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Pasta Salad with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Rocket August 11, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Pasta,Salads and Dressings,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 8:46 pm
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I got this from the Weight Watchers UK website. I’m not a mad fan of blue cheese, so I substituted it with feta instead.

Ingredients

30 g walnut halves, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

175g pasta, use farfalle

40g rocket

2 tablespoon fresh chives, minced

180g tomato (s) halved

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil (garlic infused)

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Freshly ground salt and pepper

45g Danish blue cheese, crumbled

Method

  1. Place walnuts in a small, frying pan. Toast nuts over medium-high heat until lightly browned, shaking pan frequently, about 1 to 2 minutes; remove from pan and set aside.
  2. Bring 3 quarts of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a large pot. Stir in pasta and cook until tender, about 11 to 13 minutes. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl; immediately add rocket and toss well. Cover bowl with a lid or tight fitting plastic wrap; set aside until rocket is limp, about 5 minutes. Stir in chives and tomatoes.
  3. Stir together vinegar, oil, mustard, salt and pepper in a cup. Pour dressing over pasta salad and toss well; sprinkle with blue cheese.
 

Crispy Garlic Chicken Breasts August 4, 2010

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:51 pm
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This is another recipe from the Weight Watchers Fabulous & Filling. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I served it would green beans and some new potatoes (1 1/2 points for 150g)

Serves 4

3 1/2 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

75g (2 3/4 oz) low fat soft cheese

4 x 125g (4 1/2 oz) skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 egg

1 tablespoon skimmed milk

7g ( 2 3/4 oz) fresh breadcrumbs

Low fat cooking spray

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

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

2. In a bowl, mix together the garlic and parsley with the soft cheese and black pepper. Cut a deep pocket in each chicken breast, taking care not to cut right through, then stuff the soft cheese mixture inside, closing the flesh around the stuffing as far as possible.

3. Beat the egg with the milk in a shallow dish, and spread the breadcrumbs out on a plate.

4. Dip each chicken breast first in the egg mixture and then in crumbs to coat all over. Place on a non stick baking tray and spray with the cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes until crisp and cooked through.

 

Ratatouille Pasta July 22, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Pasta,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 8:49 pm
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This recipe is from the Weight Watchers Fabulous and Filling Cookbook. I made a few additions to the recipe. I added a stock cube to the ratatouille after the tomatoes. Instead of using plain tomatoes, I used Napolina Chilli and Pepper, it gives it a good old kick.

Serves 4

4 1/2 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

1 red onion, chopped roughly

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped roughly

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped roughly

2 courgettes, sliced

1 aubergine, diced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

400g can chopped tomatoes

200g (7oz) dried fusilli or conchiglie

100g (3 1/2 oz) Brie, sliced thinly

Freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Heat a large, lidded sauce pan until hot and spray with the cooking spray. Cook the onion for 2 minutes then add the peppers and cook for 2 minutes stirring.

2. Add the courgettes, aubergine and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add a splash of water if necessary to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan.

3. Cover the pan and cook for a further 4 minutes over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened then add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered. Season with black pepper.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions, until tender. Preheat the grill.

5. Drain the pasta and mix with the ratatouille. Tip into an ovenproof baking dish anfd top with the sliced Brie. Grill for 2-3 minutes until the Brie starts to melt. Serve on warm plates.

 

Chicken, Grape and Potato Salad July 15, 2010

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating,Salads and Dressings,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:37 pm
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Surprise, surprise another Weight Watchers recipe. Again, this is from the Fabulous and Filling Cookbook. When I tasted the dressing I thought it needed something, so I added a few splashes of Worchester Sauce, perfect. Also I coated the chicken with some fajita mix before grilling.

 Serves 2

4 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

300g (10 ½ oz) new potatoes, diced

125g (4 1/2) oz) skinless boneless chicken breast, halved horizontally

40g (1 ½ oz) reduced fat mayonnaise

50g (1 ¾ oz) low fat natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)

100g (3 ½ oz) red grapes, halved

1 little gem lettuce leaves separated

Freshly ground pepper

 

Method

  1. Bring a lidded saucepan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes, covered, for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the grill to medium high and grill the chicken for 10-12 minutes until cooked through, Set aside to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the yoghurt, chives and mustard, if using, adding pepper to taste. Stir in the new potatoes and grapes.
  4. Slice the chicken and mix into the potato salad. Serve on a bed of Little Gem lettuce leaves.
 

