Something new every week - #1 (Oct) Oven-baked spicy chicken with bacon and cherry tomatoes

All right, so not quite something new every week. I know from experience that that would be a tad over-ambitious. Something new every other week, though that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Let's back track. I have always liked cooking. From being a kid and helping my mum out, to having to feed myself when living on my own, I have always enjoyed being in the kitchen. And during the years I spent unemployed, I discovered just how many Masterchefs and other cooking competitions and celebrity chef shows there are on daytime television. All those 'well spent hours', I'd like to think at least, raised my cooking up from your bog standard spag bog (or spag bol if you prefer) to well, I'm not quite sure where it's been raised to. I like to think I am a pretty good cook. Better than some, but not as good as many. I've learnt a few things here and there but I still have lots to learn. But I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and aside from certain hobbies which require a significant initial investment, I am willing to spend on kitchen equipment more than anything else. I spend quite a bit of time randomly checking out recipes and other cooking sites. This recently culminated in me deciding to try a new recipe a week. This did not go quite as planned. I think I tried as many as four new recipes... This was about eight months ago.

I am, however, not to be discouraged! I think I have a better chance at sticking to my plan this time around. Since moving apartments recently, and settling into a new routine, I find I am cooking more and better at having leftovers the next day. Plus, I figured that if a friend of mine could manage to do 30 bento lunches in a row-  was it 30, or 40? I can't remember now. Well, if she could manage that, then I have no excuse to not do a new recipe every other week. In fact, it was her bento mission which inspired me to start this new recipe plan, the first time around. I say inspired, I mean shamed. So anyway, the grand plan this time around is to try out a new recipe every other week, or at least twice a month. So here goes!

#1 - Oven-baked spicy chicken with bacon and cherry tomatoes

The original recipe for this was Jamie Oliver's 'one tray bake' - I think my name sounds a lot more exciting, although I concede that "oven" is a bit superfluous, seeing as I don't actually how else something can be baked if not in an oven. And if you look at the picture of his, you'll see that what I did turned out to be completely different, so I thought a new name was in order. Some changes were deliberate, some rather less deliberate. 

2 pieces of chicken breast, cut into one and a half inch pieces

12 cherry tomatoes (12, only because I like them, and wanted a more saucy dish), halved
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and diced
10 black olives, sliced
4 slices of bacon
half a small can of sweet corn (just because I happened to have some left in the fridge, but worked quite well with the dish)
1 small ciabatta-like bread roll, torn into pieces
2 fresh chillies, cut
olive oil
basil
thyme
paprika powder
salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients except bacon in a casserole dish and baked in the oven @ 200°C for 40 minutes, if using a convection oven. If not, bake for 30 minutes, then turn chicken over and bake for another 30 minutes. Then place bacon over the dish and bake for 15 minutes.

And it's done. Easy peasy, and so yummy! Next time I might add some red peppers. I think they would go quite well.

And already thinking of the next recipe to try...