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Creamy Sweet Chilli and Bacon Penne February 20, 2012

Filed under: Fast Food,Healthy Eating,Meat,Pasta — delishuss @ 10:50 pm
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My mum passed this onto me this week. I wasn’t so sure about it but I’m up for giving most things a try. I haven’t pointed it but I reckon it wouldn’t be too bad.

It probably took me about 20 minutes in total to prepare.

Serves 1

Ingredients

40g pasta

2 medallions of smoky bacon, chopped

1 large tablespoon of sweet chilli light philadelphia cream cheese

1 large tablespoon of light cream cheese

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 red pepper

1/4 orange pepper

1 clove of garlic, crushed

One cal cooking spray

 

 

Method

1. Boil the pasta according to the packet instructions, normally 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan and spray with the one cal spray. Add the bacon and fry for 4 minutes.

3. Add the peppers and onion and fry for a further 4 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.

4. Pour a little of the pasta water into the frying pan with the veg and bacon. Stir in both cream cheeses and blend in. Once the sauce has been heated, drain the pasta and add to the frying pan. Stir everything together.

I was going to say that you should add some chopped parsley but there’s no real need, there’s enough going on as it is.

 

Hope you enjoy.

 

 

 

Chicken with Creamy Penne

Filed under: Chicken,Pasta — delishuss @ 10:38 pm
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I made this a week or so ago but didn’t get time to post. It’s dead easy and really yum. Anything with pasta in it is a winner for me.  I got the recipe from the Quick and Easy cookbook and it does what it says on the tin.

Serves 2

Ingredients

200g dried penne

1 tbsp olive oil

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 tbsp dry white wine

115g frozen peas

5 tbsp double cream

Salt

4-5 chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

 

Method

1. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and cook over a medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side.

3.  Pour in the wine and cook over a high heat until it has almost evaporated.

4. Drain the pasta. Add the peas, cream and pasta to the frying and stir well. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes.

5. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

 

Crispy Potato and Meatball Pan Fry

Filed under: Meat,Potatoes,Uncategorized,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:30 pm
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I tried this recipe today. I thought it was great. It’s another Weight Watchers recipe, from the Simply Enjoy cookbook this time. I think it would freeze quite well if you wanted to make it at the weekend and eat later or it would be a great one for a family. I’m not an expert but I reckon kids would like the meatballs and it’s a good way to introduce veg as well.

33 Propoints value per recipe

8 Propoints value per serving

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g potatoes, peeled and halved, if large

400g lean beef mince

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Calorie controlled cooking spray

1 leek, sliced thickly

1 courgette, sliced thickly

1 teaspoon cornflour

3 tablespoons red onion chutney

250 ml vegetable stock

3 long fresh rosemary sprigs

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

75g mozzarella light, torn into pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the potatoes and cook until tender, the drain and leave to cool slightly. Slice the potatoes thickly and aside. Meanwhile, mix the mince and thyme together, season and form into 16 walnut sized balls.

2. Heat a large, deep-sided, ovenproof, non stick frying pan. Spray with the cooking spray, add the meatballs and fry over a medium heat for 8 minutes, turning occassionally, until browned all over. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Preheat the grill to high. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the leek and courgette for 2 minutes then drain and refresh under cold running water.

4. Stir the cornflour and chutney into the stock and pour into a small pan. Add two sprigs of rosemary then bring to the boil and season with black pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and take out the rosemary and discard.

5. Arrange the tomatoes, leek and courgette in the frying pan with the meatballs. Pour the sauce over, then top with the sliced poratoes. Scatter the mozzarella over the top and grill for 6 minutes or until golden.

6. Chop the remaining sprig of rosemary finely and scatter over the top before serving.

 

Beef Goulash February 13, 2012

Filed under: Meat,Potatoes — delishuss @ 11:03 pm
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I had some beef in the freezer so I decided to give this recipe a go. It kind of ended up tasting like a brown stew as I would call it. I had a look at a number of recipes on the Internet and they had varying ingredients, so I just took the most common ones. It’s good winter grub. Hope you enjoy.

 

Ingredients

500g stewing beef

2 onions, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

200g tinned tomatoes

3 tbsp paprika

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp mixed spice

400g baby potatoes

500ml beef stock

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary and thyme

2tbsp oil

1 oxo cube

20g flour

Salt and pepper

 

Method

1. Place the flour on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Coat the beef in the flour.

2. Heat the oil in the large pot. Add the onions and the carrots and fry off for 4 minutes. Remove the veg and set aside.

2. Add the beef and fry until browned. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes making sure it doesn’t burn.

