Recipes From The Kitchen At Bag End

This is one of my favourite recipes to cook when I have a bit of spare time on my hands (or when I'm trying to avoid doing work!) It takes a bit of careful looking after and practice, but I find it's well worth the effort! :)

Ingredients: (to feed 1)
1 chicken breast
1 tablespoon butter (I use salted butter - gives extra flavour)
1 tablespoon plain flour
milk (from about 1/2 a pint to a whole pint! it depends how creamy you like your sauce and how much time you have!)
rosemary (dried or fresh - your choice)
grated cheddar cheese (your choice of strength and quantity, other cheeses would probably do as well but I've only tried cheddar)

Put the chicken breast on to cook. I usually tend to drizzle a little oil over it and cook it under the grill until it is tender and white all the way through.
Then start on the sauce. This recipe is best done in a aluminium pan (or other pan which is NOT non-stick). Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, and add the flour. Mix them together with a whisk. As soon as these are mixed add a little milk and whisk these together. It will probably look a little odd to begin with, but keep adding a little more milk and whisking. Stop adding milk when everything is mixed together, and continue to whisk it gently over the heat. Soon it will start to thicken. At this point you can add more milk. It's best to add milk to your personal taste - before now I've used a whole pint of milk to make this sauce, but it takes a long time then to achieve a good consistency (plus, this makes a *lot* of sauce!). If you don't mind it being a little more floury it will not take so long to thicken. Once the sauce is as thick and creamy as you want it, add a pinch of rosemary and the cheddar cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted, and then pour over the top of the chicken. Serve with pasta and/or salad.


P.S. does anyone know a good recipe for chicken soup?