Roast Chicken with Cheesy Cream Sauce and Vegetables

It's been a long time since my last post, and to be honest during the entire time I had not really done any cooking! Really, the Doha Summer this year had really gotten into me. I've been so down with this heat that I can barely move a muscle. I've spent most of the time on the net just browsing random things, can't stay too long in the kitchen and can't even go out to the supermarket to do some foodstuff shopping. It's been weeks, I know!

Well, it was a good thing my youngest daughter celebrated her third birthday last June 12, and I didn't have a choice but to do some cooking. Well, actually, we did have a choice... we just really planned to go out for dinner and bring her to the arcade for some fun, but my sister in law called the hubby to inform him that she'd be bringing Lauren a cake. Which was expected really, as she does every year for all our children. So with the cake, hubby and I thought that it wouldn't be fair for the little girl to have her cake and not be sang her birthday song and be able to blow her candles! So at the last minute, we decided to prepare dinner for family and close friends. Ooops! Forgot to mention that she would actually be having her birthday party when her two sisters arrive back in Doha, as a sort of birthday party for her cum welcome back party for the two elder girls :). 
For Lauren's birthday dinner our menu included
Pancit (Mixed Noodles)
Baked Macaroni
Roast Chicken with Cheesy Cream Sauce and Vegetables
Steamed Whole Fish in Ginger Oyster Sauce
Beef Barbeque
Pork Humba
Hoisin Chicken (last minute addition for the late comers :) )
Ripe Mango Salad (recipe is linked to ensaladang mangga posted earlier, just substitute green mango with ripe ones :))
Banana Spring Rolls
Melon Medley 
So how's that for a spur-of-the-moment dinner? Now I won't have any trouble writing up some posts in the coming days. And hopefully, before I finish writing for all the above recipes, I'd be done with this Doha Summer block I've been suffering from and hopefully be able to start cooking again in the next few days :)
Now let's start with the Roast Chicken. I don't know why but this twist to the basic roast chicken had been in my mind for a few days now. Roast chicken is one of the more common dishes in our dinner table. Guess since it was so simple that the maid thinks it's the easiest to cook while she's kept busy by the little girl. Usually she marinates and stuffs the chicken before roasting and pairs it with roasted mixed vegetables consisting of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes and cabbage and I thought of giving this ordinary fare with a little twist to serve our guests. This dish is somehow similar to chicken a la king but the difference is that the chicken in this recipe is cooked separately from the sauce. 

Ingredients:
Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken (1kg)
dried rosemary
salt
black pepper, roughly ground
Method:
Drain chicken of excess water and pat dry with paper towel
Season with salt, pepper and dried rosemary, including the inside cavity of the chicken and the area under the skin. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
Put in the turbo broiler or a pre-heated oven and roast for about 45 minutes.
Let cool and chop to serving pieces. Pour over over the sauce and serve with Rice or over pasta. Enjoy!


Cheesy Cream Sauce with Vegetables
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup cream of chicken
1 cup water
1 small packet thick cream (or all purpose cream)
2 tbs cream cheese
3 tbs cooking oil
1/2 cup softened butter
1 large carrot, diced
1 large potato, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced (seeds and veins removed)
1 small can button mushroom, sliced
1 can young corn, halved diagonally
1 can green peas
parsley, coarsely chopped for garnish
Method:
In a large pan heat oil in medium heat then add in the diced potatoes and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and onions. Toss once in a while to avoid burning.
When the potatoes and carrots are fork tender, add the rest of the vegetables except the bell pepper and parsley. Cook for about 5-8minutes, again tossing once in a while to avoid burning. Adjust heat to high to bring the sauce to a boil. 
Let boil for a 2 minutes then lower the heat. Pour in the cream and cream cheese. Stir.
Add the butter just before turning off the heat. Stir. Once butter is fully melted, turn off the heat.  
Pour over the chopped roast chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with hot rice or over pasta. Enjoy!