3. Re-add the veg. Stir in the herbs and spices and cook for another minute or so. Crumble in the oxo cube and stir.

4. Stir in the tomato puree and the tomatoes. Add the potatoes and the stock making sure that there’s enough liquid to cover and cook the potatoes. Add more stock if necessary.

5. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for an hour or more if you can. The longer you leave it the more tender the meat will be.

 

 

Italian Pork Bolognaise with Spaghetti

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Meat,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:32 pm
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I tried this recipe tonight as I thought the picture in the booklet looked nice. It’s a recipe from the Weight Watchers- Filling and Healthy Day booklet. I’ll be straight with you there wasn’t a whole of flavour in it, so I added some liquid stock and some tomato relish along the way to give it a bit of umph!

There’s no propoints for this recipe, it’s one from the new plan where you can just choose foods from the filling and healthy list. They also didn’t include the quantities for this recipe so I have added my guesstimates below.

Serves roughly 4

Ingredients

500g pork mince meat

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 can tinned tomatoes

1 tsp healthy oil

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp liquid stock

3 tsp tomato relish

Salt and pepper

 

Method

1. Fry extra lean pork mince with the oil.

2. Add diced onion, carrot, and celery.

3. Stir in the garlic, rosemary and thyme

4. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, relish, and stock and simmer until reduced and thick.

Serve with cooked wholemeal pasta and a green salad dressed with lemon juice.

 

 

Sweet and Sour Chicken February 8, 2012

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating,Rice and Grains,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:51 pm
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I was going through an oldish Weight Watchers magazine to see if there was anything nice to cook and I realised that I never posted this recipe. This is yummy, it’s not that gloopy texture that you can get in the Chinese take-away. Don’t get me wrong, I like Chinese but I think it often leaves you feeling bloated and stodgy. This is nice and light, might be a good one for a Friday night.

36 propoints per recipe

9 propoints per serving

Serves 4

15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking time

 

Ingredients

230g can pineapple chunks or rings in natural juice

100ml chicken stock

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar

2 tsp tomato puree

1 tsp clear honey

2 tsp cornflour

200g long grain rice

Calorie controlled cooking spray

500g skinless boneless chicken breast, chopped

1 onion, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced thinly

1 courgette, chopped

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

 

Method

1. Drain the juice from the pineapple into a jug and add the chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato puree, honey and cornflour. Stir to blend, then set aside. Chop the pineapples into pieces if you’ve bought rings.

2. Cook the rice according to the pack instructions.

3. Meanwhile, mist a wok or large frying pan with cooking spray. Add the chicken and stir fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, until browned.

4. Add the onion, carrot, courgette and peppers to the chicken and continue to stir fry for 3-4 more minutes.

5. Stir sauce and add it to the chicken and vegetables, along with the pineapple and tomatoes. Stir until thickened, then turn the heat to low and cook for 4-5 minutes. Serve with the rice, garnished with coriander, if you like.

 

 

Quick Vietnamese Curry Noodles

Filed under: Fast Food,Healthy Eating,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:28 pm
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This is a really tasty one. I took it from Weight Watchers The Complete Kitchen Cookbook. I didn’t have Thai curry paste so I used korma paste, it sounds a bit weird but it actually worked quite well. Give it a whirl. I finished off writing the recipe below and realised that I never tell you how long the recipe takes. You see with me I just do it and then realise half way through that it takes 3 hours and it’s already 10 o’clock at night 🙂 So I have taken a mental note and I will add the times in any new recipes.

This one takes 15 minutes in total.

19 propoints value per value

10 propoints per serving

Serves 2

Ingredients

Calorie controlled cooking spray

3 shallots, sliced

1 level teaspoon red Thai curry paste

1 teaspoon medium curry powder

200ml reduced fat coconut milk

1 teaspoon soft light brown sugar

200ml vegetable stock

100g sugar snap peas, halved

150g sachet pre-cooked rice noodles

75g beansprouts, rinsed

150g cooked lean roast beef, shredded

a squeeze of lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, to serve

 

Method

1. Spray a medium non stick frying pan with the cooking spray and cook the shallots for 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and powder and fry for 1 minute, stirring, to bring out the spice flavours. Pour in the coconut milk which will bubble and thicken slightly.

2. Next add the sugar, stock and sugar snap peas. Cook for 3 minutes then sprinkle in the rice noodle, separating them with your fingers as you do. Mix the beansprouts and roast beef then heat through for 2-3 minutes until piping hot.