Indian Omelette

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 8:01 pm
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This is another Weight Watchers from the Fabulous and Filling Cookbook. The book suggests serving the omelette rolled up inside a medium chapatti or soft flour tortilla, for 2 ½ extra points value. I’m not sure about this, maybe with a little salsa smeared on the tortilla. Alternatively, you could serve it with a salad.  It’s very simple and doesn’t take too long, so it’s good if you really don’t want to be slaving in the kitchen.

Serves 1

2 ½  Weight Watchers points value

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

½ small onion, sliced thinly

½ red or green chilli, de-seeded and diced

2 eggs

A pinch of ground cumin

1 tomato, diced

2 heaped teaspoons chopped fresh coriander

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. Heat a non stick frying pan until hot and spray with the cooking spray. Fry the onion and chilli for 4-5 minutes, adding a splash of water as needed to prevent the onion from sticking and burning.
  2. Beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water, the ground cumin and seasoning. Stir in the tomato and coriander then pout the mixture into the frying pan.
  3. Cook over a medium heat until the omelette is golden underneath and just set on top. Turn out on to a warmed plate.
 

Teriyaki Beef Udon July 13, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Meat,Noodles,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 11:15 am
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This recipe is from Weight Watcher’s Fabulous and Filling Cookbook.  I’m not a fan of mushrooms so I substituted them with peppers. I also added some Soy Sauce for increased flavour. To make a vegetarian version you could add tofu and bulk it up with some baby sweetcorn and mushrooms.

My marinade for stir fries has always been quite runny and I have never been able to achieve the consistency of a proper Japenese/Chinese restaurant sauce. Well it seems the answer is corn-flour, I always thought it was MSG.

The recipe itself is very good and very quick to make. Hope you enjoy.

Serves 1

Takes 15 minutes

6 points value per serving

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

125g (4 ½ oz) lean rump steak, trimmed of all fat

½ red onion, sliced

50g (2 ¾ oz) sugar snap peas, halved lengthways

75g (2 ¾ oz) mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons teriyaki marinade

¼ red pepper, sliced

¼ yellow pepper, sliced

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 tablespoon soy sauce

150g pack pre-cooked udon noodles

Method

  1. Heat a non-stick frying pan until hot and spray with the cooking spray. Fry the steak for 2 ½-3 minutes on each side over a high heat, then transfer to a warm plate and leave to rest.
  2. Add the onion to the pan and fry for 1 minute then add the sugar snap peas, peppers and mushrooms plus 1 teaspoon of water. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
  3. Mix the teriyaki marinade, soy sauce, cornflour and 4 tablespoons of water, then add to the frying pan and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Mix the udon noodles into the sauce and vegetables. Cook for 1-2 minutes until cooked through. Slice the steak thinly and serve on top of the noodles.
 

Beef and Spinach Cannelloni July 9, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Meat — delishuss @ 6:21 pm
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You will see a running theme with my recipes, low fat or low calorie. I try to keep them as healthy as possible and get a lot of my recipes from Weight Watchers and other health magazines. This is another Weight Watchers recipe. I haven’t made it in quite some time but it’s lovely.

6 ½ Weight Watchers points per serving                                                

Serves 4

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

1 onion, diced

300g extra lean steak mince

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced

410g chopped tomatoes with herbs

1 beef stock cube, crumbled

150 ml of boiling water

150g chopped frozen spinach

16 cannelloni tubes

15g low fat margarine

25g of plain flour

1 tsp of mustard powder

600 ml of skimmed milk

50g of low fat mature cheddar, grated

8 cheery tomatoes, halved

Instructions

  1. To make the Bolognese sauce, heat a large pan, mist with low fat spray and add the onion. Cook for 3 minutes, and then add the book and cook, stirring well to break up the mince, until all the meat is brown.
  2. Stir in the garlic, pepper, tomatoes, tomato puree.
  3. Dissolve the stock cube in boiling water and add into pan.  Bring the sauce to the boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach until defrosted, ten remove from the heat and season to taste.
  4. Preheat the oven (gas mark 5/190 degrees Celsius). Fill the cannelloni tubes with the Bolognese sauce and put in greased oven proof dish in a single layer. Pour any leftover sauce over the top and set aside while you make the white sauce.
  5. Melt the margarine in a small pan. Add the flour and mustard powder and stir to combine. Cook the paste for 1 minute.
  6. Remove from the heat and stir the milk in a little at a time, making sure it is smooth before adding more.
  7. Return the sauce to the hob and cook over a low heat, stirring continuously until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese. Pour over the cannelloni tubes, scatter with the remaining cheese and cherry tomatoes and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is bubbling and golden, and the pasta is cooked through.
  8. Serve with a green salad.
 

