Cookery

Another delicious recipe from Denise Phillips

For more recipes and inspiration visit my website: www.jewishcookery.com

Shredded Chicken Taco Pockets

Children love an adventure in cooking and for some kids, the more creative the better. This recipe uses leftover cooked chicken combined with avocado, chopped tomatoes and cucumber. It makes a tasty supper for little ones as well as the whole family. The joy of this dish is that you can eat it hot, cold or warm to suit the household dining timetable.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time:15 minutes. Serves: 4

Ingredients 8 taco shells ~ 400g cooked chicken - cut into 2cm strips ~ Juice of 1 lime 2 avocados – peeled and stone removed – roughly chopped 1 clove garlic – peeled and finely chopped 6 cherry tomatoes – roughly chopped ½ cucumber – finely chopped 1 tin 200g sweet corn - drained

Method 1) Shred the cooked chicken and mix with lime juice, chopped avocado, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber and sweet corn. 2) Fill each taco shell with the chicken mixture. Serve immediately.

Something to smile about!

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0333 344 1711 | admin@mesilauk.org Using leftover roast chicken

BY DENISE PHILLIPS

Whole roast chickens offer the best value for money as opposed to buying chicken pieces. However, what do you do with the leftovers?

The answer is simple, carefully remove all the chicken flesh, scrapping it from the bone, discard any skin and then shred by slicing the dark and light meat into strips and then use them in one of my recipe ideas below. The full recipe can be found on my website www.jewishcookery.com

Chicken risottos – pan fry with onions, garlic, baby spinach leaves and walnuts. When the rice is nearly cooked stir in the cooked chicken.

NOODLE DISHES

Chicken noodle soup – pan fry onions, garlic, chilli, ginger, curry powder, coconut milk and any spare chicken soup broth is always popular. Pad Thai – mix the cooked chicken with a stir fry of garlic, soy sauce, fresh coriander, bean sprouts, tofu and finished with peanuts

SALADS

Chicken Caesar salad - using leftover challah toasted challah cubes, romaine lettuce, ‘vegan cheese’ garlic and a Dijon dressing.

Chicken satay salad - mix cooked chicken with a mix of peanut butter, lime juice, chilli sauce, honey and sesame oil with some baby gem lettuce and garnished with spring onions is delicious.

Chicken Waldorf salad with sliced apples, walnuts, raisins, celery, and kale.

Chicken Fajitas – a stir fry with peppers, onions and flavoured with chilli, lime and paprika that is enjoyed wrapped in a tortilla wrap.

Chicken Tacos – add cooked chicken to a mix of tomatoes, guacamole, spring onions and flavoured with paprika and cumin.

PIES OF ALL VARIETIES USING PUFF, SHORT CRUST OR POTATO AS A BASE OR TOPPING.

Chicken curries made with ground almonds, tin tomatoes, ginger, garlic and onion and served with rice or naan bread – this will certainly not look like a leftover!

Time for a change in your business?

BY DARREN STROM

During Covid, many enterprising entrepreneurs explored different directions for their businesses or contemplated brand new business ideas.

Now with hyper inflation around us, and less money in our pockets, it could be a good idea to launch a new idea or make some changes to the appeal of your business...

EVALUATE YOUR NEW BUSINESS IDEA:

You could have a smart business idea but without the right preparation it remains just that; an idea. For your idea to blossom into a business opportunity you should consider the following:

A truly good idea is one that addresses an existing problem and solves it.

Does your idea fill a gap in the market or address an unresolved problem within a particular market?

Once you have a solution to an existing issue, focus on exploring a niche in the market. The niche will be to your particular expertise and strengths and how to differentiate from competitors. Next; build the MVP (minimum viable product). Building a ‘tester product’, which has room for improvement before putting your final idea on the market, provides you the feedback necessary to see whether the product is liked, and how it could be improved. The next step would be to determine the channels you will use to market your solution.

Let us assume that you have taken your idea out of the idea stage and have found an existing gap in the market and you have evaluated the market appeal and determined that your product or service is viable. A common pitfall is to quickly dismiss your idea when it does not seem to “sell” and blame the market .“There is no market for it”, is a common refrain. What might be happening, is that your product is fine but you need to figure out how to get people to understand and want your product or service.

IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS APPEAL:

You might not need create new services but taking a new view on how your business brand appears to your clients could make all the difference.

Look at your brand’s appeal and message and how your product or service solves your clients' problems. Does the messaging and wording you use in your marketing need updating to appeal to your ideal client? Get creative with how you can make customers still feel invested in your brand and engaged with your content from a distance. The first place that is worth looking at to improve is your web presence.

A website is the virtual shop front for your brand. If your website is not aligned with your brand with the correct colours and imagery to reflect what you stand for and compelling, targeted text, you might be turning away prospective clients.

Another key thing to bear in mind is the all important “call to action” on your website.

Is it clear what action you would like the client to take when they arrive at your page?

Do you want them to call you? Fill out a short form or maybe fill in a call-back request? Think about how your clients usually interact with you brand and that will determine the route you can steer them to get in contact.

Don’t be turned off by naysayers who encourage you sit low and not invest in your brand when the economy is bad. This could be the best time to gain the business that your competitors are losing by not being proactive.

Darren Strom is a Brand Consultant and CEO of VMAL Ltd – a London based branding, marketing and web design company. Darren can be reached by email at darren@ vmal.co.uk or on 0208 133 3527

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