3. Stir in the lime juice to taste and serve scattered with coriander.

 

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake January 30, 2012

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Pasta,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:14 pm
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The leader at my Weight Watchers gave us this recipe. It’s from the Filling and Healthy Day booklet. It’s really good. You could make a batch and freeze it, although I haven’t tried freezing it yet. The recipe doesn’t mention salt and pepper but I think it needs a fair bit. Also I over complicated the method, word of advice follow the method below and it will save you a lot of time. There’s no points value for this one but it’s pretty low, just calculated whatever weight of pasta you use, the oil, the quark and the egg.

Ingredients

Any vegetables that you like and are suitable for baking (e.g. celeriac, butternut squash, courgette, red pepper, and red onion)

1 fresh chilli, chopped

1 1/2 cans tinned tomatoes

150g wholewheat pasta

1 tub quark

chopped fresh herbs of your choice

1 egg

chopped fresh basil

 

Method

1. Roast veg with 1 teaspoon of healthy oil and the chilli until soft and coloured.

2. Add chopped tomatoes and plenty of fresh herbs and continue to cook in the oven until reduced and thick.

3. Add the freshly cooked wholemeal pasta and top with a mixture of quark and beaten egg.

4. Bake until golden and garnish with torn fresh basil leaves.

 

Tip:  Beat the egg and the quark together in a bowl. Then use a spatula to spread the quark and the egg mixture.

 

 

Chunky Chilli Bean Soup

Filed under: Soups and Stews,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:54 pm
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I had planned to go through the majority of the recipes in a soup cookbook that I bought but it didn’t really happen. Best made plans and all that. I was making a lot of veg soup and was a bit bored with it, so I came across this recipe in the Weight Watchers complete kitchen book.  It’s not your typical tomato soup recipe as well, sometimes I find tomato soup a bit tangy but this one isn’t. I’ll definately try this one again. The other bonus is that it’s very filling, always a good thing.

 

16 propoints value per recipet

Serves 6

 

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1.2 litres vegetable stock

3 celery sticks, diced

1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

a pinch dried chilli flakes

2 tablespoons tomato puree

400g can chopped tomatoes

410g can kidney beans in water, drained and rinsed

198g can sweetcorn, drained

Juice of 1/2 a lime

3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

 

Method

1. place the onion in a large lidded saucepan with 100ml of the stock. Cover and cook for 3 minutes then add the celery and peppers. Cover again and cook for a further 5 minutes.

2. Add the cumin, chilli flakes and tomato puree and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to bring out the flavour, before adding the chopped tomatoes and the rest of the stock. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add the kidney beans and sweetcorn to the soup and simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the lime juice and serve the soup scattered with the coriander.

 

Note: I’m not a big fan of celery so I left that out and used courgette instead. Also, I used a fresh chilli instead of the flakes. I threw in some chopped garlic as well.

 

Vietnamese Beef Salad with a Ginger & Lime Dressing January 21, 2012

Filed under: Favourites,Healthy Eating,Meat,Starters — delishuss @ 9:17 pm
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As it’s January I’m on a health buzz. I nearly caved and got a Indian take-away. Not the healthiest of fast food choices but my conscience (my boyfriend Stephen) steered me away. Thank the maker he did. I had planned to make this recipe this evening and I’m so glad I did. It’s fantastic. This recipe is from Ballyknocken Cookery School. Stephen’s sister in law Sinead went to a Taste of Thailand and Vietnam class so she kindly passed on the recipes. Because it’s for a main meal, I made some fried noodles to go with it. I’ll just tell you before you start the meat needs 1 hour to marinade, just in case you are in a rush. Otherwise it’s really quick to put together.

Serves 6

Salad Dressing:

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp fresh lime juice (1 lime)

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp chilli, minced

Salad:

Mixed lettuces

Half a cucumber, thinly sliced

18 cherry tomatoes, halved

Half a cup of basil

Marinade:

2 beef fillets

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp medium dry sherry

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 garlic cloved, minced

Method

For the marinade:

1. Cut the beef into 3/4 inch strips. Mix all the ingredients and add to the beef. Refridgerate for 1 hour minimum.

For the salad:

1. Wash the salad leaves and tear into bite size pieces. Prepare cucumber and tomatoes as directed above. Mix the salad dressing ingredients and set aside.

To finish:

1. Add oil to the frying pan and heat until searing. Add beef and marinade and fry quickly on full heat until brown on all sides and still pink in the centre (or to taste).

2. Stand back when you can- you will need to be careful as the pan will “spit” a lot.

3. When the beef is ready, remove immediately from the pan and set aside.

4. Mix half of the dressing with the salad leaves. Divide between plates.

5. Arrange the beef on the plates, resting on the salad.

6. Sprinkle some of the dressing around the plate with a teaspoon.

7. Tear the basil leaves and place on top of the salad leaves.