarragon Chicken Drumsticks

Garlic Tarragon Chicken Drumsticks with Nom Nom Salad
8 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
garlic salt
dried tarragon (or fresh if you prefer)
mayonnaise (I used Belgian fritessause, which is awesome, but if you can't get that, then just use a good mayo)
200g lettuce, we used a mix of Coral, Radicchio, Frisee and Cos
150g sugar snap peas, topped and tailed
1 small green capsicum, seeds removed and thinly sliced
salad dressing of your choice (we mixed caesar dressing with fritessause)

Line an roasting tray with baking paper, and place the drumsticks in. Smear the chicken with the mayo, and then sprinkle with the seasonings.
Yeah, I know. It's not rocket science.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C with a sheet of foil over the top, then remove the foil and return to the oven for another 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, throw all the salad ingredients into a bowl, and toss with the dressing.
Serve with oven bake chips or mini roasts.

And now I defy anyone to tell me they can't cook.

Don't forget to think (and cook!) pink for the Virtual Night In, raising money and awareness for Breast Cancer Research.

Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Leek Risotto

Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Leek Risotto
4 chicken thighs
3/4 cup buttermilk
tarragon
1 leek, sliced thinly
1 cup aborio rice
maggi, liquid stock or stock cubes
butter/oil

Place the chicken, tarragon and buttermilk in a zip lock bag, and remove as much air as possible. Leave in the fridge to marinate for 20 minutes, longer if you have the time. Gently sautee the leek in the butter until just starting to wilt, then add in the rice. Cook over low heat until the leek is cooked, translucent and collapsed. Then transfer the rice and leek into a microwave container with 2 cups of stock, or water with maggi or stock cubes in it. Cook for 5 minutes on HIGH in the microwave, stir, and return for another five minutes. Keep stirring and cooking for 5 minute intervals until the rice is done. You may need to add more stock if the rice has absorbed all the liquid but the rice is still hard to the bite.
Fry the chicken in your buttery, leeky frypan. Add the leftover buttermilk once the chicken has browned, but not fully cooked. That will give it enough time on the heat to kill any bacteria, but not so much that it will all boil away. Serve with the cooked risotto.