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Red Lentil, Red Pepper and Cocunut Milk Soup October 26, 2011

Filed under: Soups and Stews,Starters,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 9:17 pm
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I was over in my friends house and Catherine’s Family Kitchen came on the telly. We only caught the last few minutes of the programme but she was making chilli bread, the details of which I have yet to post. At the end of the programme she re-capped on what she had cooked and she mentioned this recipe. So I looked it up on the Internet and gave it a try. I used a scotch bonnet chilli, let’s just say I should have known better. It really needs to be eaten fresh or do you drink soup, never got that one.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely sliced
1½ red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2cm fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp cumin
2 red peppers, deseeded and diced
100g red lentils
400ml vegetable stock, more if necessary
400ml can of coconut milk

Sunflower oil, for frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toasted desiccated coconut, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and celery and sauté for 8-10 minutes over a low heat until soft.

Add the chillies, ginger and cumin and cook for a further minute.

Add the peppers, lentils, coconut milk and the stock and stir to mix.

Continue to cook until the peppers are soft.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a hand blender, purée the soup until smooth.

Season to taste, adding salt and pepper as required and reheat.

Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the soup to serve.

 

Courgette, Carrot and Tomato Frittata October 23, 2011

Filed under: Healthy Eating — delishuss @ 9:34 pm
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I got this recipe from the ‘Frame by Frame- Quick and Easy’ cookbook. I’m not quite sure about it but I said that I would post it anyway. I think it’s maybe just the rawness of the veg with the egg that might be putting me off. If you like the look of it, give it a try and let me know how you get on.

 

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

1 tbp olive oil

1 onion, cut into small wedges

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 courgette, trimmed and grated

2 carrots, peeled and grated

2 tomatoes, chopped

pepper

1 tbsp shredded fresh basil, to garnish

 

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Beat together the eggs and egg whites in a bowl, the pour into the pan.

3. Using the spatula, pull the egg mixture from the sides of the pan into the centre, allowing the uncooked egg to run underneath.

4. When the base has set lightly, add the courgettes, carrots and tomatoes. Season to taste with pepper and continue to cook over a low heat until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

5. Sprinkle with the shredded basil, cut the frittata into quarters and serve.

 

Beef and Guinness Pie

Filed under: Meat — delishuss @ 9:21 pm
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I was over in my friends house for a couple of drinks and take-away and she mentioned that she tried making a Beef and Guinness Pie and gave me a rough explanation of how she made it. She did say that the recipe she followed had a lot of liquid in it and that it took a while to reduce down. Anyway, I liked the sound of it and decided to give it a lash this evening.

Top tip: serve in 3 smallish oval dishes. I tried it in one big casserole dish and the pastry didn’t meet the meat mixture.

 

Ingredients

500g stewing/cassorole beef

100ml of beef stock

1 oxo cube

300ml guinness stout (not draught)

8 shallots, halved or quartered if too large

3 carrots, chopped chunky enough

20g flour

1 teaspoon paprika

A few drops of worchester sauce

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 garlic, chopped

A few sprigs of thyme, chopped

4 tablespoon sunflower oil

2 sheets of ready made puff pastry

Salt and pepper

1 small egg, lightly beaten

 

Method

1. Heat the oil and saute the shallots and carrots in a heavy based saucepan for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, tip the flour onto a plate and add the paprika, and salt and pepper. Dust the beef lightly in the flour mixture.

3. Add the garlic and thyme to the saucepan and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add the beef to the saucepan and brown for 5 minutes or so.

5. Add the guiness and bring to the boil and reduce for a 5 minutes. Add the stock, worchester sauce and sugar.

6. Reduce the heat and cook for an hour until the liquid has reduced. While the beef is cooking, prepare your dishes. Roll out the pastry. Place your dish face down and cut around leaving approximately an inch overlap.

7. Pre-heat the oven, 190 degrees celsius/gas mark 5. Distribute the beef between the dishes. Brush the rims with beaten egg. Then place the cut out pastry on top. Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the top is browned.

 

Serve with mash potato.

