Delishuss Blog

Just another WordPress.com site

Summer White Bean and Vegetable Stew April 23, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 8:52 pm
Tags: , , , ,

 

I munched away on this, this evening. I was surprised at how flavoursome it was. I was going to leave the zest of lemon out of it, but I’m glad I didn’t it worked really well with the hummus. This is great. It’s quite filling too. I had a wholemeal pitta with it also. Oh I almost forgot to mention that it’s from a Weight Watchers supplement in the RTE guide.

Propoints per serving- 9

Propoints per recipe- 19

Serves 2

Takes 40 minutes in total to prepare

 

Ingredients

Calorie-controlled cooking spray

1 red onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 small red pepper, de-seeded and sliced

1 corn on the cob, kernels removed

150ml dry white wine

1 tablespoon cornflour

100g fine green beans, halved

2 large sprigs of fresh thyme

200g canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

300ml vegetable stock

100g baby leaf spinach

2 tablespoons reduced fat hummus

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Salt and freshly ground pepper

A handful of fresh basil leaves, to garnish (optional)

 

Method

1. Heat a large, lidded, heavy based saucepan and spray with the cooking spray.

2. Add the onion, then cover and cook for 6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, red pepper and corn and cook for another minute before pouring in the wine.

3. Bring up to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the wwine has reduced by half.

4. Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a plate. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, for a minute until thickened then add the green beans, thyme, cannellini beans and stock and return to the boil.

5.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 8 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the spinach and cook, partially covered, until wilted.

6. Divide between two large, shallow bowls. Season to taste and top each portion with 1 tablespoon of hummus.

7. Sprinkle with black pepper and lemon zest before serving. If using, garnish with basil leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mediterranean Style Cous Cous April 15, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 7:20 pm
Tags: , ,

I find cous cous a little boring but I decided to spruce it up a little. I made this to go with a BBQ that we had a month or so ago. The quantities are guestimates but you’ll get the idea.

Serves 2

Ingredients

150 g cous cous

300ml boiling water

2 scallions, chopped

75g feta cheese, crumbled

40g sundried tomatoes (I used roma, with oregano and garlic), diced

2 tbsp liquid stock

20g fresh coriander, chopped

2 tablespoons of pine nuts

Salt and pepper

Tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Add the liquid stock to the boiling water. Pour the cous cous into a deep bowl. Pour the liquid over the cous cous and cover with cling film for about 8 minutes.

2. Toast the pine nuts on a dry pan.

3. After the 8 minutes, use a fork to seperate the cous cous. Add the olive oil and stir through with the fork.

4. Stir in the remainder of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

Three Bean Enchilada Bake

Filed under: Uncategorized,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 2:34 pm
Tags: , , , ,

Myself and my other half are on a vegetarian buzz for the month of April. We are trying to eat less meat because we are both animal lovers and we kind of baulk at the thoughts of killing animals. The minute we embarked on this venture, all my favourite cookery started cooking lovely lamb dishes for Easter. Like everything you only miss it when it’s gone.

I was on the hunt for vegetarian recipes, and I came across this recipe from the Weight Watchers magazine May issue. I really liked the yogurt and feta topping. I was only short of liking the plate after eating this. Hope you enjoy.

8 propoints per serving

33 propoints per recipe

Serves 4

15 minutes to prepare

40 minutes to cook

 

Ingredients

Calorie controlled cooking spray

1 small red onion, diced

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and diced

1/2- 1 mild red chilli, de-seeded and diced

1/2 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds

1 tbsp fajita spice

500ml passata with onions and garlic

Small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped roughly

410g can mixed beans in water, rinsed and drained

4 small flour tortillas

100g light feta

150g low fat natural yoghurt

75g grated reduced fat cheddar

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/ 200 degrees celsius/ fan 180 degrees celsius.

2. Heat a frying pan and mist with cooking spray. Add the diced onion, pepper, garlic and chilli and saute for 6-7 minutes or until softened.

3. Stir in the spices, follwowed by the passatta and about 150ml water. Simmer gently for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and stir in the coriander.

4. Place the beans in a bowl and add about a third of the tomato sauce. Take a rectangular baking dish that will hold 4 rolled-up tortillas.

5. Place 1 tortilla in the dish and arrange a quarter of the bean mixture down the middle. Roll up and push to one end. Repeat with the other 3 tortillas and then arrange evenly in the dish. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the top of the tortillas.

