Spaghetti Carbonara

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA (Serves 4)

Ingredients

8 rashers of bacon, chopped and all visible fat removed

3 eggs

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp fat free natural fromage frais

2 level tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Small bunch of chives

400g boiled spaghetti

1. Roughly chop the bacon  and dry fry in a non-stick pan for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

2. Lightly beat the eggs, season to taste and add the fromage frais and 1 tablespoon of Parmesan. Chop the chives and add to the mixture, reserving some for garnish.

3. Add the spaghetti and egg mixture to the bacon in the pan and stir gently over a low heat until the egg starts to set.

4. Serve immediately sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan and chives.

SYN VALUE: 1 syn (Extra Easy) 6.5 syns (Red) 3 syns (Green)

This recipe is taken from the Slimming World website. When I made it I used fat free natural yoghurt instead which worked fine and I also added 2 handfuls of chopped mushrooms when frying the bacon for a bit of superfree, plus bacon and mushrooms are one of my favourite combinations! One of the best things about this recipe (apart from the taste!) is how quick and easy it is to make and prepare. I had the whole thing cooked in 10 minutes, it was great!!

Spaghetti & Meatballs

I started shopping at Aldi about a year ago and I love it! It is so cheap (we used to shop at Tesco and have halved our weekly food bill) and the quality of the food isn’t compromised. I still have to nip to Asda or Tesco for the odd thing that they don’t stock but on the whole I get everything I need.

One thing that Aldi don’t sell (or at least mine doesn’t) is extra lean mince- until now! I spotted some extra lean beef mince on Saturday and I stocked up! It’s called Severn Vale Super Lean Minced Beef and it’s 5% fat which makes it syn free 🙂

I decided to make Spaghetti & Meatballs with the mince and found a great recipe at www.slimmingeats.com (click on link for recipe). The tomato sauce has onion, garlic, celery and carrot in so it’s full of speed foods! The meatballs weren’t dry either (I find extra lean mince can be very dry once cooked) as the meatball mixture had a splash of Worcester sauce in it.

It was a delicious meal and my daughter absolutely loved it! Even my other half who is not a big fan of pasta asked for more. I think it is a new family favourite! I highly recommend.

                            

 

Pippa x

INSTAGRAM: pippa_slimmingworld

Chickpea Dahl Loaf

CHICKPEA DAHL LOAF

Ingredients

3 eggs, beaten

1 packet of Bachelors Mild Curry Super Rice

1 tin of syn free Chickpea Dahl (I use Asda own brand)

1. Pre heat the oven to Gas mark 6/ 200 degrees. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile beat 3 eggs in a large bowl and then add the dahl. Mix well.

2. Once the rice has cooked (takes around 25 minutes) add to the bowl with the eggs and dahl in and mix well. Pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin and cook in the oven for around 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

I came across this recipe on the internet after hearing members of my Slimming World group raving about it! It is totally syn free on Extra Easy and it is delicious! It is so easy to make as well, budget friendly and keeps for a few days in the fridge. I have mine with a big salad or just as a snack. It also goes really well with a curry rather than a naan bread which is full of syns! Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it because it really is gorgeous!  The picture below isn’t the best, so apologies!

Szechuan Beef

SZECHUAN BEEF (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar

Half tsp salt

1 tsp cornflour

1 tbsp water

1 inch piece root ginger, peeled & grated

350g fillet/ rump/ sirloin steak, cut into strips

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red chilli, cut into fine strips

1 red pepper, cut into strips

1 yellow pepper, cut into strips

Good pinch of Chinese 5 Spice

1 tsp chilli sauce (optional)

Fry Light

1. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, ginger, water & cornflour into a bowl & add the steak. Cover & leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to marinade.

2. Spray a wok or deep frying pan with Fry Light and place over a medium heat. Add garlic, chlli and 5 spice and fry for 1 minute. Add the beef strips and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until browned but slightly pink & still juicy in the middle. Remove from pan & keep warm.

3. Add peppers and cook for 2 minutes, then add beef & any marinade & stir-fry for a further minute. Serve immediately.

SYN VALUE: Half a syn (Extra Easy/ Red) 6 syns (Green)

This recipe is from the Slimming World ‘Word of Flavours’ recipe book. It is absolutely delicious and its really quick and easy to cook. I’ve only recently started eating beef so I am still very picky about what beef recipes I will eat but this was absolutely gorgeous. I will definitely be making it again!

Chicken Chasseur

CHICKEN CHASSEUR (Serves 4)

Ingredients

Fry Light
6 boneless chicken thighs, skinned & halved
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
9fl oz/255ml chicken stock (I use chicken bovril)
1 level tbsp tomato puree
3 sprigs of fresh tarragon, plus an extra sprig to garnish
Salt & Pepper
2 tomatoes, deseeded & roughly chopped
4oz/ 113g button mushrooms
10oz/ 283g dried long grain rice, to serve

1. Place a frying pan sprayed with Fry Light over a medium heat. Add the chicken & onion & stir-fry for 5 minutes until the chicken is browned.

2. Add the garlic, stock, tomato puree & tarragon, then season. Bring to the boil, cover & simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Discard the sprigs of tarragon & stir in the mushrooms & tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions & drain well. Meanwhile. finely chop half the extra tarragon & serve.