 

 

Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup October 11, 2011

Filed under: Chicken,Favourites,Soups and Stews,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 6:43 pm
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I don’t know why but I thought chicken and sweetcorn soup would be quite complicated but it is dead easy. I got this recipe from the Weight Watchers ‘One-Pot Meals’ cookbook. It’s a recipe that really needs to be made and consumed straight away but it doesn’t take long at all. I added some chopped chilli and threw it in with the spring onions. It’s definitely a recipe I’ll be trying again.

Serves 2

8 Propoints per serving

Ingredients

100g skinless boneless chicken breast

340g can sweetcorn, drained or 285g frozen sweetcorn

600ml chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornflour

2 spring onions, shredded

1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Place the chicken breast between two sheets of cling film then hit firmly with the base of a saucepan or a rolling pin to flatten. Cut the chicken into thin strips.

2. Put the sweetcorn in a pan then pour in the stock. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the pan. Heat, stirring, until bubbling and thickened.

3. Add the chicken and spring onions, cook for about 1 minute (the chicken cooks quickly as soon as it is added), then drizzle in the egg and stir to create the classic Chinese egg threads in the soup. The egg will cook instantly as it hits the hot soup. Serve in warmed bowls.

 

Curried Chicken with Spinach

Filed under: Chicken,Curries,Healthy Eating — delishuss @ 6:30 pm

I know, I know, I’m a bit obsessed with the curries. So here’s another one to add the databank 🙂 This is pretty easy to make. The recipe is a healthy one as well and the spinach is a great source of iron which is particularly good for us ladies. I got the recipe from the Bodyfit magazine. Give it a go.

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

Frylight sunflower oil

1 tsbp cumin seeds

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp curry paste

250g tomatoes, chopped

500g chicken breast fillets, cut into large chunks

225g fresh baby spinach

400g can chickpeas or green lentils, rinsed and drained

1 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

 

Method

1. Spray a deep frying pan with Frylight and place on a low heat, then add the cumin seeds.

2. Increase the heat and add the onion. Stirring until they begin to colour.

3. Mix in the garlic and curry paste and stir together for one minute. Add the tomatoes and 150 ml water, cook for about 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring until the tomatoes look pulpy.

4. Add the chicken pieces, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Then, fold in the spinach and chickpeas or lentils and cook together for a further five minutes, stirring, until the spinach has wilted and chicken is tender.

5. Sprinkle over the garam masala, cover the pan and leave to stand for one minute. Stir in the coriander and serve.

 

I would serve this with some boiled rice and tesco do a light choices naan bread which is good side for a curry.

Enjoy 🙂

 

Saucy Spanish Meatballs October 1, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — delishuss @ 6:58 pm
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The Weight Watchers ‘One Pot Meals’ cookbook is my latest purchase. The recipes in it are great, really handy to make. This recipe is a lot more simple than it seems. Give it whirl.

 

4 Propoints per serving

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g pack Weight Watchers premium pork sausages

50g carrot, peeled and grated finely

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Calorie controlled cooking spray

300ml passata

500ml chicken stock

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

150g open cup mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 red pepper, cut into strips

20 pitted green olives

175g baby spinach leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Method

1. Remove the skins from the sausages and discard, then put the sausage meat in a large bowl and work in the carrot and oregano with plenty of black pepper. Using wet hands, shape into 24 meatballs, each about the size of a walnut.

2. Heat a large, lidded, non stick pan and spray with the cooking spray. Add the meatballs and fry gently to colour them, shaking the pan every now and then to make sure they don’t stick.

3. Pour the passata into the pan with the stockm thyme, mushrooms, paprika, pepper and olives. Stir gently then cover and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the spinach, stir gently until wilted, then serve.

 

Salsa Chicken with Beans and Rice

Filed under: Chicken,Rice and Grains,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 6:43 pm
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I got this recipe from the Weight Watchers ‘One Pot Meals’ cookbook. It’s dead easy to make. I suppose it’s quite high in points but it is a good filling meal so you wouldn’t be eating for a while afterwards and it would probably stop you from snacking so it’s worth it.

14 propoints

Ingredients

300g jar salsa

200ml chicken stock

300g butternut squash peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks

1 red pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks

75g dried basmati rice

15g chopped fresh coriander

300g skinless bonesless chicken beast, cut into chunks

410g can red kidney beans in water, drained and rinsed

 

Method

1. Tip half of the jar of salsa into a lidded pan then pour in the stock. Add the squash and pepper, and then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add the rice, half the coriander and the chicken then cover the pan and cook gently for about 8 minutes until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.

