Slow cooked Sunday

Most nights I'm rushing to get a meal on the table. Many of the meals I frequent are quick, versatile, and translate into other meals with their left overs. This is why I feel Sunday Dinner, or Saturday whichever is your slow day, is sacred family dinner time. Sunday Dinner is the only meal I will spend hours lovingly prepping and preparing even plating our Sunday Dinner. It's a chance for us to slow down and recap our full week and our weekend. Sunday may be my favorite day of the week just for this tradition.

Usually I try to post recipes that fit my busy schedule but I thought it important to post Slow cooked Sunday for any of you that also cherish that extra time on Sunday before the madness of the week descends. This particular recipe is not hard but it is a slow cooked meal which does not make for an easy weekday dinner. I have have to share this one with you all especially my non-cooking friends because the ease of this recipe will change your mind about cooking. I originally stumbled across this recipe at Nigella Lawson's online blog. Once you make this you may never make Chicken and Ribs the same way again!


WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

2 Aluminum roasting pans (regular roasting pans if you have them sadly my kitchen is lacking one :( ).
2 Large Freezer bags.

Maple Glazed Chicken N'Ribs

Ingredients:


12 pork spare ribs
12 chicken thighs, skin and bone still on
8.5 Oz's. apple juice, as sharp as possible
4 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, halved
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

(you will notice that Nigella's measurements are in ml. and I've converted them to tablespoons and ounces for those of us who don't use the metric system)

Prep and Cook


Put the ribs and chicken pieces in a couple of large freezer bags or into a dish.
Add the remaining ingredients, squelching everything together well, before sealing the bag or covering the dish.
Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight or up to two days.
When the marinating time is up, take the dish out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 200°.
Pour the contents of the freezer bag into one or two large roasting tins (making sure the chicken is skin-side up), place in the oven and cook for about an hour and a quarter, by which time everything should be sticky and glossed conker-brown. (I don't know what conker-Brown is but as long as it's glossy and brown you're good)

In America we call this dump chicken and no matter what name you give it it's good every single time!!!!

This Sunday I'll be serving this with steamed broccoli and cauliflower along with some ears of corn.