6. Mash the feta in a bowl, then mix in the yogurt. Spread this over the top of the tomato sauce and then scatter the grated cheddar over. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbling. Serve with salad.

 

Creamy Prawn Tagliatelle March 27, 2012

Filed under: Fast Food,Favourites,Fish,Healthy Eating,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:36 pm
Tags: , ,

I tripped across a recipe somewhere that had tagliatelle and prawns that I thought looked nice but couldn’t find it, so I came up with the following concoction. It’s really good, if I do say so myself 🙂 It took about 15 minutes in total to make. Can’t complain about that really.

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2- 1 red chilli, finely chopped

1/4 courgette, coarsely grated

1 clove garlic, crushed

30g frozen peas

75g cooked prawns

3 shallots, chopped

3 tablespoon creme fraiche (I used the Weight Watchers one)

75g tagliatelle

2 tablespoon liquid stock

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Method

1. Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions. This should take about 10-12 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry off the onion, garlic and chilli for 3-4 minutes or until the onions have started to soften.

3.  Add in the peas and the prawns and cook for another 4 minutes. Add the liquid stock and spoon in the creme fraiche and stir.

4. The pasta should be cooked by this stage so add it and stir everything through making sure everything is piping hot.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

 

Greek Lamb Burgers March 15, 2012

Filed under: Favourites,Meat,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:59 pm
Tags: , , ,

Well I have to say Weight Watchers have excelled themselves with this month’s magazine (April). This is a big hit with me. Okay I’ll admit that I did alter the recipe slightly but I think my additions make it 🙂 I couldn’t get mint leaves so I added 2 tsps of mint sauce. I also added 2 tsps of cumin powder and I also added 1 beaten egg to bind the patties. You will need to up the propoints of the recipe because of the egg. You could just keep to the original recipe also. I’ve just added the original recipe below.

 

10 minutes to prepare, 10 minutes to cook

23 propoints per recipe

11 propoints per serving

serves 2

 

Ingredients

250g lean lamb mince

75g carrot, coarsely grated

60g light feta, crumbled

1/2 dried oregano

Few sprigs of fresh mint, leaves only, chopped roughly

Calorie controlled cooking spray

To serve:

2x 40g mini pitta breads

Little gem lettuce

Sliced tomatoes

 

Method

1.  Mix together the mince, carrot, feta, oregano and mint in a bowl, season, and shape into 4 patties.

2. Mist a griddle pan or nonstick frying pan with cooking spray, add the burgers and cook for 2-3 minutes on either side. Leave to rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered.

3.  To serve, lightly toast the pittas, slice the open and fill with lettuce. Add 2 burgers to each and top with the tomato.

Tip: if you can, make them some time in advance and chill them so that they set a bit better. If you make them and add them straight to the pan they do fall apart easily, the lesss turning you can do the better.

 

White Chocolate, Pineapple and Bananna Loaf March 14, 2012

Filed under: Cakes,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:54 pm
Tags: , , , ,

I saw this recipe in this months Weight Watchers magazine and I had to try it. I must spill the beans though, I didn’t cook it right, I had the oven too hot so the top was cooked but not the middle. I loosened the cake from the edges, and then shook it out and it fell apart, disaster.

A trick that you can use is stick a skewer in the middle of the cake and if the skewer comes out clean then it’s done. This is a case of do as I say and not as I do because I didn’t follow my own rule. I’d say it’s to die for if done properly 🙂

20 minutes to prepare

55  minutes- 1 hour to cook

Serves 10

4 propoints per slice

 

Ingredients

80g low fat spread

80g caster sugar

227g can pineapple rings in natural juice, drained and chopped

1 small banana, mashed

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

60g white chocolate, chopped

150g gluten and wheat free plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark, 4/180 degrees celsius/ fan 160 degrees celsius. Line a 450g loaf tin with baking parchment (don’t leave out this part like me, mum reckons this was my fatal flaw).

2. Melt the low fat spread and sugar over a low heat, ensuring it doesn’t get too hot. Pour into a mixing bowl and cool for a few minutes, then stir in the pineapple and banana. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then half the chopped chocolate.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder together, then stir into the mixture. Transfer to the prepared tin, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 55 minutes-1 hour, or until a fine skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

4. To decorate, melt the remaining chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Drizzle over the cooled cake using a teaspoon, then serve.