3. Stir in the beans. Cover and leave for a few minutes to settle. Serve with the remaining salsa and scatter with the rest of the coriander.

 

 

Vegetable Soup with Yellow Split Peas

Filed under: Soups and Stews,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 5:43 pm
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I tend to make a pot of soup on a Saturday when I have a bit of time. I made this one last Saturday. It’s a real hearty one. A good lunchtime filler. You are kind of supposed to soak the split peas but I couldn’t really be bothered, I like the bit of bite anyway. If you don’t then prepare them according to the packet instructions. This is a winner I think because it isn’t just plain old boring vegetable soup. This makes a big pot, that can be frozen too.

Ingredients

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

100g yellow split peas

750ml of stock

bunch of coriander, chopped

Salt and pepper to season

3 tbsp olive oil

 

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add in the vegetables and split peas.

2. Cook for 3-4 minutes on a high heat. Add the garlic. Reduce the heat and cover with a lid and saute for 5 minutes.

3. Add in half of the coriander and stir. Add the stock and salt and pepper.

4. Bring to the boil and reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or so.

5. Pulse with a handheld blender for a few seconds, leaving the vegetable chunky.

6. Sprinkle with the remaining coriander and serve with some nice rustic bread.

 

 

Fruit Crumble

Filed under: Desserts — delishuss @ 5:27 pm
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I was out for a walk last Saturday and stumbled across a country lane with a flurry of blackberries, so I had to pick them. Half of the pickings came home with me and the rest were munched along the way :-). I had intended to make a crumble so I had cooking apples in stock. I tried to make it healthy-ish by using lower fat produce. I hadn’t made crumble before and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was.

It was yummy and needless to say didn’t last very long.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons splenda or sweetner

3 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced

4 plums, peeled, cored and sliced

75g blackberries or autumn fruit

100g low fat butter (I used flora light)

70g flour

50g oats

50g golden caster sugar

50ml of water

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 190 degrees celsius/gas mark 5.

2. Add the sliced apple and plums to a baking dish and sprinkle with the splenda and water and soft in the microwave for about 5 minutes on high.

3. In the meantime in a bowl make the crumble topping by adding the flour and butter and mixing together with your fingers lightly until it resembles breadcrumb. Stir in the caster sugar and oats.

4. Once the fruit has softened, add the berries and cook for another 2 minutes in the microwave. Remove and cover with the crumble mixture.

5. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. If it doesn’t brown on top stick it under the grill for a couple of minutes. Serve with custard or vanilla ice-cream.

Note: if you don’t like the idea of using the microwave you can just soften them in a saucepan instead. You could add cinnamon to the crumble mixture also.

 

Sausage, bean and chorizo stew

Filed under: Meat,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 5:07 pm
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I took this recipe from a Weight Watchers magazine. Great comfort food coming into the autumn/winter. This can be frozen and kept up to 3 months. If you can’t find pinto beans you can substitute them for pretty much any beans. I used butterbeans.

It’s really easy to make, give it a go. #

7 propoints per serving

Ingredients

2 red onions, sliced

Calorie controlled cooking spray

280g reduced fat pork sausages, halved

3 garlic cloves, crushed

110g cooking chorizo, sliced

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp black mustard seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

400g can chopped tomatoes

6 ripe tomatoes, chopped

400g can pinto beans, drained

Handful of chopped fresh parsley

 

Method

1. Put the sliced onion in a large, lidded saucepan and mist with the cooking spray. Cook on a low hear until soft.

2. Increase the heat, add the sausages and cook for another few minutes until they have browned a little on all sides.

3. Add the garlic and chorizo and cook for 1-2 minutes until the chorizo has released its oil.

4. Reduce the heat, add the smoked paprika, black mustard and cumin seeds and cook for 5 minutes more.

5. Tip the canned and fresh tomatoes into the pan along with 400ml water. Cover and summer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Add the beans and increase the heat to allow the liquid to reduce slightly. This will take about 10 minutes. Leave to sit for 5 minutes, then garnish with parsley and serve.