Budget Cooking!

Times are a little lean at the moment, and even if they weren't this is still how I like to cook. I take my inspiration from country style cooking, no flashy lobster or caviar here! This recipe is sooo cheap and equally delicious. I use chicken thigh as it's much cheaper and far more tasty than breast in my humble opinion. I buy two pack of six thighs which comes in at around £5, then split into three so I have three sets of four thighs....enough for three nights coming in at about £1.70 per meal or 85p each!
This dish is spicy and mediterranean themed.

Serves two grown ups and one three year old.

You will need -

4 chicken thighs
Half a red pepper chopped in to big bits
Half a courgette sliced thickly
1 red onion
A handful of small waxy potatoes, (I used Anya as they were on offer)
4 garlic cloves
Enough dried green lentils to cover the bottom of your casserole dish
A spoonful or two of capers
Balsamic vinegar
Red wine vinegar
A teaspoon of either red pesto or sundried tomato paste
Dijon mustard
1 chicken stock cube
Black Pepper
Dried chilli flakes
Extra virgin olive oil
Flour

So, season the chicken with the chilli flakes and the pepper, (you won't need salt because the capers are salty little critters). Cover in flour and brown off in the olive oil. In the same dish your chicken was in, mix boiled water, chicken stock cube, a glug of both vinegars, dijon mustard, pesto and a few more chilli flakes.
Cover the bottom of your casserole dish in the lentils, pop in the browned off chicken, add the chopped red pepper, courgette, potatoes and capers, onion and garlic cloves. Pour over the stock, put the lid on and stick in a pre-heated oven (180C) for one and a half to two hours occasional giving the mix a stir and a shizzle while cooking.

Serve with crusty bread and glass of cold apple juice.