 

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Filed under: Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:29 pm
Tags: , , ,

I got this recipe from the current Weight Watchers magazine. I used turkey sausages, I’ll be honest I thought they’d be repulsive but they are actually not too bad. It could possibly be to do with the fact that they are masked in the sauce. I got them because of the propoints value. Sausages are yum but they tend to be high in points. I like this recipe a lot and will definately try it again.  Hope you give it a go.

5 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking time.

Serves 2 (the portions are pretty decent)

22 propoints per serving

11 propoints

 

Ingredients

Calorie controlled cooking spray

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 red onion, sliced thinly

1/2-1 red chilli, sliced thinly

4 extra lean sausages, skins removed

1 bay leaf

350g tomatoes, chopped (I used tinned and they worked out fine)

125 garganelli or fusilli pasta

75g Weight Watchers low fat creme fraiche

Fresh parsley, chopped to garnish

 

Method

1. Mist a nonstick pan with cooking spray and add the garlic, onion and chilli. Cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until slightly softened, then add the sausages and increase the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes, breaking up the sausagemeat  into small lumps.

2. Add the bay leaf and tomatoes, season and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Drain, then mix into the tomato sauce. Stir in the creme fraiche, heat through for 1 minute, then serve garnished with the parsley, if using.

 

Double Cheese Macaroni March 10, 2012

Filed under: Pasta — delishuss @ 12:31 pm
Tags: , , ,

The jury is a bit out on this one but I thought I would post it anyway for you to try and see what you think.  I took the recipe from the Quick and Easy cookbook. Let me know if you do try it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

225g dried macaroni

250g ricotta cheese

1 1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

3 tbsp snipped fresh chives

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

100g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

Butter or oil, for greasing

100g cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

 

Method

1. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salterd water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until tender but still firm to bite. Drain.

2. Mix the ricotta with the mustard, chives and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the macaroni, cherry tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes.

3. Grease a 1.7 litre shallow ovenproof dish. Spoon in the macaroni mixture, spreading evenly.

4. Preheat the grill to high. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the macaroni mixture and cook under the preheated grill for 4-5 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

5. Serve the macaroni sprinkled with extra chives.

 

Thai Prawn Noodle Bowl

Filed under: Fast Food,Fish,Noodles — delishuss @ 12:19 pm
Tags: , ,

This recipe is dead easy to make. I got it from the Quick and Easy cookbook. I couldn’t resist making some adjustments to the recipe :-). I added couple of splashes of soy sauce and also the juice of half a lime. You don’t have to add them it was just my preference. So here goes:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 bunch spring onions

2 celery sticks

1 red pepper

200g rice vermicelli noodles

2 tbsp groundnut oil

55g unsalted peanuts

1 fresh bird’s eye chilli, sliced

1 lemon grass stem, crushed

400ml fish or chicken stock

200ml coconut mil

2 tsp Thai fish sauce

350g cooked peeled king prawns

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

 

Method

1. Trim the spring onions and celery and thinly slice diagonally. Deseed and thinly slice the pepper.

2. Place the noodles in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 4 minutes, or until tender, drain.

3. Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the peanuts for 1-2 minutes, until golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon.

4. Add the sliced vegetable to the wok and stir-fry over a high heat for 1-2 minutes.

5 Add the chilli, lemon grass, stock, coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to the boil.

6. Stir in the prawns and bring back to the boil, stirring. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the noodles.

7. Serve in warmed bowls, sprinkled with fresh coriander.

 

Carrot and Lentil Soup March 7, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Soups and Stews — delishuss @ 10:41 pm
Tags: , ,

I think I have a couple of versions of carrot and lentil soup on the blog so apologies for adding another one but I just saw this in a magazine (Womens Fitness to be exact) and the picture looked nice. It’s pretty handy to make as well, although you do have to grate a load of carrots. You could do them in a food processor if you have a grater attachment. I had a conversation with my colleague about food processors and he thinks they are great, maybe it’s just me but I just don’t like the hassle involved in cleaning the thing. Okay back to the recipe after my rant 🙂

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

600g carrots, grated

140g red lentils

1l vegetable stock

125ml milk

2tsp cumin

Pinch of chilli

Plain yoghurt

Fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan then add all the ingredients.

2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils have softened.

3. Whizz in a blender (I just used a stick blender) until smooth.

4. Season to taste and add a dollop of plain yoghurt and some chopped coriander before serving.

Note: I always add onion and garlic to soup, so I fried this off before adding the rest of the ingredients.