SYN VALUE: Free on Extra Easy

This gorgeous chasseur recipe is another one of my favourites & is from the November/ December 2011 Slimming World magazine. The sauce absolutely makes this dish, it has a lovely depth of flavour thanks to the tarragon & chicken stock. With regards to chicken stock I highly recommend Chicken Bovril. It can be a little tricky to find but most Tesco & Sainsbury stores stock it. It has so much more flavour than stock cubes like OXO & although I don’t use beef stock as I don’t eat beef I have been told Beef Bovril is a great alternative to a beef stock cube too. As this meal is left to simmer away on the hob the chicken is very tender & again full of flavour. Serve with rice & vegetables.

TIP: Cook on a really low heat to prevent the sauce from being boiled away before the chicken is cooked. If this does happen just add another 125mls of chicken stock. 

 

Spinach & Mushroom Cannelloni

SPINACH & MUSHROOM CANNELLONI (Serves 4)

Ingredients

9oz/255g chopped frozen spinach, defrosted
Fry light
8ox/227g fat-free natural cottage cheese
2 eggs yolks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4oz/113g button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
6ox/170g reduced-fat cheddar cheese, grated
A small handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
A few extra basil leaves for garnish.
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly black pepper
250g pack dried cannelloni
1lb 8oz/567g passata with onion and garlic (I use plain passata as I find the dish has too much onion otherwise)
a crisp green salad, to serve

SYN VALUE: Free on Extra Easy (Add 6 syns if not using cheese as a healthy extra)

1. Preheat your oven to 200 C/ 400 F/Gas 6, Squeeze out any excess water from the spinach and spray a medium size baking dish with fry light.

2. Put the Spinach, cottage cheese, egg yolks, garlic, Mushroom, Onion, Pepper, Half the chopped basil in a bowl, Add the nutmeg season well and mix together

3. Using a piping bag (or a teaspoon), carefully fill the cannelloni tubes with the spinach and cheese mixture.

4. Place the filled tubes in the baking dish in a single layer and pour over the passata, making sure all the cannelloni is completely covered.

5. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and chopped basil. Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the top is golden.

6. Garnish with the reserved basil leaves and finish with a twist of black pepper. Divide between 4 plates and serve with a crisp green salad.

This recipe has been taken from a Slimming World magazine from 2011. I LOVE this dish, it is so tasty & very, very filling. I served mine with a large salad which was dressed with a dash of balsamic vinegar. The filling of the tubes can be a little time consuming but it is worth it. This meal is ideal for vegetarians & the whole family will enjoy it 🙂

 

Slow Cooked Chinese Style Pork

This recipe is taken from Slimming Eats & it is absolutely FANTASTIC! If you are craving a Chinese then this is definitely the meal for you. The meal is packed full of flavour & with it being cooked in the slow cooker it is so easy to make- just bung the ingredients in & then you don’t have to touch it until it is ready to eat. The pork meat was so tender & melted in the mouth. I served mine with fine egg noodles but it would also go nicely with rice, stir-fried vegetables or vermicelli noodles. To find the recipe just go to http://www.slimmingeats.com & type in ‘Slow Cooked Chinese Pork’ into the search bar & it will come up. This dish is supposed to be made with pork tenderloin but I used pork chops & once I had removed the fat I just sliced the meat. If you like Chinese food you HAVE to try this meal!

                                                          

Quorn Chilli Con Carne

QUORN CHILLI CON CARNE (Serves 4)

Ingredients

350g pack frozen Quorn mince

1 onion, peeled & finely chopped

1 red chilli, de-seeded & finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

400g can chopped tomatoes

400g kidney beans in chilli sauce

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp cumin

Fry Light

Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Spray a large frying pan with Fry Light & fry the onion, garlic, chilli & cumin until  softened. Once softened add the Quorn mince & cook until no longer frozen.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, kidney beans, salt & pepper to the pan & simmer on a low heat until piping hot.

3. Serve with rice & healthy extra allowance cheddar cheese.

SYN VALUE: Free on Extra Easy

This is my own version of Chilli con Carne. I don’t eat beef so always use Quorn for this dish but it would work just as well with extra lean beef mince. This is a really tasty, no fuss meal which only takes around half an hour to make & is a favourite in my house. The cheddar cheese is of course optional.

TIP: If your chilli looks a bit dry add some passata.

TIP: If  you like your chilli with a real kick  just add some chilli powder or dried chilli flakes with the onion, garlic, chilli & cumin.

Lentil Bolognese

I want to introduce more pulses into my diet & so i decided to give this dish a go. I have to say it was really nice. I left it to simmer away on the stove for about 3 hours so by the time I came to eat it the lentils & vegetables were deliciously soft. It did dry out a few times though so I just added some extra stock and chopped tomatoes. To find the recipe go to http://www.slimmingeats.com & type in ‘Lentil Bolognese’ into the search bar. Serve with spaghetti.

Salmon topped with Prawn Puri

I made this recipe about a year ago & although I loved it I haven’t made it since. I love salmon but I am getting a little fed up of my fail safe Salmon fishcakes so I decided to dig out the recipe for salmon topped with prawn puri & I made it again last night. It was delicious! It is so quick to make (took me less than half an hour) & is full of flavour. You can find the recipe at http://www.slimmingeats.com & type in ‘salmon & prawn puri’ into the search bar & the recipe will come up. I added a tbsp more tomato puree than listed in the recipe & also double the amount of water as the mixture was still quite dry. This is a great dish which is perfect if you are entertaining as it is quick, easy & yummy! Serve with boiled basmati rice & peppery rocket.