OK its Monday – I was too knackered to cook a roast dinner yesterday but had shopped for all the bits so needed to use everything up.  Obviously I dont have time for a full on roast today so I popped the beef into the freezer and took out some chicken breasts this morning

I am feeling cheated for not having a roast however so I started working out how I could get that roast dinner experience but in half an hour, and by george I think I did it!!

Seriously – imagine all the best bits about a roast chicken dinner but on your plate in about 30 minutes. whats not to love!!

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts (1 or 2 each depending on size and appetites)
• A small pack of stuffing mix
• Streaky bacon (maybe a cheeky chipolata if you want the full on experience)
• New potatoes
• Your choice of veggies (use a prepared fresh pack for ultimate ease)
• Gravy granules
• (optional) frozen cauliflower cheese

Method

For the roasting part…

• First of all switch your oven on to heat up to 200c
• Whilst thats getting hot, mix up your stuffing mix – i did mine in a mug.
• Next prep your potatoes as these will take longest.  Either make up my mini Hasselback potatoes (but this will up the timings to 40 mins) or cut up some peeled new potatoes into tiny sizes and roast in the oven with some oil, salt and pepper
• Make a slit in the top of the chicken breasts and fill with the stuffing.
• Wrap strips of bacon* around the chicken
• (you could also wrap a chipolata in some bacon)
• Pop these in the oven with the potatoes for 25 minutes.

For the rest…

• Prep your veggies (I use carrots and broccoli) and steam them (you can add the potatoes in the water at the bottom if you are just having boiled potatoes.
• If you aren’t against frozen veggies you could also add some frozen cauliflower cheese into the oven and really supercharge your midweek roast
• When your steamed veggies are done set them aside and use the water to make up some gravy with the gravy granules (and a glug of port if you are inclined – I am)

So thats it – roast, stuffed chicken breast wrapped in bacon, served with roasties, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower cheese, all smothered in gravy. This is seriously the easiest roast ever and even if you opt for the mini hasselbacks should be on your plate in just over half an hour

*top tip – if you are using bacon to wrap things then lie it on a board and then smooth out with the back of a knife – this makes wrapping so much easier and the bacon go a lot further (and crispier!)