Chicken and broccoli (and kale) soup

Hello all,

Today I'm going to give you a recipe I survived on this winter and despite the growing heat I'm still eating it for dinner tonight (actually I'm eating it as I upload this post) - I just love it and as a bonus it's a no oil recipe :)

You will need:

150g of chicken breast (skinless)
As much broccoli as you can fit in your pot
1 stock cube that's sugarless (I like the brand 'Kallo' and their vegetable stock is lactose free, gluten free and sugar free).
Salt - to taste
pepper - to taste
garlic powder - to taste (sensing a pattern here?)
onion powder - (see above)
hot chilli powder - (e.t.c.)

As an added note I also like to add some kale to bulk up my vegetable and fibre intake sometimes but this is a recent addition and not necessary if kale is not your favourite vegetable.

Fist chop the broccoli into small chunks and it's actually better if you leave some of the stem attached.
Next cut the chicken into small chunks and if using the kale just rip it to pieces removing as many bits of stem as you can.

Once everything is prepared mix your spices and stock cube in a glass of some kind and with boiled, not cold, water.

Add all your ingredients to the pot and top up the water if necessary. Leave to boil on a low heat for about an hour to an hour and thirty minutes. About 45 minutes in taste the liquid to make sure you like the flavour, if you do - great, if not then add something else. I would start with adding just a little salt as that can often bring out flavours that are already in the soup. By the time the soup is ready the chicken will have been poached in flavoured water, so it won't be flavourless itself, and the stem of the broccoli will have softened to such an extent that it takes on an almost potato like quality. Voilà, simple, healthy, and tasty :)

Rosemary chicken skewers

As much as I wish I could take credit for this recipe I'm not nearly that good of a chef. This recipe is a modified one from Tory Avey A.K.A. the Shiksa in the kitchen.

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2011/05/rosemary-lemon-chicken-skewers-with-dijon-mayo/ - that is the original recipe and whilst I'm sure it's fantastic I'm afraid honey, mayonnaise, and fresh garlic are not allowed by pronokal.

You will need:

150g of skinless chicken breast
sticks of rosemary - maybe 4? It depends on how much you're planning on making and if you can be bothered to transfer the already cooked chicken to new skewers for the sake of appearance (even when I made this for a dinner party I couldn't be bothered yet they were still the first main to disappear without anyone knowing that they were for a special diet!).
2 lemons - juice and zest
garlic powder
salt
pepper
dried rosemary
1 tbs of olive oil.

Chop the chicken into roughly even pieces and marinate it in lemon juice, the zest, the oil and all the spices. Leave it for 1/2 hours. Prepare the skewers (rosemary stems) by pulling all the leaves off except for a few at the very top for aesthetic purposes. Once the chicken has been marinated slide them onto the stems carefully. Put it on tinfoil, pour the marinating juice over the top then pop it in the oven for about 15/20 minutes an a medium/high heat. If you want a sauce with it just use plain dijon mustard - it's unnecessary though in my opinion - especially as the zest of the lemon combined with the rosemary gives it a great flavour.
Ms. Avey's pictures are much better but here are mine anyway. Delicious yet healthy - low calorie food doesn't have to be a punishment.

A great healthy and tasty snack - without compromising calories

When you read this you may be skeptical but please trust me - if only once.

This is actually something I learned from my mother. When she grew up (in a place as far from Europe as it's possible to be) food was scarce for herself and her family so they learned not to waste it which is why, when she saw me throwing away a broccoli stem she stopped me and turned it into a healthy and tasty snack instead.

For the most part I prefer cauliflower (and this trick can be done with cauliflower as well) however the stem of cauliflower can be bitter whilst that of broccoli is surprisingly sweet. There was one point when I went into the supermarket to buy food and there were just discarded stems so I put them in a bag and tried to buy them though in the end I was just told to take them - that's how much I like this snack.

All you need is a broccoli stem.

Chop off the skin from around the outside and then chop the bottom as it's quite hard

You should be left with a somewhat watery green and white inside. Just chop it into quarters and munch away to your hearts content.

Please excuse the quality of the pictures - photography is clearly not my calling...