Morrocan Chicken with Couscous July 7, 2010

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating — delishuss @ 9:07 pm
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Hello again. This is a recipe I saw on Exposé, made by Clodagh McKenna. It’s very quick and easy to make. Nice and light for the summer.  It’s supposed to serve 4, the portions would probably be small enough if it was just for a meal on its own.  If you were having a starter or other accompaniments.

Ingredients

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 chicken breasts

1 chilli, finely chopped

1 lemon, juiced

75 ml of balsamic vinegar

2 sprigs of finely chopped rosemary

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp cinnamon

½ sp coriander

50g golden sultanas

350 ml of chicken stock

A handful chopped parsley (flat leaf would work best)

400 g of couscous

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Mixed the vinegar, rosemary and chilli in a bowl and add the chicken. Leave to marinade if possible. It still tastes good if you don’t have the time.
  2. Cook on a griddle pan for 4-5 minutes each side.
  3. Meanwhile, add the chicken stock to the couscous and cover for a couple of minutes.
  4. Separate the grains by using a fork, a spoon will make the mixture clumpy.
  5. Stir in the spices.
  6. Stir in the lemon juice, onion and chopped parsley.
  7. Season to taste.
  8. Slice the chicken and serve over the couscous in a large serving bowl so that people can help themselves.
 

Vegetable Chilli July 6, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 3:05 pm
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Note: I was a bit concerned about the effect of the apple, but it worked quite well. Serve this with rice or taco shells.

Serves 4

Ingredients

A dash of sunflower oil

1 medium onion chopped

3 half mixed peppers chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 small apple, chopped

1 can of mixed beans

Small can of kidney beans

1 tsp of oregano

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of paprika

½ green chilli, finely chopped

1 tsp of salt

1 can of chopped tomatoes

Instructions

  1. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sunflower and heat. Fry off the onion for 10 minutes stirring regular to prevent burning.
  2. Drain the cans of beans.
  3. Mix together the oregano, paprika, cumin and salt in a small bowl.
  4. Add the rest of the vegetables and the apple to the pan and fry off for 10 minutes.
  5. Add in the chilli and mixed spice and fry for another 1-2 minutes.
  6. Add the tomatoes and beans to the pan and stir.
  7. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
 

Broad Bean Frittata June 29, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 8:26 pm
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Just some comments about this recipe:

This is a Weight Watchers recipe. If served with a side salad it’s a substantial enough meal.

This recipe needs plenty of seasoning.

I used frozen peas instead of the broad beans as that’s my own personal preference.

5 points per serving

Serves 2

Ingredients

100g (3 ½ oz) new potatoes (approx 2 potatoes), sliced

100g (3 ½ oz) baby broad beans (frozen ones are fine)

Low fat cooking spray

2-3 small pink shallots or ½ small red onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, chopped very finely

Small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly

Small handful of fresh mint, chopped roughly

4 eggs, beaten

60g (2 oz) light feta, cubed

Instructions

  1. Cook the potato slices in boiling water for about 7-10 minutes or until just tender. When they are nearly ready, add the broad beans and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain.
  2. Heat a frying pan, mist with low fat spray and add the shallots with 1 tbsp water. Cook until the shallots are softened and the water has evaporated, and then add the garlic, some seasoning, and the drained potatoes and beans.  Mist will with low fat spray and cook for 1 minute more, stirring.
  3. Stir most of the chopped herbs into the beaten egg and add to the pan. Cook for 6-7 minutes or until the base of the omelette is well set, then dot the top with cheese and place under a preheated grill for 5 minutes until the top is set.
  4. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then scatter with the reserved herbs and serve with some salad.